Most of us are familiar with the Samaritan Temple built upon Mt. Gerizim from comments about it in the New Testament. Less familiar are the two Jewish temples that were built in Egypt. The Samaritan Temple existed from around 330 BC to 128 BC when it was destroyed by John Hyrcanus. The small community of Samaritans that still exist worship at the site.
Less known are the temples that were erected on the Island of Elephantine (Asswan) and the other at Leontopolis in Egypt. It is believed that a Jewish garrison of mercenaries erected a temple at Elephantine. Myths have developed that the ark of the covenant was carried there before the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem and later transferred to Ethiopia. This site was destroyed in 410 BC. The temple that was built in Leontopolis around 171 BC came about when Onias fled Jerusalem. The king, Ptolemy VI Philometer, acceded to his request to build a temple resembling the one in Jerusalem. It remained for about 243 years until destroyed three years after the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE.