The Temple/Theories

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Builders

Built by DHARMA

• On Ben's map, the Temple has a DHARMA logo next to it. So far, all the DHARMA logos have been affiliated with stations built by DHARMA.
• The Temple is the "ark" to the Tempest's "flood" of poison, which could kill everyone on the island.
• If this is indeed the "last safe place on the Island", some DHARMA personnel survived the purge in this facility.

Built by the Hostiles

• The name implies it has a religious/spiritual function. It is also spoken of by Ben has holding a meaningful significance, something which he probably wouldn't associate with a DHARMA station.
• It was built by the hostiles, but at some point, DHARMA gained control of it and turned it into a station, and gave it a DHARMA logo. That's what made the hostiles angry with DHARMA and instigated the purge.
• Both the Orchid and Ben's house at the Barracks appeared to be built by DHARMA on the outside but on the inside held something far more ancient. The Temple is another example of this.

Built by Egyptians

• The temple was built by the Egyptians. The hieroglyphs were Egyptian, including a Horus (the bird) and an Eye of Horus (also known as an Eye of Ra) on the wall. Also the giant statue that we saw during all the time traveling was Tawaret, one of the Egyptian dieties. Under the temple on the wall, we saw what appears to be an Egyptian god kneeling before the Monster. Amy's husband, before he was killed, wore an Ankh, an Egyptian symbol of life.

Function

• Ben calls it the "last safe place on the island"; it is a strategic stronghold for inhabitants with supplies for survival.
• The Temple is the doorway between the island and the outside world. It is the last safe place on the island because if push comes to shove, those who know about it can not only hide there (on the island) but can escape into the outside world if need be.
• The Temple is like a church or a giant synagogue.
• It is the station involved in DHARMAs research of meteorology as mentioned in the Swan orientation. More specifically weather control, the power of the "gods" in many ancient religions/beliefs, hence the name. The Blast Door Map says "Mountainous terrain most likely used for meteorological research", in the same area the Barracks is on the Blast door map. The source of power for the weather control could also be located here making this the power station, and it's easy to see how a place the provides power and "light" to everything else could be seen religiously.
• The Temple logo appears to be a horizon that is covered in darkness. This would imply that even the DHARMA Initiative did not fully understand the function of the location or that they knew it was extremely mysterious in nature and was trying very hard to unlock it's secrets. It is a very secret and mysterious location.
• It provides refuge during time shifting. When Ben told Richard to lead the Others to the Temple, he wasn't doing so to protect the Others from Keamy and his team, he did it because he knew the Island eventually had to move.
  • Richard and the Others were not in the temple when the Island moved, they were with Locke. Locke shifted through time but the Others stayed.
• It is the last safe place on the island, because, The Monster isn't protecting the Island, its protecting the Temple.
• The purpose of the temple is to brainwash those who come to the island to defend the island. Lock, if he had been dragged down, would have come back the same. There are some, however, who might not succumb to the brainwashing - such as Echo - and are killed instead.
• The Temple contains equipment from the future. That is why he is able to heal Ben. Richard is from the far future and somehow experienced a flash on the island that sent him to a distant past. The primitive inhabitants worship him as a god, build a statue in his likeness and a temple around his posessions.
• The Temple is able to 'fuse' the souls of some to the 'intelligence' of the Island, and bond itself to them. This bond is somehow symbiotic, so it can heal Ben, extend Richard's life. This is what Richard was talking about when he said it would ruin Ben's innocence and that he would forever be An Other. Ben would be part of the Island, and know things. He would, like John, feel that inevitable pull to unity with the island, and would thus never truly return to DHARMA as an innocent.
• It is the "magic box".
• I think the Temple makes people older and then agelesses because this could be the magic box.
• Due to Ben referring to the Temple as the "last safe place on the Island", the Monster's duty to protect the Temple and the fact that Richard brought Ben into the Temple to heal him, we can easily deduce that the Temple is a hidden monumental structure designed to protect the people within and heal them from any wounds they may have.

Location

• The Temple is near the Four-toed statue. When Jin, Sun and Sayid are going to the barracks zone through the sea, they see the statue, north from the barracks. The temple seems to be north from the barracks across the mountains, between the mountains and the sea shore. Judging by the statue, it may have been a temple built by the original Others, and then adapted for the DHARMA initiative, because it has its own symbol.
• The Temple is number C1 (11 o' clock position) on the blast door map. This is the crossed out station with "UNKNOWN" written on it. It also has the Latin saying "Sursum corda" which means "Lift up you hearts (to GOD)."
• The Temple is shown to be on mountains on the map that Ben gave to Alex. In the episode "There's No Place Like Home Pt 1," Ben used a mirror to send signals to someone up on top of some mountains. This is where the Temple is.
• The Temple is near the Barracks, but surrounded on most sides by an impassible range of mountains. This is the reason the Others had to go down from the Barracks to the Pascal Flats and beyond and then presumably back up the coast to get to the Temple. This is also why Ben told Alex it would take them a day and a half to get there despite being seemingly very close to the Barracks.

Name

• The name 'Temple' is a play on the Latin 'tempus', meaning 'time'... where we get words like 'temporary', 'temporal', 'tempo', which are all to do with time. It is not even a worship temple at all, but a place for controlling/manipulating elements of time.

Connection to Black Rock

• The Black Rock and the Temple are both located in the Dark Territory because the survivors of the Black Rock built the Temple fairly close to where they crashed.

To whom it belongs

• The temple could easily "belong" to both Jacob and his nemesis, and the smoke monster is a neutral third party. The opening scene suggests that Jacob and his enemy were possibly from different factions of the same people, with the smoke monster being the protection system for their people, and having allegiance to neither (i.e. reanimating at the bidding of either).
  • The two forces represent the balance between order/chaos, light/dark, yin/yang. The statue holds 2 ankhs, and there are always 2 sides. The temple serves both entities/men. It honors the balance between the forces. Smokey is the arbiter of fates. That's why the temple is a safe place. Neither side can harm the other at the temple. The temple is sanctuary for both sides.
• The temple belongs to Jacob, which we can infer because because fake-Locke was unaware of what happened when Ben was in the temple. If the temple belonged to Jacob's nemesis (and thus Flocke), he would have known the results of Ben's judging. Or, Jacob built the temple (seen from his Egyptian influences) and it is thus his.

• The temple belongs to Jacob's Nemesis, and the smoke monster is an embodiment of Jacob's nemesis or aligned with him. Why else would the monster told Ben to follow Locke or else face its wrath? Smokey wanted Ben to follow fake-Locke so fake-Locke could use Ben to kill Jacob. This was probably just another move in this long con that Jacob's adversary has been perpetuating.
  • Counter evidence: Flocke is surprised to hear Ben must do whatever he asks. (Unless he's lying---entirely possible.)
  • Counter evidence: Smokey would certainly know who fake-Locke was had it encountered him. While Ben was being judged, fake-Locke had left to find a means of hauling Ben out of the hole.
    • This is backed up by Ben, when summoning the monster, saying what was going to come out of the jungle he could not control; ie fake Locke is the monster, they don't appear at the same time, and when summoned by Ben, the monster, ie Jacob's nemesis, has to go there, but he does so in the form of Locke
  • Counter theory: Flocke knew the smoke monster would know who he is or he isn't allowed to be there so he hid when Ben summoned it.
• Belongs to Jacobs enemy. Its like the four toed statue only for Jacobs enemy