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| Entrance ticket to Dendera. |
Seventy kilometres to the north of Luxor is Dendera, also known as Iunet or Tantere in ancient times. Records show that a temple has been present on this site since King Pepi I (c 2250 BC) built here. This was rebuilt during the Old Kingdom (c 2686 - 2181 BC), although the buildings that survive today are from the Graeco - Roman period (332 BC - AD 395).
The remaining temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor and is one of the best preserved temples of this period. Originally there were also temples and shrines dedicated to Hathor`s consort, Horus, and their child Ihy or Harsomptus, near to that of Hathor. Hathor`s temple is oriented towards the Nile, like many other temples, but because of the bend in the Nile here it faces to the north instead of the traditional east - west position.
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| The photo shows the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. |
The temple does not have the two usual pylons as an entrance, only a stone gateway built for the Roman emperors Domitian and Trajan at the end of the 1st century AD, stands at the front of the complex and is set into mud brick walls which surround the enclosure.
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| The photo shows the Gateway to the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. |
Having passed through the gateway the Outer Hypostyle Hall can be seen. This was built for emperor Tiberius in 35 AD. It consists of a low screen wall with inter columnar walls. Scenes of Tiberius and Claudius offering wine and other gifts to Horus, Hathor and other gods can be seen on the outer screen walls.
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| Photo of the front of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. |
The roof of the hall is supported with 24 columns. Instead of the columns featuring lotus or papyrus shapes, these have capitals representing Hathor in the form of a human with cow ears. Most of these faces were badly vandalized by early Christians. The ceiling however remains one of the best preserved temple ceilings in Egypt. Much of its original colour can still be seen and represents a symbolic chart of the heavens, including zodiac signs and the goddess Nut, swallowing the sun disc at night and giving birth to it in the morning.Scenes of the dedication of the temple decorate the inside walls of the Outer Hypostyle hall.
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| The photo shows the columns in the hypostyle hall with the Hathor capitals. |
From the great hall the Inner Hypostyle Hall or "Hall of Appearances is reached. There are 6 sandstone columns with granite bases here, which again feature Hathor headed capitals. The statue of Hathor was brought into this hall from her sanctuary on certain religious festivals for various ceremonies and processions. The walls in this hall feature foundation rituals. One shows the pharaoh using a big hoe to "break the ground".
Flanking the Inner Hypostyle Hall on each side were three side doors leading to 6 chambers. Some of these chambers were used for the preparation of perfumes and incense which were used in the daily rituals of the temple. Other chambers were used as workrooms, storerooms and treasuries. One of the chambers is thought to have been a library. On the walls of this chamber are scenes of the pharaoh presenting papyrus rolls to Hathor, Horus and Ihy. Around the door here is a temple calender.
On the eastern wall of the Inner Hypostyle Hall is an opening through which provisions and offerings were brought to be used in these chambers. There is also a well that is connected by another passageway to one of the western chambers.
From the "Hall of Appearances" (Inner Hypostyle Hall) another smaller room is entered. This is the "Hall of Offerings". Offerings of food and drink would have been laid out on the portable altars and dedicated to Hathor. The temple priests would eat the offerings as part of their "religious duty". The walls in this room show many scenes of offerings to the goddess.
Stairs lead to the temple roof from both sides of the "Hall of Offerings". The western staircase (on the right) ascends in short sections within the tower. The walls of this staircase show scenes of a procession of various deities, priests, priestesses and the pharaoh climbing the stairs to the roof to celebrate the "New Year Festival". Hathor`s statue was taken from the sanctuary, in a portable shrine, up onto the roof so that the rising sun would rejuvenate the goddess.It is thought that musicians would have played sitting in an enclosed gallery on the first story.
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| Photo shows the "Chapel of the Union with the Disc" on the roof of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. |
The "Chapel of the Union with the Disc" stands in a corner of the roof. It is a building made up of 12 columns with the now familiar Hathor capitals. There is no roof, but it is uncertain as to whether there may have been a removable cloth or wooden roof in place, which would then have been taken off for the celebration of the "New Year Festival". There are high walls on the roof in the area of the chapel itself. These walls prevented the public from witnessing Hathor exposed to the sun`s rays. The statue of the goddess would then have been returned to her sanctuary using stairs in the south-east corner of the roof. Further scenes of the festival adorn the walls of this long straight staircase.
There are twin chapels on the upper story of the temple celebrating the myths associated with the god, Osiris. The first chapel is reached by the ascending staircase. Both chapels consist of a little courtyard, a vestibule and inner chamber. They are also called, "Tombs of Osiris", as it is believed that part of Osiris`s body was buried at Dendera. In one of the myths of Osiris, his evil brother, Seth, tried to kill him by tricking him into a stone coffin and drowning him in the Nile. After Seth discovered that this had not killed Osiris, Seth chopped up his brother and scattered pieces of his body all over Egypt. It is said that Isis, who was Osiris`s wife and sister, scoured the land to find all of the pieces of Osiris`s body.She found all of the body parts apart from Osiris`s manhood, which had been swallowed by a fish. Isis then brought Osiris back to life.
Scenes show Isis using her magic to achieve a pregnancy which resulted in a son, Horus. The Inner Chamber wall reliefs show Isis in the form of a kite hovering over Osiris`s mummified body. She achieves her aim to become pregnant and Horus is depicted as a man standing at Osiris`s feet.
The walls of the first tombs open courtyard show scenes of Osiris`s funeral, attended by priests from Upper and Lower Egypt. Osiris was believed to be able to induce life and was worshipped for his powers of fertility, which were so important to the ancient Egyptians. Without successful harvest the people would suffer severe hardships.
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| The photo shows the copy of the original "zodiac" ceiling in the second chapel of Osiris at Dendera. Courtesy of ETERNAL EGYPT at:- http://www.eternalegypt.co.uk |
The "Second Chapel of Osiris" is again reached from the temple roof. On the ceiling of the vestibule was a circular zodiac. The original work is now in the Louvre in Paris, after it was stolen by French art thieves in 1821. There is now a plaster copy in its place. On the walls Osiris is depicted "in hell" before he was resurrected. There are resurrection scenes on the walls of the inner chamber. The goddess, Nut, is shown on the ceiling here too.
Another set of stairs leads from the roof to the top of the Outer Hypostyle Hall. The walls are decorated with reliefs of various deities. It was in this area that pilgrims waited for miracles and signs form Hathor. Carved into some of the stone blocks are gaming boards, which were used by the pilgrims during their vigils. There is also graffiti from Bonaparte`s soldiers here. Hathor would have been taken here to be shown to the people below, allowing them a brief glimpse of their goddess.
Having returned to the "Hall of Offerings", the Vestibule can be reached which is in front of the sanctuary. The vestibule was also known as the "Hall of the Gods". The only people allowed to visit this area would have been visiting gods, the pharaoh and priests who had been designated by the pharaoh to act in the daily rituals.
To the right of the "Hall of the Gods", is a corridor which ends in the court of the New Year Chapel. Further columns with Hathor capitals are found here and the goddess Nut is depicted on the ceiling here. Reliefs here show Hathor as goddess of dance and mistress of harmony. In the court, reliefs depict precious stones, papyrus, gold and silver been offered to Hathor, as well as showing the "New Year Festival".
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| The "Great Seat" or Sanctuary at Dendera. |
From the "Hall of the Gods" the sanctuary can be reached. This is also known as "The Great Seat" and is the Holy of Holies of the mother goddess, Hathor. The "Great Seat" is actually a self contained building with its own walls and roof. Inside Hathor`s statue would have stood in the naos, hidden by bronze covered doors. The walls in the sanctuary show Hathors` and Horus` sacred barques. There are also reliefs showing the pharaoh worshipping Hathor after breaking he seal of the door.
Encircling the sanctuary is a corridor which leads to chapels and store rooms. The most important of these chapels is at the back of the sanctuary and is dedicated to Upper Egypt. At the back of the chapel was a small niche where another statue of Hathor would have stood. There are a number of crypts located below the chapel walls. The crypts are entered through hidden flagstones and secret doors in the walls. Sacred relics and the temples most prized treasures would have been stored in these crypts. Amongst these would have been the statue of the "ba" of Hathor which was taken to the roof during the New Year festival. Unfortunately during the 1960s reliefs were stolen from inside one of the crypts so there is only one open to the public nowadays.
It is quite difficult to access this crypt. It is only 2 metres high and one metre wide and is entered via a trap door in the Chapel of the Flame. Originally a mummy of a sacred cow was kept here.The decoration on the walls inside the crypt are of a very high quality and are engraved on limestone panels in bas relief. Horus is depicted here as a falcon along with his enemy, the snake of chaos.
On the external walls of the Temple of Hathor are carvings showing the pharaoh Nero (54 - 68 AD) being honored by the nomes or provinces of Egypt. At the back of the temple there are some water spouts shaped as lions` heads which drained the rainwater from the roof.
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| Photo of the lion headed water spouts on the side of the exterior wall of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. |
One of the main scenes on these external walls is that of Cleopatra VII and her son Caesarion. His father was Julius Caesar.They are both making offerings to Hathor.
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| Scene showing Cleopatra and her son Caesarion making offerings to Hathor at Dendera. |
In the middle of the rear wall is a large false door which has a figure of Hathor engraved on it. Over time pilgrims scrapped off pieces of the figure of Hathor as souveniers.The false door stood in front of the niche at the back of the sanctuary where the statue of Hathor stood. This was the nearest that the common people could get to their goddess.
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| Photo of the exterior wall of the Temple of Hathor with the figure of Hathor in the centre between the two water spouts. |
The Temple of Isis can be found to the south of Hathor`s temple.The worship of the goddess Isis was very popular during the Graeco-Roman period and this temple was greatly defaced by the Christians who feared the following that Isis commanded.Within the temple of Isis was a sanctuary where a statue of Osiris was supported by Isis and Nephthys.
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| Photo of the Temple of Isis at Dendera. |
The sacred lake is situated close by and would have provided the priests with water for their ablutions. There is no longer any water in the lake and is full of shrubs and trees. The structure is one of the best preserved of any Egyptian temple and has stairs descending from each corner.The sacred lake would also have been used as the setting for various ceremonies connected the marriage of Hathor and Horus.
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| These two photos show the sacred lake at Dendera. |
Close to the sacred lake are the remains of a mud-brick sanatorium. People visited the sanatorium in the hope that they would be cured of some illness. Some of them would bath in the waters of the sacred lake or drink water that had been poured over the statue of the goddess Hathor. Other natural remedies were also offered by the priests who acted as physicians in this case. Some visitors also believed that by sleeping there they could receive a healing dream from Hathor.
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| Remains of the Birth House of Nectanebo at Dendera. |
Close to the Sanatorium is the mammisi that was built begining in the 30th dynasty and finished by the Ptolemies. The building is made up of a sanctuary, hall and outer court. Wall reliefs depict the birth of Ihy who was the son of Atum and Hathor. Khnum is also depicted modelling Ihy on his potter`s wheel and later Hathor is seen suckling Ihy.
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| Remains of the Roman Birth House at Dendera. |
There are a few remains of a 5th century basilica close to the old mammisi. Another birth house was built for Augustus (30 BC-14 AD). This building was also dedicated to Hathor and her son, Ihy. The god Bes, the patron of childbirth, is seen depicted above the capitals on the columns here. There is a corridor that surrounds the mammisi and also two store rooms to the side of the entrance. Further secret crypts are to be found here but are not accessible to visitors.
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| The remains of the Coptic church at Dendera. |
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| Photo of the complex of buildings around the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. Courtesy of ETERNAL EGYPT at:- http://www.eternalegypt.co.uk |
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© Diane Day 2001-2004
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