The Temple of Dendera is an ancient Egyptian temple dedicated to the goddess Hathor located on the west bank of the Nile, about 4 km from the river, about 2.5 km southwest of the city of Dendera (formerly called Tantira) in Upper Egypt, and about 60 km north of Luxor. The temple is one of the most preserved ancient temples in Egypt.
The construction of temples by the Ptolemaic kings was part of their religious activity, as they lived in Alexandria, a distinct Hellenistic city, and they introduced this culture to Egypt, and at the same time they also took care to preserve the Egyptian culture by building new temples and restoring old temples. The temples were built while preserving the original Egyptian architectural traditions. The Ptolemaic kings decorated the temples with inscriptions in which they were depicted as pharaohs in hieroglyphs as did the ancient pharaohs. The Roman rule that replaced the Ptolemaic rule continued this tradition.
Construction of the temple began in 54 BC during the reign of Ptolemy XII. His daughter Cleopatra VII continued building the temple during her co-reign with her two brothers Ptolemy 13 and Ptolemy 14. The temple was completed during the reign of Tiberius 185 years after construction began. On the temple walls there are shrines of all the Roman emperors who ruled Rome for the next 200 years from Octavius (from 30 BC) to Marcus Aurelius who ruled between 161 and 180. The temple complex is one of the last major achievements of Pharaonic culture.
The buildings in the complex include:
From the large column, go to the interior style which includes 6 columns arranged in 3 rows on either side of the aisle. This hall is called the "Concert Hall". In this hall appeared a statue of Hathor from the pesticide for the purpose of holding religious ceremonies. On either side of the hall are 3 small rooms that were used to prepare for daily celebrations. On the walls of the hall are scenes showing the king participating in the basic ceremonies of the temple. An opening was found in the eastern wall through which offerings were made daily. Parallel to it, on the west side, there is an opening that served as a passage to the well.
After that, there is the offering hall, which is a transverse hall, which is a passage to a large hall, "the main hall", where offerings are dedicated to these offerings. On the western side of the offering hall is a staircase used to ascend to the roof. However, this led to the main hall, which houses the exterminator, and is the most sacred place in the temple. Around the Exterminating Room there were 11 worship rooms for other deities who were associated with blasphemy. In the past, the pesticide contained a statue of Hathor in addition to a portable tool in the form of a boat, which served as a worship tool whose function was to carry the goddess on her journey to meet her husband, the god Horus, in the temple of Edfu.
On the back wall of the pesticide there is a niche in front of the "hearing ear" worship room on the other side of the wall. Through this place, the goddess could hear the prayers addressed to her from this room.
On the roof of the inner part of the temple are two worship rooms located opposite each other. These rooms were dedicated to the death and resurrection of the god Osiris and other gods like death. In one of the worship rooms is the zodiac. The wheel contains Egyptian astronomical figures. The wheel has the shapes of Taurus and Libra. The scientific expedition that accompanied Napoleon's trip to Egypt drew the zodiac, and in 1820 the wheel was removed from the roof, and later transferred to the Louvre. Champollion dated the wheel to the Ptolemaic period, and the history of modern research goes back to the first century AD. Dendra Tower is one of the elements that demanded the Egyptian government, through former minister and archaeologist Zahi Khawas, to immediately return it to Egypt.
Below the temple there are 12 places. Some of the inscriptions on the walls of the niches date back to the time of Ptolemy the Twelve. The rooms are used to store various religious tools and symbols.
The Beautiful Encounter Festival is an annual festival that is held in the third season of the third month to commemorate the divine conjunction between the god Horus, who dwelt in the Temple of Edbo, and his goddess Hathor, who dwelt in the Temple of Dendera, north of Edfu. The celebration takes place every year on the first day of the moon rise in the third month of summer when the Nile begins to flood. At this ceremony, a statue of the goddess Hathor was brought to Edfu on a boat to unite with Horus. After a number of celebrations, a statue of Hathor was brought to his hometown in the Temple of Edfu and placed there with a statue of Horus along with two other statues of the gods. Statues were erected there for the following nights until the end of the festival that took place when the moon turned full. The purpose of the festival was to symbolize fertility and rebirth.
The price of the entry ticket for Egyptians is 10 Egyptian pounds, on different days.
Ticket price for Egyptian students: -
The ticket price for students is only 5 pounds, provided that the university card for the current academic year is shown.
Ticket price for foreigners: -
The price of entrance ticket for foreigners is only 100 pounds.
Ticket price for foreign students: -
The value of an entry ticket for a foreign student is 50 pounds.
History
According to ancient texts, temples were built on this site in ancient times. The texts indicate that the site is sacred to those who were already in the pre-dynastic period. Temples were built on the site during the Early Kingdom, where the tomb of Pepi I, the third king in the Sixth Dynasty (23-24 century BC) appeared on the temple wall, and the temple was built during the New Kingdom by Kings Thutmose III, Amenhotep III and Ramses II Ramses III. The Ptolemaic period's choice of the temple construction site was a direct continuation of the ancient temples that dedicated the site to the Temple of Hathor.
The construction of temples by the Ptolemaic kings was part of their religious activity, as they lived in Alexandria, a distinct Hellenistic city, and they introduced this culture to Egypt, and at the same time they also took care to preserve the Egyptian culture by building new temples and restoring old temples. The temples were built while preserving the original Egyptian architectural traditions. The Ptolemaic kings decorated the temples with inscriptions in which they were depicted as pharaohs in hieroglyphs as did the ancient pharaohs. The Roman rule that replaced the Ptolemaic rule continued this tradition.
Construction of the temple began in 54 BC during the reign of Ptolemy XII. His daughter Cleopatra VII continued building the temple during her co-reign with her two brothers Ptolemy 13 and Ptolemy 14. The temple was completed during the reign of Tiberius 185 years after construction began. On the temple walls there are shrines of all the Roman emperors who ruled Rome for the next 200 years from Octavius (from 30 BC) to Marcus Aurelius who ruled between 161 and 180. The temple complex is one of the last major achievements of Pharaonic culture.
Temple complex
The complex, known as the Temple of Dendra, is a large complex that includes, in addition to the main temple of Hathor, additional buildings. The complex covers a large area of about 40,000 square meters and is surrounded by a thick wall of mud bricks. Like almost all Egyptian temples, the temple faces the Nile from the front, but because of the curves of the Nile instead, the temple faces north instead of the general east-west direction used in Egyptian temples in the Nile Valley.
The buildings in the complex include:
- The temple of the goddess Hathor - the main structure in the complex
- Sacred lake measures 28 x 33 feet
- Sanatorium - patients who sought to heal with the help of the gods came to this building, and may have also sought advice from priests. Sanatorium buildings have also been found in other locations, but this is likely the only surviving structure originally intended for this role.
- Roman Nativity House - Dedicated to Ibn Hathor and Horus he (Hai) Built by Emperor Augustus shortly after the annexation of Egypt to the Roman Empire, and decorated during the reign of Roman Emperor Trajan
- The temple of the birth of Isis
- Gates of Roman Emperor Domitian and Trajan
- Coptic Christian Church from the 5th century
- Roman stall outside the wall. The last building was the Coptic Church from the 5th century.
The temple of the goddess Hathor
The Temple of the Gods is the main structure at the site. This complex did not include a large pillar and courtyard that was usual in Egyptian temples. It may not have been built for economic reasons. The complex begins in a large vertical hall with 24 columns arranged in 4 rows, and three columns on either side of the aisle, on the main road of the temple. Each column in the hall bears a title with a goddess face pierced with a cow face design. All titles have been destroyed since ancient times. The vertical ceiling is shaped like a sky and is decorated with these knots that swallow the sun and stars every evening and give birth to them in the morning at dawn. In many sections of the ceiling, the original color has survived. The temple was decorated during the reign of the Roman Emperor Tiberius in AD 34.
From the large column, go to the interior style which includes 6 columns arranged in 3 rows on either side of the aisle. This hall is called the "Concert Hall". In this hall appeared a statue of Hathor from the pesticide for the purpose of holding religious ceremonies. On either side of the hall are 3 small rooms that were used to prepare for daily celebrations. On the walls of the hall are scenes showing the king participating in the basic ceremonies of the temple. An opening was found in the eastern wall through which offerings were made daily. Parallel to it, on the west side, there is an opening that served as a passage to the well.
After that, there is the offering hall, which is a transverse hall, which is a passage to a large hall, "the main hall", where offerings are dedicated to these offerings. On the western side of the offering hall is a staircase used to ascend to the roof. However, this led to the main hall, which houses the exterminator, and is the most sacred place in the temple. Around the Exterminating Room there were 11 worship rooms for other deities who were associated with blasphemy. In the past, the pesticide contained a statue of Hathor in addition to a portable tool in the form of a boat, which served as a worship tool whose function was to carry the goddess on her journey to meet her husband, the god Horus, in the temple of Edfu.
On the back wall of the pesticide there is a niche in front of the "hearing ear" worship room on the other side of the wall. Through this place, the goddess could hear the prayers addressed to her from this room.
On the roof of the inner part of the temple are two worship rooms located opposite each other. These rooms were dedicated to the death and resurrection of the god Osiris and other gods like death. In one of the worship rooms is the zodiac. The wheel contains Egyptian astronomical figures. The wheel has the shapes of Taurus and Libra. The scientific expedition that accompanied Napoleon's trip to Egypt drew the zodiac, and in 1820 the wheel was removed from the roof, and later transferred to the Louvre. Champollion dated the wheel to the Ptolemaic period, and the history of modern research goes back to the first century AD. Dendra Tower is one of the elements that demanded the Egyptian government, through former minister and archaeologist Zahi Khawas, to immediately return it to Egypt.
Below the temple there are 12 places. Some of the inscriptions on the walls of the niches date back to the time of Ptolemy the Twelve. The rooms are used to store various religious tools and symbols.
Festivals at the temple
New Year's Day - During the ceremony, a statue of Hathor was carried on a sacred carriage that ascended the stairs to the roof, where she had a special worship room where she waited for the sunrise after the ceremony of union with the sun wheel, which included a special prayer.
The Beautiful Encounter Festival is an annual festival that is held in the third season of the third month to commemorate the divine conjunction between the god Horus, who dwelt in the Temple of Edbo, and his goddess Hathor, who dwelt in the Temple of Dendera, north of Edfu. The celebration takes place every year on the first day of the moon rise in the third month of summer when the Nile begins to flood. At this ceremony, a statue of the goddess Hathor was brought to Edfu on a boat to unite with Horus. After a number of celebrations, a statue of Hathor was brought to his hometown in the Temple of Edfu and placed there with a statue of Horus along with two other statues of the gods. Statues were erected there for the following nights until the end of the festival that took place when the moon turned full. The purpose of the festival was to symbolize fertility and rebirth.
Visiting dates: -
From seven in the morning until five in the evening.
Ticket price:-
Entrance ticket price for Egyptians: -
The price of the entry ticket for Egyptians is 10 Egyptian pounds, on different days.
Ticket price for Egyptian students: -
The ticket price for students is only 5 pounds, provided that the university card for the current academic year is shown.
Ticket price for foreigners: -
The price of entrance ticket for foreigners is only 100 pounds.
Ticket price for foreign students: -
The value of an entry ticket for a foreign student is 50 pounds.
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