Egypt: Temple of Dendera

Egypt: Dendera, the cosmos of Hathor
Enclosed within its rugged mud brick walls the temple precincts at Dendera seem to be an island left untouched by time. Particularly in the early hours of the morning, when foxes roam around the ruins of the birth house or venture down the steep stairs leading to the Sacred Lake. Stepping into the actual temple is like entering an ancient time machine, especially if you look up to the recently cleaned astronomical ceiling. This is a vast cosmos filled with stars, hour-goddesses and zodiac signs, many of which are personified by weird creatures like snakes walking on long legs and birds with human arms and jackal heads. On the columns just below the ceiling you encounter the mysterious gaze of the patron deity of the temple: Hathor. Deeper into the building (which dates from around 0 AD) is the crypt with the famous "light-bulb" reliefs where the golden statue of Hathor's soul was kept. From there you can follow the route of a New Year procession to the roof of the temple where Hathor's golden soul was rejuvenated by the rays of the sun on the first day of the Egyptian year.

[EGYPT 29504] 'Dendera Temple seen from its enclosure wall.' An early winter sun rises above the grounds of the Hathor Temple at Dendera, here seen from its enclosure wall. In front of the actual temple lies the rectangular basin of the sacred lake, from the bottom of which rises a grove of palms. The enclosure wall was built of sun-dried mud-brick and was several metres thick. After the heyday of the temple, villagers built their simple houses on the wall, deeming it a safe, protectable location. The ruined results of their activities can be seen in the foreground of the picture. The temple itself dates from the first century BC and the first century AD. Photo Paul Smit.
[EGYPT 29506] 'Dendera Temple seen from its enclosure wall.' An early winter sun rises above the grounds of the Hathor Temple at Dendera, seen from its enclosure wall. To the right we see the front of the outer hypostyle hall, which dates to the first century AD. The centre of the picture is occupied by the mammisi or 'birth house', which was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. Photo Paul Smit.
[EGYPT 29508] 'Sacred lake and mammisi at Dendera.' On the grounds of the Hathor Temple at Dendera a low wall punctuated by gates surrounds the rectangular basin of the sacred lake. In the heyday of the temple the lake provided a reservoir for the water used in offerings and rituals of purification, and it was there that the priests bathed at dawn before entering the temple to begin their service. Empty of water, a grove of palms nowadays occupies the bottom of the reservoir. In the background we see the mammisi or 'birth house', which was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. A temple may have been present at Dendera as early as the reign of Pepi I (around 2270 BC) but most of the present buildings and remains can be dated from the fourth century BC till the first century AD. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[EGYPT 29510] 'Roman mammisi at Dendera.' The Roman mammisi on the grounds of the Hathor Temple at Dendera has five remaining columns on its southern side. It was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. A mammisi or 'birth house' is an independent structure within the temple precincts in which the mysteries associated with the birth of a child-god were celebrated. In this case that is Ihy (also called Harsomptus), the son of Hathor and Horus. To the right (in the shade) are the remains of a Christian basilica of the 5th century AD. Photo Paul Smit.
[EGYPT 29512] 'Creation of the cosmos in Dendera's Isis Temple.' Some of the most famous images from the temple at Dendera portray human figures next to bulb-like objects reminiscent of oversized light bulbs. This one is located on a interior wall of Dendera's Isis Temple, which is a separate building located south of the main Hathor Temple. Similar images can be found in the crypt beneath the southern wall of the Hathor Temple. What we witness here is the creation of the cosmos, in the form of an elongated bulb. It springs from a lotus-flower, the lotus being the first object that floated on the primordial sea, according to Egyptian cosmology. From the flower also appears a snake, which is equated to the rising sun and the god Harsomptus and which is enveloped by the cosmos. Harsomptus is also present in human form, standing behind the bulb and his ka (living essence) is kneeling beneath the bulb. The cosmos-bulb with its sun-snake is supported by a Djed pillar with arms, symbol of stability. The Isis Temple dates from the first century BC. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[EGYPT 29514] 'Outer hypostyle hall of Hathor Temple at Dendera.' The columns in the outer hypostyle hall (or pronaos) of the Hathor Temple at Dendera are crowned by four-sided capitals carved with the face of the cow-eared goddess. The faces symbolize the four cardinal points of the universe and stress the universal character of the sky goddess Hathor, who was also called "Lady with the four Faces". The square structure that is placed on top of the actual face is a sistrum, a ritual musical instrument that produced a rustling sound that was thought to please Hathor. The ceiling of the hall has recently been cleaned of soot and dust and is decorated with a complex set of astronomical figures, constellations, planets and a zodiac. The shafts of the columns bear the image of a pharaoh (recognizable by his blue crown) who can be identified by his cartouches as the Roman emperor Claudius. This part of the Dendera Temple was built during the Roman period (first century AD). Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[EGYPT 29516] 'Hathor headed columns in Dendera.' The columns in the outer hypostyle hall (or pronaos) of the Hathor Temple at Dendera are crowned by four-sided capitals carved with the face of the cow-eared goddess. The faces symbolize the four cardinal points of the universe and stress the universal character of the sky goddess Hathor, who was also called "Lady with the four Faces". The square structure that is placed on top of the actual face is a sistrum, a ritual musical instrument that produced a rustling sound that was thought to please Hathor. The tiny plates which would make the sound are not visible here, however. Instead a scene is depicted with a seated Hathor suckling the child-god Harsomptus. This part of the Dendera Temple was built during the Roman period (first century AD). Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[EGYPT 29518] 'Hathor headed columns in Dendera.' The columns in the outer hypostyle hall (or pronaos) of the Hathor Temple at Dendera are crowned by four-sided capitals carved with the face of the cow-eared goddess. The faces symbolize the four cardinal points of the universe and stress the universal character of the sky goddess Hathor, who was also called "Lady with the four Faces". The square structure that is placed on top of the actual face is a sistrum, a ritual musical instrument that produced a rustling sound that was thought to please Hathor. The tiny plates which would make the sound are not visible here, however. Instead a scene is depicted with a seated Hathor suckling the child-god Harsomptus. This part of the Dendera Temple was built during the Roman period (first century AD). Photo Mick Palarczyk.

[EGYPT 29505] 'Dendera Temple seen from its enclosure wall.' An early winter sun rises above the grounds of the Hathor Temple at Dendera, seen from its enclosure wall. To the right we see the front of the outer hypostyle hall, which dates to the first century AD. The centre of the picture is occupied by the mammisi or 'birth house', which was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. Photo Paul Smit.
[EGYPT 29507] 'Sacred lake and mammisi at Dendera.' On the grounds of the Hathor Temple at Dendera a low wall punctuated by gates surrounds the rectangular basin of the sacred lake. In the heyday of the temple the lake provided a reservoir for the water used in offerings and rituals of purification, and it was there that the priests bathed at dawn before entering the temple to begin their service. Empty of water, a grove of palms nowadays occupies the bottom of the reservoir. In the background we see the mammisi or 'birth house', which was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Augustus. A temple may have been present at Dendera as early as the reign of Pepi I (around 2270 BC) but most of the present buildings and remains can be dated from the fourth century BC till the first century AD. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[EGYPT 29509] 'Sacred lake at Dendera.' On the grounds of the Hathor Temple at Dendera a flight of stairs descends into the rectangular basin of the sacred lake. In the heyday of the temple the lake provided a reservoir for the water used in offerings and rituals of purification. And it was there that the priests bathed at dawn before entering the temple, visible on the right, to begin their service. The lake may also have been the stage for reenactments of Egyptian myths, such as Isis looking for the body of Osiris in the Nile. Empty of water, a grove of palms nowadays occupies the bottom of the reservoir. A temple may have been present at Dendera as early as the reign of Pepi I (around 2270 BC) but most of the present buildings and remains can be dated from the fourth century BC till the first century AD. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[EGYPT 29511] 'Isis Temple at Dendera.' A temple guard is resting against the porch of the Isis Temple at Dendera. The Isis Temple (built in the 1st century AD) is a separate building located south of the main temple, which is dedicated to Hathor. The southern exterior wall of the Hathor Temple can be seen on the right, with reliefs of the famous Queen Cleopatra VII and her son pharaoh Ptolemy XV (Caesarion). On the left we see the grove of palms which rises from the bottom of the sacred lake. Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[EGYPT 29513] 'Outer hypostyle hall of Hathor Temple at Dendera.' The columns in the outer hypostyle hall (or pronaos) of the Hathor Temple at Dendera are crowned by four-sided capitals carved with the face of the cow-eared goddess. The faces symbolize the four cardinal points of the universe and stress the universal character of the sky goddess Hathor, who was also called "Lady with the four Faces". The square structure that is placed on top of the actual face is a sistrum, a ritual musical instrument that produced a rustling sound that was thought to please Hathor. The ceiling of the hall has recently been cleaned of soot and dust. One strip has been left uncleaned however and this is visible as a black zone in the upper half of the picture. This part of the Dendera Temple was built during the Roman period (first century AD). Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[EGYPT 29515] 'Outer hypostyle hall of Hathor Temple at Dendera.' The columns in the outer hypostyle hall (or pronaos) of the Hathor Temple at Dendera are crowned by four-sided capitals carved with the face of the cow-eared goddess. The faces symbolize the four cardinal points of the universe and stress the universal character of the sky goddess Hathor, who was also called "Lady with the four Faces". The square structure that is placed on top of the actual face is a sistrum, a ritual musical instrument that produced a rustling sound that was thought to please Hathor. The ceiling of the hall has recently been cleaned of soot and dust and is decorated with a complex set of astronomical figures, constellations, planets and a zodiac. The shafts of the columns bear the image of a pharaoh (recognizable by his blue crown) who can be identified by his cartouches as the Roman emperor Claudius. This part of the Dendera Temple was built during the Roman period (first century AD). Photo Mick Palarczyk.
[EGYPT 29517] 'Hathor headed columns in Dendera.' The columns in the outer hypostyle hall (or pronaos) of the Hathor Temple at Dendera are crowned by four-sided capitals carved with the face of the cow-eared goddess. The faces symbolize the four cardinal points of the universe and stress the universal character of the sky goddess Hathor, who was also called "Lady with the four Faces". The square structure that is placed on top of the actual face is a sistrum, a ritual musical instrument that produced a rustling sound that was thought to please Hathor. The tiny plates which would make the sound are not visible here, however. Instead a scene is depicted with a seated Hathor suckling the child-god Harsomptus. This part of the Dendera Temple was built during the Roman period (first century AD). Photo Mick Palarczyk.