Temple of Dendera
Dendera
Temple of Dendera
Dendera
Temple of Dendera on the western bank, 5 km north-west of Qena .
Its ancient Egyptian name was iwnt or iwnt-tA-nTrt “iwnet of the goddess”.
Or Ht-Hr nb(t) iwnt "Hathor lady of iwnt“.
in Greek as tntyres (Tentyris) and in Arabic as دندرة (Dendera).
capital of the 6th nome of Upper Egypt.
symbolized by a crocodile, with a head surmounted by a feather known as ik
Temple of Dendera & Hathor Ht-Hr
The principal divinity of Dendera, at the head of a triad (Hathor, Horus Behdety & Ihy).
Her name Ht-Hr means the "House of Horus“.
in the necropolis of Thebes & took the title of "Lady of the West“.
Her sacred emblem was the sycamore tree in Memphis & she was the “lady of Sycamore”.
In Sinai, she was "Lady of Turquoise".
in the myth of “destruction of mankind” in which she was assimilated with the lioness goddess Sekhmet.
Temple of Dendera
daughter and the eye of Re
a mother-goddess assimilated with Nut.
goddess of beauty, pleasure and music, identified with Aphrodite
Therefore, one of her emblems was the Sistrum, the ancient Egyptian sSSt, which is a sort of a rattle or a musical instruments played by Hathor's priestesses during her feasts.
represented as a woman with a cow's head, or simply as a cow. In Late Period, she was also represented as a lady with cow's ears.
Horus Behdety Hr-bHdty
One of the various forms of the god Horus.
His name means "he who belongs to Behdet (Edfu)".
Ihy iHi
Ihy or Horus-Ihy is the 3rd member of the triad
as a naked child playing the rattle of Sistrum & was known as "Sistrum player"
Festivals of the Temple of Dendera
a-The festival of the Good Reunion:
Hb n sxn, or the "festival of the union".
in the two temples of Dendera and Edfu.
in the eleventh month of the Egyptian year.
the statue of Hathor was carried in her sacred boat & sailed from Dendera upstream to meet at midway the other procession of her husband (Horus Behdety) that sailed downstream form Edfu.
Hathor & Horus headed to the temple of Edfu, where she stayed for two weeks with her husband.
Temple of Dendera
festival of the New Year's Day
Hathor was carried in her shrine by priests in a big procession to the roof of the temple.
in a shrine on the roof, where the statue's face was revealed to be united with the sun of the new day.
Xnm iTn "uniting with the sun disk"
.
Temple of Dendera
Historical Background of the Temple
the temple had Pharaonic roots dating from the Old Kingdom (Khufu of the 4th dynasty and restored later by king Pepi I of the 6th Dynasty).
reconstructed later by Thutmos III in the 18th Dynasty.
The most ancient part in the complex of Dendera is the Mammisi of Nectanebo of the 30th Dynasty.
Under Ptolemy VIII Eurgetes II, the temple gained more attention
Ptolemy X granted with the small temple of Isis.
The standing body of the great temple of Hathor itself is dated to 16th of July 54 B.C., in the time of Ptolemy XII Auletes (88-51 B.C.).
Cleopatra VII also has a marvelous scene with her son Caesaron on the exterior rear wall of the temple.
The temple was completed in the Roman period, specifically in the reign of Tiberius. (Greek inscription of dedication on the upper edge of the cornice of the great hypostyle hall).
The decoration of the temple continued by the Roman emperors Calgula (37-41 A.D.), Claudius (41-54 A.D.) and Neron (54-68 A.D.).
The northern gateway shows scenes of the emperors Domitian (81-96 A.D.), Nerva (96-98 A.D.) and Trajan (98-117 A.D.).
a-The Northern Gateway (propylon):
Originally, it was surrounded by three enclosure walls, only remains of the inner mud-brick wall have survived.
The northern gateway shows religious scenes of the Roman emperors Domitian, Nerva, and Trajan.
b-The Façade of the Temple:
Along path (dromos).
the façade of the pronaos is richly decorated
It consists of six Hathoric columns, joined by screen-walls
The screen-walls are depicted with scenes
The columns of the façade are arranged three on each side of the entrance way.
The top of the façade is decorated by a concave Egyptian cornice.
c-The Pronaos (Great Hypostyle Hall):
eighteen Hathoric columns supporting the roof.
Together with the six outer columns, there is a total of 24 columns in this hall
arranged in six rows, each with four columns.
religious scenes of the Roman emperors Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Neron.
On the inner face of the screen-walls are scenes that show the king (emperor Neron) on both sides of the entrance leaving his palace and headed to the temple led by priest burning incense.
The procession also includes five priests carrying five standards.
the jackal god representing Thinis or Abydos, the Ibis head of Thoth of Hemopolis, the falcon of Edfu, the emblem of an ancient goddess of Thebes and the sistum of Dendera.
The great hypostyle hall is provided by two small entrances on both eastern and western sides
The ceiling:
It is divided into seven registers displaying astronomical scenes.
it is obvious that this part of the temple suffered fire caused by the first Christians.
The central register is ornamented with twenty-one figures of winged vultures and winged sun disks alternatively.
The other registers are arranged three on each side.
The easternmost and westernmost registers are represented with a cemetery of the elongated figure of Nut with her hands and feet on earth to represent the four pillars of the universe
.
The first register from the eastern wall :
1st row the extended body of Nut wearing a tight robe
Close to her mouth is a solar disk. There is another disk represented in the curve between her body and feet
2nd row eighteen barks carrying eighteen decans
3rd row 6 zodiacal signs: Aquarius, Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, and cancer.
The seventh register
1st-row isan extending body of the sky goddess Nut
2nd row ornamented with eighteen barks carrying eighteen decans
3rd row decorated with the other 6 zodiacal signs: Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, and Capricorn, in addition to the twelve hours of the night
Temple of Dendera
d-The hall of appearance (2nd Hypostyle Hall):
where Hathor would appear in her festivals
6 columns
bases made of granite, while the shafts are made of sandstone.
cartouches that accompany the scenes of founding the temple and presenting offerings to the temple's gods are left empty
To the right of the entrance to this hall (west side) are 2 scenes.
1st: the king leaving the palace
2nd: he is holding a hoe to beak the ground and laying the foundation deposit of the temple before Hathor.
On the opposite left wall (east side) is a scene that shows the same attitude of the king
This hall is flanked by 3 chambers on each side.
to the left of the entrance (east side):
laboratory
a storeroom
a vegetation room
the last room is provided with a small doorway leading outside the temple.
The other three rooms on the right (west)
treasury
storeroom to store sacred Nile vessels
hall with a staircase leading to the top of the temple
The second register:
representations of the winds
the night hours and six months of the year.
The third register:
sun cycle and the twelve hours of the day
The fourth register:
the central register
The fifth register:
the cycle of the moon with a figuration of fourteen figures.
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