The City of Edfu
Edfu temple
built on a south-north axis.
The complex is surrounded by A thick mud-brick wall.
A corridor at the two sides and the rear of the temple.
consists of a pylon, open court, pronaos, hypostyle hall, 2 antechambers & sanctuary.
outer corridor
.
a-The Pylon:
2 granite statues of Horus as a falcon.
cavities to receive flag poles.
carved with the usual scenes of king (Ptolemy Auletes) smiting enemies.
inner face pylon, at the base of the walls on either side are scenes of the festival of the Good Reunion.
on the right hand wall (east of the temple) boats of Horus and Hathor sailing upstream in the Nile.
three sides: east, west and south by a colonnade (32 columns).
shafts represented with king making offerings to the temple's gods.
walls represented with scenes and inscriptions of the legendary foundation of the temple & rituals of Horus defeats Seth.
western and eastern sides of the court is a doorway leading to the outer passage.
on the left (west) side of the gateway leading to hypostyle hall is a black granite statue of Horus as a falcon wearing a double crown.
c-The Hypostyle Hall (pronaos):
The façade :screen walls extending between columns.
twelve columns. capitals in form of flowers.
walls show the traditional scenes of founding the temple with traces of colors
2 small chambers flanking doorway:
- to the left (west) side: Consecration Chamber (the golden water vessels).
- The chamber to the right is the library of the temple.
Above doorway representations of 4 senses: hearing, sight, taste and reason. symbolized by a man showing gratitude to a scribe's pallet.
The doorway leading to 2nd hypostyle hall is surmounted by a sun as a winged scarab (the morning sun) guided by 2 falcon gods in the horizon.
d-The Second Hypostyle Hall:
supported by 12 columns.
The scenes again show the foundation of the temple by Ptolemy IV..
On the left (west) side are 2 small chambers (south to north):
Nile Chamber (Nile water was kept, Hapy and the king presenting Nile water to gods).
laboratory of the temple (ointments and divine perfumes were made).
e-The Offering Hall
where sacred offerings were presented
flanked by two passages leading to a staircase in each side.
the one in the east has walls represented with the procession.
The other in the west has walls depicted with the descending procession.
f-The Vestibule
flanked by 2 side chambers:
to the right (east): preceded by 6 steps leading to an open court, in turn leads to a chamber surmounted by a scene of 7 figures of Hathor.
the walls: Ptolemy IV |& his wife performing offering rituals before Horus & Hathor.
the left (west) side wall: Ptolemy IV & his wife honoring their parents Ptolemy III.
2. The other chamber to the west of the vestibule is a chapel of Min & Hathor.
- birth scenes of Horus.
g-The Sanctuary:
a small base, where the sacred boat of Horus was placed.
Behind it is a well preserved Naos made of granite, bearing name of Nectanebo II.
Scenes of Nectanebo II.
h-Subsidiary Chapels
Around the sanctuary is a corridor, into which open 10 chapels.
dedicated to the cult of Min, Osiris (3 chapels), Khonsu, Hathor, & Re.
chapel of linen & the chapel of the throne of gods.
The chapel lying at the rear of the sanctuary contains a modern copy of the sacred boat of Horus
i-The Corridor around the Inner Parts of the Temple:
doorways in the open court and the 2nd hypostyle hall.
The left (west) side wall carved with scenes of the triumph of Horus over Seth.
where it gets narrower due to the construction of the wall of the pronaos there are 3 scenes:
king spearing a knife into the body of a hippopotamus
Imhotep reading a text.
the king feeding a goose to present it as an offering to Horus
On the north wall of the inner face of the corridor, on the west side are scenes related to the coronation of the king.
In the east wall of this corridor is a staircase that leads to a well, perhaps a Nilometer.
The outer face of this corridor is decorated with reliefs showing the king before the gods of the temple.
lion-headed spouts.
between Esna and Aswan known as
capital of 2nd nome of Upper Egypt
In Greek as Apollonopolis, the "city of Apollo“ = Horus.
in Coptic Etbo or Edbo and in Arabic, Edfu.
Horus Behdety (Horus of Edfu), Hathor & Horus Sema-Tawy (unifier of the two lands).
.The Legend of Horus Behdety
-The festivals of the Temple of Edfu:
a-The festival of the Coronation of the Falcon (5th month, inner face of enclosure of temple).
b-The festival of Victory of Horus (6th month, the inner face of the enclosure wall of the temple).
c-The festival of the New Year's Day (on the walls of the stairway leading to the roof of the ).
d-The festival of the Good Reunion (on the base of the walls of the court).
Historical Background of the Temple
best preserved Egyptian temple.
started in time of Ptolemy III, Euergetes I in 237 B.C.
completed in 212 B.C. under the reign of Ptolemy IV.
The pronaos constructed in the time of Ptolemy VIII Euregetes II.
pylon, forecourt and enclosure wall built during time of Ptolemy IX Soter II and Ptolemy X Alexander I.
decoration finished in 57 B.C. under Ptolemy XII Auletes (Neos Dionysos).
about 180 years to be built.
the original temple had been planed by Imhotep of 3rd dynasty.
base of a pylon of a Ramsses III has been revealed east of the temple.
Edfu temple
built on a south-north axis.
The complex is surrounded by A thick mud-brick wall.
A corridor at the two sides and the rear of the temple.
consists of a pylon, open court, pronaos, hypostyle hall, 2 antechambers & sanctuary.
outer corridor
a-The Pylon:
2 granite statues of Horus as a falcon.
cavities to receive flag poles.
carved with the usual scenes of king (Ptolemy Auletes) smiting enemies.
inner face pylon, at the base of the walls on either side are scenes of the festival of the Good Reunion.
on the right hand wall (east of the temple) boats of Horus and Hathor sailing upstream in the Nile
b-The Open Court:
three sides: east, west and south by a colonnade (32 columns).
shafts represented with king making offerings to the temple's gods.
walls represented with scenes and inscriptions of the legendary foundation of the temple & rituals of Horus defeats Seth.
western and eastern sides of the court is a doorway leading to the outer passage.
on the left (west) side of the gateway leading to hypostyle hall is a black granite statue of Horus as a falcon wearing a double crown.
c-The Hypostyle Hall (pronaos):
The façade :screen walls extending between columns.
twelve columns. capitals in form of flowers.
walls show the traditional scenes of founding the temple with traces of colors
2 small chambers flanking doorway:
- to the left (west) side: Consecration Chamber (the golden water vessels).
The chamber to the right is the library of the temple.
Above doorway representations of 4 senses: hearing, sight, taste and reason. symbolized by a man showing gratitude to a scribe's pallet.
The doorway leading to 2nd hypostyle hall is surmounted by a sun as a winged scarab (the morning sun) guided by 2 falcon gods in the horizon.
d-The Second Hypostyle Hall:
supported by 12 columns.
The scenes again show the foundation of the temple by Ptolemy IV..
On the left (west) side are 2 small chambers (south to north):
Nile Chamber (Nile water was kept, Hapy and the king presenting Nile water to gods).
laboratory of the temple (ointments and divine perfumes were made).
e-The Offering Hall
where sacred offerings were presented
flanked by two passages leading to a staircase in each side.
the one in the east has walls represented with the procession.
The other in the west has walls depicted with the descending procession.
-The Vestibule
flanked by 2 side chambers:
to the right (east): preceded by 6 steps leading to an open court, in turn leads to a chamber surmounted by a scene of 7 figures of Hathor.
the walls: Ptolemy IV |& his wife performing offering rituals before Horus & Hathor.
the left (west) side wall: Ptolemy IV & his wife honoring their parents Ptolemy III.
2. The other chamber to the west of the vestibule is a chapel of Min & Hathor
- birth scenes of Horus.
g-The Sanctuary:
a small base, where the sacred boat of Horus was placed.
Behind it is a well preserved Naos made of granite, bearing name of Nectanebo II.
Scenes of Nectanebo II.
h-Subsidiary Chapels
Around the sanctuary is a corridor, into which open 10 chapels.
dedicated to the cult of Min, Osiris (3 chapels), Khonsu, Hathor, & Re.
chapel of linen & the chapel of the throne of gods.
The chapel lying at the rear of the sanctuary contains a modern copy of the sacred boat of Horus
i-The Corridor around the Inner Parts of the Temple:
doorways in the open court and the 2nd hypostyle hall.
The left (west) side wall carved with scenes of the triumph of Horus over Seth.
where it gets narrower due to the construction of the wall of the pronaos there are 3 scenes:
king spearing a knife into the body of a hippopotamus
Imhotep reading a text.
the king feeding a goose to present it as an offering to Horus
On the north wall of the inner face of the corridor, on the west side are scenes related to the coronation of the king.
In the east wall of this corridor is a staircase that leads to a well, perhaps a Nilometer.
The outer face of this corridor is decorated with reliefs showing the king before the gods of the temple.
lion-headed spouts.
Other Buildings of the Complex of Edfu
a-The Mammisi
constructed by Ptolemy VIII, & decorated in the reign of Ptolemy IX,.
open court, a vestibule and a sanctuary
The open court has a façade decorated with columns joined by screen walls
Above the capitals of the columns are figures of Bes
Other Buildings of the Complex of Edfu
The birth room of the mammisi show offerings made by the king Ptolemy VIII and the gods.
scenes that show the birth of Horus Sema-Tawy and his nursing by several goddesses
At the center of the south wall of the same room is a coronation scene representing Thoth establishing the reign of the king
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