Dendera Temple complex ( Ancient Egyptian: ''Iunet'' or ''Tantere''; the 19th-century English spelling in most sources, including Belzoni, was Tentyra; also spelled Denderah) is located about south-east of

Dendera Dendera ( ar, دَنْدَرة ''Dandarah''; grc, Τεντυρις or Τεντυρα; Bohairic cop, ⲛⲓⲧⲉⲛⲧⲱⲣⲓ, translit=Nitentōri; Sahidic cop, ⲛⲓⲧⲛⲧⲱⲣⲉ, translit=Nitntōre), also spelled ''Denderah'', ancient ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. It is one of the best-preserved

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

complexes in Egypt. The area was used as the sixth nome of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient E ...

, south of Abydos.

Description

The whole complex covers some 40,000 square meters and is surrounded by a hefty mudbrick enclosed wall. Dendera was inhabited in prehistory, a useful oasis on the banks of the Nile. It seems that pharaoh

Pepi I Pepi I Meryre (also Pepy I) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh, third king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, who ruled for over 40 years at the turn of the 24th and 23rd centuries BC, toward the end of the Old Kingdom period. He was the son of ...

(ca. 2250 BC) built on this site and evidence exists of a temple in the Eighteenth Dynasty (ca 1500 BC). The earliest extant building in the compound today is the

mammisi A mammisi (mamisi) is an ancient Egyptian small chapel attached to a larger Egyptian temple, temple (usually in front of the Pylon (architecture), pylonsRachet, Guy (1994). ''Dizionario della civiltà egizia''. Rome: Gremese Editore. . p. 186.), bui ...

raised by

Nectanebo II Nectanebo II ( Egyptian: ; grc-gre, Νεκτανεβώς ) was the last native ruler of Ancient Egypt, as well as the third and last pharaoh from the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt. He reigned from 358 to 340 BC. Under Nectanebo II, Egypt prosper ...

– last of the native

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...

s (360–343 BC). The features in the complex include: * Hathor temple (the main temple) * Temple of the birth of Isis * Sacred Lake * Sanatorium * Mammisi of Nectanebo II * Christian Basilica * Roman Mammisi * a Barque shrine * Gateways of

Domitian Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...

and

Trajan Trajan ( ; la, Caesar Nerva Traianus; 18 September 539/11 August 117) was Roman emperor from 98 to 117. Officially declared ''optimus princeps'' ("best ruler") by the senate, Trajan is remembered as a successful soldier-emperor who presi ...

* the Roman Kiosk Nearby is the Dendera necropolis, a series of mastaba

tomb A tomb ( grc-gre, τύμβος ''tumbos'') is a repository for the remains of the dead. It is generally any structurally enclosed interment space or burial chamber, of varying sizes. Placing a corpse into a tomb can be called ''immureme ...

s. The necropolis dates from the Early Dynastic Period of the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning c. 2700–2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth ...

to the

First Intermediate Period of Egypt The First Intermediate Period, described as a 'dark period' in ancient Egyptian history, spanned approximately 125 years, c. 2181–2055 BC, after the end of the Old Kingdom. It comprises the Seventh (although this is mostly considered spuriou ...

. The necropolis runs the eastern edge of the western hill and over the northern plain.

Hathor temple

The dominant building in the complex is the Temple of

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sk ...

. The temple has been modified on the same site starting as far back as the Middle Kingdom, and continuing right up until the time of the Roman emperor

. The existing structure began construction in the late Ptolemaic period at the time of Ptolemy Auletes in July 54 BCE. and the hypostyle hall was built in the Roman period under

Tiberius Tiberius Julius Caesar Augustus (; 16 November 42 BC – 16 March AD 37) was the second Roman emperor. He reigned from AD 14 until 37, succeeding his stepfather, the first Roman emperor Augustus. Tiberius was born in Rome in 42 BC. His father ...

. In Egypt,

was quite active in constructing buildings and decorating them. He appears, together with

, in offering scenes on the propylon of the Temple of Hathor. His

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the f ...

also appears in the column shafts of the Temple of

Khnum Khnum or also romanised Khnemu (; egy, 𓎸𓅱𓀭 ẖnmw, grc-koi, Χνοῦβις) was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities, originally the god of the source of the Nile. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt an ...

Esna Esna ( ar, إسنا , egy, jwny.t or ; cop, or ''Snē'' from ''tꜣ-snt''; grc-koi, Λατόπολις ''Latópolis'' or (''Pólis Látōn'') or (''Lattōn''); Latin: ''Lato''), is a city of Egypt. It is located on the west bank of ...

."Trajan was, in fact, quite active in Egypt. Separate scenes of Domitian and Trajan making offerings to the gods appear on reliefs on the propylon of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera. There are cartouches of Domitian and Trajan on the column shafts of the Temple of Knum at Esna, and on the exterior a frieze text mentions Domitian, Trajan, and Hadrian" Layout elements of the temple are: * Large Hypostyle Hall * Small Hypostyle Hall * Laboratory * Storage magazine * Offering entry *

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be state or royal property, church treasure or i ...

* Exit to well * Access to stairwell * Offering hall * Hall of the Ennead * Great Seat and main sanctuary * Shrine of the Nome of Dendera * Shrine of

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

* Shrine of Sokar * Shrine of Harsomtus * Shrine of Hathor's Sistrum * Shrine of gods of Lower Egypt * Shrine of

* Shrine of the throne of Rê * Shrine of

Rê Ra (; egy, wikt:rꜥ, rꜥ; also transliterated ; cuneiform: ''ri-a'' or ''ri-ia''; Phoenician language, Phoenician: 𐤓𐤏,Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum, CIS I 3778 romanized: rʿ) or Re (; cop, ⲣⲏ, translit=Rē) was the ancient ...

* Shrine of

Menat In ancient Egyptian religion, a menat ( egy, mnj.t, ar, منات) was a type of artefact closely associated with the goddess Hathor. Operation The menat was held in the hand by its counterpoise and used as a rattle by Hathor's priestesses. It ...

collar * Shrine of

Ihy Ihy is a god in ancient Egyptian mythology who represents the ecstasy of playing the sistrum. His name means "''sistrum player''". This is in allusion to his relationship with the goddess Hathor who was often said to be his mother. Ihy's symbols a ...

* The Pure Place * Court of the First Feast * Passage * Staircase to roof Depictions of

Cleopatra VI Cleopatra VI Tryphaena ( el, Κλεοπάτρα Τρύφαινα) or Cleopatra Tryphaena II (died c. 57 BC) was a queen of Ptolemaic Egypt who ruled alongside Berenice IV, who was either her sister or daughter. Although called ''Cleopatra VI Try ...

which appear on temple walls are good examples of Ptolemaic Egyptian art. On the rear of the temple exterior is a carving of Cleopatra VII Philopator (the popularly well known Cleopatra) and her son, Ptolemy XV Philopator Philometor Caesar ( Caesarion), who was fathered by

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, ...

Dendera zodiac

The sculptured Dendera zodiac (or Denderah zodiac) is a widely known relief found in a late Greco-Roman temple, containing images of Taurus (the

bull A bull is an intact (i.e., not castrated) adult male of the species ''Bos taurus'' (cattle). More muscular and aggressive than the females of the same species (i.e., cows), bulls have long been an important symbol in many religions, includin ...

) and the Libra (the

balance Balance or balancing may refer to: Common meanings * Balance (ability) in biomechanics * Balance (accounting) * Balance or weighing scale * Balance as in equality or equilibrium Arts and entertainment Film * ''Balance'' (1983 film), a Bulgaria ...

). A sketch was made of it during the

Napoleonic campaign in Egypt The French campaign in Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was Napoleon Bonaparte's campaign in the Ottoman territories of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed to defend French trade interests, to establish scientific enterprise in the region. It was the pr ...

. In 1820 it was removed from the temple ceiling by French colonizers and replaced with a fake. There is controversy as to whether they were granted permission by Egypt's ruler, Muhammad Ali Pasha, to do so, or whether they stole it. The real one is now in the Louvre. Champollion's guess that it was Ptolemaic proved to be correct, and Egyptologists now date it to the first century BC.

Crypts

The subterranean Hathor temple tombs total twelve chambers. Some reliefs are dated to as late as the reign of

Ptolemy XII Auletes Ptolemy XII Neos Dionysus Philopator Philadelphus ( grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος Νέος Διόνυσος Φιλοπάτωρ Φιλάδελφος, Ptolemaios Neos Dionysos Philopatōr Philadelphos; – 51 BC) was a pharaoh of the Ptolemaic ...

. The crypts reportedly were used for storing vessels and divine iconography. An opening in the "Flame Room" floor leads to a narrow chamber with representations on the walls of the objects which were kept in them. In the second chamber, a relief depicts Pepi I offering a statuette of the god

to four images of Hathor. In the crypt, reached from the "throne room", Ptolemy XII has jewelry and offerings for the gods.

The Dendera light

The Hathor Temple has stone reliefs that depict Harsomtus, in the form of a snake, emerging from a

lotus flower ''Nelumbo nucifera'', also known as sacred lotus, Laxmi lotus, Indian lotus, or simply lotus, is one of two extant species of aquatic plant in the family Nelumbonaceae. It is sometimes colloquially called a water lily, though this more often re ...

. In six reliefs he is shown within an oval container called ''hn'', which might represent the womb of Nut. These superficially resemble a lamp or light.

Restoration work

The Supreme Council of Antiquities began the project of restoration and maintenance of the temple in 2005, stopped in 2011, and then resumed in 2017, after the completion of the necessary scientific and archaeological studies along with careful experimental studies using the best methods and modern techniques. As of March 2021, the second phase of the restoration has been completed, which includes cleaning of the Great Pillars Hall and restoring the original colors and clarity of painted scenes on walls and ceilings. More activity continues at the temple, including a cooperative effort started in 2019 with the French Archaeological delegation, to turn the temple courtyard into an open museum.https://egymonuments.gov.eg/en/news/the-ministry-of-tourism-and-antiquities-completes-the-second-phase-of-the-restoration-and-developing-project-at-the-dendera-temple-in-qena

Roman mammisi

The Roman

is a subsidiary building dating to the reigns of

and

Marcus Aurelius Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Latin: áːɾkus̠ auɾέːli.us̠ antɔ́ːni.us̠ English: ; 26 April 121 – 17 March 180) was Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher. He was the last of the rulers known as the Five Good ...

. Numerous reliefs of Trajan making offerings to Egyptian deities can be seen. File:Dendera Römisches Mammisi 14.JPG, Side with reliefs File:Roman Emperor Trajan at Dendera, Egypt.jpg, Roman Emperor

at Dendera, Egypt File:Trajan_offers_to_Hathor_%26_Ra-Harakhte%2C_Dendera.jpg, Roman Emperor

offers to Hathor and Ra-Harakhte, Dendera. File:Emperor Trajan, Dendera.jpg, Emperor Trajan as a Pharaoh making an offering to the Gods, in Dendera.

Tourism

The Dendera complex has long been one of the most tourist-accessible ancient Egyptian places of worship. It used to be possible to visit virtually every part of the complex, from the crypts to the roof. However, the highest part of the roof of Hathor temple has been closed since 2003. The second stage of the roof was closed in November 2004, after a tourist got too close to the edge and fell to her death on the bedrock below.

Gallery

File:Dendera Temple.jpg, Satellite buildings of the Dendera Temple complex File:SFEC EGYPT DENDERA 2006-006.JPG, Entrance to the Dendera Temple complex File:Denderah portail.JPG, Entrance gate to the temple, with

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

and

sphinx A sphinx ( , grc, σφίγξ , Boeotian: , plural sphinxes or sphinges) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon. In Greek tradition, the sphinx has the head of a woman, the haunches of ...

File:Denderah3 Cleopatra Cesarion.jpg, Reliefs of Cleopatra VII and her son by Julius Caesar, Caesarion at the Dendera Temple File:Temple of Hathor, Columns 2, Dendera, Egypt.jpg, Columns of the Hypostyle Hall File:Temple of Hathor, Ceiling, Dendera, Egypt.jpg, Ceiling of the temple before restoration (photographed 2007) File:Ceiling of Temple of Hathor.JPG, Restored ceiling of the Temple of Hathor (photographed 2011) File:Temple of Hathor, Dark interior, Dendera, Egypt.jpg, Crypt File:Dendara97HathorKiosk.jpg, Kiosk of Hathor on the temple roof File:Roof of the Hathor Temple at Dendera (IV).jpg, Close-up of a column on the Kiosk File:Denderah intérieur mammisi c.jpg, Digitally manipulated photograph of an interior wall in the

Mammisi A mammisi (mamisi) is an ancient Egyptian small chapel attached to a larger Egyptian temple, temple (usually in front of the Pylon (architecture), pylonsRachet, Guy (1994). ''Dizionario della civiltà egizia''. Rome: Gremese Editore. . p. 186.), bui ...

, highlighting the bas-relief

References

External links

Dendera Temple complex
satellite-sightseer.com.

(French)
High-resolution Images of Dendera Temple Ceiling
{{Authority control Archaeological sites in Egypt Egyptian temples Former religious buildings and structures in Egypt 1st-century BC religious buildings and structures Hellenistic architecture 23rd-century BC establishments Buildings and structures completed in the 23rd century BC