The HISTORY of the Temple of Dendera Egypt (

Denderah

) 1

Dendera Temple 100

This Graeco-Roman Temple was first initiated by Ptolemy III with numerous additions by subsequent Roman Ptolemaic rulers.
The Ptolemaic period (305 - 30 BCE) refers to the period of time in which

Egypt

was ruled by a succession of fifteen Hellenistic rulers all sharing the name of Ptolemy.
The policy pursued by Alexander the Great (332 - 323 BCE), in which he portrayed himself as an

Egypt

ian ruler, appears to be have been followed by his Ptolemaic successors.
Many

Egypt

ian temples, including those at Dendera (

Denderah

) , Edfu, Esna and Kom Ombo were either rebuilt, repaired or newly founded during this period.

The currently standing Temple at Dendera (

Denderah

) dates to the Ptolemaic period, about 100 BCE.
It is well preserved except for the damaging of the faces of the

Hathor

columns by early Christians.
There is a likelihood that the current Temple stands at the site of an earlier one - the famous

zodiac

found on the roof of an upper room and now in the Louvre (Paris) shows a date of about 700 BCE.
A much earlier date is attested to in an inscription that states that the Temple was built according to the plans of Imhotep, which would place the building of the original Temple at about 2650 BCE.
The Dendera

zodiac

is an Ancient

Egypt

ian bas-relief from the ceiling of the pronaos of a chapel dedicated to Osiris in the

Hathor

Temple at Dendera (

Denderah

) .
The chapel was begun in the late Ptolemaic period and its pronaos was added by the emperor Tiberius.
Jean-François Champollion dated the relief correctly to the Greco-Roman period, which greatly pleased the Catholic authorities of the time, who feared the antiquity to be over 6,000 years old, and therefore before the accepted biblical date of Creation.
The now-accepted date for the relief is 50 BC, since it shows the stars and planets in the positions they would have been seen at that date.
First description
The entering path to the Temple is located between two Roman fountains that end at the massive entry gate.
The enclosure walls are mud-brick and date to the Roman period.
Inside the walls are the Temple, two birth houses, a Coptic Basilica, a sanatorium, a sacred Lake, and a Temple to Isis.

The Temple has a long history.
It is said that Pepi I (Old Kingdom) rebuilt the Temple while other texts refer to reconditioning by Thutmose III, Amenhotep III and Ramesses II and III (of the New Kingdom).
Additions were made during the Greek, Roman and Ptolemy period.
1-The Hypostyle Hall
2-The Astronomical Ceiling
3-The Hall of Appearances
4-The Hall of Offerings
5-The Hall of the Ennead
6-The Sanctuary

THE HYPOSTYLE HALL
The facade of the hall is closed by a screen wall that exposes the ceiling and the capitals.
Unlike previously seen capitals, these are Square and are carved to resemble

Hathor

's face.
The King is depicted on the interior walls wearing the crown of Lower and Upper

Egypt

.
The columns of the facade and outer hypostyle hall of the Temple have capitals in the form of the head of

Hathor

surmounted by a naos-shaped sistrum, a kind of musical rattle associated with

Hathor

and symbolic of joy and celebration.
At Dendera (

Denderah

) , the

Egypt

ian New Year was celebrated.
The theme of New Year's revelry and noisemaking obviously goes back at least this far.
THE ASTRONOMICAL CEILING
The ceiling is decorated with vultures, winged disks, and the union between

Hathor

and Horus.
The colors are wonderful and are still original.
The rest of the ceiling is a symbolic representation of the north and south halves of the sky, the hours of day and night, and the regions of the moon and sun.
The bays to the right show the northern stars while the left shows the southern stars.
The figures of Nut dominate each end of the hall.
The continuing cycle of a day is represented by Nut.
Her dress is the sky; between her legs is the birth of the sun, which disappears at night as she swallows it.
The second band shows the stars, planets and symbols of the Roman

zodiac

.
The bands on either side of the center show the course of the moon and sun.
THE HALL OF APPEARANCES
The hall was built by the Ptolemies.
Scenes on the walls show the King emerging from the Temple, breaking the earth for the foundation, and placing the first stone.
He then dedicates the foundation deposit bricks to

Hathor

.
The hall is surrounded by six rooms.
The treasury room contained holy objects made of metal.
The middle room provided an exit for the priests to go out and bring in water.
A smaller room was for the convenience of the priests.
This room allowed them to move between rooms easier.
Another room was for the priests to make and store incense and perfumes.
Room number five was for storage and room number six had an outside exit.
This room was for bringing in food and drink for festivals.
THE HALL OF ENNEAD
This room is in front of the sanctuary and contained statues of the gods and kings that took part in the ceremonies.
The south wall shows description of the hymns of awakening.
THE SANCTUARY
This room contained the statues of

Hathor

, her barque, and Horus.
The walls depict the awakening, bathing, anointing, and feeding of the goddess.
Miniature barques (that were placed in real ships) are also drown on the walls.

The whole complex spreads out over 40,000 Square meters ,or more than 430,000 Square feet.
Around the Temple are the remains of the mud brick wall, which surrounded the whole Temple, as well as the ruins of Coptic houses and churches, including a large number of Coptic crosses, which were chiseled into the stones.

To the north lies the Mamisi, the birth house of Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, which was erected by the Roman Emperor Trajan in 90 A.D.
This little Temple is surrounded by a row of columns, with different capitals embellished with relief images of the God Bes, the chief God of childhood who drove evil spirits away from the babies.
Bes is a hideous dwarf, with a big stomach and long whiskers.
The archaeological location includes :-
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