The Temple of Horus at Edfu 1

edfu temple 11

In 332 BC, Alexander the Great conquered

Egypt

.

After his death in 323, his successors ruled

Egypt

under the Ptolemaic Dynasty.

This was the last

dynasty

of independent

Egypt

.

The Ptolemies were Greeks but presented themselves to the

Egypt

ians as native pharaohs and closely imitated the traditions and architecture of pharaonic

Egypt

.

The Temple of Horus at Edfu was built during the Ptolemiac era on top of an earlier temple to Horus, which was oriented east-west instead of the current north-south configuration.
The Temple was built during the reigns of six Ptolemies.

They started building them around We have a Great deal of information about its construction from reliefs on outer areas.

It was begun in 237 BC by

Ptolemy

III Euergetes I and was finished in 57 BC.

Most of the work continued throughout this period with a brief interlude of 20 years while there was unrest during the period of

Ptolemy

IV and

Ptolemy

V Epiphanes.

The origins of the Temple probably date back to the Second Intermediate Period, but the actual Temple only dates back to Ptolemaic times.

Some other additions were made by other Ptolemaic Kings, and Roman Emperor Augustus.

The construction of this Temple and its additions, inscriptions, and relief’s took about 180 years!
The oldest part of the Temple is the section from the Festival Hall to the Sanctuary; this was begun by

Ptolemy

III in 237 BC and completed by his son,

Ptolemy

IV Philopator.

The Hypostyle Hall was added by

Ptolemy

VII (145-116 BC) and the pylon was erected by

Ptolemy

IX (88-81 BC).

The final touches to the Temple were added under

Ptolemy

XII in 57 BC.

The falcon-headed Horus was originally the sky god, whose eyes were the sun and moon.

He was later assimilated into the popular myth of Isis and Osiris as the divine couple's child.
Raised by Isis and The

goddess Hathor

after Osiris' murder by his brother Seth, Horus avenged his father's death in a Great battle at Edfu.

Seth was exiled and Horus took the throne, Osiris reigning through him from the underworld.
Thus all pharoahs claimed to be the incarnation of Horus, the "living king."

	edfu temple 1
edfu temple 11		edfu temple 12	edfu temple 2
edfu temple 3	edfu temple 4		edfu temple 5	edfu temple 7
	edfu temple 8	edfu temple Bas reliefs showing Egyptian gods thumb		edfu temple Bas reliefs with gods and pharaohs
edfu temple Bas relief depicting Horus		edfu temple Bas relief showingEgyptian gods	edfu temple Bas relief showing goddess Hathor the god Horus and a pharaoh
edfu temple Bas relief showing Horus	edfu temple Bas relief showing pharaoh		edfu temple birth house cc saulo	edfu temple birth house w pylon cc adrian barnes
	edfu temple Hypostyle hall columns	edfu temple sanct		edfu temple Second hypostyle hall
edfu temple sound and light show		edfu temple Statue of Horus	edfu temple Statue of Horus 2
edfu temple The east wall with reliefs