Ancient Egyptian temple, located on the west bank of the Nile in Edfu, Upper Egypt
Temple of Edfu
The main entrance of Edfu Temple showing the first pylon
Monument information
Type
Temple
Location
Egypt
Nome
Wetjes-Hor
Hieroglyphic name
(Bḥd.t)
Deity
Horus (primary), Hathor, Harsomtus
Historical information
Period
Graeco-Roman Period
Dynasty
Ptolemaic dynasty
Construction start date
August 23, 237 BC
Completion date
57 BC
Architectural description
Construction material
Sandstone
Height
36 meters
Width
3
76 meters
Length
79 meters
The Temple of Edfu is an Egyptian temple located on the west bank of the Nile in Edfu, Upper Egypt. The city was known in the Hellenistic period in Koinē Greek: Ἀπόλλωνος πόλις and in Latin as Apollonopolis Magna, after the chief god Horus, who was identified as Apollo under the interpretatio graeca.[1] It is one of the best preserved shrines in Egypt. The temple was built in the Ptolemaic Kingdom between 237 and 57 BC. The inscriptions on its walls provide important information on language, myth and religion during the Hellenistic period in Egypt. In particular, the Temple's inscribed building texts "provide details [both] of its construction, and also preserve information about the mythical interpretation of this and all other temples as the Island of Creation."[2] There are also "important scenes and inscriptions of the Sacred Drama which related the age-old conflict between Horus and Seth."[2] They are translated by the Edfu-Project.
^David, Rosalie. Discovering Ancient Egypt, Facts on File, 1993. p. 99
^ abCite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
The TempleofEdfu is an Egyptian temple located on the west bank of the Nile in Edfu, Upper Egypt. The city was known in the Hellenistic period in Koinē...
west bank of the Nile River between Esna and Aswan, with a population of approximately 60,000 people. Edfu is the site of the Ptolemaic Templeof Horus and...
Dendera, specifically on/in Hathor's temple, that can be connected to the nine dead deities at Horus's temple in Edfu. This would be due to the either parental...
for its "House of the Bennu" temple. In this role, Nephthys was given the name "Nephthys-Kheresket" and a wealth oftemple texts from Edfu, Dendera, Philae...
wife Hathor. TempleofEdfu, Upper Egypt Ostracon depicting the pharaoh Ramesses IX presenting Maat Relief in the inner room of Hathor's temple in Deir el-Medina...
wearing the double crown. Mortuary Templeof Hatshepsut Statue of Horus in the TempleofEdfu Falcon Horus, deity of Hierakonpolis, on a Naqada IIC jar...
carried by boat to several temple sites to visit the gods of those temples. The endpoint of the journey was the Templeof Horus at Edfu, where the Hathor statue...
knives, TempleofEdfu, Ptolemaic period Ra, in the form of a cat, smiting Apep with a knife. Papyrus of Hunefer, 19th dynasty Atum facing Apep, tomb of Ramesses...
festival in which an image of Hathor from the Dendera Temple complex was brought annually to visit the TempleofEdfu, the templeof her mythological consort...
entrance to the templeof Ramses III Heru-Behdeti ("Horus of Behedet") as a winged sun disk on the cornice of a pylon at the templeofEdfu The winged sun...
statues of the falcon god Horus behind a smaller depiction of Caesarion at the TempleofEdfu in Edfu, Upper Egypt A coin depicting Cleopatra VII with her son...
walls." The date of this canon is disputed. Proscription ceased after the destruction of pagan temples. However, widespread use of Christian iconography...
with Bastet and cats, as indicated by an inscription at the TempleofEdfu: “Isis is the soul of Bastet”. In this period, cats were systematically bred to...
Ptolemy VIII in the TempleofEdfu Nekhbet is a bird-like monster in Final Fantasy XII. Nekhbet appears in Rick Riordan's The Throne of Fire as a minor antagonist...
an inscription from the templeofEdfu: pitch, lotus essence, incense, wax, terebinth resin and aromatics. On the sixteenth of Khoiak, probably between...
supported by Porphyry. On the other hand, there is a dedication on the TempleofEdfu from December 5, 57 BC that inscribes Cleopatra Tryphaena's name alongside...
Ptolemy VIII, TempleofEdfu Stela depicting Wadjet (top right), and Nekhbet (top left), serving as protectors and unifiers of Egypt in to Stela of Tuthmosis...
Kemp, Ancient Egypt: Anatomy of a Civilization, Routledge 2005, ISBN 0-415-23549-9, p.25 Dieter Kurth, The TempleofEdfu: A Guide by an Ancient Egyptian...
city was destroyed. TempleofEdfu Archive/Library (237–57 B.C.) This library was an extension of the Temple itself. The walls of this chamber are bestrewn...
large columns bearing the cartouches of Cleopatra and Caesarion. In the front entrance pylon of the TempleofEdfu, built by her father Ptolemy XII, Cleopatra...
construction projects such as the completion of the Temple of Edfu and establishment of the Dendera Temple, and stabilized an economy largely reliant on trade with...
projects such as the TempleofEdfu and a temple at Dendera, and stabilized the economy. On 31 May 52 BC, Cleopatra was made a regent of Ptolemy XII, as indicated...
temples, as when the image of Hathor from Dendera Temple visited her consort Horus at the TempleofEdfu. Rituals for a god were often based in that deity's...
Ptolemaic period, TempleofEdfu Graves-Brown, Carolyn, Dancing for Hathor: Women in Ancient Egypt, Contiuum 2010, p. 131 Robins, Gay, The Art of Ancient Egypt...
Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza, Cairo Governorate The Great Templeof Abu Simbel, Aswan Governorate The TempleofEdfu's entry gate ofEdfu, Aswan Governorate...
Global Information
