I have a particular affection for Denderah - not only is it an absolute myriad of architectural features and wonderful art work, but it is the first temple that I ever visited in Egypt. Denderah was the first step on a long trail of journies into ancient Egypt which, 11 trips later, has been a fairly mind blowing experience! The next few days will feature more photographs of the site.
Denderah is c.60km to the north of Luxor (a good day trip by boat, if you're interested). It was dedicated to the goddess Hathor and was located in her chief cult centre, the 6th Nome of Uppe Egypt. Although the temple area has a long history of usage the present day temple buildings belong to the Graeco-Roman period. It is a sprawling complex, and the fact that it does not fit the model of other contemporary temples is due to the fact that construction was never completed - the hypostyle hall is a standalone building without the usual forecort, pylons or avenue of sphinxes. As well as numerous depictions of Hathor, her consort Horus the Elder and their son one of the most interesting of the other deities shown is Bes who is a strange stunted creature associated with childbirth. Amongst the pharaohs and royal family members represented some are completely anonymous but the best known is Cleopatra VII shown with her son Caesarion. The famous zodiac roof is now in the Louvre in Paris, France, but a copy has been installed in ints place.
For a good overview of the site's history and main components see Su Bayfield's Dendera page on her EgyptSites website.
Denderah is c.60km to the north of Luxor (a good day trip by boat, if you're interested). It was dedicated to the goddess Hathor and was located in her chief cult centre, the 6th Nome of Uppe Egypt. Although the temple area has a long history of usage the present day temple buildings belong to the Graeco-Roman period. It is a sprawling complex, and the fact that it does not fit the model of other contemporary temples is due to the fact that construction was never completed - the hypostyle hall is a standalone building without the usual forecort, pylons or avenue of sphinxes. As well as numerous depictions of Hathor, her consort Horus the Elder and their son one of the most interesting of the other deities shown is Bes who is a strange stunted creature associated with childbirth. Amongst the pharaohs and royal family members represented some are completely anonymous but the best known is Cleopatra VII shown with her son Caesarion. The famous zodiac roof is now in the Louvre in Paris, France, but a copy has been installed in ints place.
For a good overview of the site's history and main components see Su Bayfield's Dendera page on her EgyptSites website.
1 comment:
Great post Andie. Su's site is excellent, I've been enjoying reading her blog: 'Reflections in the Nile' as she revisits her past trips to Egypt.
Your post prompted me to go through my old photos and update my Blog's gallery with some photos I took of the Temple when I was there in '97.
The link to the photo gallery is found on the sidebar: Talking Pyramids
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