Edfu (إدفو)

Edfu:The temple of Edfu is the largest temple dedicated to Horus and Hathor of Dendera. It was the center of several festivals sacred to Horus. Each year, Hathor traveled south from her temple at Dendera to visit Horus at Edfu; and this event marking their sacred marriage was the occasion of a great festival and pilgrimage. A front chapel on the east is the Chapel of the New Year, a sun court like that at Dendera. Here, a depiction on the ceiling shows the voyage of the solar barque through the twelve hours of the day, with an inspiring image of the goddess, Nut. The statue of Horus would be taken from here up a flight of stairs to the roof terrace where it would be recharged by the sun during the Festival of the New Year. The walls of the stairs located in the outer anti-chamber depict this ritual. Note: A shēn ring is a circle with a line tangential to it, which represented eternal protection. In its elongated form the shēn ring became the cartouche which enclosed and protected a royal name.

Statue of Horus as falcon enclosing image of a Roman emperor.

Statues of Horus as falcon before inner wall of temple. Common people were only allowed into an outer ceremonial hall of temples not inner portions or sanctuaries.

Capital of temple column.

Temple relief.

The Sanctuary of Horus, the holiest part of the temple. The sanctuary centers on a black-granite shrine that once contained the gilded wooden cult image of Horus. Next to the shrine is an offering table and the ceremonial barque (barge) on which Horus was carried during festivals.

Inscriptions covering the walls of the Temple of Edfu are among the most important sources on Ptolemaic Egypt. They offer a wealth of information about religion, political history, administration, and other topics.

A Ptolemy presenting offerings to the gods.

Perfume offerings.

The site of ancient Djeba (Coptic Etbo, Arabic Edfu) was the traditional location of the mythological battle between the gods Horus and Seth. The inner walls of the temple tell the story of how Horus was conceived from parts of his father, Osiris, god of the underworld. Seth chopped Osiris up into little pieces and cast his parts into the Nile. Isis used her magic to restore Osiris to life only to have Seth do the same again. The second time Isis was unable to restore Osiris, so she used the parts to conceive Horus. Horus later slays Seth (now in the form of a miniature hippo) but loses an eye in the battle. The eye of Horus is an important religious symbol in ancient Egyptian mythology.

The sycamore tree was one of the trees considered significant in Egyptian mythology.

Relief of sycamore tree at Edfu.

Relief at Temple of Horus at Edfu displaying the dual patron deities of the unified country of Lower and Upper Egypt crowning the king with its new crown. The goddess Wadjet or Uto (left) is represented as a cobra joined by the goddess Nekhbet (right), represented as a white vulture, as they confer a new crown that combines their respective previous crowns.

Statue of Horus as falcon.

Horus as falcon wearing the double crown of lower and upper Egypt.

A Ptolemy slaying his enemies.