Edfu Temple: Ptolemaic Temple With an Egyptian Design
The city of Edfu throughout history:
Edfu is a city situated 835 km. from Cairo (approximately in the halfway between Luxor and Aswan cities). The city in ancient times was called ḏbꜥ and the city itself was the capital of the 2nd Nome in Upper Egypt and called bḥdt. It’s the second city to be named bḥdt after god Horus conquered Upper Egypt with his followers in the 3rd Dynasty, the 1st was capital of Nome 17th in Lower Egypt (the first cult center of Horus). In Roman times it was called Apollonopolis Magna (the great city of Apollo) and in Coptic times was called ETBO. The ancient city was located in the western bank of the Nile River in the middle not very close to the Nile inundation and not to close to the dry weather of the desert.
The Temple of Edfu:
It’s normal to see changes in the monuments in the Ptolemaic era, but they tried their best to keep the original components of the typical ancient Egyptian temples as they respected the Egyptian mythology and architecture very much.
The difference was in the way of preservation, the inscriptions and the reliefs that cover the walls, the long descriptions that was a must in every room and hall in the temple to describe the room and its functional purposes which was a big help in finding out the usage of every single structure in the temple in the Ptolemaic era, the agendas of every single festival and religious celebration that was held in the Temple with the year and the day of the celebration and the decorations.
Indications show that there was a temple in Edfu throughout its history; it was just remains from the 19th Dynasty not more than foundations, in the 30th Dynasty king Nectanebo I made a shrine made out of black granite rested in the holy of the holies inside the temple nowadays, except that the entire Temple is Ptolemaic.
The dimensions of the temple is perfectly calculated; the height, the length and the perimeter.
The work on the temple started in the third month of Šmw (harvest season in ancient Egypt) the 23rd of August 237 BC., day 7, 10th year in the reign of Ptolemy III Euergetes which corresponds with the celebrations of the Šmw festival celebrated in the same day.
The main structure was completed on the 17th of August 212 BC., in the 3rd year of Šmw, day 7, 10th year in the reign of Ptolemy IV Philopator. (Was built in totally 25 years)
The decorations were completely finished in 6 years in 207\206 BC., in the year 16th in the reign of Ptolemy IV Philopator.
Finally on the 10th of September 142 BC. the temple was consecrated to Horus Bḥdt, lord of the sky by Ptolemy VIII with a great festival.
As everything in ancient Egypt had a name the Temple also has many names not one as; “The Great Throne Of The Winged Disk” (Horus Bḥdt),” The Strong Place of The Shining One”, ”The Secret Place” and “The House Of Eternity”.
There is no doubt that there is a very strong connection between Temple of Hathor in Dendera and Temple of Edfu. We found a list of all the gods of Edfu in the hypostyle hall Dendera temple and the festival agenda of Dendera Temple in Edfu Temple.
The Triad of the Temple
Horus of Bḥdt:
The falcon god Horus of Bḥdt has many representations as Winged Disk, a Winged Falcon and a Falcon Headed Man or as a Complete Falcon.
It was very important for the King to be represented as a victorious King as the king was the god in ancient Egypt especially in the Old Kingdom. So representing god Horus as a winged falcon hovering over the head of the king was such a very frequent scene as it was like a ritual. By time it was developed from being a winged falcon to be famous winged solar disk with two Uraei each one wear a different crown for Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt representing Nekhbet and Wadjet.
Goddess Hathor
Hr-Sma-Tawy: (Horus the unifier of Upper and Lower Egypt)
Hr-Sma-Tawy is said that he is the son of Hathor of Dendera and Horus Bḥdt of Edfu he is represented usually as a human headed mummy or either as a human headed falcon.
Most Famous Festival was held in Temple of Edfu: The Beautiful Reunion.
The Egyptians divinities like the human beings constituted families as some of goods had their own wife and a god son who consecrated this reunion which was characterized as a “Triad”.
The temple was the house for the deities that were worshiped in the temple and their private room was the sanctuary and was placed in it as an image “Statue”, this statue was usually get visits from other deities or go to visit them.
As in “The Beautiful Reunion” Hathor leave her temple in Dendera every year to go and visit her husband Horus Bḥdt in his temple Edfu and celebrate his feast with him.
The sacred marriage was celebrated an Edfu from the day one of the new moon in the third month of the summer (The eleventh month of the year) and ended on the day of the full moon, a total of fifteen day. The first time to celebrate it was in 142 BC. in the reign of Ptolemy VIII.
The festival consisted of two parts:
The first is the sacred marriage of goddess Hathor and god Horus Bḥdt, which was celebrated in the first day on the afternoon and the evening. The second was the festival of Bḥdt, was celebrated in the remaining fourteen days.
You will be able to see the scenes of the beautiful reunion on the lower register of the pylon of the Temple.
On the eastern wall you will found the door that Hathor used to enter from after reached Edfu Temple, the walls is decorated with celebrating scenes for goddess Hathor while entering the Temple of Edfu.
