Edfu
horse carriage transport to the temple site
Edfu was the Greek city of Apollinopolis Magna, and is a religious and commercial center. Located about 33 miles south of Esna and 65 miles north of Aswan, this friendly town with approximately 274,500 inhabitants now produces sugar and pottery.
Temple of Horus
The main attraction here is the Temple of Horus, which is considered by most to be the best preserved cult temple in Egypt . According to the Egyptian myths it was the place where the falcon-headed god Horus avenged the murder of his father Osiris by killing Seth.
More Photos of the Temple of Horus
The construction of this Ptolemaic temple begun in 237 BCE by Ptolemy 3, but
finished 180 years later by the father of Cleopatra. This is not only the best
preserved ancient temple in Egypt, but the second largest after Karnak. The
temple has an abundance of inscriptions on every surface, and these show the
religious ceremonies of the time, as well as the usual tales of bravery, wisdom
and might of the Pharaoh.
Great Court
Horus
There are numerous reliefs, including a depiction of the Feast of the Beautiful Meeting, the annual reunion between Horus and his wife Hathor.
The reliefs are mostly situated on the inside of the first pylon, and
spiritually connect this temple with Hathor’s Temple at the Dendera complex.
Horus as the falcon god
The facade of the first hypostyle hail has images honoring Horus and Hathor, and there is an immaculate ten foot tall colossi of Horus as the falcon god here.
hypostyle hall
Beyond the great hypostyle hail is a second, smaller hypostyle hail which leads to a well called the Chamber of the Nile where the Priests obtained pure holy water. This is a similar arrangement as found at Dendera.
More Photos of Hieroglyphs at Edfu
Beyond the second hypostyle hail is the offering hall, followed by the vestibule
and finally the sanctuary.
ceiling design
The sanctuary itself is surrounded by chapels and rooms towards resurrection. The front chapel on the east is the Chapel of the New Year, a sun court like that at Dendera. A depiction on the ceiling show the voyage of the solar barque through the Twelve Hours of the day, with an image of the goddess, Nut.
The town of vendors
outside of the temple
salesmen available
locals buying
