Due to its completeness and state of preservation, it is the best example of ptolemaic temple building in egypt. I am an archaeologist, and i play one on tv, as a talking head in various documentaries on the national geographic channel, the discovery channel, the history channel, scfi, bbc horizon, and, as it turns out, even the weather channel. May 23, 2009 throughout the 3000years of their recorded history, the ancient egyptians honored a tradition which asserted that no site was sacred unless it had been build upon the foundations of an earlier sacred site. A newbie it may be in the vast scale of ancient egypts history, but the temple of horus in edfu 110 kilometers south of luxor and 112 kilometers north of aswan is a mustdo stop if you want to experience the sheer scale and ambition of egypts temple builders. The walls show inscriptions concerning many chests of books and large leather. The ptolemaic temple at edfu 105km65 miles north of aswan, built from 257337 bc, is the best preserved and one of the finest in egypt. Known also as the temple of horus, its exceptionally wellpreserved inscriptions have provided egyptologists with remarkable insights into ancient egypts political and religious ideas a colossal horus statue in his falcon form reflects the sites name. Egyptian tourism authority temple of horus in edfu. Edfu was a settlement and cemetery site from around 3000 bc onward. Temple of horus at edfu 57 bc birth house mammisi of horus, located southwest of the pylon, detail of entry, showing reliefs. Edfu is located near hierakonpolis or ancient nekhen was a major predynastic city. Having conducted research and written extensively over the course of the last thirty.
This is the oldest and most authentic guide to an ancient egyptian temple ever written its author was an ancient egyptian priest who lived in the first century b. Built in classic pharaonic style, it gives a clear idea of the appearance and purpose of an egyptian temple, and explanations are inscribed on the walls. Of all the temple remains in egypt, the temple of horus at edfu is the most wellpreserved and the only one we know to have been completed. The temple is oriented from south to north, measuring little over 140m long and occupying an area of about 7000m2. It is dedicated to horus, hathor and their son, horus the younger or uniter of the two lands. The ptolemies were great builders in egypt, these descendants of one of macedonian alexanders generals. It is a required stop by all of the cruise ships that make the trip, also stopping at esna and kom ombo.
The city was formerly known as apollonopolis magna during the grecoroman period, because the romans associated greco with their god apollo. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Well preserved hieroglyphs have shed light on the practices of the. This page was last edited on 29 august 2018, at 00. Temple of horus at edfu is a limited edition print. The temple of horus at edfu the town of edfu, on the west bank of the nile 56km south of esna and 105km north of aswan, is today an important centre for sugar production and potterymaking. Changing decorum following the amarna period, a close association of the cult with thebes and an identification of the god with amunre, as well as the gods transition to a funerary god of the king during the ramesside period all contributed to an expansion of devotion to the god, at least in upper egypt. Statue of horus at edfu, where was the site of the. The temple of edfu is an ancient egyptian temple located on the west bank of the nile in the city of edfu which was known in grecoroman times as apollonopolis magna, after the chief god horusapollo.
The temple of edfu dedicated to the falcon god horus, located on the west bank of the nile in the city of edfu, which was known in grecoroman times as apollonopolis magna after the chief god horus apollo, was built in the ptolemaic period between 237 and 57 bce. Edfu also spelt idfu, or in modern french as edfou, and known in antiquity as behdet is an egyptian city, located on the west bank of the nile river between esna and aswan, with a population of approximately sixty thousand people. Describe the contents and depictions of the ancient. Seth, son of nut, assumes the form of a red hippopotamus and goes to elephantine. Edfu is the site of the ptolemaic temple of horus and an ancient settlement, tell edfu. The modern town derives its name from the ancient egyptian djeba which was established on a mound on the east bank. The sands of time literally covered large parts of the temple so that only a. Horus, son of isis, pursues him and overtakes him near edfu, and after the ensuing fight seth flees northwards and horus. Horus, son of isis, pursues him and overtakes him near edfu, and after the ensuing fight seth flees northwards and horus assumes the office of his father. The eastern room was the temples library, with a list of books it once.
Well preserved hieroglyphs have shed light on the practices of the cult of horus and. Temple of edfu is located on the west bank of the nile river in the city of edfu. He was the protector of the royalty of egypt, avenger of wrongs, defender of order, uniter of the two lands and, based on his battles with set, a god of war regularly invoked by egyptian rulers before battle and praised afterwards. Edfu travel guide horus temple the temple of horus at edfu is widely considered to be the most impressive of all of the nileside temples along the journey between luxor and aswan. Temple of horus at edfu amidst joy and celebration the two boats would make their way to edfu, where the entire population assembled to watch the priests enter the temple with the sacred statues. Edfu temple of horus edfu temple of horus these photographs may be used as powerpoint sermon backgrounds and in bible class lessons, but they may not be placed on any other website. The temple of horus at edfu is the best preserved of the ancient egyptian temples and one of the most famous of pharoanic monuments.
The best book i have come across on the house of horus at edfu. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. The library of congress does not own rights to material in its collections. Horus then won the race, and set stepped down and officially gave horus the throne of egypt. At nekhen hierakonpolis, the reigning king was considered a manifestation of horus, a notion that was accepted as dogma after upper and lower egypt were united by the kings from nekhen. Nov 18, 2017 edfu temple is the most preserved cult temple in egypt because it was one of the last temples built during the ptolemaic kingdom between 237 and 57 bc to be a worship house of the sky deity horus. The temple of edfu is an egyptian temple located on the west bank of the nile in edfu, upper egypt. The city was formerly known as apollonopolis magna during the grecoroman period, because the romans. It is the second largest temple in egypt after karnak temple, it is located on the west bank of the nile river, halfway between luxor and aswan. The temple of edfu is an ancient egyptian temple located on the west bank of the nile in the city of edfu which was known in grecoroman times as apollonopolis magna, after the chief god horus apollo. Edfu temple is an ancient egyptian temple situated on a mound on the west bank of nile river in the city of edfu, in between loxur and aswan. Throughout the 3000years of their recorded history, the ancient egyptians honored a tradition which asserted that no site was sacred unless it had been build upon the foundations of an earlier sacred site. Saturday september 10th, 2016 friday november 15th, 2002.
Book your tickets online for temple of horus at edfu, edfu. Inscriptions on its walls provide information on language, myth and religion during the grecoroman period in ancient egypt. Apr 24, 2016 ancient origins articles related to temple of edfu in the sections of history, archaeology, human origins, unexplained, artifacts, ancient places and myths and legends. Edfu temple one of egypts best preserved ancient temples. A plan of the temple of horus with areas of interest marked in orange. Horus the younger, on the other hand, was a powerful sky god associated with the sun, primarily, but also the moon. See all 795 temple of horus at edfu tours on tripadvisor. Dedicated to the hawk god horus, it was built in the greek. Horus, in ancient egyptian religion, a god in the form of a falcon whose right eye was the sun and whose left eye was the moon. Horus or her, heru, hor, har in ancient egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably god of kingship and the sky. Although it is much newer than cult temples at luxor or abydos, its excellent state of preservation helps to fill in many historical gaps.
Colonnade in court showing a colossal hawk 1 negative. Edfu temple of horus edfu temple of horus these photographs may be used as powerpoint sermon backgrounds and in bible class lessons, but. This well researched book is accessible both to the general reader and to the scholar interested in the origins of the christian belief system. Visiting the temple of horus in edfu on an egyptian ferrari. The triumph of horus in its most complete form, is located on the outer western enclosing wall of the temple of horus at edfu, as shown in figure 1.
Argenberg, creative commons edfu temple is an ancient egyptian temple situated on a mound on the west bank of nile river in the city of edfu, in between loxur and aswan. Ancient origins articles related to temple of edfu in the sections of history, archaeology, human origins, unexplained, artifacts, ancient places and myths and legends. The well preserved ptolemaic temple of horus is the second biggest temple in egypt. If you book with tripadvisor, you can cancel up to 24 hours before your tour starts for a full refund. Each print is made with light fast inks and printed on 305gsm museum quality hahnemuhle fine art paper. Temple of horus, edfu, egypt travel photos by galen r. The temple at edfu was in fact the first new temple commissioned by the ptolemies.
Edfu temple of horus in egypt photographs for powerpoint. It has 158 pages, index and is illustrated in bw and colour. The main monument at edfu is the ptolemaic temple of horus of behdet. One of the best preserved shrines in egypt, the temple is dedicated to the falcon god horus and was built in the ptolemaic period between 237 and 57 bc. Temple of horus the oriental institute of the university. The temple of horus the site is a large excavated compound overlooked by mud brick houses. It is a tradition which is richly expressed at the great temple of horus the solar deity whose mythical parents were the star gods isos sirius and isiris. The sandstone enclosure walls and towering pylon of the temple of horus lay buried to its lintels until the 1860s, when auguste mariette cleared the main building. The sands of time literally covered large parts of the temple so that only a small section at the top was left visible above ground.
It was built by the greeks after the last native egyptian pharaoh ruled. The temple contains some of the finest art and architecture of the ptolemaic period. They left as their architectural legacy the great temple of isis at philae, the temple of hathor at dendera, the temple of horus at edfu, and others. The city was known in the hellenistic period as koine greek. Started by ptolemy iii 246221 bc on 23 august 237 bc, on the site of an earlier and smaller new kingdom structure, the sandstone temple was completed some 180 years later by ptolemy.
It was the home and cult centre of the falcon god horus of behdet the ancient name for edfu, although the temple of horus as it exists today is ptolemaic. Temple of horus edfu, egypt attractions lonely planet. Built in classic pharaonic style, it gives a clear idea of the appearance and purpose of an egyptian temple. One of the best preserved shrines in egypt, the temple is dedicated to the. While egypt is home to many spectacular ancient temples, it would take a lot to beat edfu temple, and especially in terms of preservation, since it is considered by many to be the countrys best preserved temple. The enormous temple of horus at edfu is the best preserved ancient monument in the world. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric egypt until the ptolemaic kingdom and roman egypt. Impression of the interior of the temple dedicated to the god horus in edfu, egypt.
Ritual in an ancient egyptian temple tempus history. The greatest story ever sold, i could hardly wait to get my hands on this tremendous book. However, this does extend to the complete texts of the morning hymn and the triumph of horus, let alone the tale of the ancestors, which i must now pursue from other sources. Built from sandstone blocks, the huge ptolemaic temple was constructed over the site of a smaller new kingdom temple, oriented east to west, facing towards the river. It is the first book in english to describe the rituals that were celebrated in honour of horus.
A small amount of stone had been removed from the exposed part, but when excavated it was found to be in near perfect condition. The temple of horus in edfu located only a few kilometres away from the nile, the temple of horace in edfu is not only the third biggest in egypt but also the best preserved. History of edfu learn about the historical background of. Dedicated to the god horus of behedet, lord of edfu, the temple of horus is the most famous monument at tell edfu. Sets boat, being made of heavy stone, sank, but horus did not. Dedicated to the god horus of behedet, lord of edfu, the temple of horus is the most famous. The temple at edfu, along with those ofphilae, contains some of the finest art and architecture of the ptolemaic period. Temple of edfu edfu temple the temple of horus at edfu. Learn about the origins and history of the egyptian god horus.
Statue of horus at edfu, where was the site of the ptolemaic. Of all the temple remains in egypt, the temple of horus at edfu is the most completely preserved. It is a tradition which is richly expressed at the great temple of horus the solar deity whose mythical parents. Second only to the temple of karnak in sheer size, the temple was one of the last attempts by the ptolemaic dynasty at building in the style and grandeur of their predecessors. Temple of horus at edfu edfu greek apollonopolis, which is situated between esna and aswan, is a site with a longstanding tradition. The town is known for the major ptolemaic temple, built between 237 bc and 57 bc, into the reign of cleopatra vii. The temple at edfu is entirely ptolemaic, texts on the outer face of the girdle wall indicate that it was begun in 237 bc and completed in 57 bc. Browse the amazon editors picks for the best books of 2019, featuring our favorite. We recommend booking temple of horus at edfu tours ahead of time to secure your spot. Temple of horus the oriental institute of the university of chicago. Exploring edfus magnificent temple of horus planetware.
Feb 02, 2009 the temple of horus at edfu the town of edfu, on the west bank of the nile 56km south of esna and 105km north of aswan, is today an important centre for sugar production and potterymaking. Today, the temple of edfu in upper egypt between luxor and aswan is one of the most beautiful and bestpreserved in all of egypt. Mar 16, 2016 horus the younger, on the other hand, was a powerful sky god associated with the sun, primarily, but also the moon. Built from sandstone blocks the huge ptolemaic temple was constructed over the site of a smaller earlier temple, oriented east to west, towards the river. The reason is that the temple had been totally submerged under the desert except for the very top of the pylon entrance. Temple of horus at edfu university of pennsylvania.