The ancient city of Dendera is located south of Abydos, where the Nile turns sharply to the east. It is located on the west bank of the river where it turns (known in Greek as Tentyra). This temple is dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of the sacred cow, a famous figure in the region. During the Middle Kingdom, when the temple was first built, it is likely that work on it began.
During the New Kingdom, temples were also restored. During this time, Thutmose III recreated the ancient celebration of Hathor’s journey. Later, when the Ptolemies were in power, more extensive repairs were made to the temple. I
t was completed by the Roman Emperor Tiberius some 185 years later. Since the names of several kings from the 1st century AD are engraved in the temple towers, this building is from the Ptolemaic period.
The Ptolemies believed that the pharaoh of the Old Kingdom had built a building on the spot where their temple was built. The Ptolemies built a temple to Hathor, who was one of the most famous deities in Egypt.
This goddess appeared in the form of a cow, a woman with a cow’s head, and more recently in the form of a woman’s head with a cow’s ears. This goddess was very important to the people of Dendera, as she had a large temple, but her fame was much greater than her rituals.
Temple Configuration:
The temple consists of different parts. First, there’s the Great Hall of Columns, which has 18 pillars with colorful images of Hathor’s heads. The roof is fixed by 7 groups of columns, each decorated in a different way with designs from the sky. The scenes are typical of temple decorations from the time of Ptolemy.
One of the best places to see these still images in good condition is the ceiling of the Hypostyle Hall in the temple at Dendera. In the second Hypostyle Hall, there are six columns, the tops of which are all very impressive. On each side of the temple, there were three small rooms that were used as vaults or places to store offerings and other things that were used in ceremonies.
Four rows of reliefs appear in the entrance hall of the Temple of Dendera, offerings to the temple deities. The sacred boat of Hathor was kept in the sanctuary of the golden boat. Only the pharaoh or the high priest was allowed to go there. The wealth of the temple was also buried or kept in underground chambers.
