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Edfu Temple
consists of traditional elements of Egyptian
Temples of the New Kingdom, together with a
few Greek elements, such as the Mamisi,
which is situated to the west of the main
entrance of the Temple (Mamisi means “house
of the divine birth”). It consists of an
entrance, a court and chapel. The walls of
the mamisi are decorated with scenes showing
the story of the divine birth of Horus the
child, in the presence of the Goddess
Hathor, the God Khenoum and other deities
who were concerned with pregnancy and birth.
The
Temple has a Pylon that is considered the
highest among surviving Temples in Egypt
today. It is 37m high and is decorated with
battle scenes, representing King Ptolemy
VIII smiting his enemies before the God
Horus.
Next there is
an open courtyard that contains columns with
floral capitals on three sides. This open
court was open to the public and was known
as the court of the offerings, being the
place where people could give their offering
to the statue of the God.
The Hypostyle
Hall is rectangular and 12 columns support
its roof. On both sides of the entrance to
this hall stands a statue of Horus of Behdet,
in the shape of a falcon. This hall is also
known as the outer Hypostyle Hall.
An entrance
beyond the 1st Hypostyle Hall accesses the
Inner Hypostyle Hall. 12 columns to the
right support its roof, and on the left
there are 2 rooms; one was used as a library
that once contained a large number of
manuscripts. The other was used as a
storeroom or magazine for the utensils and
the tools of the Temple.
There are 2
consecutive vestibules; the outer one called
the “hall of the offerings”, where the walls
are decorated with various scenes
representing the different deities and
offering scenes of the different Ptolemaic
Kings. The inner vestibule was called the
“rest house of the Gods”.
At the end of
the Temple is the sanctuary, which includes
a niche of grey granite where a statue of
the God is supposed to be placed. In front
of the dais is a pedestal for the resting of
the divine boat. The sanctuary is
surrounded, on the outside, by 12 rooms,
where many religious scenes were depicted on
their walls. Some of these rooms were used
as storerooms, while the others were
dedicated for different religious purposes.
One of the
most remarkable elements of the Temple is
the existence of a Nilometer, as well as a
chapel, which was dedicated to the Goddess
Nut.
On various
walls of the Temple, there are many battle
scenes, as well as the famous scene of the
ritual of the Temple foundation.
The northern
wall of the court shows the divine marriage
of Hathor and Horus of Behdet, which was
celebrated twice every year; once at the
Dendera Temple and the second time at the
Edfu Temple. The Journey of Hathor, from
Dendera to Edfu and the vice versa, can also
be seen on this wall.
Another scene,
on the inside of the outer corridor of the
western side of the Temple, depicts the
legend of the conflict between Horus and
Seth, the victory of Horus over his uncle,
and his coronation to rule the world.
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