Dendera Temple

Dendera is a village affiliated with the center in Qena Governorate. It contains the Dendera or Hathor Temple. Dendera is located about 55 kilometers north of Luxor Governorate. 

Qena Governorate was the capital of the sixth region of Upper Egypt, where Dendera was the main center for the worship of the goddess “Hathor,” the god of love and beauty. And motherhood among the ancient Egyptians. It is also one of the few temples in which there are two deities of the trinity, the first of Hathor and the second of Osiris. 

The construction of the temple of Dendera dates back to the Greco-Roman era. The temple was built by King Ptolemy III of sandstone in addition to the presence of Roman emperors.

History of building the Temple of Dendera:

The Dendera Temple was built in the first century BC, and work continued from 54 to 20 BC, and the completion of development work that lasted about 10 years. The Dendera Temple receives visitors, whether foreign or Egyptian, daily, because of its special character and wonderful views that attract visitors to it. from all over the world .

Features of Dendera Temple:

Dendera Temple is a temple dedicated to the god of love and giving. It has complex inscriptions, beautiful paintings, and the famous lamp carving in Dendera, which arouses curiosity and amazement at ancient technology.

There is also an astronomical ceiling that demonstrates the Egyptians’ broad understanding of the universe. The Dendera Temple occupies fifth place on the list of the Seven Astronomical Wonders of Ancient Egypt. Which was announced by the Egyptian Society for Tourism and Archaeological Development in 2018, as 63,000 to 64,000 foreign tourists visit the temple annually, coming from Luxor and the Red Sea, with 400 tourists visiting the Temple of Dendera daily, and the perpendicularity of the sun to the Holy of Holies in the Temple of Dendera on the birthday of The god “Horus”.

More than one ruler contributed to the construction of the Dendera Temple, starting with King Ptolemy III, in the idea of construction, and part of it was completed by King Ptolemy.

Description of the internal and external walls of the Temple of Dendera:

The Temple of Dendera has internal and external walls, and these walls include hundreds of important scenes and texts that examine religious beliefs. The temple is also distinguished by the view of beautiful Hathorian crowns and views of the heavenly constellations that adorn the ceilings of the Temple of Dendera, the myth of the union of the god “Hathor” with the disk of the sun, and the shrine of the goddess “Nut.” The god of the sky, which is represented in any monument in Egypt, and the corridors dug under the ground level of the Dendera Temple, where it was designated for storing the ritual tools of the goddess “Hathor,” and then the stairs leading to the roof of the temple.