• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer

EgyptTravelBlog.com

General

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Page Layouts
    • Standard Content
    • Wide Content
    • Narrow Content
    • Content/Sidebar
    • Sidebar/Content
  • Sample Page
Buy Now

Categories

  • Demos
    • News
    • Tech
    • Sports
  • All Articles
  • Business
  • Cars
  • Electronics
  • Gaming
  • Contact

Newsletter

This form is for demo purposes only. Use whatever form/email/optin plugin you’d like.

* We don’t do spam, just the latest news. Sign up today and get our top stories delivered straight to your inbox.

  • Cities
    • Cairo
    • Giza
    • Luxor
    • Aswan
    • Abu Simbel
    • Alexandria
    • The Red Sea
    • Siwa
  • Sites
    • Pyramids & Sphinx
    • Downtown Cairo
    • Luxor Sites
    • Aswan Sites
    • Abu Simbel
    • Alexandria Sites
    • Edfu
    • Kom Ombo
    • Abydos
    • Dendera
    • Siwa
  • Museums
    • All Cairo Area Museums
    • Old Egyptian Museum
    • Grand Egyptian Museum
    • National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
    • Abdeen Palace Museum
    • Royal Carriages Museum
    • Manial Palace Museum
    • Nubian Museum
    • Sharm el-Sheikh Museum 
  • Food
  • Hotels
    • Cairo Hotels
    • Luxor Hotels
    • Red Sea Hotels
    • Alexandria Hotels
  • Advice
  • Trips
  • Podcast
Aswan Edfu Sites Luxor

The Temple of Horus at Edfu

February 17, 2021 by Adair MacGregor

The Temple of Horus in the city of Edfu was once forgotten to time under the sands of Egypt. Due to this, the resurrected site is one of the best preserved of its period and a stunning example of what worship looked like in ancient Egypt. Dedicated to Horus, god of kingship and the sky, it is categorized by stunning 36-meter decorated sandstone gates and includes a wide courtyard and detailed inner sanctum. The temple itself is referred to in Latin as “Apollonopolis Magna,” as Horus was identified as Apollo by the Greeks.

The temple is also dedicated to Hathor, a mother or partner to both Horus and the sun god Ra. It was said that Hathor would leave her own temple in Dendera to visit Horus in Edfu every year, which marked a major annual festival. Like Horus, Hathor was one of the most worshiped gods of the Egyptian pantheon, as she was strongly linked to the pharaohs by her sons or partners who represented their right of rule.

Construction of the site began in 237 BC but was not completed until 57 BC under Ptolemy XII – a show of the strength and lasting power of the pharaohs of this period. The Ptolemaic kingdom was the last of Egypt’s ancient dynasties, continuing until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC. The larger building sits on the ruins of an even more ancient temple dedicated to Horus whose construction dates back to Ramses I, who ruled around 1292-1290 BC. A fallen pylon found east of the temple is part of the original structure.

The temple complex contains a treasure trove of historical structures. The giant gateway is adorned with two statues of Horus as a falcon and decorated with giant battle scenes depicting Ptolemaic pharaohs smiting their enemies as offerings to Horus. Inside the temple, a second antechamber dedicated to the god of kings once contained a bronze statue of Horus that was once plated in gold. The original is now on display at the Louvre in Paris. The same room contains a replica of a wooden boat that would be used to carry the statue in processions during festivals. An incredibly well preserved Nilometer, which was used to measure the level of the Nile and predict the coming harvest, can also be found on the eastern enclosure wall.

You May Also Like…

Nubian Museum

Temple of Seti I at Abydos

Temple of Hathor at Dendera

The Temple of Sobek and Haroesis at Kom Ombo

About etb

Egypt Travel Blog is the world’s #1 most trusted resource for info, insights, tips, reviews, and advice on travel to and around Egypt. ETB is more honest and practical than official or commercial sites, more in-depth and dynamic than books or travel guides, and more entertaining and interactive than any other source of information available on travel to Egypt.

Read more about ETB here…

Categories

Cities & Regions

Sites & Monuments

Museums

Latest News

Food & Dining

Hotel Reviews

Travel Advice

Tour Companies

Newsletter

Join our “Egypt Insider” newsletter for periodic updates and developments in Egypt.

Your Country
Your Email
Loading

No spam, ever.

Copyright © 2023 · EgyptTravelBlog.com · ALL RIGHTS RESERVED in all countries and jurisdictions