Temple of Edfu in Aswan, Egypt – Egyptian Temples.
Discover the history of the Pharaonic civilization in building the Temple of the God Horus, the most important ancient Egyptian temples and Pharaonic Egyptian Monuments, the ancient Egyptian Pharaonic civilization, the secrets of building the second largest Mortuary Temples.
what are the texts and legends of the Pharaohs “Egyptian Mythology” in the Temple of Edfu, the construction stages, a map of the temple from the inside, entrance ticket prices, working hours, and more to start your tourist trip and visit the tourist attractions in Aswan, in addition to visiting the beautiful archaeological tourist attractions in Egypt.
Temple of Edfu Facts
The purpose of the temple: to worship the god Horus, the most famous of the Egyptian deities – Ancient Egyptian gods and Goddesses in the beliefs and Ancient Egyptian religion.
Temple Type: Ritual Temples
Pharaonic era: Ptolemaic Kingdom.
Architect Imhotep
Height: 36 m
Construction start date: 237 BC
Opening date: 57 BC
Width: 79 meters
Length: 137 meters
Construction period: 180 years
Edfu city:
Edfu city in ancient Egyptian civilization was considered the last point of defense against enemies, especially on the Egyptian-Nubia border..
It was called “Adbo” which means the town of storming and the city of food..
The religious name of the city of Edfu is Bahdat or Bahdati..
Local city god: Horus.
Edfu is located 132 km south of the tourist city of Luxor “Thebes” and 105 km from Aswan..
The word Edfu in ancient times means the town of invasion or Dabo or Adbo and its Coptic name is “Hawatbo”, and the Islamic religious name is Bahdat or Bahdti in addition to other names given to it such as (Geba – Daba – Taba – Atfo and then Edfu).).
Edfu area includes the most beautiful and largest Egyptian Pharaonic temples, as the temple was built for the god Horus during the Ptolemaic era during their rule of Egypt for 6 rulers throughout Egyptian history..
Horus statue, Edfu Temple:
The god Horus of the city of Edfu is considered one of the most important religious beliefs in ancient Egyptian mythology among the Egyptian Pharaohs kings.
He had a distinctive title, “the winged sun disk,” during the era of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt, in addition to many drawings and engravings on the Temple of Edfu, as well as in Ancient Egyptian Literature.
Secrets of building the Temple of Edfu:
The Temple of Edfu and the Nile River are connected by a small underground river channel, which was used as a measure of the Nile River flood in ancient times..
The site of the temple was chosen as a political goal by the pharaohs to establish control over the south of the country, as in the Geography of ancient Egypt.
Stages of construction of the Temple of Edfu:
The Temple of Edfu was built from sandstone, “Ancient Egyptian Metallurgy,” which was used in The Ramesside Period, beginning with the reign of the Twentieth Egyptian Dynasty “The New Kingdom” and King Setnakhte.
The first stages of using the stones of an old temple took place, then in the Ptolemaic era the temple was completely rebuilt for 6 years until the opening during the reign of King Ptolemy VII, then the construction was completed during the reign of King Ptolemy XII.
The temple was used in the era of King Djoser of the Third Dynasty of Egypt during the Old Kingdom of Egypt period as a temple for the worship of the god Horus under the presence of the priest Amenhotep, the high priest of the Ain Shams temples..
Ancient Egyptian Language and pharaonic drawings were found of the transfer of power and the Coronation of the Pharaohs between the priests and kings of the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt..
The pharaonic Egyptian Cartouche of King Seti I, King Ramesses IV and King Ramses III were found, indicating that they carried out restoration and construction work at the Edfu Temple, indicating the development of Architecture in ancient Egypt and the interest in developing the art of Sculpture in Ancient Egypt.
Ptolemy III Euergetes had the temple rebuilt in 237 BC. The main building was built under Ptolemy IV in 212 BC..
One of the most important reasons for the long time it took to build the temple was the many conflicts and Revolutions in Ancient Egypt during the Ptolemaic era, especially in the areas ruled by Upper Egypt, until it was opened in 142 BC..
During the reign of King Ptolemy II the Hall of the Columns was built, and during the reign of King Ptolemy Soter II and King Ptolemy I, the outer wall, the pylon, and the great courtyard were built..
During the reign of King Ptolemy XII, the construction of the temple was completely completed in 25 BC..
The temple was founded during the reign of King Ptolemy III in 237 BC. The king was interested in making Pharaonic engravings and drawings about the Pharaonic Festivals in Ancient Egypt, such as (the Holy Marriage – the Victory of Horus – the Coronation of the Falcon – the New Year’s Day).).
Map of Edfu Temple from the inside:
The beginning of the religious temple is a large edifice 35 meters high. You will find Pharaonic drawings and engravings on the two towers of King Ptolemy III slaughtering enemies to indicate the strength of the Military of ancient Egypt.
The open courtyard contains 12 columns with plant-shaped capitals..
The Hall of Columns, where you will find 12 columns on the ceiling..
The entrance to the hall contains two granite statues of the god Horus in the shape of a falcon..
A hall with a ceiling of 12 columns and two rooms for storing books and another for storing ritual tools, Funerary Equipment furniture and worship..
Two halls dedicated to offering sacrifices, called the “table base”, and the second is the god’s rest area..
The hall of columns, then the area of the Holy of Holies, is in the last place in the temple. It contains a granite sarcophagus and in front of it is the base of the holy boat..
The Holy of Holies area is surrounded by 12 rooms with religious drawings and texts on the walls. The ceiling of the temple is also decorated with stone gargoyles in the shape of lions..
The Temple of Edfun consists of two similar parts separated by a door. There are large openings in the temple dug by Christians fleeing the brutality of the kings of the Greek-Roman era during the rule of Egypt..
The Temple of Edfu consists of a large open courtyard, then a hypostyle hall with 12 columns, then a second hall with 12 columns, then a hall, then a second hall.
You will see distinctive Pharaonic engravings of the king worshipping the goddess who was believed in by the ancient Egyptians..
When you go to the back hall, it will direct you directly to the Holy of Holies, which is a rectangular hall. You will find drawings of the king worshipping Horus and his wife God Hathor.
Then, in the middle of the hall, you will find a low altar to place the sacred boat on..
Around the Holy of Holies you will see a corridor with several small rooms, which were dedicated to the worship of the gods, in addition to ceiling engravings of the God Nut in the New Year’s shrine.
The Edfu Temple also includes the Nilometer, a round well that indicates the development of Ancient Egyptian science“
Tower of the Pylon:
The length of the monument is 68 meters and the height is 34 meters. You will find drawings of King Ptolemy XII striking the enemies in the presence of the god Horus and the god Hathor, the god of Temple of Dendera area in Qena..
In the upper area of the monument we find engravings of the king offering sacrifices to the deities..
There are rectangular gaps on the facade of the monument, to place flags, in addition to a staircase or ladder in each tower..
Temple Gate – Main Entrance:
There are drawings of the winged sun disk of the god Horus Behadti, and you will find two large granite statues of the god Horus directly in front of the pylon..
The Great Courtyard at Edfu Temple:
The length of the courtyard is 46 meters and the width is 42 meters, with a stone floor..
It has 3 sides containing 32 columns with distinctive capitals in the shape of palm trees and flowers, in addition to engravings of the king offering sacrifices to the religious deities and gods that were believed in ancient times..
There are drawings on the hidden wall of the edifice on the right side of the main entrance of the king wearing the crown of Upper Egypt and in front of him a priest burning incense in addition to the four flags of the Upper Egypt region.
In the drawings we find the God Thoth and Horus purifying him and the God Nekhbet and God Wadjet crowning the king with the crown and receiving the scepter from Horus in the presence of the God Atum and the god Maat, the symbol of Law in Ancient Egypt and justice..
There are drawings of the king standing before the gods Horus and Hathor, in addition to drawings celebrating the king’s journey to southern Egypt across the Nile River, with the presence of Hathor and the Lady of the Dendera region.
At the other entrance, there are the same Pharaonic drawings of the king wearing the red crown of the Lower Egypt region..
Great Column Hall:
The hall contains 18 columns divided into 3 rows, each row has 3 columns on both sides of the central corridor. With the passage of time and erosion, the colors in the columns have completely disappeared..
There is a structure to the left of the entrance from the dedication chamber to hold silver vases to indicate the development of Industry in ancient Egypt and the second structure for a large library to preserve Ancient Egyptian Papyrus.
Small Column Hall – Radiance Hall:
The hall is 20 metres long, 14 metres wide and 10 metres high. It contains 12 columns with a thickness less than that of the rest of the temple, in addition to small openings that allow sunlight to pass into the hall dedicated to King Ptolemy IV..
There are 4 doors in the small hall. On the eastern side we find a door leading to an external hall and a door leading to a staircase or ladder that reaches the roof of the temple.
On the western side is a door to a room for storing holy water for the Pharaohs..
There are Pharaonic drawings and engravings of the king with the God Hapi, the god of the Nile: among the ancient Egyptians, the holy water is offered to Horus, Hathor and a group of gods inside the room..
From inside the same room we find a passage to an external hallway in addition to a second room for storing the tools of worship..
In the small hall we find the waiting room for the altar of offerings, then a passage to the second room for the hall of the god’s gatherings, then a door on the eastern side leading to the Temple of Edfu, which has engravings of colorful shapes and columns with capitals..
small yard:
From the door on the eastern side of the Chamber of the Gods we reach the small courtyard, which contains a cabin with two columns with flower-shaped capitals and contains Pharaonic drawings of the kings and queens of Pharaonic Egypt while presenting offerings to King Ptolemy III and his wife Arsinoe..
On the ceiling we see drawings of the goddess Hathor, known as the seven-cornered goddess Hathor, to bring good and bad luck when children are born, as was believed in ancient times, in addition to a shrine for the God Min, the goddess of fertility and offspring among the ancient Egyptians..
Holy Mass in Edfu Temple:
It is a large hall that only the king and the high priest are allowed to enter. The hall in the middle contains an altar on which the sacred boat of Horus is placed.
In addition, on the northern side of the hall you will find a granite sarcophagus bearing the name of King Nectanebo I of the Thirtieth Dynasty of Egypt in the Late Period.
The hall is surrounded by 10 halls for performing ancient Egyptian religious rituals..
External vestibule:
It revolves around the entire Edfu Temple and you will find on the walls Pharaonic engravings and drawings of the winged sun legend and its festivals and celebrations..
Nilometer at Edfu Temple:
It was used to determine the rent of agricultural lands, of course, according to the amount of flood water at the time, to discover how Agriculture in Ancient Egypt.
You will find it in the eastern vestibule area through a ladder to the outer wall of the temple..
Temple of the birth of the god:
It is a small rectangular temple containing a front hall of two rooms, a staircase and a cabin containing a portico of columns with decorated capitals of the goddess Hathor playing Music in Ancient Egypt on the genik and breastfeeding Horus..
The temple was built during the reign of King Ptolemy VIII and King King Ptolemy IX Soter and is known as “Mammisi” and has a special layout for Greek culture and temples..
Festivals held in Edfu Temple:
Feast of Visitation of Hathor:
He was embarrassed by the city of Edfu with the statue of the god Horus with the priests of the Dendera region, and after 13 days of celebration, the priests of the Dendera region returned with the statue of the god Hathor to their temple..
You will find drawings and engravings of scenes of the sacred marriage on the north wall, which was celebrated twice a year since the reign of King Thutmose III of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt of the New Kingdom of Egypt..
Texts and myths of the Temple of Edfu:
A group of drawings and engravings found in the temple tell the myths of creation in the ancient Egyptian civilization, including:…
Love drink legend.
The myth of the victory of the god Horus.
The myth of the union of all gods with the sun disk.
The myth of the birth of the god Horus.
Hippopotamus legend.
Information about each myth will be added soon through papyrus sources and drawings that tell those myths on the walls of the temple..
Edfu Temple Address:
West Bank of the Nile, Edfu District, Aswan, Egypt.
Visiting hours :
Daily 5:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Entrance ticket prices:
Note: Facts and secrets of the history will be added soon…
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Temple of Edfu Aswan Egypt | History & Facts Temple of Horus
