A monument that bears the civilization of ancient Egypt’s time
Temples of ancient Egypt, built for the worship of the gods, of great interest to scientists all over the world. Every detail was carried out in accordance with the religious beliefs of the residents. Existing religious buildings attract an incredible number of tourists, so they get acquainted with past civilization.
Excellent preserved building
Today We will focus on the well-preserved monumental temple, located in southern Egypt. The second-largest religious complex dedicated to the hawk-headed god Horus (Horus). This is its ancient architecture was taken as a model in the design of the Egyptian house of the Moscow Museum of Fine Arts takes the name, Pushkin.
Temple of Horus in Edfu was discovered in 1860 by a French archaeological expedition under the direction of O. Marieta. Custodian of the Egyptian hall of the Louvre did an excellent job of cleaning the structure and its restoration.
Temple Constructions take more than 180 years
This temple is the most important historical monuments of ancient Egypt. Scientists believe that the start date of its construction was 237 BC, and construction was carried out during the reign of the entire Ptolemaic dynasty and lasted for almost 180 years.
All temples in ancient Egypt consisted of phase elements that were inherent in the culture of the New Kingdom era. Sanctuary dedicated to Horus has been rebuilt several times, and the Roman Emperor Augustus also contributed to the modification of the temple.
Architecture
On both sides of the entrance is a massive tower, which is considered the second largest in Egypt. Followed by an outdoor courtyard, surrounded by a wall, which is held general hearings, and local residents expressed their complaints and grievances.
At the entrance to the Temple of Horus in Edfu is a three-meter black granite statue of the god in the form of a falcon carved by skilled artisans.
Walls and ceilings are decorated with scenes from God’s life
Interior and exterior walls decorated with scenes about the birth of Horus (Horus) in the presence of other gods of ancient Egyptian culture, marriage to Hathor, the birth of a Har-Samta-Wei, the son of Horus, in conflict with the equally powerful god Seth, and defeating him, and the coronation of the ruler of the world. In addition, you can read a report on its temple construction, inscriptions and see the local calendar.
Ceilings of the temple more than 37 meters high are decorated with images of military ruler Ptolemy VIII scenes, which examines the god Hor.
Important characters for linguistic science
Shrine inscriptions and carved reliefs are of great importance to Egyptian linguists, as they represent the largest collection of Greek-Roman period characters.
There are lists of books for construction, astronomy and geography have been found, which have been used by Egyptians. The voices decipher the hidden meaning of the proportions of the building built by referring to mythical themes. It is known that the institution of the temple was used as the basis of the Imhotep book, the construction engineer of the tomb of Pharaoh Djoser. it also describes recipes that make incense mixtures and smoke that are used during secret ceremonies.
The main sanctuary
At the end of the temple, it is surrounded by twelve granite sanctuary chambers, includes God items, which the Greeks identified with Apollo. Servants of his washing, grease spices, clothes, and perfumes. Painted rooms with religious-themed throughout the shrine including a prayer hall and some of them were dedicated to Osiris.
The Visit of Hathor statue
Servants of Dendera temple, who worshipped Hathor, each summer sent her statue in a special ceremonial boat Sailing to Edfu located between Luxor and Aswan, So the wife inflicted marital visit to the beloved husband. And every night the priests were left alone the great gods.
legendary place
The impressive Temple of Horus in Edfu, rebuilt several times in the period from the 3rd to the 1st century BC, built on a legendary site. According to legend, the god grieved over the death of his father Osiris and wanted revenge on the insidious aggressor. This is where the fight took place between Horus and Seth, who won and became patron of the pharaohs.
The fact is that the most beautiful and magnificent temple – not the first built in the area. The first was a conventional building hut woven from grass, and penultimate, noticeably smaller in size, stacked sandstone.
Temple of Horus in Edfu as a historical architectural monument- deserved the attention of tourists from all over the world, who is a Perfectly preserved temple discovered many interesting secrets regarding the vanished Egyptian civilization.
