Temple of dendera

[EGYPT 29516] 'Hathor headed columns in Dendera.' The columns in the outer hypostyle hall (or pronaos) of the Hathor Temple at Dendera are crowned by four-sided capitals carved with the face of the cow-eared goddess. The faces symbolize the four cardinal points of the universe and stress the universal character of the sky goddess Hathor, who was also called "Lady with the four Faces". The square structure that is placed on top of the actual face is a sistrum, a ritual musical instrument that…

Temple of Hathor at Dendera, Egypt

[EGYPT 29594] 'The tenth hour of the night at Dendera.' Entering the outer hypostyle hall of the Hathor Temple at Dendera is like stepping into an ancient time machine. The entire ceiling of the hall is covered with hundreds of figures who have some relation to Time and the revolving Heavens. So it is very appropriate that, at the very entrance of the hall, the architraves that rest on the facade columns are decorated with the goddesses of the hours of the night and the day. In this picture…

Blue Cairo’s Instagram post: “A 2,000 year old staircase inside the Ancient Egyptian temple of Dendera. . Climbing each step of this stairway takes you deeper and deeper…”

Since it is low water season of the Nile, we could not sail from Luxor to Qena and instead had to drive about 60km north in order to visit the Ptolemaic Temple of Hathor in Dendera. Hathor was one…

Inside Temple of Hathor at Dendera It is one of the best-preserved temple complexes in Egypt. Photos: Moustafa El-Abnoudi

[EGYPT 29552] 'Astronomical ceiling in Hathor Temple at Dendera.' Looking up in the outer hypostyle hall of the Hathor Temple at Dendera gives you a dazzling view of the astronomical ceiling. It is a mysterious world inhabited by star gods and zodiac signs but also by weirder creatures such as snakes on tall legs and birds with human heads. The astronomical ceiling consists in total of seven separate strips, which are conspicuous by their bright blue colour. Here we see, in the upper left…