Edfu temple in Egypt
Edfu is a city in the north of Aswan Governorate, Egypt. It is the second-largest city in Aswan Governorate and is located south of Luxor. Cemeteries were discovered from the era of the ancient Egyptian state, and the temple of Edfu, which was built in the Ptolemaic period for the god Horus, the city is linked to many cities of the Nile Valley. It is also linked to the city of Edfu. Marsa Alam by road, which increases its commercial activity, and the cities are located mostly on the western bank of the Nile, surrounded by many villages east and west of the Nile, and Edfu was the ancient site of the legendary battle between the god Horus and the god Set, and Horus was her first
The Great Temple of Edfu, famous for the Temple of Horus, is the most beautiful and largest ancient Egyptian temple. It is the second-largest temple in ancient Egypt after Karnak. The Temple of Edfu is located in the city of Edfu. The French archaeologist “Auguste Mairett” in 1860 AD, where this temple was buried in the dirt…..
The construction of this temple took 180 years, and its construction began in the era of King Ptolemy I in the year 237 before the birth of Christ. Its decoration ended in the year 57 before the birth of Christ, and it was officially opened in 42 before the birth of Christ. In Edfu, it was designed by the architect “Amhotep”, who designed the step pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, and that it was dedicated to the worship of Horus. However, wars prevented the completion of its construction quickly. Hence, the temple’s construction took 180 years to the extent that its decoration was completed only during the reign of Ptolemy XIII in the year 57 BC…….
It seems that wooing the Egyptians by building a great temple to the god they worship was a political goal for the Ptolemies. Some of the few elements include building the temple on a raised floor and the phenomenon of the gradual rise of the temple floor, where the floor rises as we go inward with the gradual lowering of the ceiling. The Temple of Horus in the era of the Romans was subjected to burning and deformation of its walls to obliterate the features of the Ptolemaic rule.
There is an inscription on the facade depicting Ptolemy whipping enemies and making offerings, and inside the temple, there is a statue of King Ptolemy. The walls and columns contain a treasure rich with information about ancient life, their official and popular ceremonies, holidays, and many legends and tales. They are eminently beautiful and of great beauty through eloquent texts and inscriptions. It also includes the history and details of the temple’s construction. The Edfu Temple is about 137 meters long, 79 meters wide, and 36 meters high. As for the tower, it is 68 meters long and 34 meters high. There is a great gate, and the door of this gate was made of cedar wood inlaid with bronze and gold, and on top of it was the winged sun disk, which represented the poplar with my blade.
The temple consists of a hall, columns, and an open courtyard. In the front of the tower stood two statues of Horus in the form of a falcon, and the temple contained a great gate. Behind the tower is an open courtyard surrounded by columns on three sides, and in the middle, there is an altar for offerings. The temple’s atrium has 12 columns whose capitals represent the shapes of plants, and its entrance is adorned with two granite statues of the god “Hoor Bahdati” in the form of a falcon. After the hall, the visitor goes to the lobby of the columns and from there to the Holy of Holies, which is located at the last point of the temple. The temple has many catacombs that were used to hide valuables. The temple is connected to the Nile via a small underground stream to measure the river’s water.