Temple of Horus

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akakd
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Temple of Horus in Edfu, a Stop Along the Nile

  • January 26, 2009
  • Rated 5 of 5 by NiceGinna from Evanston, Illinois
Temple of Horus in Edfu, a Stop Along the Nile

This is the best preserved temple in Egypt because it was buried under sand until the 1860's. It is a Graeco-Roman era temple built around 230 BC by the Egyptians (not the Romans) to honor the trinity of Horus, the Falcon God, and his wife and son. It took 127 years to build and was in use for only 27 years. It was later defaced by the Coptic Christians who had been tortured by the Romans.

There are many inscriptions on the walls of the temple, giving archeologists important information on the period and showing that it was dedicated by Ptolemy VIII in 142 BC. There is a beautiful relief of a meeting between Horus and his wife Hathor. As usual, one enters by a gate into an open courtyard; then into the covered courtyard and finally the Inner Sanctuary. The massive gate had deep grooves in it where once colorful flags hung. The beautiful columns or pilons in the covered courtyard stand 118 feet tall. On one side of this hall is a library where the Priest would study the religious order of each day and on the other side is a robing room.

In the Inner Sanctuary it is thought that there was a golden statue of Horus standing on the still present granite naos.

From journal An Unforgettable 10 Days in Egypt

Temple of Horus

  • July 10, 2002
  • Rated 4 of 5 by akakd from , Arizona
Temple of Horus

After Karnak, the Temple of Horus is the largest temple in Egypt. It is also the best preserved, as it was almost completely buried in sand until the 1860s. The temple was built on the site where Horus was said to have fought w/ his evil Uncle Seth to avenge his father's death & gain control of the world. Here you'll see the entire story in deep-carved reliefs telling how the evil Seth trapped Osiris in a coffin & threw him into the Nile. Of how Isis found Osiris' body & was able to revive him long enough to conceive their son, Horus. How Seth took Osiris' body, cut it into 14 pieces & threw it back into the Nile. Isis was able to gather 13 pieces, but never recovered his penis, which was eaten by a fish & Horus grew up to avenge his father's death.

It's a powerful tale of good vs. evil & good prevailing. Still today, it carries w/ it "superstitions" (for lack of another word), such as the #13 being unlucky for the 13 found pieces of Osiris, not eating a certain kind of fish that ate Osiris' penis, & wearing black to mourn Osiris.

From journal Aswan to Abu Simbel & More

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