Dendera_Baedeker1929

Egypt and the Sûdân. Handbook For Travelle= rs by Karl Baedeker with 106 = Maps and Plans, and 56 Woodcuts. Eighth Revised Edition. Leipzig: Karl Baedeker, Publisher. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., New York: Chas. Scribner's Sons, 1929.

261

20. Dendera.

A hasty visit to the temple at Dendera may = be accomplished from Qena in 4-5 hrs. Donkeys (no = side-saddl= es) meet the trains and to= urist steamers (p. 239). The visitor should not fail to be provided <= /span>with candles or (bette= r) an electric torch. - From Qena Railway S= tation to Dendera, see p. 232.<= /p>

The distance from the landing-place to the temple of Dendera, the brick walls of which are conspicuous from afar, is about 3 3/4 M., easily accomplished on donkey-back in 3/4 hr. (comp. p. 232).

Dendera (Dandara), the Tentyra= of the Greeks, is one of the most ancient and most famous cities of Egypt, and was the capital of the sixth nome of Upper Egypt. Its ancient name was Enet, or Enet-tt-ntore ('Enet of the Goddess', i= .e. of Hathor), of which the Greek and modern Arabic n= ames are corruptions. Enet was the chief seat of the worship of Hathor (the Egyptian Aphrodite), goddess of love and joy (p. clvi). = Along with her husband, the falcon-headed Horus of Ed= fu, and her son, the youthful Ehi or = Har-sem-tewe (comp. p. 370), she was worshippe= d in a magnificent temple wh= ich is one of the best-preserved in the whole of Egypt. Her chief festival syn= chronized with the feast of the New Year.

From the spot where we leave the donkeys a path once l= ined with columns leads to the Gateway forming the N. termination of the = wall of Nile bricks enclosing the temple. The total enclosure is 317 yds. long and 306 yds. wide, and besides the= large temple of Hathor= it contained several other sanctuaries. The gateway was built under the Emperor Domitian, who is here named Germanicus. On the = side next the temple appear the names of Nerva and T= rajan, also with the epithet of Germanicus (Trajan is = also called Dacicus). Outside the gate are two late-= Roman fountains. There is another similar gate on the E. side; while beyond the precincts, also to the E., is a third gate, dating from the Roman imperial epoch.

Leaving the smaller buildings on the right for later, = we proceed straight to the **Temple of = Hathor, the orienta= tion of which is practically N. and S. It was built in the first century B.C. du= ring the reigns of the later Ptolemies and of August= us; but it occupies the site of an older edifice, going back traditionally to the period of the Ancient Empire, and added to or altered not only by the kings= of the 12th Dyn., but also by the great monarchs o= f the New Empire, such as Thutmosis III., Ramses II.,= and Ramses III. The decoration of the temple walls with reliefs went on to a still more recent date. In accordance with the plan of other temples (comp. the plan o= f Edfu, p. 370) a colonnade and two large pylons should= stand in front of the great vestibule; but perhaps the means to add these were not forthcoming. If we compare the temple of Dendera with a similar structure of the earlier period, such as the temple of Abydos (p. 253) or of Luxor (p. 272), we find it not less beautiful in its own way, though of course far from competing with

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262 Route 19. DENDERA. <= st1:place w:st=3D"on">Temple of Hathor.

gigantic structures in magn= ificence or extent. Its chief characteristics are a fine symmetry of proportions and= a dignified adaptation to its purposes. Neither the figures nor the inscripti= ons sculptured on the walls compare in masterly execution with those in the tom= bs of the Ancient Empire or with those in temples dating from the reigns of Thutmosis III. and Sethos I.; but we = cannot refuse our admiration even to these products of later Egyptian art.

We first enter the Great Vestibule, or Pronaos, which = has twenty-four sistrum-columns with heads of Hathor (p. clxviii). At t= he top of the façade is a huge concave cornice, in the middle of which is the winged sun-disk.

On the upper edge of = the cornice is a Greek inscription of three lines, which may be translated thus: "For [behoof of] the Emperor Tiberius, the= young Augustus, son of the divine Augustus, under the prefect Aulus Avillius Flaccus, t= he governor Aulus Fulvius Crispus, and the district governor Sarapion, son of Trychambos, the inhabitants of the capit= al and of the nome dedicated the = Pronaos to the great goddess Aphrodite and her fellow gods, in the . . . . year of the Emperor Tiberius . . . . "=

The exterior front of the hall is enclosed by six stone screens between the columns in the first row. The interior walls of the pronaos are decorated with four rows of representatio= ns. These depict the rulers (in succession the Roman emperors Augustus, Tiberiu= s, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero) advancing with votive offerings for Hathor and other gods. The mutilated reliefs on the screens between the columns (P= l. a-f) refer to the ceremonial entra= nce of the ruler into the temple.

R= ELIEFS ON THE SCREENS. To the right= of the entrance (Pl. a, b= , c): at a we see the king, we= aring the crown of Lower Egypt, quitting the palace, followed by his guardian spirit and preceded by a priest offering incense; at b the falcon-headed Horus and the ibis-headed Thoth spr= inkle the king with drops of water forming the symbol of life; at c the goddesses of Upper and Lower= Egypt bestow blessings upon the= king. To the left (on the W. wall) i= s a relief: the king conducted before Hathor by Mont and Atum, the gods of the Upper and the Lower Egyptian On (pp. 356, 129). - The representations at Pl. d, e, f, to the left of the entrance, are similar, except that at d the king wears the crown of Upper Egypt.

The sculptured DIAGRA= MS ON THE CEILING are interesting also. They are divided by the columns into seve= n bands, running from end to end of the Pronaos, and refe= r to astronomical subjects. 1st Band (to the extreme left; Pl. f). Nut, goddess of = the sky; beneath her are pictures of the zodiac and boats with personifications= of the stars. The sun shines upon the temple of Dendera, here typified by a building with a head of Hathor. 2nd Band. Deities of= the stars and the hours of the day and night. 3rd= Band. Phases of the Moon and the course of the Sun during= the twelve hours of the day. 4th Band (in the centre). Flying vultures and sun-disks. Bands 5-7 repeat the scenes in Bands 3-1.

The rear wall of this great vestibule forms the façade of the= temple proper; it is surmounted by a concave cornice and a round moulding; In the centre is a door leading to the Hypostyle Hall ('Hall of the Appearance'), the roof of which is supported by six columns, with elaborate foliage-capitals on which heads of Hathor also appear. The base and two lowest drums of each column are of granite, the remainder of sandstone. Eight square apertures in the

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[PLAN OF] TEMPLE OF HATHOR AT DENDER= A

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Temple of Hathor. DENDERA.<= /span> 20. Route. 263

ceiling admit the light. Fo= ur rows of reliefs on the walls exhibit the king before the gods of Dendera. In this and some of the other rooms the cartouches of the king are left emp= ty, probably because the priests were in doubt as to which ruler should be sele= cted for honour in the unsettled times during which = the temple was built.

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Some of the RELIEFS in the lower row, representing the ceremonies performed by t= he king at the foundation of t= he temple, deserve notice. To the right of the entrance (Pl. g): the king, wearing the= crown of Lower Egypt, quits his palace, preceded by a priest offering incense; to= the left the king cleaves the earth with a hoe on the site of the temple, turns= the first sod, as we should express it; in front of him is the goddess Hathor. - To the left of the entrance (Pl. h): the king, with the crown of = Upper Egypt, quits his palace (as above); to the ri= ght he presents Hathor with bricks, representing the building material for the new temple.

On each side of this hall are three CHAMBERS (Pl. 1-6), some of which are dark, while others are lighted by apertures in the roof; = they were used as laboratory, treasury, and store-rooms for the sacrificial ince= nse, etc. the inscriptions and representations show the Pharaoh in presence of <= span class=3DSpellE>Hathor, the lion-headed Horus of Dendera, and other gods.

We next enter the First Antechamber ('Sacrificial Chamber'), which is lighted by apertures in t= he roof and walls and is decorated with four rows of mural reliefs. The latter, with reference to the purpose of the chamber, represent the king presenting different offerings to Hathor and other deities= . To the right and left are passages, leading to the staircases which ascend to = the roof of the temple (p. 265). On the left is also a small chamber (Pl. 7) us= ed for sacrificial offerings.

The Second Antechamber ('Central Hall'), which we next enter, is lighted by means = of apertures in the side-walls and has four rows of bas-reliefs on the walls. = A door to the left opens into a small room (Pl. 8) in which perfumes were preserved as well as the sacred garments with which the image= s of the goddess were embellished at festivals. The corresponding door on= the right side of the hall leads to three connected rooms, which form a special= enclosed sanctuary. We see here first a small store-room (Pl. 9), connected by a corridor with the W. staircase (p. 265). Thence we enter an open court (Pl. 10), beyond which is a charming Kiosk, approached by modern steps and suppo= rted by two sistrum-columns. These are connected wit= h the side-walls by two stone screens rising to half the height of the columns. H= ere the priests assembled to celebrate the birthday of Hat= hor and the immediately following New Year festival. The sacrificial gifts were offered in the court, as represented on the walls. The walls of the kiosk a= re embellished with three rows of representations, showing the king and variou= s deities in presence of the gods of Dendera. Just above = the floor is a procession of local deities (l., those of Upper Egypt; r., those= of Lower Egypt) bearing gifts. On the ceiling the sky-goddess Nut is depicted with the sun rising from her lap and shining up= on a head

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264 Route 20. DENDERA. <= st1:City w:st=3D"on">Temple of

of Hat= hor, which stands on a hill with two trees and typifies the temple of Dendera. Between the th= ree windows high up at the back of the court are pillars with heads of Hathor. A staircase in the pavement descends to a cry= pt (see below).

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We return to= the second antechamber in order to visit thence the innermost part of the templ= e, 'the hidden secret chambers', as they are called in the inscriptions= .

The central door leads to the profoundly dark Sanctuary, 'the great seat', in w= hich the sacred boats with the images of the gods formerly stood. The king alone= , or his sacerdotal representative, mi= ght enter this sacred precinct and in solitude commune with the deity. Only onc= e a year was this permitted even to him, at the great festival of the New Year. The reliefs on the wal= ls depict the rites which the king had to perform on entering the sanctuary, a= nd the sacrifices which he had to offer.

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There are three rows of RELIEFS, but only the lowest can be distinctly seen even = with the aid of an electric torch. The reliefs are so arranged that each scene on the Left Wall (Pl.= k), beginning at the entrance, is followed in historical sequence by the corresponding scene on the Right<= /i> Wall (Pl. l). 1 (left) The king ascends the steps to the shrine of the gods; 2 (right) removes the band fastening the door; 3 (l.) breaks the seal= on the door; 4 (r.) opens the door; 5 (l.) gazes upon the goddess; 6 (r.) prays to= her with his arms hanging down; 7 (l.) offers incense before the sacred boats o= f Hathor and Horus of Edfu;= and (8; r.) before the boats of Hathor and Har-sem-tewe. <= span style=3D'font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>- Rear Wall (Pl. m). To the left, the king, before whom is the youthful son of= Hathor with sistrum and r= attle, presents an image of the goddess Maat to Hathor and Horus of Edfu;= to the right, the same ceremony before Hathor and Har-sem-tewe.

The sanctuary is surrounded by a CORRIDOR, lighted by = apertures in the side-walls and in the ceil= ing, and entered from the second antechamber by means of two side-doors. Opening= off this corridor are eleven SMALL CHAMBERS (Pl. 11-21), which were used as chapels dedicated to various deities, as store-rooms, and for different religious purpose= s. Room 11, which is embellished with reliefs like those in the sanctuary, contained a shrine with an image of Hathor. A modern iron staircase in this room leads to= a small Niche in the S. wall, containing a relief of Hathor.

Before ascending to the roof of the temple, we should visit the subterranean chambers, = or Crypts, in which were preserved such sacrificial vessels and images of the gods as were no longer in use. They claim attention not only for their remarkable construction but also for the fresh= tints of their paintings. The temple contains no fewer than twelve crypts, constructed in the thickness of the temple walls in different stories and entered by narrow flights of steps or by openings concealed by movable stone slabs. Their elaborate mural reliefs date from the reign of Ptolemy XIII. <= span class=3DSpellE>Neos Dionysos (p. cxiii), and are therefore the oldest as well as the best-executed decorations in the temple. The custodian will open, on reques= t, those crypts (entered from Rooms 18 and 19) that are worth a visit.

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Hathor. DENDERA. 20. Route. 265

$$$In the crypt accessible from Room 18, which we enter through a square openi= ng in the pavement, are several narrow chambers, on the walls of which are depicted the objects that = used to be preserved here. On the right wall of the second room to the right is = an interesting relief of King Phiops (6th Dy= n.) kneeling and offering a statuette of the god Ehi to four images of Hathor. In the crypt accessible= from Room 19 the king i= s shown offering sacrifices and slaying hostile gods. - On the walls of the crypt entered through an opening in the pavement of the small sacrificial court (p. 263) Ptolemy XIII.= appears presenting gifts (chiefly or<= span style=3D'font-size:11.0pt;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold'>naments) to various go= ds.

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We return to the first antechamber (p. 263) and ascend= one of the two Staircases (Pl. 22,= 23) which lead thence to the roof of the temple. The E. staircase, which ascends straight to = the roof with easy steps= , is dark. The W. staircase is a kind of spiral staircase, with ten recta= ngular turns, lighted by several windows, with tasteful symbolical representations of the sun shining through them. The walls of both staircases are embellished w= ith reliefs of the ceremonial procession of the priests with the images of Hathor and her fellow-gods at the great New Year's festival. The left wall presents us with a view of the procession ascending from the l= ower rooms of the temple to the roof, in order that the goddess H= athor might be united with the beams of her father Re' (the sun-god); the right w= all shows the procession descending. The priests are headed by the king; some of them wear masks representing the lesser deities. - The W. staircase passes a small room (situated = above the storeroom adjoining the second antechamber, Pl. 9) with three windows looking int= o the court (p. 263). Higher up is a small court (locked) with two rooms opening = off it, corresponding to the chambers on the E. side of the terrace (see below)= and likewise dedicated to the cult of Osiris. The reliefs in the second room represent the resuscitation of Soker-Osiris.

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We now reach= the Temple Roof, which has various levels= , the highest being above the great vestibule (p. 262). At the S.W. angle of the lower terrace, which we reach first, stands a sm= all open Pavilion, supp= orted by twelve sistrum-columns with heads of Hathor= . Adjoining the terrace on the N. is a small Shrine of Osiri= s, situated above the chambers to the left of the hypostyle hall and used= in the worship of the slain a= nd risen Osiris, as curious representations and numerous inscri= ptions indicate. The second room is separated from the first (an open court) by pillars, and contains a plaster = cast of the famous Zodiac of= Dendera (original in the Bib= liothèque Nationale at Paris), the only circular representation of the heavens found in Egypt. The window in the last room, with representations of Osiris dead and returning to life, des= erves attention. - A= flight of steps ascends from the = N.W. end of the terrace to the roof of the first antechamber and thence to the still higher roof of the hypost= yle hall. Thence a modern iron staircase leads to the roof of the great vestibule, which commands a beautiful view of the valley of the Nile and the hills of the desert.

266 Route 20. DENDERA. Birth House.

$$$Finally a walk around the OUTSIDE OF THIS TEMPLE wi= ll be found interesting. The exterior walls are covered with inscriptions and representations. The reliefs on the E. and W. walls date from the reign of = Nero and other Roman emperors. The large scenes on the S. rear wall show Ptolemy XVI. Caesar, son of Julius Caesar, and his mother, Cleo= patra, in presence of the gods of Dendera. In t= he centre is the image of the goddess Hathor. The = faces are purely conventional and in no sense portraits. The projecting lions' he= ads on the sides of the building were intended to carry off the rain-water.

We now turn our attention to the other buildings within the temple precincts. To the right (S.W.) of the N. gateway lies a small te= mple called the Birth House. Similar structures were erected beside all large temples of the Ptolemaic period (e= .g. at Edfu and Philae). They were dedicated to the worship of the sons of the two deities revered in the main temple, in the present case to Har-sem-tewe (p. 261). This birth house was built by Augustus and some of its reliefs we= re added by Trajan and Hadrian. In the style of a peripte= ros (p. clxxi) it is surrounded on both sides and a= t the back by a colonnade of flower-columns, the abaci of which are adorned with figures of Bes, patron deity of women in labour= .

An incline leads to a= wide FORECOURT, in the pavement of which is cut the ground-plan of a late-Roman trefoil-shaped building. - INTERIOR. We first enter a vestibule, from which opens on the right a flight of steps (contrived within the masonry; upper p= art destroyed) which led to the roof. On the left is a door to the colonnade, w= hile another leads to a chamber. A door in the middle admits to the Transverse Chamber, adjoined by the Sanctuary or birth-chamber proper, the mural reliefs in which represent the birth and nursing of the divine infant. In the rear wall is a shallow door-recess. The small rooms on either side of the sanctuary are inaccessib= le.

Immediately to the S. of the Birth House is a large Coptic Church, dating from the en= d of the 5th cent. and interesting as a characteristic example of the arrangements of an early Egyptian church (only the churches = near Sohâg are older, see pp. 229, 230). The entrance is at the N.W. corner. Thence we pass through a vestibule (with a shell-niche) to reach the Narthex, which occupies the whole width of the church and has a semicircular recess at its= N. and S. ends. To the W. are small chambers and a staircase. Three doors lead from the narthex to the Nave, t= he sides of which are adorned with niches. The trefoil-shaped Sanctuary is adjoined on either side with other chambers.

To the S. of the church lies a Second Birth House, begun by Nektanebis I.= and completed under the Ptolemies. On the E. si= de is a Colonnade, which has columns connected by screens and is intersected by the enclosure-wall of the Temple of Hathor= . Thence a Ptolemaic doorway leads to a Tran= sverse Chamber (on the left, a door leading to the open air), off which open t= hree doors. The middle one leads to the = Sanctuary, with mural reliefs dating from <= span class=3DSpellE>Nektanebis I.= and depicting the birth of the divine child Eni= (p. 261).

MAP OF LUXOR<= /span>

Practical Notes. LUXOR. 21. Route. 267

The doors at the sides lead to two rooms devoid of ornament; from the left-hand one a spiral staircase ascends to the roof. - = The brick buildings to the S. of this birth house are Roman (perhaps baths).

Farther S., to the W. of the Temple of Hathor, is the Sacred Lake, a deep basin lined with block= s of stone and entered by a flight of steps at each corner. Doors on the N. and S. sides lead to inner staircases contrived within the masonry and leading to a lower <= /span>water-level.

The Temple of Isis, which stands on a l= ofty terrace behind the Temple= of Hathor to the S. W., owes its origin to the Emperor Augustus. The W. half is destr= oyed. The entrance is on the N., but the rooms inside are kept locked. - To the E= . of this is a large Temple<= /st1:place>, of which only the foundations have survived. It consisted of a forecour= t, a wide and a deep hall (each with four columns), and several subsidiary chamb= ers.

21. Luxor and its Environs. The Site of Ancient Thebes.