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Temple of Hathor

Temple of Hathor - Temples - The Buildings - Builders & Buildings

“Castle of the Sistrum” or “Pr Hathor”, the House of Hathor

  • The original Temple on site was commissioned by Pharaoh Khufu of the 4th Ancient Egyptian Dynasty and the interior aspects of that original Temple appear to have been to the rear of the current Temple area
  • The current Temple of Hathor was commissioned by Pharaoh Ptolemy XII and took approx. 54 years to be built, from 54BC to 20BC approx.
  • Pharaoh Ptolemy XII died 4 years after commissioning the project and therefore never got to view any of the Temple in its finished state
  • His Successor, Queen Cleopatra VII continued with the work and the erection of the Temple was finished in her reign, although the decoration was still being completed at her death
  • The current Temple is dedicated to the Goddess Hathor whose animalistic form is a cow with horns with a sun disk placed in between them and whose special gift to the Egyptians was to heal them with her power as a deity

 

The Temple’s Back Wall

 

The Hieroglyphs on the exterior wall of the Temple are fabulous in their depiction, height and visual impact on the viewer. To a religious Ancient Egyptian, seeing these, even from a distance would have been striking.

At the Temple’s rear, the Wall has its own False Door where the Goddess Hathor was known to listen to the prayers of the general populace as only the Priesthood and members of the Royal Court and Royal Family were allowed inside for the majority of the Ancient Egyptian Era.

You can clearly see the “wear” on the Wall from use whilst the image of the Goddesses Crown remains with the Sun Disk between the Horns of her animalistic Cow form.

The other Deities are depicted on the Wall supporting Hathor with their own Crowns and Staffs.

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