Dendera lies 60 kilometres north of Luxor and was the chief cult centre of Hathor. The town of Dendera has now moved across the Nile to Qena on the east bank and the temple lies on the edge of the dessert.
A shrine to Hathor existed at Dendera from the predynastic period 5500-3100 BC. This shrine was rebuilt in the pyramid age by king Khufu and again added to by Mentuhotep III around 2004-2184 BC. There is also a necropolis that includes tombs from the early Dynastic period.
The temple was extended by several middle kingdom kings and inscriptions indicate that Tuthmoses III rebuilt the temple. The present temple was built during the Greco-Roman period 332 - 395,BC, probably during the reign of Ptolemy XII but was abandoned during the first century AD.
The temple faces north and is entered by a Roman gateway but the temple is unfinished so there is no pylon or open court, although it is surrounded by an inner enclosure wall of stone, which was built in the 1st century A.D. by the emperor Tiberius. The doorway leads straight into the hypostyle hall.
The façade of the hypostyle hall dates from the reign of the Emperor Tiberius and the roof is supported by 15 metre high columns topped by square capitals faced with the head of Hathor in human form but with cow's ears and dominated by the blue colour of Hathor's wig.
The ceiling of the hypostyle hall is divided into seven bands, the central one showing the vulture goddess Nekhbet and the rest being decorated with astronomical scenes. At present (2007) renovation is in progress and scaffolding is erected, obscuring the ceiling paintings, but here Khepri, god of the rising sun can just be seen.
At each end is an elongated figure of Nut the sky goddess along which sail the boats of the gods who represent the stars. The bands show the signs of the zodiac and showthe daily course of the sun and the moon.
Beyond is a second hall, the hall of appearances, with six Hathor columns where
the walls are decorated with scenes depicting temple rituals. On either side
doors open into three chambers, which were probably used for preparations for
the daily rituals. Behind the main temple is a smaller ruined temple of Isis
which was probably destroyed by the early Christians.
The rear part of the temple contains an offering hall and a barque shrine and after this is a sanctuary to Hathor. Around the sanctuary are eleven chapels dedicated to other deities and within the walls are secret crypts. These crypts were used for keeping cult equipment, archives and magical emblems for the temple's protection.
The walls of the temple contain stairs leading to the roof, which are decorated with carved reliefs depicting the annual processions. On the temple roof are other small chapels that were used to celebrate the resurrection of Osiris and they show scenes of the posthumous impregnation of Isis.
One
chapel on the upper floor is decorated on its ceiling with a copy of the zodiac
of Dendera, which is a map of the sky with the constellations divided into 36
decans and was used by the Egyptians to tell the time at night. The original
is in the Louvre in Paris. This chapel depicts the lunar festival of Khoiakh
in which Osiris's bed was filled with earth and grain seed as part of a fertility
rite.
From
the roof there are wonderful views of the countryside and the rest of the temple
complex including to the south west, the now filled in sacred lake.
On the roof in the south west corner is the birth house that was built during the reign of Nectanebo II, the last of the Egyptian pharaohs. This is decorated with carved reliefs which depict his divine birth. Hathor is shown as his mother and Amun as his father.
The staircase to the west of the offering hall was used for the priests to ascend
to the roof for the new year procession, and is carved with ascending figures
of the king and the priests with the shrine of the goddess. The corresponding
staircase to the east has the same figures descending for the procession's return.
There
is also a pair of parallel shrines dedicated to Osiris, leading to two further
rooms with decoration depicting Isis and Nephthys mourning the death of Osiris.
The roof of the hypostyle hall was reached by another flight of stairs with various gods carved on its walls. As the highest part of the temple, pilgrims used to sit here and await for signs and miracles.
Between the temple and the birth house is a collection of mud brick rooms. This complex has now been recognised as a sanatorium. People came from near and far to this famous centre of healing. The patients either drank or bathed in the water that had been poured over a divine statue inscribed with magical texts that was believed to have healing qualities. In mythology Hathor had healing powers and had returned Horus's sight after his battle with Seth.
On the rear outside wall of the temple are scenes showing the massive figures of Cleopatra VII and her son Caesarion. At the centre of this wall is a large false door of the "hearing ear" shrine, which allowed the goddess to hear the prayers of the common people who were not allowed into the main temple.
