Egypt
- Much Needed Makeover For Three Goddesses
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) The temples of the Karnak complex stand majestically on the east bank of the Nile at Luxor, their awe-inspiring architecture flaunting the great and noble civilisation of ancient Egypt. We know from historical records...
- The Sirius Lore
Al Ahram Weekly (Assem Deif) Thanks to Mohamed Amin for letting me know that the above article has been posted. To the earliest Egyptians, Sirius/Sothis was the home of departed souls. Assem Deif shows how the triad Osiris-Isis-Nephthys affected other...
- Daily Photo - Karnak
I've posted several photographs of Karnak before, but this is a new bunch scanned from old photo albums. Karnak will be the featured site for the Daily Photo for the next few days. The site is vast and incredibly complex - and is still under excavation...
- Travel: Luxor - An Open-air Museum
ANBA (Randa Achmawi) Little over 700 kilometres south of Cairo, on the banks of the Nile, is a paradise of monuments of humanity. Also known as Thebes in ancient times, Luxor, in Egypt, is currently an interesting combination between the past and present....
- The Ten Most Important Egyptian Objects Outside Egypt
This is a list of the most important Egyptian artifacts not the property of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. Though there are certainly more contenders for the list including perhaps the gold headdress of a wife of Thutmosis III in...
Egypt
Daily Photo - The Temple of Denderah
I have a particular affection for Denderah - not only is it an absolute myriad of architectural features and wonderful art work, but it is the first temple that I ever visited in Egypt. Denderah was the first step on a long trail of journies into ancient Egypt which, 11 trips later, has been a fairly mind blowing experience! The next few days will feature more photographs of the site.
Denderah is c.60km to the north of Luxor (a good day trip by boat, if you're interested). It was dedicated to the goddess Hathor and was located in her chief cult centre, the 6th Nome of Uppe Egypt. Although the temple area has a long history of usage the present day temple buildings belong to the Graeco-Roman period. It is a sprawling complex, and the fact that it does not fit the model of other contemporary temples is due to the fact that construction was never completed - the hypostyle hall is a standalone building without the usual forecort, pylons or avenue of sphinxes. As well as numerous depictions of Hathor, her consort Horus the Elder and their son one of the most interesting of the other deities shown is Bes who is a strange stunted creature associated with childbirth. Amongst the pharaohs and royal family members represented some are completely anonymous but the best known is Cleopatra VII shown with her son Caesarion. The famous zodiac roof is now in the Louvre in Paris, France, but a copy has been installed in ints place.
For a good overview of the site's history and main components see Su Bayfield's Dendera page on her EgyptSites website.
Denderah is c.60km to the north of Luxor (a good day trip by boat, if you're interested). It was dedicated to the goddess Hathor and was located in her chief cult centre, the 6th Nome of Uppe Egypt. Although the temple area has a long history of usage the present day temple buildings belong to the Graeco-Roman period. It is a sprawling complex, and the fact that it does not fit the model of other contemporary temples is due to the fact that construction was never completed - the hypostyle hall is a standalone building without the usual forecort, pylons or avenue of sphinxes. As well as numerous depictions of Hathor, her consort Horus the Elder and their son one of the most interesting of the other deities shown is Bes who is a strange stunted creature associated with childbirth. Amongst the pharaohs and royal family members represented some are completely anonymous but the best known is Cleopatra VII shown with her son Caesarion. The famous zodiac roof is now in the Louvre in Paris, France, but a copy has been installed in ints place.
For a good overview of the site's history and main components see Su Bayfield's Dendera page on her EgyptSites website.
- Much Needed Makeover For Three Goddesses
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) The temples of the Karnak complex stand majestically on the east bank of the Nile at Luxor, their awe-inspiring architecture flaunting the great and noble civilisation of ancient Egypt. We know from historical records...
- The Sirius Lore
Al Ahram Weekly (Assem Deif) Thanks to Mohamed Amin for letting me know that the above article has been posted. To the earliest Egyptians, Sirius/Sothis was the home of departed souls. Assem Deif shows how the triad Osiris-Isis-Nephthys affected other...
- Daily Photo - Karnak
I've posted several photographs of Karnak before, but this is a new bunch scanned from old photo albums. Karnak will be the featured site for the Daily Photo for the next few days. The site is vast and incredibly complex - and is still under excavation...
- Travel: Luxor - An Open-air Museum
ANBA (Randa Achmawi) Little over 700 kilometres south of Cairo, on the banks of the Nile, is a paradise of monuments of humanity. Also known as Thebes in ancient times, Luxor, in Egypt, is currently an interesting combination between the past and present....
- The Ten Most Important Egyptian Objects Outside Egypt
This is a list of the most important Egyptian artifacts not the property of Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities. Though there are certainly more contenders for the list including perhaps the gold headdress of a wife of Thutmosis III in...