Abydos & Dendera
The graceful precinct of the temple of Seti I at Abydos was a fitting tribute not only to his devotion to Osiris, Lord of the Underworld, but also to the national gods. Uniquely, his temple consists of seven separate chapels, set up for the veneration of the two leading divine collectives. Firstly, the Osirian family of Osiris, his wife Isis and their son Horus; and secondly the three pre-eminent national gods of Amun, Re-Horakhty and Ptah. No less surprising was the inclusion of the seventh chapel in honour of a deified form of the king himself. Seti’s temple was not just a national shrine to the gods of Egypt. It was a cult temple for Seti I as a god, both during life and after death. In that sense, it became a memorial centre for the preservation of his cult.
The beautiful temple of Hathor at Dendera is one of the best preserved of Egypt’s Graeco-Roman temples and a delightful example of late Ptolemaic period religious architecture. As regional capital of the 6th Upper Egyptian nome, Dendera was not only an important administrative centre, but also a prominent religious site. The temple of Hathor that one visits today was inaugurated by Ptolemy XII Auletes in 54 BC. The main sanctuary area was completed during the reign of Cleopatra VII, with the splendid pronaos being added by the Roman Emperor Tiberius in the 1st century AD.
- Temple of Seti I, Abydos - 20:55
- Temple of Hathor, Dendera - 14:20
