The XVIIIth dynasty.

Later history.

which indicates that Dendereh continued to flourish at this period. At about this time a queen, named Neferukayt, held large properties in this neighbourhood, and the tomb of her steward was found in the cemetery. From Senusert Ist of the XIIth dynasty the temple of Hathor received rich presents of golden ornaments; and traces of a temple built by Amenemhat Ist have been found. A vase of a little-known king of the XIIIth dynasty, Khaneferra Sebekhotep IIIrd, was recently found near the temple.

In the XVIIIth dynasty Thothmes IIIrd restored the temple, and is said to have rebuilt the original shrine of the days of Khufu. The festival of the Voyage of Hathor to Edfu, which seems to have fallen into abeyance, was revived by this king. At this time the tax which had to be paid to the Crown by the chief official of Dendereh consisted of one deben of gold, a little silver, some grain and honey, five calves, one ox, and a few two-year-olds; and the smallness of this tax indicates that the town was not very rich. The name of Thothmes IVth has been found on a stone in the temple; and a colossal statue of Queen Mutemua, his wife, was recently unearthed. In this dynasty the general custom of regarding certain animals as sacred led to the building of catacombs for their interment in the desert. Gazelles, cats, ichneumons, birds, and snakes were here buried, though of these species only the snake is known to have been specially sacred to the goddess Hathor.

Except for the traces of the work of Rameses IInd1 and Rameses IIIrd, nothing more is seen of Dendereh until the days of the Ptolemies. This does not mean that the place fell into insignificance, but rather that the remains of this date still lie hidden under the mounds of ruins which have collected around the temple. The present edifice seems to have been begun sometime previous to the reign of Ptolemy Xth Soter IInd, as the building was sufficiently advanced for that king to place his cartouches in the crypts. Ptolemy XIth Alexander and Ptolemy XIIIth Neos Dionysos also inscribed their names here. Some of the inscriptions outside the temple refer to Ptolemy XVIth Cæsarion and to the Emperor Augustus. On the rear wall Cæsarion and Cleopatra VIth are shown. The Greek dedicatory inscription states that the great

1 A block of stone bearing the cartouche of one of the Rameses is built into the pavement at the mouth of the crypt in the small court to the west of the second vestibule.

2 In a recent visit to Dendereh the writer noticed a brick to the south of the temple stamped with the cartouches of Menkheper-Ra, the Priest-King of the XXIst dynasty.

Hypostyle Hall was finished in the twentieth year of the Emperor Tiberius, while another inscription states that the decoration of the outer walls had been finished in that sovereign's second year. Thus the temple as it stands dates from about B.C. 125 to 60 A.D., its building occupying about 185 years. It was not, however, regarded as finished; for the priests had, no doubt, the intention of adding a forecourt and pylons in front of the main building, and erecting an enclosing wall around it, as at Edfu. Money, however, was not forthcoming, and it was not till the time of the Emperors Domitian and Nerva Trajan that even the entrance-gate in the brick enclosing wall in front of the temple could be built. Coins have been found here extending down to the reigns of Theodosius IInd and Valentinian IIIrd, and the extensive mounds left by the ancient town show that it was still a place of some considerable size.

In the days of the Romans the goddess Hathor was identified Hathor in with Venus and Aphrodite. The Greek dedicatory inscription late times. states that the temple was erected for "the great goddess Aphrodite and her fellow-gods." Terra-cotta statuettes of Aphrodite, modelled in the usual Greek style, with one arm raised above the head, are sometimes found near the temple.

DESCRIPTION OF THE TEMPLE

to the

The visitor on approaching the temple passes through the much- The ruined masonry gateway of Domitian and Trajan, which formed approach the main portal in the brick-enclosing wall around the temple- temple. buildings. The mounds of the ancient town rise around this doorway, but a space in front of the temple has been cleared, across which one passes to the main temple. The façade of the temple is imposing, and being well preserved a good idea of the appearance of the building in ancient times may be obtained, though originally the brilliant colouring of the reliefs must have given a far less sombre tone to the whole. This façade is formed of six Hathor-columns, with screen-walls between them. The reliefs, which are much damaged, show “The Prince of Princes, Autocrator Tiberius Claudius Cæsar," before the gods of Dendereh.

One passes through the doorway into the great Hypostyle Hall, The great known to the Egyptians as the Khent or First Hall. Eighteen Hypostyle columns support the lofty roof. These columns are shaped in the

1 Spelt T-b-r-s K-l-u-t-i-s.

Hall.

form of the totem of Hathor, described above, which is often represented by itself as the emblem of Hathor. Painted in brilliant colours and used as a column, its decorative merits are obvious; but its use thus in the temple is not due to the good taste of the Egyptian architect, but to the piety of the priests. The faces of the Hathor heads have all been intentionally damaged by Christian fanatics, and the reliefs on the walls have also been badly mutilated. These reliefs, which date from the reigns of Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero, are of no great interest. On the screen walls at the west of the entrance (1) the Pharaoh, crowned as King of Lower Egypt, leaves his palace to visit the temple. Before him walks a small figure of a priest burning incense, and one also sees five tribal standards moving in procession before him. These standards are the Jackal Wepwat of Thinis, the Ibis of Hermopolis, the Hawk of Edfu and Hieraconpolis, the emblem of Thebes, and the complicated symbol of Dendereh. The first four of these standards are almost invariably shown at this ceremony of "going forth from the palace,” and even as early as the archaic period one sees them preceding the king in a ceremonial relief of the reign of Narmer, with the difference, however, that the ibis there gives place to a second hawk. The next scene (2) shows the king being purified by Thoth and Horus of Edfu, but the relief is much damaged; and thirdly (3) we see him crowned by Nekheb and Uazet. These two goddesses were the patrons respectively of Eileithyiapolis (El Kâb) and Buto, the archaic capitals of Upper and Lower Egypt. This series of reliefs is continued on the west wall, where (4) the king is led by Menthu, the war-god of Thebes, and Tum the god of Heliopolis (called, in the Bible, On), to Hathor of Dendereh; (5) he marks out the limits of the temple by driving in the boundary posts, while Safkhet, the goddess of Records, and Isis, assist him; (6) he presents the temple-here represented by a single shrine to Hathor; (7) he worships Hathor, Horus of Edfu, and their small son Horsmataui ; (8) he offers a figure of Truth to Hathor, facing whom is a small figure of Horsmataui; and finally (9) he presents the symbol of "fields" or "estates" to Hathor and Horsmataui. On the east side of the doorway the first scene (10) shows the Pharaoh, now crowned as King of Upper Egypt, leaving his palace as before. The rest of the scenes on this and on the east wall are too damaged to be of interest. Those on the south wall show the Pharaoh in the presence of the gods of Dendereh.

The scenes in this hall are thus mainly concerned with the

The ceiling

of the great Hypostyle Hall.

building of the temple, and the arrival of the king to visit it. On the upper parts of the walls, and on the columns, the king is shown presenting flowers, chaplets, fine linen, incense, sistrums, and so forth to Hathor and to other gods. In the inscriptions this hall is spoken of as the place in which the sistrums and the tambourines were sounded; and one may picture the groups of priestesses passing between the columns, and may hear in the imagination the echoing sounds of their barbaric music.

The ceiling of this hall is decorated with an elaborate series of astrological scenes. The ceiling will be seen to be divided by the architraves into seven sections. In the westernmost section one sees an elongated figure of the goddess Nut, who is supposed to be resting her hands and feet on the ends of the world, her body thus forming the arch of heaven. A long line of figures is here seen, and amongst them one may notice at intervals the northern six signs of the Egyptian Zodiac—the lion, the serpent, the balances, the scorpion, the archer, and the goat. A second line here contains eighteen ships, in which are the Decani or presidents of the eighteen sections of ten days into which the half year was divided. In the second section of the ceiling there will be seen at either end a winged figure which represents the wind, while amongst the various astrological figures the twelve hours of the night will be noticed, and the Decani here arranged into groups of three, to represent the space of one month, will be observed. In the third section the scenes refer chiefly to the moon, which is here represented by the sacred eye. First we see the fourteen days of the waning moon; then the fourteen days of the waxing moon ascending the steps of heaven; and lastly the god Osiris, in his capacity as a moon god, is seen seated in a boat with Osiris and Nepthys floating above the heavens. The fourth or middle section of the ceiling is, as usual, decorated with alternate vultures and disks with spread wings. The fifth section is decorated with three rows of figures, amidst which one may discern the twelve boats of the hours of the day, each having in it the sun's disk and the figures of the divinities to which each hour was sacred. The sixth section has at either end a winged figure of the wind, while numerous astrological figures are represented. The seventh section of the ceiling is decorated, like the first, with an elongated figure of Nut. At the north end the sun pours down its rays upon the shrine of Hathor; while at intervals along the line of figures one sees the southern six signs of the Zodiac-the crab, the twins, the bull, the ram, the fishes, and the water-carrier. The eighteen