The Three Layers in the Temple of Dendur

One of my favorite things about the Temple of Dendur at the MET are the incredible details that are carved into the walls! The temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 was built by the Roman Emperor Augustus 𓉐𓉻𓀀(who liked to refer to himself as just pharaoh 𓉐𓉻 in his cartouche) and was meant to be a place of honor for the goddess 𓊹𓏏 Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥. Just like most other Egyptian temples, the common people weren’t allowed to worship 𓇼𓄿𓀢 inside of it. 

A lot of Egyptian architecture was built in three 𓏼 layers! In the case of the Temple of Dendur specifically, the three 𓏼 layers are the Earth 𓇾𓇾, the Sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯, and then what happens between the Earth 𓇾𓇾 and the Sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯. The “between the 𓇾𓇾 and 𓊪𓏏𓇯” section is the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 itself! This section would be where the carvings of the deities 𓊹𓊹𓊹 are! 

The picture above details the section of the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐 that represents the Earth 𓇾𓇾. I love this because it looks like papyrus 𓏠𓈖𓎛𓆰 and lotus 𓆸𓏪 plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰 are growing out of the base of the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐! I think it is such a beautiful 𓄤 way to represent the Earth 𓇾𓇾! The ancient Egyptians really like plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰 and flowers 𓆼𓅱𓆰𓏦 so it makes sense that they would want to represent them realistically in this way! How do we know that the ancient Egyptians liked plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰 and flowers 𓆼𓅱𓆰𓏦? Art like this allows us to make these inferences! 

Fun fact! There are so many ways to write “papyrus” in Middle Egyptian! Here are a few:

𓅓𓍑𓏏𓏛 – papyrus roll/scroll 

𓏠𓈖𓎛𓆰 – papyrus plant

𓍯𓇅 – papyrus

𓇅𓆰 – papyrus

𓆓𓇌𓏏𓇇 – papyrus marsh

Let’s now take a look at the “in-between” layer!

What I like most about the  “between the Earth 𓇾𓇾 and Sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯” section is the depiction of Emperor Augustus 𓄿𓏲𓏏𓈎𓂋𓏏𓂋 with many different Egyptian deities 𓊹𓊹𓊹! He doesn’t look like an Emperor though – he looks like a pharaoh 𓉐𓉻! Augustus can be seen wearing many articles of Egyptian royal 𓋾 fashion such as the Atef crown 𓋚, the double crown 𓋖, a false beard, a broad collar 𓅱𓋴𓐍𓎺𓋝, armlets 𓄟𓋴𓎡𓏏𓅱𓏦, and bracelets 𓂝𓏠𓆑𓂋𓏏𓇛𓏦. These are all features that are associated with Egyptian pharaohs 𓉐𓉻𓏦, even though Augustus 𓄿𓏲𓏏𓈎𓂋𓏏𓂋 was Roman. 

In the following reliefs, Augustus 𓄿𓏲𓏏𓈎𓂋𓏏𓂋 is making offerings 𓊵𓏏𓊪𓏏𓏔𓏦 to Egyptian gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹. In the first image 𓏏𓅱𓏏, he is making an offering 𓊵𓏏𓊪𓏏𓏔𓏦 to Osiris 𓁹𓊨𓀭 and Isis 𓊨𓏏𓁥. You can even see the papyrus 𓏠𓈖𓎛𓆰 and lotus 𓆸𓏪 flower plants 𓆾𓆰𓆰𓆰 from yesterday’s post just below the relief! 

In the second/third images 𓏏𓅱𓏏𓏦 above, Augustus 𓉐𓉻𓀀 is making an offering 𓊵𓏏𓊪𓏏𓏔𓏦 of wine to Horus 𓅃𓀭 and Hathor 𓉡! 

You can also see three 𓏼 of Augustus’ cartouches in these images! Can you spot them all?

𓄿𓏲𓏏𓈎𓂋𓏏𓂋 – Autokrator (Greek for “Emperor”)

𓈎𓇌𓊃𓂋𓊃𓋹𓆖 – Kaisaros (Greek for “Caesar”)

𓉐𓉻𓀀 – Pharaoh 

The next and final layer we are going to talk about is the sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯! The winged 𓂧𓌳𓏏𓆃 sun disc 𓇳𓏺 appears above all of the entrances to the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐.

The wings 𓂧𓌳𓏏𓆃𓏦 belong to Horus 𓅃𓀭, who was often represented as a falcon 𓃀𓇋𓎡𓅄. Horus 𓅃𓀭, whose  realm was the Sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯, was one of the most important gods 𓊹𓊹𓊹 in the Egyptian pantheon. Horus 𓅃𓀭 was not only the mythological representation of the pharaoh 𓉐𓉻/heir to the throne of Egypt 𓆎𓅓𓏏𓊖, but also a sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯 god 𓊹. Horus’ 𓅃𓀭 name 𓂋𓈖 means “The Distant One,” due to him residing in the sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯! 

Due to the symbol’s association with Horus 𓅃𓀭, the winged 𓂧𓌳𓏏𓆃 sun disc 𓇳𓏺 also represents royalty 𓋾, power, divinity 𓊹, and order vs. chaos. There are many different representations of Horus throughout Egyptian mythology. The the winged 𓂧𓌳𓏏𓆃 sun disc 𓇳𓏺 design is also known as “Horus the Behdetite” and is a representation of Horus 𓅃𓀭. 

The sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯 was not only the realm of Horus 𓅃𓀭, but many other deities 𓊹𓊹𓊹 as well. Ra 𓇳𓏺𓁛, Shu 𓆄𓅱𓀭, Nut 𓏌𓏏𓇯𓀭, Khepri 𓆣𓂋𓇋𓁛 and others were deities 𓊹𓊹𓊹 associated with the sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯. The sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯 was where the divine 𓊹 resided, hence why it was so heavily represented in Egyptian mythology and architecture. 

The two 𓏻 columns represent papyrus 𓏠𓈖𓎛𓆰 and lotus flowers 𓆸𓏪 growing from the ground/Earth 𓇾𓇾 to the sky 𓊪𓏏𓇯! These columns can be seen as forming a connection between all three 𓏼 layers of the temple 𓉟𓏏𓉐! I will never not be amazed by the symbolism and craftsmanship of Egyptian architecture!