Edfu town can be found between Luxor and you can Aswan regarding the southern area section of Egypt. The city, that’s situated on the west lender of one’s Nile, was world famous for the forehead, which had been established in the Ptolemaic several months. The new Forehead off Edfu , intent on the fresh god Horus, ‘s the 2nd premier temple inside Egypt. Following the Roman period, the fresh new forehead try slowly tucked from the desert mud, and you may silt regarding the Nile. As a result, the new forehead is actually shed, and you will was only rediscovered in the 19 th 100 years. Except that their size and you will county away from preservation, this new Forehead off Edfu is also celebrated for the significant number of inscriptions, with each other referred to as Edfu Texts, and that frequently cover every readily available surface.

Temple off Edfu Regarding Dated, Center and you will The brand new Empire Symptoms

The town out of Edfu is well known and by a number of almost every other labels. The old Egyptians, for-instance, knew the town while the Behdet, as the Greeks and Romans named they Apollonopolis. This second name is actually a mention of city’s Warsaw bride captain goodness, Horus, exactly who the fresh new Greeks known and their individual jesus Apollo. In the event Edfu try most well-known because of its Ptolemaic forehead , the newest city’s records stretches much after that back in time.

For-instance, archaeological excavations on the western and northern elements of the town keeps exposed point regarding the before symptoms of the town’s industry. They truly are mastaba tombs on the Dated Empire , and you may burials dating towards the Center Kingdom . It has additionally been discovered one in The latest Empire quarries are produced to the Mount Silsilah (towards the south from Edfu urban area). Sandstone is acquired because of these quarries and moved all-over Egypt to own structure work.

During the The new Kingdom, a temple to Horus was created from the Edfu. That it temple was smaller than the current framework, and you will stretched is available. The only real element you to definitely stays with the New Kingdom temple was their pylon (a Greek identity to your monumental gateway of an Egyptian temple), which is discovered toward eastern of one’s brand new temple, and you may faces brand new landing stage into the Nile. It is because the point that the new Ptolemies centered good the new temple on the internet site of the old one.

Brand new pharaoh just who first started the development of your own Temple regarding Edfu try Ptolemy III Euergetes, the third leader of Ptolemaic Empire . During the his reign, and this lasted regarding 246 in order to 222/1 BC, Ptolemy been able to get back Egypt and you will Cyrenaica, and you will triumphed along the Seleucids in 3rd Syrian Battle. Egypt’s local temples benefitted greatly out of Ptolemy III’s signal. Besides launching this building the Temple from Edfu, Ptolemy III also produced donations for other temples, and you may restored this new divine statues plundered on the temples by the Persians. In addition, their epithet, ‘Euergetes’, mode ‘Benefactor’.

While the build of the Temple out-of Edfu began when you look at the 237 BC, it wasn’t done once out of Ptolemy III’s death. Still, this building of your forehead proceeded. It had been ultimately finished in 57 BC, inside leadership out of Ptolemy XII Auletes. The development of your forehead grabbed a long time so you can complete as a result of the many nationalistic uprisings from inside the Higher Egypt during the that period and therefore interrupted the construction processes.

Decrypting new Temple out-of Edfu together with Edfu Texts

This new Ptolemies were not only facing inner problems, but outside ones as well. By the time regarding Ptolemy XII, brand new luck of Ptolemaic Empire had waned, and it is actually don’t the brand new mighty and you can successful condition they once was. As a matter of fact, the newest Ptolemies were into the brink out of dropping their empire, while the Egypt is absorbed by Rome in the 29 BC, following the past Ptolemaic leader, Cleopatra VII Philopator , are deposed of the Octavian (the long run Emperor Augustus).