Institute of Egyptian Art & Archaeology

Dendara

This painted raised relief of Bes sits near the Roman Gate (back left) of the Temple of Hathor at Dendara. Bes is the Egyptian household god who protected mother and child during childbirth. He is a bow-legged muscular dwarf with a ferocious facial expression. His guardianship role was suited to his appearance, which was supposed to frighten away evil spirits.

Bes provided protection for the common folk, royalty, and even deities. This image of Bes is near the mammisi, the birth house/temple of the minor god, Ihy [pronounced ih-hee], the son of Hathor and Horus (see The Temple of Horus at Edfu). Ihy is also known as Horus-Sematawy [pronounced sim-ah-tah-wee], "Horus Uniting the Two Lands."

Massive mudbrick enclosure walls (back right) surround the Dendara temple complex, most of which was constructed during the late Ptolemaic and early Roman Periods. The area had been sacred for millenia, because ruins dating from the Old Kingdom through the Late Period have been found.

The exterior walls of the Temple of Hathor are covered with sunk relief carvings dating from the late Ptolemaic and Roman Periods. The western corner of the south wall is notable for its representation of Cleopatra VII Philopator (51-30 C.E.) and Ptolemy XV Caesar [Caesarion; 36-30 C.E.], Cleopatra's son by Julius Caesar. Traditional of ancient Egypt is the gender role-playing in which Cleopatra, a mature ruler, follows her young titular co-regent.

This picture also illustrates some traditional Egyptian architectural features. The pylon-shape of the back wall of the Temple of Hathor, with its battered (slanted) walls and rounded corners, are reminiscent of Egypt’s past when mudbrick, wood, and reeds were the principal construction materials. The outward-curving cavetto cornice is another typically Egyptian motif.

The divine triad (or family unit) of Dendara is carved in sunk relief on the south exterior wall of the Temple of Hathor. From right to left: Ihy is represented as a child in the typical Egyptian way. He is naked and wears the sidelock of hair (barely visible). Appropriate to his role as the Uniter of the Two Lands, he wears the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. In his left hand he carries a sistrum--a rattle-like instrument used to ward off evil spirits. The sistrum was especially associated with his mother Hathor, goddess of love and music. In his right hand he holds a menat (also associated with Hathor)--a broad collar necklace with counterpoise which could also serve as a percussion instrument. Hathor is pictured as a woman wearing a crown of cow horns holding a sun disk. Horus, god of the sky, combines the body of a man with the head of falcon. He also wears the Double Crown of Egypt.

Notice the lion's head spout (top left) which helped drain the roof of the temple when it rained.