Djeba

Tag: Kemet

  • Columned Hall

    Columned Hall

    The Collumned Hall comes after it, which is higher than the rooms mentioned and wider on the right and left sides: it is 40 cubits by 36, with a total height of 30 cubits, and it is most perfectly carved on its inside with reliefs. The House of the Morning and the House of Papyrus Rolls are on the right and left sides of it. There is a small door in it, facing eastwards. 18 perfect columns support the [horizon (the ceiling)], just as the sky is supported under the Winged Scarab.

    – The Great Building Inscription of the Edfu Temple Translated by Dieter Kurth

    wAxy Columned Hall

    About the Columned Hall

    The Outer Hypostyle Hall at the Temple of Horus in Edfu, known in Egyptian as the “hall in front of the sanctuary” (equivalent to the Greek pronaos), is a grand space supported by massive columns. These columns have capitals decorated in elaborate composite styles, symbolizing the lush vegetation of the Nile swamps. The colossal roof slabs rest upon these columns, creating an imposing architectural feature.

    On one side of the hall is a small room known as the pr dwAt House of the Morning, where the king underwent ritual purification before entering the temple proper. Opposite this, there is another small room representing the temple library. A notable feature of the hall is a depiction of the king in the twA-p.t pose, where he raises his arms in a gesture reenacting the moment of creation, when the god Shu lifted the heavens from the earth, establishing order and dispelling chaos.

    The Columned Hall or Outer Hypostyle Hall is the smaller hall before the Great Hall. It is so named, the Hypostyle, due to the many columns that support the ceiling. The twelve columns, carved to resemble papyrus, are entirely covered with beautiful reliefs depicting offerings by kings to the gods, symbols of strength and protection, and more. The ceiling depicts beautifully painted astronomical motifs, and a significant portion still survives. Six columns are incorporated into the southern screen wall, which stand half the height of the Pronaos. The small door mentioned in the building texts leads to the Pure Corridor. Inside the Pronaos are the House of the Morning and the House of Papyrus Rolls. Carved on its walls are reliefs of the Foundation and the Consecration of the Temple.

    The massive columns in the hypostyle hall represent the primordial swamp from which creation emerged. Their capitals are decorated with floral motifs, evoking the lush vegetation of the Nile and the life-giving forces of nature.

    Gallery

    References

    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/the-transcription-of-the-waxy-hall-in-p-westcar-2
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/temple-of-edfu-a-guide-by-an-ancient-egyptian-priest
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/chronicle-of-the-pharaohs-the-reign-by-reign-record-of-the-rulers-and-dynasties-of-ancient-egypt
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/sacred-sites-of-ancient-egypt-an-illustrated-guide-to-the-temples-and-tombs-of-the-pharaohs
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/the-complete-temples-of-ancient-egypt
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/the-house-of-horus-at-edfu-ritual-in-an-ancient-egyptian-temple
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/the-pharaohs-master-builders
  • Pure Hallway

    Pure Hallway

    This Corridor, which is pure and leads around all this, is within the wall, which is connected with the Pylon. It is 113 cubits long and 90 cubits wide, up to the small doors that are located in it on the right and left sides of the Pronaos. There are four doors in it. Details of the places on to which the doors open: one leads eastwards and is used by the Aqi-Priests when they come back from the Sacred Lake to perform their duty; it is used to bring out offerings released (for consumption), in order to hand them out to the overseers of the chapels of He of Dappled Plumage; another one, a miraculous work, leads to the Pure Well, to the Pure Magazine and to the Slaughterhouse of Horus of the choicest cuts of meat, to get fresh pure water for the temple, and for the divine offering to the Falcon at the appropriate time; two more (doors) open right and left, and they are sited in the Pronaos and lead into the Court of Offerings.

    The Great Building Inscription of the Edfu Temple Translated by Dieter Kurth

    The Pure Hallway at Edfu: A Threshold of Ritual Transformation

    Within the grand architectural program of the Temple of Horus at Edfu, the Pure Hallway—often identified with the wabt or purification corridor—served as one of the most essential yet understated spaces in the temple’s ritual landscape. Though less visually dramatic than the hypostyle halls or the sanctuary, this narrow transitional zone carried profound ceremonial weight. It was here that priests paused, prepared, and purified themselves before entering the increasingly sacred chambers of the god.

    The Pure Hallway functioned as a liminal passage, a place where the boundaries between the ordinary and the divine were deliberately negotiated. Priests traversing this corridor underwent acts of ritual cleansing—washing, anointing, reciting formulae of purity—to ensure that no trace of disorder (isft) accompanied them into the presence of Horus. Inscriptions and reliefs along the walls reinforce this purpose, depicting purification rites, libations, and the invocation of divine protection. The space itself becomes a textual and architectural reminder that purity was not a static condition but a continual practice.

    Architecturally, the hallway’s controlled lighting, narrow proportions, and directional flow guide the body and mind toward focus and reverence. It is a corridor of preparation, a place where the priesthood aligned themselves with maat, the cosmic order, before performing the daily service that sustained the god’s cult. In this way, the Pure Hallway embodies the Egyptian understanding that sacred service begins long before one reaches the sanctuary; it begins with the disciplined purification of the self.

    Today, the Pure Hallway at Edfu stands as a testament to the meticulous ritual choreography of Egyptian temple life—a reminder that holiness was approached step by step, through thresholds both physical and spiritual.

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  • Offerings Forecourt

    This perfect place, the Nome of Horus-Ra, is his horizon on earth, is the House of Appearance of His Majesty, is the Great Throne of His Ka, on which he appears and sets, in the Shrine that Protects Khepri of the quickly born child, is the place at which His body has been nourished since the First Beginning, is the Chamber of the Falcon is the Ruler’s House of the ruler, is the Tomb of the Falcon with the Dappled Plumage, is the Great Place of the greatest of the gods, is the House of the Strong One of Horus, the strong bull, is the Palace of the Revenger, who drives the hot-headed from Egypt, is the Place of Stabbing of the one who stabs the Wamamati Snake, is the Horizon of Eternity and Primeval Hill of the horizon god, is the Shrine of the divine Winged Disk.

    – The Great Building Inscription of the Edfu Temple Translated by Dieter Kurth

    About the Offerings Forecourt

    The Offering Court at the Temple of Horus in Edfu was a significant space where worshippers could present offerings to the statue of Horus. This colonnaded courtyard was open to the public and was a gathering place for religious ceremonies. The architectural details include palm and papyrus capitals, intricate hieroglyphics, and a ten-foot-tall granite colossus of Horus, which added to the temple’s grandeur.

    The Temple of Horus at Edfu, built during the Ptolemaic Kingdom (237–57 BCE), is one of the best-preserved temples in Egypt. It was constructed to honor Horus, the falcon-headed god, and features a hypostyle hall, pylons, and chapels surrounding the sanctuary. Over time, the temple was buried under desert sand and Nile silt, but it was rediscovered in the 19th century.

    The Forecourt, or Offerings Forecourt, as it was called, is where the general population gathered to attain favors from Horus and where the temple festivals were held. There are thirty-two columns in the Forecourt’s colonnades, twelve on each west and east sides, and eight on the south side next to the pylon gateway. Carved on these columns are reliefs of Ptolemaic pharaohs making offerings to local gods. The cartouches inscribed in the court are empty, where future pharaohs would have their names carved inside them. On the forecourt walls are carved reliefs of the Pharaoh making offerings to the gods and slaying enemies. Also recorded are significant events and festivals.

    Image Gallery

    References

    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/chronicle-of-the-pharaohs-the-reign-by-reign-record-of-the-rulers-and-dynasties-of-ancient-egypt/
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/sacred-sites-of-ancient-egypt-an-illustrated-guide-to-the-temples-and-tombs-of-the-pharaohs/
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/temple-of-edfu-a-guide-by-an-ancient-egyptian-priest/
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/the-complete-temples-of-ancient-egypt/
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/the-house-of-horus-at-edfu-ritual-in-an-ancient-egyptian-temple/
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/the-pharaohs-of-ancient-egypt/
    https://reconstructingancientegypt.org/books/the-priests-of-ancient-egypt
    Djeba hieroglyphs
    Click to return to the temple
  • Shatjyat – Sanctuary of Sokar

    Shatjyat – Sanctuary of Sokar

    The Shatjyat Sanctuary of Sokar, to the west of it and decorated with the protector gods (see below), is 7 5/6 cubits by 6 2/3 cubits… These are the palaces of Iun (Osiris) in BaHadat (Behdet). His forms have been carved on the walls of the three chambers. The two weeping and mourning women, the two sisters, protect him; they are the two kites, Isis and Nephthys, are the ones who transfigure his Ka’a spirit. The four Asabat goddesses protect the bier. The four Anubis gods, the four door-keepers of the netherworld […], the sharp-eyed protective gods. The gods of the Netherworld, who do not leave their districts, are jointly responsible for his protection. Horus the Protector of his Father protects him. Thoth the Great One reads the festival ritual for him. The gods of BaHadat, the Children of Horakhty, the living Ba’a spirit of Ra in the midst of his children and the netherworld gods, who guard the Nome [and] his [towns], are in their place, and watch over him.

    About the Shatjyat

    One of three chapels in the north-west of the corridor devoted to the cult of Osiris. This sanctuary dedicated to Sokar as the syncretized Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. Combined with the Mansion of the Prince, these chapels are the Portals of the Pillar-god Osiris. This chapel represented the tomb of Osiris in Man nafar (Memphis). Reliefs show Isis reassembling Osiris after being dismembered by Seth in the Ptolemaic mythos of the Contendings of Horus and Seth.

    Chapel Shatyat relief
    Relief in the chapel (Image: Kurth, 2004)
    Djaba'a Hieroglyphs
    Click to Return to the Temple
  • st wr – Great Seat

    st wr – Great Seat

    The Great Seat in the midst of the chapels and surrounded by the corridor mentioned, measures 19 3/6 cubits by 10 1/3 cubits. The doors of the corridor are to its right and left, and give access to the surrounding chapels. The processional barqe of the Deity with the Dappled Plumage, His magnificent portable shrine next to it, and His great Naos of black stone that is next to both of them, they are wonderful to behold. His Seat is of the Talon in heaven, his Dwelling on earth, His throne Seat in the temple heaven is inscribed with the Divine Ennead of the nome. The rituals of the Lord are dedicated to Him (Horus-Behdety); Revealing the God’s face, Offering Ma’at to its Creator (Ra), and Burning Incense for the Processional Boat.

    About the Great Seat

    The Great Seat is the place where the Living Statue of Horus-Behdety sat in its naos. Originally the naos was in the north west corner, but was moved during Mariette’s excavation in 1860. In the center of the room rests a pedestal where Horus’ portable shrine and festival boat would stand. The facade of the Great Seat is inscribed with the morning litany, that was sung during the Morning Rites. The living statue was approximately 23 inches high, composed of gold plated wood and laid with precious jewels.

    Naos and festival boat
    Naos and festival boat
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    right wall
    left wall
    ceiling
    Naos and festival boat
    Naos and festival boat
    Naos and festival boat
    Naos and festival boat
    right wall
    left wall
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