DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4640#0060
TEMPLE OF EDFOU, ANCIENT APOLLINOPOLIS, UPPER EGYPT.
This magnificent Temple, and a smaller one near to it, are all that remain of the ancient city of
Apollinopolis Magna. Even in its state of ruin, the great Temple is one of the most entire in Egypt;
and we are better enabled to judge by it of the general arrangements of such structures than from
the ruins of any other that exist. The period of its erection is comparatively modern: it was begun
by Ptolemy Philometer about 160 years B.C., and carried on to completion through the next two
reigns. It is finely situated on a high and commanding ground, overlooking the plain of the valley
of the Nile. The view of the Temple is taken from a high mound to the west of it, beneath which
a part of the ancient city is probably heaped.
Upon the facade of the portico are found the names of Philometer and Euergetes, and on an
abacus is the oval of Lathyrus, which again occurs, with that of his queen, Cleopatra, on the exterior
of the area and the portico. On the towers of the propylon are the sculptures of Ptolemy, the elder
son of Auletes, and his sister, Cleopatra Tryphcena; on the walls of the circuit, which inclose the
back part of the Temple, the name of Alexander I. is found, together with that of his wife, Cleopatra.
Some small figures at the corner of the western propylon have been added at a later period, and are
accompanied by the name of Tiberius Claudius Caesar.
" The general effect," says Wilkinson, " of this grand edifice is exceedingly imposing, and, from
the state of its preservation, it is capable of giving a very good idea of Egyptian temples. It also
shews the respective proportion and distribution of the parts—their exterior appearance when entire,
and the strength of these formidable citadels; which, while they served as a protection to the town,
commanded the respect of the inhabitants, and effectually prevented or defeated any attempts of the
disaffected to dispute the authority of their priestly rulers. The god Hor-Hat also is the same as
Agatho-Daemon, so frequently represented by the winged globe, in the deity of Edfou; but the
honours paid to the crocodile in Ombos, Silsilis, and other neighbouring towns, were, if we may
believe Strabo, never acknowledged by the inhabitants of Apollinopolis."
The situation is in the midst of a plain naturally fertile, but is only partially cultivated; the
Temple lies about five miles from the Nile, which is seen in the distance, and beyond it appears
the ridge of mountains where the ancient Necropolis of the city was placed. So stupendous are
these ruins in this view of the whole Temple, that the modern dwellings, which lie before the
propylon, have rather the appearance of piled rows in a brick-field. The propylon itself, still nearly
one hundred feet high, is supposed to be more recent than the rest of the Temple ; it is built with
the greatest solidity, and contains many apartments that have been closed with stone doors, and
lighted by apertures worked in the masonry; they are connected by a staircase, which extends to
the top of the building, and also to many chambers in the foundation. The gates of the entrance,
probably of metal, must have been of enormous height and exceedingly heavy; they seem to have
been hung in the usual manner upon pommels, which turned in sockets. Beneath the interior are
enormous substructions, which Colonel Vyse entered by a hole from an Arab house; they were full
of dirt and filth, but they had been built with great solidity, and had been adorned with highly
finished sculptures.
Midway, between the propylon and the adytum at the extremity, the noble pronaos rises like a
separate temple; and, surrounding the whole, is seen the lofty wall of circuit, built by Alexander I.,
which rendered every part of the Temple inaccessible, except through the grand pylon.
Wilkinson's Thebes. Colonel Vyse.
This magnificent Temple, and a smaller one near to it, are all that remain of the ancient city of
Apollinopolis Magna. Even in its state of ruin, the great Temple is one of the most entire in Egypt;
and we are better enabled to judge by it of the general arrangements of such structures than from
the ruins of any other that exist. The period of its erection is comparatively modern: it was begun
by Ptolemy Philometer about 160 years B.C., and carried on to completion through the next two
reigns. It is finely situated on a high and commanding ground, overlooking the plain of the valley
of the Nile. The view of the Temple is taken from a high mound to the west of it, beneath which
a part of the ancient city is probably heaped.
Upon the facade of the portico are found the names of Philometer and Euergetes, and on an
abacus is the oval of Lathyrus, which again occurs, with that of his queen, Cleopatra, on the exterior
of the area and the portico. On the towers of the propylon are the sculptures of Ptolemy, the elder
son of Auletes, and his sister, Cleopatra Tryphcena; on the walls of the circuit, which inclose the
back part of the Temple, the name of Alexander I. is found, together with that of his wife, Cleopatra.
Some small figures at the corner of the western propylon have been added at a later period, and are
accompanied by the name of Tiberius Claudius Caesar.
" The general effect," says Wilkinson, " of this grand edifice is exceedingly imposing, and, from
the state of its preservation, it is capable of giving a very good idea of Egyptian temples. It also
shews the respective proportion and distribution of the parts—their exterior appearance when entire,
and the strength of these formidable citadels; which, while they served as a protection to the town,
commanded the respect of the inhabitants, and effectually prevented or defeated any attempts of the
disaffected to dispute the authority of their priestly rulers. The god Hor-Hat also is the same as
Agatho-Daemon, so frequently represented by the winged globe, in the deity of Edfou; but the
honours paid to the crocodile in Ombos, Silsilis, and other neighbouring towns, were, if we may
believe Strabo, never acknowledged by the inhabitants of Apollinopolis."
The situation is in the midst of a plain naturally fertile, but is only partially cultivated; the
Temple lies about five miles from the Nile, which is seen in the distance, and beyond it appears
the ridge of mountains where the ancient Necropolis of the city was placed. So stupendous are
these ruins in this view of the whole Temple, that the modern dwellings, which lie before the
propylon, have rather the appearance of piled rows in a brick-field. The propylon itself, still nearly
one hundred feet high, is supposed to be more recent than the rest of the Temple ; it is built with
the greatest solidity, and contains many apartments that have been closed with stone doors, and
lighted by apertures worked in the masonry; they are connected by a staircase, which extends to
the top of the building, and also to many chambers in the foundation. The gates of the entrance,
probably of metal, must have been of enormous height and exceedingly heavy; they seem to have
been hung in the usual manner upon pommels, which turned in sockets. Beneath the interior are
enormous substructions, which Colonel Vyse entered by a hole from an Arab house; they were full
of dirt and filth, but they had been built with great solidity, and had been adorned with highly
finished sculptures.
Midway, between the propylon and the adytum at the extremity, the noble pronaos rises like a
separate temple; and, surrounding the whole, is seen the lofty wall of circuit, built by Alexander I.,
which rendered every part of the Temple inaccessible, except through the grand pylon.
Wilkinson's Thebes. Colonel Vyse.