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Hathor Temple, a symbol of monumental simplicity
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The sacred temple of Hathor at Dendera has always been considered a symbol of monumental simplicity. It continues to greet its pilgrims with a forceful façade of six huge columns crowned by her head on each of their four sides. Hathor was the goddess of love, joy and maternal protection. She was always represented as a beautiful woman with cow's ears or wearing a headdress with cow's horns and a solar disk in between.

Her columns are also known as the sistrum columns because they have the shape of the rattle-like percussion instrument associated with the goddess. During rituals at her temple, the sistrum was shaken and the disc rattled to scatter away negative forces and invite positive ones.

Hypostyle Hall

Crossing the threshold into the covered hypostyle hall, two groups of nine columns –again surmounted by Hathoriccapitals - are erected on both sides of the central axis. As a temple is a miniature representation of the universe, the ceiling is decorated with heavenly bodies and astrological scenes.

The goddess Nut, who swallowed the sun disc every evening to regenerate it during the night and give birth to it again in the morning, is depicted along with the figures of the personified stars that crossed the sky in their own boats. Remnants of the vivid colors once used can still be seen in certain parts of the ceiling.

Hall of Appearance, Sanctuary and Surrounding Chapels

The great hypostyle hall leads to a smaller hall with six columns known as the "Hall of Appearances". It was during processions and festivals that the statue of Hathor "appeared" as it was taken out from its innermost sanctuary. The king is depicted on its walls when he was laying the foundations for the construction of the temple.

The walls of the goddess's central sanctuary explain it once had a stone shrine for her statue as well as her portable boat that carried her to Edfu for the Festival of the Embrace. The holiest room is surrounded by eleven chapels associated with different other deities who were connected with the cult.

Zodiac on the Roof Chapel

Two staircases grant access to the roof, which has two parallel sets of rooms on both its eastern and western sides. The ceiling of one those rooms revealed one of the magnificent discoveries of Napoleon's 19th c. expedition that won the Temple of Hathor worldwide fame.

It is a sandstone plate representing a zodiac or a map of the night sky with two round discs. Thirty six spirits or "decans" are depicted around the circumference to represent the 36 weeks of the ancient Egyptian calendar year as its week was made up of 10 days. The inner circle has the 12 signs of the zodiac, most of which are similar to the present day astrological signs. It is easy to recognize Aries, Scorpio, Capricorn and Aries. Aquarius is depicted as Hapi, the Nile flood god, pouring water from two vases.

When the configuration of these signs was studied by astrophysicists, it was found out that it corresponded to a date between 15 June and 15 August 50 B.C, which was during the reign of Cleopatra VII, the enigmatic queen of Ptolemaic Egypt.

Unfortunately, the original zodiac was moved to France in 1821 where it is now among the famous collections of the Louvre museum. A replica can be found it its place.