Philae - The Jewel of the Nile
The Temple of Hathor
The small temple of Hathor, just east of the great temple of Isis and facing towards the west, was built by Ptolemy VI and extended by Ptolemy VIII and the Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius. It consists of a so called kiosk with fourteen Hathor-headed columns, a pronaos and a cult terrace at the back of the temple facing the Nile. The beautiful reliefs on the temple walls depict musicians playing for the entertainment of the gods, all in accordance with the patron deity Hathor, of singing, music and dance .  Plan showing the layout of the temple of Hathor and which ruler built the different parts. On the propylons of this temple there is an inscription which points at the importance of the relationship between Hathor and the Sungod Re: His heart rejoices when he joins his daughter, He swims in his firmament, in peace He turns and takes his course  A look through the small HetHert temple where you can see the eastern shore on the other side. At Philae most of the ancient Egyptian female deities like Mut, Neith, Nekhbet and Sekhmet together with Hathor merged into one; the Goddess Isis. This started already during the New Kingdom Period and was at a peak during the Greek and Roman days. A closer study of each of these deities is neccessary if we want to understand the role and importance of the female goddesses in ancient Egyptian religion. At Philae this merging of deities most likely meant that the religious duties in the temple of Hathor was taken care of by the same priesthood who saw to the temple of Isis. As every deity was as important as the next one, there was probably no difference between the rituals. If festivals to Isis also included Hathor or if separate ones were held, is unknown. Either way, it must have been a joint enterprize, since at this particluar place the two deities were seen as one and the same.
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A handy encyclopaedia about
the ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses,
their priesthood and temple life.
These pages are for education only.
