Temple of Deir el-Medina

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Temple of Deir el-Medina

The temple of Deir el-Medina is a small sanctuary dedicated to the goddess Hathor from the Ptolemaic period northwest of Luxor in Upper Egypt . The sandstone temple house is surrounded by an enclosure wall made of unfired adobe bricks . It adjoins the former settlement of Deir el-Medina to the northeast , in which the workers of Thebes-West lived in ancient Egyptian times , who built the stately tombs in the Valley of the Kings and in the Valley of the Queens .

history

Temple of Deir el-Medina (Egypt)
Hathor Temple (Deir el-Medina)
Hathor Temple (Deir el-Medina)
Location in Egypt

The workers' settlement of Deir el-Medina was from around 1520 to 1069 BC. Inhabited. It was called Set Maat , in ancient Egyptian st-maAt (Hr jmnty WAst) , which means 'place of truth (from Thebes-West)'. The main deity of the settlement was the goddess of the dead Hathor, a kind of patron saint of the necropolis of Thebes-West. The temple on the northeastern edge of the building, built under the founder of Set Maat , Pharaoh Amenophis I , was dedicated to her. He stood on a terrace above the north corner of the Ptolemaic temple area, which is still preserved today and surrounded by an adobe wall. Only the foundation walls of the temple of Amenophis I and the temple of Seti I , which later replaced it, on the northeast brick wall are left. About 30 meters southeast of the entrance gate to the Ptolemaic temple district are the remains of a small shrine, presumably from the time of Ramses II , which was dedicated to the Theban triad Amun , Mut and Chons .

Depiction of the pillared hall in the 19th century by David Roberts
Temple cross-section according to Lepsius

The Hathor Temple, which is still visible today as a ruin, was built in the second half of the 3rd century BC. Started under Ptolemy IV. Philopator and in the first half of the 2nd century BC. By Ptolemy VI. Philometor and Ptolemy VIII. Euergetes II. Completed. At the time of construction, the workers' settlement adjacent to the southwest had not existed for several centuries. It became after the reign of the last pharaoh of the New Kingdom , Ramses XI. , given up. In addition to Hathor, the Ptolemaic temple was dedicated to the goddess of truth Maat and the deified architects Amenhotep, son of Hapu , and Imhotep . Furthermore, in its interior there were chapels for Amun- Sokar - Osiris and Amun- Re -Osiris.

After the Christianization of Egypt in the 3rd and 4th centuries, the Ptolemaic Hathor Temple was converted into a Coptic monastery . The Arabic name Deir el-Medina (دير المدينة, DMG Dair al-Madīna ), which means "monastery of the city" and which was transferred to the entire archaeological site of the ancient Egyptian settlement. Since the 19th century there have been various expeditions and independent excavations to and in Deir el-Medina under Bernardino Drovetti , Henry Salt , Richard Lepsius , Auguste Mariette , Gaston Maspero , Ernesto Schiaparelli and Georg Möller . In 1917 the Institut français d'archéologie orientale received the excavation permit and in 1922 began the excavations led by Bernard Bruyère . The excavations in the area of ​​the temple and its surroundings were carried out between 1939 and 1940.

Temple complex

Ground plan according to Lepsius

The temple complex was built on three terraces rising towards the rear, adapted to the landscape. It is completely enclosed by the well-preserved mud brick wall to about 50 × 50 meters and has a large recess on the west side. The main gate is opposite the Amun sanctuary of Ramses II on the southeast side of the site. There are also two further entrances through the brick wall on the southwest side and one entrance on the northeast side.

Temple house of the Hathor Temple
Column hall or vestibule

The most important and best-preserved structure on the site within the adobe wall is the sandstone temple of the Hathor Temple. In addition, to the southwest of the temple there is a Mammisi made of adobe bricks , a 'birth house' that has already fallen into disrepair. On the south-western temple grounds are some remains of votive chapels that the workers of the Set Maat settlement built.

At the back of the Ptolemaic temple house a counter- temple of the goddess Isis was built in Roman times . Only the lower wall remains of the adobe extension. On the other hand, the relief in the sandstone masonry of the back wall of the Iseion, on which Augustus, as Emperor Caesar , makes offerings to the goddesses Hathor, Maat, Tjenenet and Rat-taui, is well preserved.

Staircase in the pronaos
Northeast face

The temple house of Hathor Temple, 15 meters long and 9 meters wide, has a simple floor plan. Behind the entrance there is a small columned hall, a vestibule with two composite capital columns (also called cyperus columns). On the left there is a passage to the former Mammisi. In the rear area, two side barrier walls between a composite capital column and a Hathor pillar separate the slightly elevated pronaos from the column hall. The narrow pronaos is designed as a sacrificial table room, from which a staircase leads to the temple roof on the south-west side.

The two deified architects Amenhotep, son of Hapu, and Imhotep are depicted on the pillars of the entrance to the pronaos. The walls of the room show Ptolemy IV's sacrifices to various gods, in the upper part of the back wall he makes offerings to the goddess Hathor in the form of a cow . An interesting detail is the small opening in the southwest wall above the stairs to the roof three pillars are designed like two hathor pillars and a composite capital column in the middle.

From the pronaos, three passages lead to the three long, narrow chapels of the temple. In the left, southwest chapel, Amun and Sokar-Osiris were venerated, with Sokar being seen as the manifestation of Osiris. On the right wall you can see the sacred barque of Sokar-Osiris on a pedestal and some scenes of sacrifice. The back wall shows Ptolemy IV before Osiris and Isis.

The depiction of the ancient Egyptian judgment of the dead on the left side of the chapel, which is otherwise only known from graves, is unusual for a temple . Two goddesses of truth (mate) lead the deceased into the courtroom, where his heart is weighed against the truth in the form of a feather by the gods Horus and Anubis . 42 judge deities sit above the scenery and make the decision. The god Thoth notes the result and gives it to Osiris, who is the 43rd judge in the presidency. Between Thoth and Osiris sits Ammit , a goddess of the hereafter as a hybrid of crocodile, lion and hippopotamus to eat the heart of an unworthy person.

The middle chapel is dedicated to Hathor and Maat. Ptolemy IV appears in the reliefs with his sister and wife Arsinoë III. as well as Ptolemy VI. and Ptolemy VII. Soda and water, clothing and ointments are offered by the rulers to the gods . Amun-Re and Osiris were venerated in the northeast chapel on the right . As in the other two chapels, the reliefs show sacrificial scenes, here of Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy VII in front of different gods.

and display information about the image
The judgment of the dead in the temple of Deir el-Medina

literature

  • Heinrich Brugsch : The temple of Dêr-el-Medîneh . In: CR Lepsius (Ed.): Journal for Egyptian language and antiquity . Thirteenth year. Hinrichs'sche Buchhandlung, Leipzig 1875, p. 123–128 ( archive.org [accessed April 11, 2016]).
  • CR Lepsius (ed.): Monuments from Egypt and Ethiopia. Based on the drawings of the scientific expedition sent to these countries by His Majesty the King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm IV and carried out between 1842 and 1845 . Third volume. Nicolaische Buchhandlung, Berlin 1900, Ptolemy Temple by Dêr el Medinet, p. 117–126 ( archive.org [accessed February 16, 2016]).
  • Dominic Montserrat, Lynn Meskell: Mortuary Archeology and Religious Landscape at Graeco-Roman Deir el-Medina . In: The Journal of Egyptian Archeology . tape 83 . Egypt Exploration Society, 1997, pp. 179-197 , JSTOR : 3822465 .
  • Pierre du Bourguet : Le temple de Deir al-Médîna . Ed .: Luc Gabolde (=  Mémoires publiés par les membres de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale du Caire . No. 121 ). Institut Français D'Archéologie Du Caire, Cairo 2002, ISBN 2-7247-0321-9 (with illustrations by Laïla Ménassa).

Web links

Commons : Temple of Deir el-Medina  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
Wikivoyage: Ptolemaic Temple of Hathor (Deir el-Madīna)  - travel guide

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Iufaa: Deir el-Medina. aegyptologie.com, August 26, 2008, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Thomas Dowson: Traveling to Luxor? Don't Miss Deir el-Medina. archeology-travel.com, March 20, 2013, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  3. ↑ a b Stefan Gerke: Deir el Medina: History of an autarkic commune in the second millennium BC in Thebes. The history of Deir el Medina and scientific sources. (No longer available online.) Papyrus-magazin.de, November 8, 2015, archived from the original on February 15, 2016 ; accessed on February 15, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / papyrus-magazin.de
  4. ↑ a b Deir al-Medina. Institut français d'archéologie orientale, April 2, 2008, accessed on February 15, 2016 (French).
  5. ↑ Thierry Benderitter: The tombs of Deir el Medineh. The local temple. osirisnet.net, October 21, 2015, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  6. ↑ a b Mirco Hüneburg: Deir el-Medine (in West-Thebes). aeggypt-online.de, accessed on February 15, 2016 .
  7. ^ Temple of Hathor at Deir el Medina. ancient-egypt.co.uk, November 22, 2014, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  8. ^ Bernard M. Adams: Amun temple and chapel of Ramesses II, Deir el-Medina. egyptmyluxor.weebly.com, December 14, 2015, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  9. ^ Anneke Bart: Ramesses II and his temples. Deir el-Medina. euler.slu.edu, August 20, 2008, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  10. ^ A b c Dieter Arnold : Lexicon of Egyptian architecture . Albatros, Düsseldorf 2000, ISBN 3-491-96001-0 , Deir el-Medine, p. 63 .
  11. ^ A b Francisco López: El Templo de Hathor y Maat (Deir el Medina). egiptologia.org, August 1999, accessed February 15, 2016 (Spanish).
  12. ↑ Shemsu Sesen: Hathor: Her Art and Temples. Hathor at Deir el-Medina. emhotep.net, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  13. ↑ a b Temple of Hathor at Deir el Medina. Temple of Hathor. ancient-egypt.co.uk, November 22, 2014, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  14. ↑ Jane Akshar: Ptolemaic Temple of Hathor at Deir el-Medina. touregypt.net, May 31, 2005, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  15. ^ A b c d Claudia Ali: Luxor West Bank - Temple in Deir el-Medina. Leben-in-luxor.de, May 4, 2011, accessed on February 15, 2016 .
  16. ^ Temple of Hathor at Deir el Medina. Interior of the temples courtyard. ancient-egypt.co.uk, November 22, 2014, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  17. ^ Temple of Hathor at Deir el Medina. Plan of the temples. ancient-egypt.co.uk, November 22, 2014, accessed February 15, 2016 .
  18. ↑ Friederike Herklotz: Prinzeps and Pharao: The cult of Augustus in Egypt . Oikumene studies on ancient world history. Antike, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-938032-15-2 , Augustus as Egyptian Pharaoh, p. 180 ( digitized version [accessed February 15, 2016]).
  19. ↑ Kent R. Weeks: Luxor and the Valley of the Kings . National Geographic Art Guide. National Geographic Germany, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-937606-10-6 , Das Dorf Deir el-Medina, p. 220 ( digital copy [accessed on February 15, 2016] Italian: Le Guide dell'arte - I Tresori di Luxor e della Valle dei Re . 2005. Translated by Martina Fischer, Wolfgang Hensel).
  20. ^ CR Lepsius : Monuments from Egypt and Ethiopia. Based on the drawings of the scientific expedition sent to these countries by His Majesty the King of Prussia Friedrich Wilhelm IV and carried out between 1842 and 1845 . tape II . Nicolaische Buchhandlung, Berlin 1849, OCLC 312448163 , Section I, Sheet 88 ( edoc3.bibliothek.uni-halle.de [accessed on February 17, 2016] full view).
  21. ↑ a b c Kent R. Weeks: Luxor and the Valley of the Kings . National Geographic Art Guide. National Geographic Germany, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-937606-10-6 , Das Dorf Deir el-Medina, p. 221 ( digital version [accessed on February 15, 2016] Italian: Le Guide dell'arte - I Tresori di Luxor e della Valle dei Re . 2005. Translated by Martina Fischer, Wolfgang Hensel).
  22. ↑ a b c Alberto Siliotti: Guide to the Valley of the Kings, the Theban temples and necropolis . White Star, Vercelli 2000, ISBN 88-8095-493-8 , The Temple of Deir el-Medina, pp. 132 .

Coordinates: 25 ° 43 ′ 44.3 "  N , 32 ° 36 ′ 7.7"  E