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Dendera

Egyptian mythology

Dendera

Temple of Hathor, goddess of love and music, its ceilings painted with the sky goddess Nut, the stars and the zodiac.

Characters
Hathor · Horus · Ihy · Isis · Ra

Dendera was the great temple of Hathor, goddess of love and music, rebuilt under the Ptolemies and Romans. Its ceilings are painted with the sky goddess Nut, the stars and the zodiac signs, and a rooftop chapel of Osiris held the round zodiac carved around 50 BC, now in the Louvre.

As daughter and Eye of Ra, Hathor was carried onto the roof at New Year to receive the sun's rays, and sailed upriver yearly to join Horus at Edfu. Their son Ihy, the child who plays the sistrum, had his birth house here, beside a small temple of Isis. Her return is told in The Distant Goddess.

Quick questions

What is Dendera?

Temple of Hathor, goddess of love and music, its ceilings painted with the sky goddess Nut, the stars and the zodiac.

Which mythology does Dendera belong to?

Dendera belongs to Egyptian mythology.

Which myths feature Dendera?

The myth that features Dendera is “The Distant Goddess”.

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