The day was hectic, visiting the temples of Philae and Kom Ombo. We returned by 8 PM and had dinner, followed by a Nubian cultural dance show that night before heading back to our room.
Our room on the Nile cruise was really nice and cool. There were two big glass windows letting in the moonlight. I pulled back the curtains and peeked out at the night sky. The Sahara Desert looked stunning, calm, and peaceful that night, with the boat gliding smoothly like a serpent. I rested my head on the window, taking in the desert, palm trees, sand dunes, and the occasional house passing by. It was a heavenly experience, and every moment felt unforgettable. I thought to myself that even if I were to die today, I wouldn’t have any regrets for having lived such a beautiful moment.
I eventually fell asleep, and at 5 AM, the cruise reception woke me up to get ready for our visit to the Temple of Horus in Edfu. Our cruise was already docked at Edfu. We got ready and stepped off the cruise, where there were plenty of autos and tongas waiting to take us to the temple. It was 5 AM, and it took us about 35 minutes to reach the temple gate by auto. Edfu seems to be a poor village.
We got there at 6 AM and the temple opens at 7 AM, so the line was pretty long. It was incredible to see people from all around the world showing up with so much excitement and curiosity. This visit is not just a tribute to Egypt’s heritage but also to the ancient ancestors of Egypt, especially from the Ptolemaic era, like Cleopatra VII, who played a huge role in enriching the heritage with temples at Dandera, Esna, Luxor, Karnak, Philae, Kom Ombo, and the incredibly well-preserved temple of Edfu.
The entry fee is 450 Egyptian pounds, and as soon as we stepped inside, the temple sparkled like gold against the backdrop of the Nile River.
It is important to understand clearly who Horus actually is.
In ancient Egypt, Horus was worshipped in different forms, not just one. Same as in India, Lord Vishnu is worshipped as Vitthala in Maharashtra, Balaji in Andhra, and Jagannath in Orissa. Although these forms look different, the god Horus is essentially the same divine power, shown in different roles.
The Temple of Horus at Edfu is dedicated to Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris, while the Temple of Kom Ombo is dedicated to Horus the Elder.
At Edfu, Horus is known as Horus Behdety. Here, he leads the sacred story of avenging the murder of his father, Osiris, by defeating his uncle, Seth. Through this victory, Horus becomes the ideal king, symbolizing the triumph of good over evil and order over chaos.
The different forms of Horus can be identified by their appearance:
Double Crown (Red and White)—Horus Behdety, or Horus, son of Isis and Osiris (seen at Edfu)
Solar disk with cobra (uraeus)—Horus Behdety or Horus, son of Isis and Osiris (Edfu)
Winged Sun Disk—Horus Behdety or Horus, son of Isis (Edfu)
Atef crown—Horus the Elder (Kom Ombo); this is a very ancient form with no clearly defined parents
Naked child with sidelock of hair—Horus the Child (Harpocrates), son of Isis and Osiris, commonly shown in birth houses (mammisi)
This variety of forms shows how ancient Egyptians explained different aspects of the same god—as a child, a king, a protector, and a cosmic power.
Why it was built—It was built during the Ptolemaic period (237–57 BCE). The Temple of Edfu was built to honor Horus of Edfu, the falcon-headed god of kingship, protection, and victory. It functioned as a major cult center, where daily rituals, festivals, and offerings were performed by priests.
Category of temple—This is a cult temple. As only gods were worshipped here. There are statues of Pharaoh as god, no mummification or tomb here, so it is not a mortuary temple.
How to reach— All tourist cruise boats dock at Edfu. We have to take an auto or horse carriage to reach the temple through the town of Edfu. By road it is 110 km from Luxor and from Aswan it is 120 km.
Where to stay in Edfu—Most visitors don’t stay overnight. Nile Valley Hotel Edfu is one hotel near the temple.
Let us read the temple now
We need to know a mythical story about Isis’s family when we visit the Ptolemaic temples in Egypt.
“Osiris, the rightful king of Egypt, is murdered by his jealous brother Seth. After Osiris’s death, his wife Isis uses her magical powers to conceive a son, Horus. Horus grows up to claim his father’s throne as the legitimate heir, but Seth refuses to yield, embodying chaos, the desert, and disorder. This leads to a prolonged struggle marked by battles, trials, and divine judgment among the gods. Ultimately, Horus defeats Seth, restoring Maʿat—the divine balance and cosmic order of the universe.” But on a lower note, Egyptian texts connect the legendary battle between the gods Horus and Set to a rivalry between Upper and Lower Egypt, possibly in 3100 BC.
First Pylon Reliefs (Temple Facade)
The first thing I saw was the massive main gate (First Pylon) watched over by the falcon statue of Horus Behdety, who I’ll just refer to as Horus from here on out.
The relief shows King (Ptolemaic ruler shown as a pharaoh) smiting enemies before Horus. This shows that king is the agent of Horus on earth, and enemies are chaos (Seth, foreigners, disorder).
Open Courtyard Walls (Peristyle Court)
These are specular, amazing arts on reliefs carved on entire length of peripheral walls of the outer courtyard with the beauty enhanced by tall pillars.
We see here the king offering bread, beer, incense, and wine to Horus seated or standing as a falcon or falcon-headed god. Rows of gods are witnessing the offerings. Only this area was visible to people of ancient Egypt.
Ordinary Egyptians never went further than this space.
Outer Hypostyle Hall (First Covered Hall)
This entrance to outer hypostyle gate symbolizes transition from the human world to the divine world. This is meant for purification & preparation. King sprinkled with holy water by Horus, Thoth, and gods of the Nile, earth, sky, and fertility. Columns are symbolic of the papyrus marsh of creation.
Inner Hypostyle Hall
The reliefs in this area are for daily rituals and depict priests performing daily sacred duties.
Let us examine a few reliefs to understand the temple’s narrative in the Inner Hypostyle.
This relief shows the king offering sacred gifts to Horus Behdety as part of the daily rituals that maintained order and divine protection in Egypt.
Common rituals shown here are the offering of wine, water, and incense and the presentation of Ma’at. Each ritual had specific words, carved as hieroglyphs beside the figures.
The hieroglyphic inscriptions read here—offerings made to Horus, the name Horus Behdety, the names of ritual objects, and prayers and invocations spoken by priests. At Edfu, many walls are covered almost entirely with text, not pictures. That’s why it looks dense and written.
On the left is Horus Behdety, the falcon-headed god, wearing the double crown (Upper and Lower Egypt). He is standing upright, calm, and authoritative, with one hand extended forward.
Between them is the goddess Maʿat, a single ostrich feather on her head, a small, feminine figure. In the center is the king (Ptolemaic Pharaoh), arms extended forward in an offering posture.
Slightly bent knees show a gesture of devotion. In ancient Egypt the king is the only human allowed to approach the god (even priests acted “as the king”).
Important to note is that Maʿat is shown small; she is not weak but abstract and eternal. Her size shows she is a principle, not a physical being. Her feathers symbolize truth, balance, and order.
Why this scene is repeated across temples is because if Maʿat is offered every day, the universe survives.
In brief—this relief shows the king offering the goddess Maʿat to Horus Behdety, symbolizing the renewal of cosmic order, divine kingship, and the victory of order over chaos. This all means Egypt remains stable, chaos is pushed back, and the king’s rule is divinely justified.
Corridor Reliefs (Around the Sanctuary)
This area presents the sacred mythical story of Horus defeating the evil god Seth. Horus is shown hunting Seth. He is assisted by Isis, Thoth, and others. This is the restoration of Maʿat (truth/order personified).
Sanctuary (Holy of Holies)
Horus is enthroned, and the king offers Maʿat. Daily awakening, feeding, and dressing of the god. The cult statue of Horus once stood here.
Let us examine a few reliefs in sanctuary also.
There are sanctuary inside sanctuary in this holiest part of temple dedicated to 9 important gods on ancient Egypt.
I came out of the main temple, and I saw a beautiful building with several columns and rooms in it. It is the birth house of the child of Horus.
Mammisi (Birth house)
There was a tradition of having a birth house in all temples in Ptolemaic Egypt, as we saw in Philae, Kom Ombo, and now here in Edfu. Rituals were performed for the child of the main deity of the temple in it, and his birth was celebrated.
Here the mammisi is dedicated to the son of Horus and his wife, Hathor. On top of columns, we can see a figure of Bes, the leonine dwarf god who protected children and women in childbirth. On the same wall, see the left side, they can also be seen holding tambourines, joyously celebrating the birth of the child.
Nilometer
Every temple visited on this tour featured a Nilometer—a well with a staircase linked to the Nile River. Priests measured the water level by noting the submerged steps to forecast flooding. Located within temples, these structures elevated the Nile to divine status, granting priests sole authority over flood predictions.
Epilogue
Today, as we look upon the tombs and pyramids of the Old Kingdom, the cult and mortuary temples of the New Kingdom, and the Ptolemaic temples of Egypt, we are compelled to reflect deeply on two enduring mysteries: how these colossal structures have survived the passage of time and—more astonishingly—how the belief systems that created them gradually vanished from the world. What forces were powerful enough to erase not only the cults themselves but also the very ideas that once shaped an entire civilization?
When I posed this question to my learned guide, he remarked that although Egypt’s past was undeniably glorious, many of its gods were ultimately regarded as myths. The Egyptians, he felt, found it more meaningful to embrace Christianity and Islam, which they believed to be true and living faiths.
Whatever the reasons behind the disappearance of these ancient cults, generations to come will continue to bow in awe before the monumental creations left behind by our human ancestors on Earth.
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