Edfu
From Encyclopædia
{ed'-foo} The Egyptian town of Edfu, or Idfu (1966 est. pop., 27,326), is situated on the
Nile River. Many of the present inhabitants once lived south of
Aswan. They were resettled when their homes were threatened by the waters rising behind the
Aswan High Dam, constructed in 1960-71.Known to the ancient Egyptians as Djebu and to the Greeks as Apollinopolis Magna, Edfu has ancient remains ranging from Old Kingdom burials to Byzantine private houses. The principal feature is the magnificent
temple of
Horus. He was represented either as a man with a falcon's head or as
Horus of Behedet, a solar disk with outstretched wings. In this form he was equated with APOLLO by the Greeks. During certain festivals, the
priests of
Horus of Edfu celebrated rites in association with
priests of his consort,
Hathor of Dendera, and of their offspring Harsomtus. The
temple, begun (237 BC) by
Ptolemy III Euergetes and completed (57 BC) by
Ptolemy XII Auletes, is among the best-preserved examples of Egyptian
temple architecture. The entrance lies in the middle of two pylons that open onto a forecourt. Beyond is the sanctuary proper composed of an outer and an inner hypostyle, or hall of many
columns, an outer and inner vestibule, and the inner sanctum surrounded by subsidiary chapels.Robert S. BianchiMap Location[s]Alexandria, Damanhur, Al Mansurah,
Port Said, Ismailia, Tanta, Az Zaqazic, Cairo,
Suez,
Sinai Peninsula, Al Fayyum, Al
Minya,
Asyut, Suhaj, Nile, Bur Safajah, Qina,
Luxor, Idfu,
Aswan, Lake Nasser,
Suez Canal, Gulf of
Suez, Red Sea, Gulf of
Aqaba, Mediterranean Sea.
