Edfu – Temple of Osiris, the Best Preserved in Egypt

17 11 2023

Our Nile ship docked for the night at Edfu. The famous temple is about a kilometer from the dock, and can get very crowded. So Ahmed, our best-in-Egypt tour guide, arranged that we would arrive before opening. We took prearranged taxis and showed up first, well before dawn. Completely worth it!

Waiting for the door to be unlocked to enter Edfu Temple!

As other groups followed, many guides warmly greeted Ahmed, and told us how lucky we were to have him!

Once the doors opened, we trotted as fast as our legs could carry us to the temple.

The place was ours for a short time.

The day dawned blue and bright. We got some very good images – clear – and thankfully right then, because it wasn’t long before smoke from neighborhood cooking fires obscured the sky. For maybe 20 minutes we had Edfu pretty much to ourselves. Edfu, constructed over 180 years starting in 237 BCE, is so well preserved because it was completely filled in and covered with sand until its rediscovery in the 1860s by French archeologist Auguste Mariette. For two thousand years before construction this real estate was already a holy site for Horus worship.

Columns line an interior courtyard.

The falcon God Horus, to which this temple is dedicated, is the God of the sky, healing, kingship, and protection. Horus is a part of the most famous of all ancient Egyptian stories, and his symbolism is with us today, in the symbol for a prescription medication, Rx. Rx is a derivative of the hieroglyphic for the eye of Horus. Essentially, this is the story of the marriage, betrayal, conspiracies, incest, sexual intimidation, love, murder, reincarnation, and more, amongst the gods and goddesses Osiris, Isis, Set, Horus, and Nephthys.

Eye of Horus, synonymous with healing, morphed into the symbol for prescription, Rx.

Part of this important story is that the God of violence and chaos, Set, and Horus had a fight. Horus lost eyes. His mother Isis, Goddess of motherhood and healing, searched with Nephthys, her sister, for the the eyes and found them. Isis healed Horus’ eyes, and ever since the eye has been a sign of healing. Ancient Egyptians believed this battle happened exactly where the Temple at Edfu was constructed. All sorts of unmentionable acts occurred in this lengthy story.

More on this complex, completely bizarre, and important story later.

Our O-Dark Hundred arrival had its benefits.

I couldn’t resist acting like a Pharaoah smiting down my foe. The many walls were worth up close examination. For a fleeting time, we could explore on our own. But it wasn’t long before 1,000s of tourists turned up.

This temple astounded me in that it is a temple within a temple within a temple. Each “layer” is completely covered with exquisitely carved scenes. The work undertaken is unimaginable. There are many scenes of the barge carrying Horus on his journeys.

And in the center temple ‘layer,’ is the Horus barge itself.

Stars on a ceiling
The winged beetle is a scarab, associated with resurrection

Horus was married to Hathor. Hathor was the goddess of dance, joy, love, sexuality, and music. Her dedicated temple was at Dendera. Twice a year, ancient Egyptians engaged in festivals dedicated to this couple. A statue of Hathor would travel 106 miles up the Nile from Dendera to meet Horus at Edfu. This meeting kicked off a terrific celebration.

The Story of Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys and Horus

This R-rated story was fundamental to Egyptian mythology, symbolism and their lifestyle. It lays out the landscape of various ultra-important things to Egyptians, such as who rules the afterlife.

Who is Who

Osiris – Osiris, ruler of Egypt and descendant of the origin Gods, is god of agriculture, fertility, and the underworld. His role in the underworld is not a devil. He manages souls crossing the underworld to the next life. It Osiris who decides if a soul is worthy of crossing into the afterlife. Osiris is married to Isis.

Set – God of violence and chaos. Set is brother to Osiris – and a rival.

Isis – Goddess of magic, motherhood and healing. Wife of Osiris.

Horus – God of the sky, kingship, healing, protection. Son of Osiris and Isis.

Nephthys – Goddess of mourning, protector of mummies, protection, the dead, and, oddly, beer. Sister of Isis. Wife of Set.

Ma’at – Goddess of balance, harmony, order, law, morality, truth, and seasonal and cosmic rhythms. Ma’at was also a set of 42 principles by which Egyptians lived their lives.

Got all that? Time to grab a beer or a glass of wine, because this is quite a story. Many twists and turns. Put the kids in another room. This story is said to be dated to at least 2,400 BCE. It was recounted by the Greeks and the Romans. I will say this! To come up with this kind of stuff, they must have had time on their hands. And lots of ancient Egyptian beer. So, without further adieu…

Set is jealous of Osiris, the highest god. He wants to get rid of him and take his throne. Some versions say Set was furious with Osiris for having sex with Set’s wife Nephthys. So, he hatches a plan. He has a party, invites many of his friends and relatives. He builds a lockable box in the exact dimensions of Osiris. Once the party turns lively, he brings out the box and challenges everyone to see if they can fit inside. Everyone tries and nobody fits, but the last to try is Osiris, and he fits exactly – so tightly that the only way he can fit is by crossing his arms. Once inside, Set locks the box! With Osiris inside, Set manages to throw the box into the Nile, and it drifts away. Osiris drowns. And ever since, Egyptians had themselves put into sarcophaguses with their arms crossed, because this was the right way to the underworld. Set takes the throne.

With Set “in charge,” the morality, balance and peace of Maat is upended. Chaos ensues. Civil unrest erupts. The Nile floods at the wrong times. Celestial movements are off kilter. The once predictable seasons are off. Egyptians steal from and lie to each other.

Osiris is terribly grieved and recruits sister Nephthys in a search to find the body of Osiris. Legend has it that they turned into falcons, scanned everywhere, and found it (in parts) many miles upriver. They mummified him and set about various incantations to bring him back to life. He does come back. And Isis has sex with the resurrected Osiris, becoming pregnant with Horus. Osiris, however, isn’t interested in the living world anymore, and decides to become ruler of the underworld.

Pregnant Isis knows her progeny would be a threat to Set. So she hides herself in a marshy area on the Nile full of papyrus. There, after months, she gives birth to Horus. The early life of Horus was full of challenges, some versions say poison by snakebites. Isis is said to travel amongst ordinary humans in search of treatments. Many of these turned into magical spells.

As an adult, Horus challenges Set for the throne. An 80-year long, often violent, contest ensues. In most conflicts Horus wins. But the “judges,” other gods, often are favored of Set. Then the conflict turns sexual. Set wants to have sex with Osiris, who agrees if Set gives him some power. Central to this story is that Egyptians thought semen was poisonous. Set’s semen enters Horus’ body and makes him sick. OK that’s one story! Get ready for the alternative version. In this story, Horus prevents by catching Set’s semen in his hands. Then, and don’t ask me details, because I can’t find any. But Isis puts Horus’ semen on a lettuce leaf, which Set eats and becomes poisoned and pregnant instead. In more sexual violence, Set removes the eye of Horus and a testicle!

Well, Isis the healer once again comes to rescue and puts everything back together. With Horus restored, Set is finally defeated, Horus becomes ruler of Egypt, and all the gods and goddesses celebrate.

With Horus on the throne, Maat is restored. The moon returns to full brightness. Egyptians live peacefully. Seasons once again become dependable. The stars and constellations are once again recognizable.

So. I said it before and I’ll say it now! To me, this just proves how productive Egyptian agriculture had become. They had so much bounty that they were able to “hang out,” think about things, drink beer, and make up the most crazy stories ever told!


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Egypt! The Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza

14 10 2023

It all started about 5,225 years ago. It was here before Buddha, before Angkor Wat, before Macchu Pichu, before Stonehenge. As the Ice Age ended, the once fertile Sahara dried up and humans converged on the Nile Valley. There, instead of hunting and gathering, they learned to grow crops. They realized the annual, reliable Nile flood nurtured the soil. And they learned about animal husbandry. No longer needing to roam to find sustenance, they settled down. And for the first time in human history, they had spare time. They had idle time to consider why. They asked questions and came up with explanations. The sun rose every day and set, east to west. The stars moved across the sky, and other bright objects amongst them – planets. Each, like the seasons, had its own rhythms and patterns. They noticed animals and plants occupied certain niches and worked in a kind of symphony – they seemed to have roles. And death. What happens after death? All these things they observed and thought about couldn’t be happening by sheer chance. Gods must have a hand in all this. Gods and goddesses must have their own duties and niches. Humans, too have their own society and roles, niches, and if everyone understood, did their part, everybody could benefit. Thus ancient Egypt came to be. In ancient Egypt, thousands of years before elsewhere on Planet Earth, religion and laws came to be, science began, architecture reached unimaginable proportions, and to the present day, many still live their lives in accordance with evolved versions of ancient Egyptian ways of life.

I’ve held a lifelong fascination with ancient Egypt. Even as a 12-year old, I knew how to write my name in hieroglyphics. I wore an ankh. My favorite deity remains the goddess Maat. I witnessed the Treasures of King Tutankhamen world tour in New York City in 1977. I’d also checked out ancient Egyptian collections in London, Paris, and Washington, DC. But I’d never been to Egypt. Sometimes, it’s not safe to travel there. Then, in 2021, I booked a trip only to postpone due to Covid restrictions on the Delta variant. Once it became safe and restrictions were lifted, I took my opportunity – in April 2023. I enjoyed a tour led by Intrepid Travel. We covered a lot of ground, from Alexandria to Abu Simbel. Our tour guide Ahmed was simply fantastic. He holds a degree in Egyptology and was voted best guide in Egypt, so we were well taken care of! I was the only American in my group – we were Swiss, English, Italian, Australian native, and Irish-become-Australians. The big takeaway for all of us was that there is simply no way to comprehend the enormity and complexity of ancient Egypt without going there in person. Day after day we were blown away! The trip itinerary exposes the guests to one World Heritage site after another, with ever increasing magnificence, finally culminating at the Karnak Temple Complex, which is by far the largest in the world. That region, which also sits on the river Nile, with its palm trees and cooling waters, and includes Luxor Temple and the Valley of the Kings, blows away every other archeological site on Planet Earth.

I learned that the weather on such a trip can be quite pleasant! This is because of the river Nile. We had sailings via felucca sailboats. Our trip included three nights on a Nile River Ship. The multi decked ship had spacious rooms, a dining room, and a shaded roof top deck. Once under way it’s very pleasant, even with the Sahara right next door. So if all this sounds intriguing, stay tuned because the next blog posts cover all this!

But first, the Pyramids. Almost everyone on Earth knows about the Giza Pyramids. It’s hard to imagine any more iconic sight than these. Like everything else about ancient Egypt one can’t understand the enormity unless you see them with your own eyes. So here they are. Right from the top of our hotel, and thousands of years old, they loom over Cairo.

The Giza Pyramids took about 30 years each to build and were completed between 2,500 BC and 2,600 BC. They were built with two main purposes. First, to house the earthly remains of the pharaohs Khufu, Kaafre, and Menkaure. Secondly, and even more importantly, the structure and shape was to enable the Pharaoh’s entry into the afterlife. Even the Valley of the Kings was selected because its primary mountain was believed to be pyramid shaped. They took the majority of the lives of tens of thousands of workers to build. Rather than slaves, these were paid workers. State budgets included funds for the construction. An entire city, complete with breweries, granaries, tailors, butchers and everything needed to support the effort grew up. Today, I witnessed the many fire pits still visible where the meals were cooked. For me, to glimpse the size of these structures and comprehend the absolute unquestioned belief in the gods and the afterlife and the effort it took is quite a lot to get into your head. Even the Romans who came to govern Egypt often became so overwhelmed that they, too, would often worship Egyptian deities. In fact the worship of the goddess Isis was widespread (even as far as England) and continued until about 400 AD.

The Giza Pyramid Complex consists of the three great pyramids, plus several smaller ones, the Sphinx, and a mix of other discoveries of interest. One is of an ancient barge “dock” where they buried a barge hundreds of feet long. Walking around the pyramids, myself and my roommate Lorenzo discovered giant polished rose-granite stones around the bases which clearly had been chiseled to interlock with one another. A guard told us these were literally mined in Sudan and barged 800 miles up the river to the site! A quick computation resulted in mind blowing realization that this all happened over 4,000 years ago! And all of these polished interlocking blocks, now at the base, covered the sides of each pyramid.

Lest my photos give you the impression there were only a few tourists, HA! This place gets mobbed. Here is a photo of my group on the plateau. But all around us there was probably 1,000 people! There are hawkers with souvenirs. Taunts offering camel rides. And yes, there were Lawrence of Arabianesque scenes of camel trains walking the dunes amongst the pyramids. But instead of ancients, these were tourists. It’s just part of the reality of Egypt. After all it is a tourist magnet. There are plans underway to change things. In the not too distant future, buses will be prohibited and instead some kind of shuttle system set up.

Next we went down to the Sphinx. It’s very interesting. And dedicated to Khafre. Our only access was via a walking system up the side. We weren’t allowed to actually touch it. Later, we went to the Egyptian Museum. It’s vast and for me, quite overwhelming. It has the complete sarcohpaguses of several Pharoahs, some of the most important early relics showing the birth of the Upper / Lower Egyptian kingdoms, a collection of mummified animals, and more.

There were a few items that really grabbed my attention. One is a seated statue of Khafre. His expression is of satisfaction. And then The Scribe. Look closely at his expression. He just seems so content! Then there is another favorite. It is a representation of a member of the royal family with a birth defect (dwarfism), and his wife, and children. The 4,000 year old expression of affection is so palpable! It seems these people were happy! The Scribe is so famous it is on the 200 pound Egyptian note.

Our time in Cairo was complete, but we’d return at the end of our trip for some more time checking out contemporary life in the Medina. Next, we’d head north to the Mediterranean coast – Alexandria.


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