Egyptian holiday: Edfu

The temple contains many images of Horus including two statues of the Horus falcon which stand before the main gateway. Horus, was first worshipped as a sun god but later became identified as son of Isis and Osiris.There are many releifs in the temple but the majority are located on the inside of the first pylon. As Hathor was believed to be Horus' partner/husband the reliefs spiritually connect Hathor with Horus. The reliefs include a scence shwoing the Feast of the Beautiful Meeting, the annual reunion between Horus and his wife Hathor.

As stated on the Dendera page during the third month of summer, the priests at the Dendera complex would place the statue of Hathor on her barque (a ceremonial barge) and bring her to Edfu Temple. The Ancient Egyptians believed that this ceremonial visiting enabled Horus and Hathor to share a conjugal visit. Each night Hathor and Horus would retire to the mamissi just outside the main temple. The Mamissi consists of a court, antechamber and sanctuary. The reliefs in the mamissi depict the birth of Harsomtus (son of Horus & Hathor), the God Bes, birth scenes and Ihi (Harsomptus), nursed by Hathor..

There are also a number of chapels around the sanctuary including the Chapel of Min, Chapel of the throne of Re, Chapels of Khonsu and Hathor, and a chapel of the spread wings, dedicated to Mehit. The ancient Egyptians believed that Mehit was a lioness who guarded the path the soul passed along on resurrection journey.

There is also the Chapel of the New Year, which is a sun court similar to that located at Dendera. The ceiling of the chapel shows the journey of the solar barque through the Twelve Hours of the day. During the Festival of the New Year, the statue of Horus would be taken from the chapel to the roof terrace so that the sun would recharge it.

To the southwest of the Temple of Horus the oldest cemetaries around Edfu can be found.
Around 5km from Edfu the last remains of one of seven small pyramids built along the Nile Valley can be found
Behind the town there also graves of the ancient Egyptian elite but these have been robbed.

Any buildings/structures that would have supported the functions of the temple such as houses for the priests, kitchens, abattoirs, storehouses or the sacred lake remain buried underneath the modern town.This is because the temple at Edfu itself was buried underneath sand until 1860 Auguste Mariette, the first Director of the Egyptian Antiquities Service commissioned excavation of the site at Edfu.