The discovery of a boat chapel in the temple of Hathor at Dendera brings to mind ancient festivals and religious rituals writes Jill Kamil In March, a Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) mission restoring the temple at Dendera uncovered the main chapel of the temple where the sacred boat of the goddess Hathor once stood. The boat found by the archaeologists, who have been working in Dendera since the beginning of the year, was used during the goddess's annual festival, one of the most delightful celebrations in Ancient Egypt. Pictorial representations of the sacred boats on which the ancient gods were borne from one temple to another are rare. Those surviving from the New Kingdom show that the sacred boat, usually depicted as papyriform, rested on a sledge-cum-stretcher which was carried in procession to a special barge and towed along the Nile. Its ends were decorated with grand collars, and the high shrine of the god amidships was inevitably portrayed as partially concealed by a white cloth. In representations where the colours are still preserved there is a suggestion of gilded hulls, while the shrine is adorned with precious stones. The traditions of Hathor of Dendera were closely linked with those of Horus of Edfu. The two deities were of equal standing, husband and wife. At each site the holy triad consisted of Hathor, Horus and their son, who bore a different name at each site. The name Hat-hor means "House of Horus", and the goddess forms a part of a triad along with Horus of Edfu and their son who in Dendera was Ihy, a young god of music depicted with the side lock of youth. Twice a year, on the occasion of the birthday of each deity, the festival of the "Good Union" was celebrated. This was when the boat bearing the sacred statue of Hathor would be taken from its sanctuary at Dendera, placed on the Nile vessel and borne upstream in a splendid procession. Meanwhile that of Horus would set off downstream, also amidst great fanfare. Where the boats met, they would be encircled by a rope cast by other vessels in a gesture of unity. Then, together, the river crafts would make their way to the appropriate temple to celebrate the reunion of husband and wife amidst joy, song and prayer. There was ceaseless activity in ancient Egypt and because the geography of the land made transport difficult -- if not impossible -- except by boat, the bulk of the movement was dependent on the Nile. It was the vital artery that linked Upper and Lower Egypt, the most effective and practical method for transporting goods, the means by ancient viziers travelled to conduct the biennial census, and provincial dignitaries to attend festivals. All major settlements were within easy reach of the river and all temples were near the edge of the Nile. In fact, the ancient Egyptian attitude towards movement was so closely linked to the idea of sailing that travel south was referred to as "going upstream" and travel north as "going downstream". Boats were so familiar a sight and so connected with the commercial life and religion of the people that it is not surprising to find them among the earliest objects depicted in art and included among funerary equipment. Yet an actual model of a sacred boat on which the statue of a god was carried in procession in full view of the population during a festival has never been found. Only one poorly preserved relief has come to light, showing the god Amun carried in procession. Because of the paucity of written material, one can only speculate on the activities that went into preparing for such occasions. Yet it is important to do so because the care and attention expended on them is vital to our understanding of life in ancient Egypt. Perhaps by observing the present we can more clearly understand the past: national and religious festivals in Egypt today suggest that river craft were built and assembled at the various cult centres to carry delegations to the sites of the festivals. Presumably even more care went into the construction of a sacred boat. The temple of Dendera (Tentyra in Greek) lies about 60 kms north of Luxor and eight west of Qena, at the spot where the Nile takes a great loop to the west. According to an inscription in the crypt of the temple, its primaeval foundations date from the time of the "Followers of Horus". Records of this early period were found at the site inscribed on rolls of leather. When the temple was rebuilt in the reign of the Fourth-Dynasty Pharaoh Khufu, the high-ranking official Seneni was responsible for inaugurating the "Navigation of Hathor", her voyage to Edfu in the month of Epiphi. The second great festival at Dendera took place on the ancient New Year's Day, when the image of Hathor, which was believed gradually to have lost efficacy in the darkened sanctuary in the course of the year, would be taken to the top of the temple to be reimbued with power from the rising sun. This festival is depicted in the antechamber of the temple, where there are passages on both sides leading to staircases that ascend to the temple roof. These tastefully executed reliefs on the walls show the procession ascending to and descending from the roof. The Pharaoh is led by a priest, and is followed by others. Some wear masks of lesser deities; others waft incense and chant or clap their hands. One priest reads from a papyrus scroll. Behind him a priestess, watched over by the high priest, bears two caskets. They are followed by three priests in succession. Then come several priests bearing the sacred shrine on which stands the statue of Hathor. While the procession climbs to the roof the priests chanted a long hymn, which is inscribed on the wall. Having borne the sacred shrine to the roof of the temple, the necessary rituals are carried out and the procession is then ready to descend the second staircase so the statue can be restored to the sanctuary. The goddess Hathor had many titles. She was known as Mistress of Dendera, the Lady of the Sycamore Tree, and her temple became known as the "Castle of the Sistrum" -- her sacred emblem, a rattle-like musical instrument. Hathor was sometimes depicted as a cow, sometimes as a female figure with the head of a cow, and later with a woman's head and a cow's ears. Although Dendera was her cult centre she was a widely popular goddess, known even as far afield as Sinai, Phoenicia and Punt on the Somali coast. This grand temple, built mainly of sandstone, is one of the best examples of Late Egyptian temples in existence. It has survived relatively undamaged because it was buried until the middle of the 19th century, when it was excavated by Auguste Mariette. When the French Egyptologist released it from the sand the walls were still adorned with the names of all the important Egyptian Pharaohs, from the Old Kingdom through to the reigns of Shabaka in the XXVIth Dynasty when the boundary walls were rebuilt. Nectanebo, the last Egyptian Pharaoh, constructed a mammisi or Birth House, one of the earliest known of its type. In its present form the temple of Dendera is largely Ptolemaic and Roman, its reconstruction having been begun under the later Ptolemies and completed some 185 years later under the Roman Emperor Tiberius. In dedicating a temple to Hathor, the Ptolemies honoured one of Egypt's most popular deities. At that time it must have been a virtual hive of activity, with major feasts held several times a month, and special feasts lasting for several days. Some festivals were exclusive to the temple, others such as the Feast of the New Moon and the Festival of the Raising of the Sky by Ptah were celebrated all over the country. The temple was also known as a place of healing, which probably accounts for the fact that it underwent continued restoration. In Greek and Roman times temples continued to have mammisi. The surviving Birth House at Dendera was reconstructed by the Emperor Augustus near the ruins of the one built by Nectanebo, and is adorned with reliefs added by the Emperor Trajan. They relate to the birth of the child Horus, who grew to manhood, overthrew the enemies of his father Osiris and took over the throne of Upper and Lower Egypt. The purpose of stressing this ancient tradition was to show that Horus (who was identified with Egypt's first Pharaoh) was the offspring of the gods. Consequently any sovereign who recognised this tradition showed that he, too, should be regarded as a descendant of Horus, and thus ruled by divine sanction. The donning of the necessary crowns and the handing over of sacred insignia by the local priests would indicate their acknowledgement of this right to rule. The Birth House of Augustus at Dendera was converted into a church in the fifth century, and a Christian basilica was built in the area between it and the original Birth House of Nectanebo. The second stage of the project to restore the temple of Dendera is scheduled to begin next season. It includes setting up visitors' information centre, delineating routes through the historical area, and providing service facilities.
