Dendera: Temple of Time

A full-color exploration of the encoded ceiling at the Temple of Dendera

• Draws on more than 5,000 high-resolution photographs taken by the author to reconstruct the complete ceiling of the portico of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera

• Reveals in detail how each panel represents celestial cycles of time from the Precession of the Equinoxes to the annual cycles of life found along the Nile

• Explains each panel’s astronomical significance from the ancient Egyptian perspective as well as examining the myths, gods, and goddesses depicted

Egypt is famous for its pyramids, the Sphinx, the temples at Luxor, and the Valley of the Kings, but 40 miles north of Luxor lies the best-preserved temple complex in all of Egypt: The Temple of Dendera, known for the famous “Zodiac of Dendera” now housed in the Louvre Museum. Within the portico leading into the Hathor temple at Dendera is a little-known outstanding achievement of humanity: an extensive colored bas-relief—larger than the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel—meticulously encoded with the sophisticated astronomical knowledge of ancient Egypt.