Edfu: the Best-Preserved Egyptian Temple

The Temple of Horus at Edfu, built under the Ptolemies, is almost completely intact. This video explores some of its many remarkable features.
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[@h3rteby]

We're so lucky that the Egyptian style was to cover their entire temples in text, and not just paint it on but carve it into the stone.

[@JustTunes31]

I visited Edfu Temple in April ❤ It is the 2nd largest Temple in Egypt and is one of the best preserved as it was buried under sand for nearly 2000 years until it was rediscovered in 1860 .

[@gitfoad8032]

So, presumably that's about when the carvings were defaced.

[@PonyOfWar]

@@gitfoad8032 They were defaced by early Christians around the 4th to 5th centuries, before the temple got buried.

[@AB-wf8ek]

@gitfoad8032 Most sources estimate the defacement was done in the 3rd to 4th century by iconoclastic Christians.

[@jagolago-bob]

I still find it amazing that such massive structures are ever buried in sand.

[@t16205]

@@jagolago-bob How did a whole civilization just abandon it? An epic reminder of that everything returns to the sand eventually

[@RickLowrance]

I'm enjoying the content on this channel as much as I do the original channel. Great, well made, videos on really good subjects.

[@bubaks2]

Where be the original content?

[@march11stoneytony]

​@@bubaks2toldinstone

[@t16205]

Imagine the hours put into this! How many people gave their lives to complete it? And I bet we dont se even half of the workmanship put in for everyone to see in its glory days. Spectacular!

[@jonr6680]

Thanks, was an immersive educational trip even on a smartphone, but will cast to tv later. Would never make it to these places, and never even knew about many of them.

[@scenicroutestothepast]

Deeply appreciated!

[@xanto97]

Seriously, I love watching these ancient history videos high. These are fantastic.

[@wsgray]

I've been enjoying your channels - they're a bright spot on YT - thank you!

[@andyroo9381]

This was such a special treat! Thank you for this and all of your videos.

[@jonr6680]

Look at the SIZE OF IT!! Apart from the complex cultural/ religious rituals etc - civilization.. The industrial scale stone working, engineering the straightness, the height of the ceilings... And all this before anything mechanical, much less power assistance. All these workers had was wood to use, and that was probably rare in any case. And given the location, assuming that most contemporary folks were happy that it created the interior environment - protection from sun, wind (rains?) A template for future temples in all religions globally, a big communal space protected from the elements.

[@festagio]

What a phenomenal place. Nice video quality and informative narration. 👍

[@RasmusDyhrFrederiksen]

Thanks!

[@scenicroutestothepast]

Deeply appreciated!

[@tankerraid]

Really fascinating to learn about the functions of the temple's different areas. Thank you so much!

[@rskcg]

Very nice explanation. Thank you very much

[@Venuk]

Thanks for sharing, hope to visit one day

[@gideonros2705]

Those columns are huge.

[@robbabcock_]

What an amazing look into a special place that was probably seen by a very privileged few back in antiquity!

[@Nick-zp3ub]

I can see how Egyptian temples influenced art deco. They look as magnificent now as they did 5000 years ago

[@steener76]

That was awesome. Thanks.

[@pronolagermain-ni9zq]

Excellent information! And thank you for speaking slowly so the facts could be digested

[@stellarbotosi2]

Thank you for sharing your visit to Edfu! I have been wanting to go for the last year but, unfortunately, due to world events, I have put it off. This was an excellent substitute and a treat.

[@levij4]

Another wonderful video! Thanks!

[@stargazer4683]

Amazing!

[@jimboy419]

Thanks. A beautiful temple and your narration was very good.

[@tdpay9015]

Spectacular. These ancient religions seem unnecessarily vengeful and repetitive, but are they really that much different from video games and anime? The catharsis is the same.

[@divideby000]

Amazing. Thank you.

[@phoule76]

now I want some hippo cake

[@Venuk]

[@wardarcade7452]

Of course, it needs to be mentioned that while the structure itself is remarkably preserved, originally was painted brightly with many colors but over the centuries the colors faded and/or were scraped off. Yes, the Ancient Egyptians, Classical Greeks all loved to paint their buildings, structures and even statues as brightly as possible as would the early Romans but in modern eyes that would appear garish.

[@AB-wf8ek]

@wardarcade7452 If you look at Tibetan temples, they paint every inch of it. I imagine it might have looked something like that. I personally wouldn't call it garish, especially considering it was before television and even printmaking. For people to experience something like that back in the day must have been awe-inspiring. Of course, it's impossible to tell because we'll never know exactly what the colors and spaces looked like in the past, and everyone is welcome to their own opinion.

[@georgegloss9577]

It’s only garish when done improperly. Some reconstructions for whatever statue or temple use a range of colours/tones no better than a toddler would which makes it look tacky. In reality the artwork was finely applied

[@AB-wf8ek]

@georgegloss9577 I agree, I was just thinking that myself. I feel like often when I see attempts at reconstructions, it's done with a sense of "accuracy" to the available materials, but in reality we don't know the exact consistency, don't have access to the same ingredients, and really don't know what the original colors looked like at the time. On top of that, reconstructions are often presented in isolation under harsh museum lighting, which is the equivalent of turning on the house lights at a venue. Everything looks garish under those conditions.

[@rickb3078]

Wonderful stuff

[@Ostarrichi996]

Edfu also has a description of a great flood that wiped away a cilivsation in a time before them

[@BlueBaron3339]

My goodness, so much work with later chisels to obliterate many of the depicted figures! Faces in particular. Marvelous video though 👍

[@jagolago-bob]

In the inner hall, the tops of the columns and the ceiling is black, suggesting torch lighting, or was that later? Very interesting film. Thank you.

[@scenicroutestothepast]

The cooking fires of later squatters caused most of the damage

[@TSZatoichi]

If you do a little Googling, you'll find pictures from the 1800's which show the whole temple partially filled with sand.

[@scronx]

Wonderful. Thank you! Are those the original ceilings, their blackness the 2000-year-old soot from their lamps?

[@gulshan-i8j]

a humble request to anyone who finds such beautiful temples buried in sand. plz keep it secret and let it be preserved by sand to protect it from defacing

[@jakegarvin7634]

I'm busy picturing the ancient egyptian Martha Stewart telling the temple staff about the Hippo cake with everyone cooing with delight

[@baystated]

Why are the carvings smooth but the people depicted pock-marked? The crowns an tunics are still clear though. Was it vandalized in later eras or was it painted and the paints for flesh colors were corrosive?

[@anonymous303-i1j]

Pharahos generally defaced their predecessors carvings. Later on it was early christians, then muslims and so on

[@_B_B_B]

The funniest thing is that all these ancient Egyptian beliefs may well stem from banal stories about the past deeds of an ancient tribal leader who went and killed a hippopotamus. There was a hippopotamus that tormented the tribe, it was killed and eaten. Then this glorious story was retold hundreds of times, embellishing the details and adding modernity. That's how religion grew. Just a very large meme or fan club.

[@Nakaska]

How deep inside were the regular people allowed to enter the temple? Afaik the inner sanctuary was off limits, similar to Greek temples but given the more complex layout of Egyptian temples i wonder which door was the final door for anyone but the priests?

[@scenicroutestothepast]

The public could only enter the first courtyard, and then only during festivals

[@Nakaska]

@@scenicroutestothepast Thanks!

[@march11stoneytony]

Aside from this channel and toldinstone, is anyone aware of any other channels from Garrett Ryan?

[@steveryall7669]

Just returned from a visit. You can see in the video, many of the images of the gods are chiselled away. This apparently was done by early Christians after the fall of the Pharoah's. As they considered them pagan images of gods

[@Am-ih5nf]

What camera and mic do u use? Great video. How did u pan the camera so smoothly also?

[@Blackadder75]

I was there like 25 years ago, I hardly remember anything, I had only a small traditional film camera at the time, before the age of cheap digital cameras. This was a nice, 'oh yeah, now I remember that!' moment

[@atlantic_love]

Okay

[@aum1083]

Amazing temple! And no tourists?

[@scenicroutestothepast]

Very few. People only come to Edfu by Nile cruise, and I was there between boats.

[@SuperUBii]

Any desecration experts? What I can't wrap my mind around is how methodical it seems ie. at 7:53 that all the uncovered bodyparts on the upper body are hacked away, but for the lower legs it§s only for a certain hight. Not all the way to the knee... Why's that?

[@gideonros2705]

If you look carefully, you can see that many have their legs hacked off. It was probably haphazard and opportunistic. Considering that many depicted are deities, I would assume it was done in later times by Christians and especially Muslims who had more strict rules concerning idols. There is probably some dimension of human psychology her at play, where desecration of the face and upper body is meant to carry the intent of killing. Just my non expert view.

[@firstlast5454]

Why was the roof so blackened? Was there a fire in the temple?

[@scenicroutestothepast]

People lived inside for centuries; their cooking fires blackened the ceilings

[@sIightIybored]

Has someone spent a very long time hacking at the skin of the people, or was it built that way so plaster could stick to it? Or was acne rife?

[@timeflysintheshop]

Do you know what the large square holes in the pylon and inside tne courtyard were for?

[@t16205]

Those are for wooden beams. It must have been much more elaborate in its glory days, with several stories

[@scenicroutestothepast]

Those are windows and access doors; there were passageways and stairs inside the pylon

[@timeflysintheshop]

@@scenicroutestothepast Wow! I thought it was built solid all the way thru!

[@CalledTurnAGundam]

Seth is Moo Deng confirmed

[@Reziac]

Awesome! I presume there are transcripts of all that writing on the walls??

[@obsidianjane4413]

People spend their entire careers, or at least grad student time, studying them.

[@scenicroutestothepast]

yes, there's a long-term project under the direction of Dieter Kurth to translate every inscription

[@Reziac]

@@scenicroutestothepast Excellent!

[@axor22]

Did anyone notice that that the faces are smashed in?

[@stellarbotosi2]

Yes, there is several reasons for that. I'm no expert but it could be related to the early Christianization of Egypt and/or Ancient Egyptian religion believing that taking out the "eyes/ears/mouth" of a figure would kill the "soul" of the deceased in relation to the affected area. There's quite a few YT videos on the subject matter by experts much more versed in it than I.

[@obsidianjane4413]

@@stellarbotosi2 Christians and Muslims were late to the party actually. Because of the tight bond between religion and "The State" in Egypt, when a sect or dynasty fell out of favor, it was common to come back a "retcon" monuments and temples. But yeah I think the vandalism at Edfu is mostly attributed to the Muslim conquest.

[@xejhiuj]

From Wikipedia: "The temple of Edfu fell into disuse as a religious monument following Theodosius I's persecution of pagans and edict banning non-Christian worship within the Roman Empire in 391. As elsewhere, many of the temple's carved reliefs were razed by followers of the Christian faith which came to dominate Egypt."

[@obsidianjane4413]

@@xejhiuj LOL @:"From Wikipedia"

[@stellarbotosi2]

@obsidianjane4413 Justinian in 537CE did proclamate outlawing pagan religions. See Percopius. Seeing that the Byzantine era lasted until 634CE. A fair amount of Ancient Egyptian temples were converted into Coptic centers of worship--iirc, ancedotally, Howard Carter used an adjacent valley of the dead tomb (converted into a Coptic monk sanctuary) as a waystation during his King Tut excavations.

[@DuncanL7979]

Why does this guy sound like the Told In Stone guy?

[@daveweiss5647]

Because this is the told in Stone guys other channel.

[@bdpage2023]

02:30 How long did they let supper sit out before staffers got it?🤢. Horus won that fight but lost an eye didn't he.

[@RareTS]

why is the ceiling black with what looks like soot in some areas ?

[@phoule76]

from all the burnt offerings, that must've made tons of grimy soot over the years

[@obsidianjane4413]

@@phoule76 No. For hundreds of years the temples were used for shelter or explored by people who's only illumination were camp fires and oil lamps and torches. That is why the ceilings are black. When it was still in use as a temple the ceilings would have been brightly painted.

[@xejhiuj]

From Wikipedia: "The temple of Edfu fell into disuse as a religious monument following Theodosius I's persecution of pagans and edict banning non-Christian worship within the Roman Empire in 391. [...] The blackened ceiling of the hypostyle hall, visible today, is believed to be the result of arson intended to destroy religious imagery that was then considered pagan."

[@obsidianjane4413]

@@xejhiuj I can cut n' paste too: LOL @:"From Wikipedia"

[@igorjee]

@@obsidianjane4413 I am happy he saved us time looking it up.

[@telsurrey1]

Who is this 'Gad' he keeps talking about?

[@andreweaston1779]

How and why is this one so intact?

[@scenicroutestothepast]

It was mostly buried by sand after being abandoned

[@HellenicJohn]

The ancient Gods will alway rein.

[@thejeffinvade]

I was there in April. Totally empty, I had a much better experience than I had in rome

[@bubaks2]

Imagine that. Egypt a better experience than Italy.

[@thejeffinvade]

@@bubaks2 Cairo traffic is insanely chaotic and dangerous. But Edfu and Kom Ombo Temple are really empty when we visited.

[@t16205]

@@thejeffinvade You just convinced me to go there one day! Tnx

[@JohnMinagro]

I'm glad you mentioned that. I got to see it in 2015 and was also surprised how few people were there. Just walking thru the building, the halls, towards the inner shrine of the god, was such a thrill. I could feel the sense of sacred space and imagine what it might have been like thousands of years ago. The stone floor of the passageways where we walked often gently undulated from the effects of centuries and centuries of earthquakes and shifting sand I suppose, only added to the sense of ancientness. The stone ceilings in my estimation, made this temple complete and whole and gave me the feeling of timelessly walking thru the structure. Karnak had no stone ceilings and tho it was much much larger and very impressive seemed to me to be more an ancient ruin we could walk thru. Edfu has a completeness that other temples only hint at. Thank you Scenic Routes for making this video.

[@giovannimoriggi5833]

Of course Edfu is not like Rome, you know-you have no Rome outside of the temple of Edfu!… which is beautiful but in the middle of nowhere like many beautiful Egyptian sites. But Cairo, from the point of view of a tourist, is a mega-nightmare, honestly. But I imagine how beautiful it could have been for a visitor between the 19th and 20th centuries.

[@kidmohair8151]

and in the layout of this, we can see the basic plan for *all* future buildings of worship, up to the present day. an impressive barrier-like facade, a long procession way leading to an inner sanctum.

[@alimanski7941]

Was curious about the defaced reliefs, apparently the result of early Christians.

[@solinvictus39]

Or Muslims.

[@atlantic_love]

@@solinvictus39 Most definitely Muslims.

[@alimanski7941]

No, it wasn't Muslims. Happened before Islam existed.

[@reeyees50]

What do you mean actual history of these buildings have nothing to do with joe rogan and the ancient aliens😢

[@bubaks2]

Huh?

[@BenjaminIMeszaros]

Not gonna lie, I wish we were still a spiritual, polytheistic society that did festivals in places like that that brought us together more often

[@obsidianjane4413]

The flip side is all the intertheistic conflict and wars. We only think of the conflicts between the monotheistic Abrahamic religions, but using religo-cultural exuses to kill each other predates history. Sorry to harsh your nice thought.

[@BenjaminIMeszaros]

Except that the Egyptian, Roman, and Greek pantheons all got together just fine. There was more flexibility before Abrahamic religions began to claim there is only one god and one way to believe.

[@obsidianjane4413]

@@BenjaminIMeszaros Are you sure about that? /historian.

[@BenjaminIMeszaros]

Very. There were nearly as many temples to Isis in the Roman world as any other deity.

[@t16205]

@@BenjaminIMeszaros Denying other religions gods is 100% an Abrahamic thing

[@ecurewitz]

Why are there back quakes on the exterior of the temple?

[@obsidianjane4413]

back quakes?

[@525Lines]

The early Christians went to the temples smashing faces. Sound familiar?

[@obsidianjane4413]

Kinda like posting ignorant false statements in YT comments today?

[@AB-wf8ek]

​@obsidianjane4413 Almost everywhere I looked online attributes the defacement to Christians in the 3rd to 4th century. Apparently, iconoclasm was common among Christians during that time, which was the practice of destroying the iconography of other religions.

[@nullifye7816]

"a true civilisation" is all I can think when I behold the calligraphic carvings and reliefs. Still, these are not the great stones of the pyramids, despite being cut in a much later and "more advanced" age...

[@huswsimonbla]

Did the Arabs chissel away all the faces and bodies or who was that?

[@AB-wf8ek]

Most sources online say it was Christians in the 3rd to 4th century, but I couldn't find anything that pointed to hard evidence. I think the reason most people think that is because iconoclasm was common practice in the region during that period of the Roman empire.

[@malcolmcurran6248]

If you need hard facts on the Christian destruction of the classical world please see Catherine Nixey's 2017 book The Darkening Age. It deals with the often violent Christian destruction of pagan symbols and practices of the Greco Roman world but of course Egypt from the time of Alexander is an integral part of that world. Or see if the movie Agora which takes place in Alexandria and deals with the same subject is available anywhere online.

[@AB-wf8ek]

@@malcolmcurran6248 Nice, thanks for the info

[@markmuller7962]

Romaboos are gonna be disappointed 😂

[@kartos.]

at first i thought you were saying Ramaboos for Ramses 😂😂

[@josephtrahan8045]

I’m not disappointed. The ancient world is fascinating no matter what civilization.

[@VLSG]

if the Romans painstakingly preserved and restored these ruins for hundreds of years so they would be available for your viewing pleasure, I count that as another win for Roman/Mediterranean cultural synergism I mean what would I know, I’ve only been involved in the preservation of these sites myself and constantly find the Romans did their due diligence to the preservation of the cultural heritage and symbology of the integrated, thus often doing our jobs for us, two thousand years ago Go ahead and ask for examples, my office is FILLED WITH THEM.

[@mr.booboo1]

I dont even think of you

[@bdpage2023]

​@@VLSGCool. Which culture has fared worse in terms of looting like all that stuff in Louvre & British Museum? Much better reverence than the Middle East where folks broke cuneiform tablets in Iraq and destroyed ruins they didn't like in Mesopotamia. Especially not fond of the Turks. If it weren't for Byzantine custodianship of Greek Bible & literature, leaving in haste, Ottomans would've destroyed much of it.

[@SardaukarQC]

Noooooo!!!! Horus, why did you skewer Moo Deng with 10 harpoons?

[@obsidianjane4413]

He had it coming.

[@gitfoad8032]

I wonder why the ancient Egyptians didn't utilise arches/vaults more, & stuck to post & beam. And I can't help but notice the extensive vandalistic disfigurments of these monuments reliefs; I assume it's that musselman thing about portraying people. Barbarians.

[@anonymous303-i1j]

it was early christians even

[@Ziad3195]

You don't know what you are talking about. Everyone vandalised these.

[@anonymous303-i1j]

@@Ziad3195 right. but its always "blame the muslim"

[@Ziad3195]

@@anonymous303-i1j If one climbed the pyramids, you will see all kinds of vandilisations. From the Romans to the French to the English.

[@dicostigan1449]

The ancient Egyptians looked like Tibetans, not Arabs.

[@toi_techno]

I've never seen this building before Amazing