Dendereh

(Dendera, Inuit, Tantere) A site north of THEBES, the capital of the sixth nome of Upper Egypt and the cultic center of the goddess HATHOR, the city was called Inuit or Tantere by the Egyptians. The goddess ISIS was also honored in the region, and the Egyptians maintained a crocodile sanctuary there. In the early periods, Dendereh was on the trade route from Qena to the Red Sea. The main chapel, dedicated to Hathor, dates to the reign of KHUFU (Cheops, 2551-2528 B.C.E.), and another from the Eleventh Dynasty (2134-1991 B.C.E.) The temple complex dates to the Sixth Dynasty (2323-2150 B.C.E.), attributed to "the FOLLOWERS OF HORUS" of that time. The present form dates to the Ptolemaic Period (304-30 B.C.E.). The chapel of OSIRIS and the temple reliefs of CLEOPATRA VII (r. 51-30 B.C.E.) and PTOLEMY XV CAESARION (r. 44-30 B.C.E.) attest to the Ptolemaic influences. Three birth houses, called a MAMMISI and a temple of Isis complete the religious complex. The necropolis of Dendereh included tombs from the Early Dynastic Period (2920-2575 B.C.E.) as well as a number of mastabas belonging to local Nomarchs. On the western side of the cemetery there are brick-vaulted catacombs in which birds, cows, and dogs were entombed in mummified form. A small chapel from MONTUHOTEP II (r.2161-2010 B.C.E.) was also discovered in Dendereh and now is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The building commemorated the royal cult and had inscriptions from
MERENPTAH (r. 1224-1214 B.C.E.) of the Nineteenth Dynasty, A temple honoring the birth of Isis was decorated by Emperor AUGUSTUS, and another shrine, dedicated to HORUS of Edfu, was erected in the area. Extensive building continued in Dendereh throughout ancient historical eras.