The Temple is about 4km from the west bank of the Nile roughly opposite the city of Qena.
The Temple of Hathor was built in the 1st century B.C by Ptolemy VIII and Queen Cleopatra II, and it’s is one of the best-preserved Temples in all of Egypt! Later, Roman Emperors continued to decorate it to honor the Hathor, the goddess of maternity, love, and music. The Greeks knew Hathoras Aphrodite.
The first gateway, built by Roman Emperor Domitian in 80 A.D, leads to the well-preserved great hall, which is decorated with Hathoric columns (columns with the face of Hathor on them)
The interior walls of the great hall have remarkable scenes depicting sacrifices made to the goddess of the temple.
The amazing ceiling abounds with astronomical representationThe second hall has 6 columns adorned with rich capitals and granite pedestals. On both sides of this hall are small storerooms, used to store the wine jars
Next is the central chapel and its two altars; one for the sacred boat and the other for the sacrifices offered to the Goddess Hathor.
There is a small corridor on the right, which leads to a small room that contains the crypt, a great spot to visit. The staircases, which lead to the roof of the temple, are decorated with beautiful symbols of the 12 months of the year.
On the eastern corner, of the roof, is the chapel of the god Osiris. The scenes on its walls represent Osiris rising from the dead and becoming the god of the underworld.
