26/03/2024
'Creation of the cosmos in Dendera's Isis Temple.'
Some of the most famous images from the temple at Dendera portray human figures next to bulb-like objects reminiscent of oversized light bulbs. This one is located on an interior wall of Dendera's Isis Temple, which is a separate building located south of the main Hathor Temple. Similar images can be found in the crypt beneath the southern wall of the Hathor Temple.
What we witness here is the creation of the cosmos, in the form of an elongated bulb. It springs from a lotus-flower, the lotus being the first object that floated on the primordial sea, according to Egyptian cosmology. From the flower also appears a snake, which is equated to the rising sun and the god Harsomptus and which is enveloped by the cosmos. Harsomptus is also present in human form, standing behind the bulb and his ka (living essence) is kneeling beneath the bulb. The cosmos-bulb with its sun-snake is supported by a Djed pillar with arms, symbol of stability.
The Isis Temple dates from the first century BC.
