BIBLE HISTORY DAILY

Coloring the Temple of Edfu

Egyptian temples were awash in color

The gate to the temple of Edfu in Egypt. © Vyacheslav Argenberg / http://www.vascoplanet.com/, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

On the west bank of the Nile River, in the city of Edfu, sits a temple to the ancient Egyptian sky god Horus. One of Egypt’s best preserved temples, it is currently being restored by a German team from Julius Maximilian University. Constructed under the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323–30 BCE), a Hellenistic royal line that traced back to the kingdom of Macedon, the temple took nearly two centuries to complete. However, its location, construction, and decoration have led experts to believe it was not only a religious site, but also a hub of knowledge and learning.

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Well preserved and massive (it measures roughly 75,000 square feet), the temple’s walls are covered in reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions. The temple was initially discovered and excavated in 1860 and has been open to tourists since 1995. The exposure has resulted in the inevitable dirtying of the stonework, with dirt, dust, and bird droppings accumulating over the years. Remarkably, as the team from Julius Maximilian University has been cleaning and restoring the temple, they have uncovered new evidence that its walls and reliefs were once painted in vibrant colors, while some elements of the temple were covered in gold.

A close-up of hieroglyphs on a wall relief at the temple of Edfu. © Institute for the Study of the Ancient World used under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic.

There is a common misconception that ancient artisans stayed away from the use of color. This belief is based mostly on the modern appearance of white, marble statuary recovered from many Greco-Roman sites, such as the famous Parthenon. However, scholars now know that most ancient statues and reliefs were painted in brilliant colors, which unfortunately have not survived the passage of time.

Indeed, in the case of the temple of Edfu, understanding how the reliefs once appeared is critical to understanding their original meaning. The inscriptions, reliefs, and colors all interacted to form an image of the cosmos, from earth to sky. Understanding how color was used also reveals more about Egyptian iconography and especially the hieroglyphic writing system. In addition, the team can use the new information to more accurately restore the temple’s reliefs to their original vibrant colors. What is more, traces of gold leaf were found high inside the temple and on a statue of an Egyptian deity. The gilding, which allowed the statue to sparkle in the glow of the sun, served to honor and glorify the deity.

Depiction of Horus with a falcon head, his traditional symbol. Ad Meskens, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

Finally, the restoration team found traces of ancient graffiti throughout the temple. While the ancient Egyptians are well known for their hieroglyphic writing, they also developed shorthand scripts for everyday use. After the seventh century BCE, the Demotic script was primarily used by Egypt’s literate population. Priests were some of the few people that could read and write, and this, combined with the location of the writing in the temple, has led researchers to believe priests were the ones responsible. These graffiti address Horus through prayer, further confirming this script was added by priests worshiping and working in the temple. Findings like these not only improve restoration attempts but also enhance the field of Egyptology as a whole.

Lila Wolk, a student in classics and ancient Near Eastern studies at George Washington University, is an editorial intern with the Biblical Archaeology Society.

Related reading in Bible History Daily:

What Is Ancient Egyptian?

Recoloring the Parthenon

Egyptian Papyrus Reveals Israelite Psalms

All-Access members, read more in the BAS Library:

The Egyptianizing of Canaan

Moses’ Egyptian Name

What’s an Egyptian Temple Doing in Jerusalem?

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