Dendera Temple

Why it matters

Dendera Temple lies near the city of Qena, north of Luxor, and is dedicated to Hathor, goddess of love, music and the sky. The present temple was built in the late Ptolemaic period and completed under Roman emperors, on a site that had been sacred for much longer. The complex also includes a birth house (mammisi) and a sacred lake.

The temple is known for its hypostyle hall, whose columns are crowned with the face of Hathor, and for ceilings decorated with astronomical scenes, including the famous Dendera zodiac; the original was removed to the Louvre in Paris and a copy is displayed at the site. Its walls hide crypts, and rooftop chapels were used for rituals of Osiris. A relief on the rear outer wall shows Cleopatra VII with her son Caesarion.

Plan your visit

Prices and hours checked October 2026. Always confirm at the ticket office. Card payment only at most ticket offices.

Your route through Dendera

1. 1

   Hypostyle hall

   Columns crowned with Hathor’s face under a restored blue astronomical ceiling.

2. 2

   The crypts

   Narrow underground rooms with fine reliefs that once hid the temple’s treasures.

3. 3

   Rooftop chapels

   Climb to the roof to see the Osiris chapels and a copy of the Dendera zodiac.

4. 4

   Rear wall

   Cleopatra VII and her son Caesarion making offerings to the gods.

5. 5

   Birth house & sacred lake

   The mammisi where Hathor’s divine child was celebrated, and the temple lake.

Good to know

• Bring a small torch for the crypts.
• Usually combined with Abydos on one day trip from Luxor.