Hathor, the city’s matron deity, was worshiped as early as the Old Kingdom, but this temple dates only from the first century BC. The late Ptolemies and the Romans found it politically expedient to associate themselves with Hathor; Cleopatra, Augustus, Claudius, and Nero sponsored decoration of the temple. A benevolent goddess, Hathor was usually depicted as cow-headed or with cow’s ears, or shown wearing a crown of two horns cradling Ra, the sun disk. Because her specialty was love and joy, Hathor, the “Golden One,” was identified by the Greeks as Aphrodite. During an annual festival, a statue of Hathor was carried in a sacred procession down the Nile to meet Horus of Edfii.

During the summer, countless bats inhabit the secluded portions of the temple. Glance up at the ceiling and cover your hair before entering the temple’s smaller chambers. A flashlight comes in handy.

Eighteen columns are surmounted by cow-goddesses’ heads in the Great Hypo-style Hall. In the temple’s inner sanctum, wall paintings portray the embalmer’s art, while the ceiling is decorated with pictures of Nut. In the second hypostyle hall, also known as the Hall of Appearances, six columns line the central aisle of the temple, complemented by six small chambers on either side.