The village of Behbeit el-Hagar marks
the site of
an important, though now destroyed,
temple
known to the Greeks as the Iseion.
Little is
known about the early history of the
site;
however, it is believed that there may
have been
a structure there from the late Saite
Period. Main
construction of the temple may have
started
under the pharaoh of the 30th Dynasty
and work
was continued and completed under the
Greek
kings of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. The
main
element of the temple was a sanctuary
dedicated
to the Goddess Isis, although smaller
chapels
apparently dedicated to the resurrection
and
worship of Osiris surrounded it. It is
unknown
why the temple collapsed, although an
ancient
earthquake may have been the cause. Yet
it is
believed to have been destroyed by the
1st
century A.D., for certain blocks from
the temple
have been found in other structures
dating from
this era. Today, ruins of massive
mudbricks
demarcate the wall that once surrounded
the
structure while only tumbled masses of
granite
blocks remain to define the position of
the
temple. These granite relief panels are
noted for
their fine craftsmanship, with much
finer
detailing than most Ptolemaic period
temples.
This impressive fragment, rendered in
low
sunken relief, depicts two fertility
figures
advancing to the right, holding the was-
scepters, hes-vases and hetep signs,
while
walking beneath a star spangled sky.
Their faces
are shown in right profile, wearing the
tripartite
wig, and their broad shoulders are
depicted
frontally, each with left breast sagging
and a
swollen belly. It can be assumed from
the
iconography of the temple that these
women
relate to the cult of Isis. Although
the temple
once known as the Iseion has long lain
in ruins,
fragments such as this work attest to
the
masterful artistry of this sacred
building and help
conjure up the grandeur of this ancient
temple.
- (X.0008)
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