Unearthed (2016–…): Season 11, Episode 2 - Mystery of Egypt's Zodiac Temple: Secrets of Dendera - full transcript

Deep within
Egypt's vast interior

lies a unique ancient complex,

Dendera.

It's really, really impressive.

There's absolutely nothing
else like it all over Egypt.

This majestic temple
is adorned with

a spectacular array of
mysterious signs of the zodiac.

The temple of Dendera is a place

to understand and decode
the ancient universe.

Now, investigators venture

deep into the temple's crypts...



The access is very low.

...and bring vibrant paintings
back to life...

These images are the most
unique in Egypt.

...to unlock Dendera's secrets.

What is this captivating site,

and who builds it?

He was one of the last
members of

one of the last dynasties of
ancient Egypt.

And why does it entice
the most beguiling pharaoh of

them all, Cleopatra?

To solve these mysteries,

we blow Dendera apart
and unearth

its unique interior.

We hunt for the rulers
who build this temple.



We decode its incredible
zodiac depictions,

digitally reconstruct

this magnificent complex
in its prime,

and reveal the secrets

of Dendera's Zodiac Temple.

Dendera,

an ancient complex on
the banks of the Nile.

Dendera is situated
285 miles south of Cairo

and is revered for millennia
by ancient Egypt's pharaohs.

This is a religious site that is

almost as ancient as the
Egyptian civilization itself.

Each part of
this awe-inspiring temple

is built over 3,000 years
of Egyptian history.

In antiquity,

Dendera is sacred.

A 3,500-foot-long mud brick wall

protects 18 acres
of holy ground.

A monumental gate

leads to a series of temples,
store rooms,

a bathhouse,

and a ceremonial pool.

One majestic temple

dominates the heart of
this complex.

What is this ancient site,
and who builds it?

Cedric Gobeil

is on a mission to uncover
the secrets of Dendera.

I've been coming to this
place for more than 15 years,

and what strikes me is
the size of the monuments,

really, the diversity,

all the details of every
scenes that are there to

be seen.

Cedric ventures to the heart of

the complex to look for clues
to Dendera's purpose.

The colossal facade of
the central temple features

six vast columns,
each one 50 feet tall.

And on the top of each column,
a mysterious figure.

The figure on the top of

the columns must be
extremely important.

These are the head of
a powerful entity,

perhaps a deity, and it looks
like she has some cow-like

features, like for
the ears, for instance.

Most of the figure's key
features have been removed.

It makes it difficult for
Cedric to establish

who the God is
or what it might represent.

Cedric examines
the temple's exterior walls

for clues to the deity.

Here, she has the horns
on the top of her head.

She's having the sun disc
between these horns,

which means that she must be
very powerful,

very powerful goddess,
because sun is linked

with life and power.

She is depicted
all over the walls of

the temple and on many
features of this monument.

Cedric is curious to
learn more about the goddess.

He ventures inside the temple.

It is breathtaking.

The vast walls and columns

are covered with inscriptions
and images.

No surface is left undecorated.

The preservation is unique
in Egypt.

The colors are still vivid
after millennia.

Cedric looks for evidence to
identify this mysterious deity,

and something catches his eye.

A large relief of the goddess
sits on the interior wall.

The same goddess
that we've been seeing

all around in this temple.

Ancient hieroglyphs
surround the image.

I can read her name, and
her name is right there...

Hathor.

So it's the goddess Hathor.

Hathor is a powerful
female goddess worshiped from

the Old Kingdom until
the Greco-Roman period of

Egyptian history.

What Hathor represents from
what I gathered here that

she represents a very positive

aspect of life, among those love

dance, music, motherhood.

The image of the
goddess Hathor is everywhere,

most notably at the apex of
the huge pillars.

Ancient Egyptian pharaohs
build the main structure

as a temple to worship her.

Pepi I, a pharaoh of
Egypt's Old Kingdom

is the first to build here,

over 4,000 years ago.

There must have been
a lot of very important

and sacred rituals
happening in this temple.

In its prime,
hieroglyphic inscriptions adorn

the 24 sandstone pillars of
this hall.

At their top,

the faces of Hathor are
painted in vivid colors.

At the back of the temple,

22 chambers surround
a sanctuary.

Inside are two sacred barques
and a stone shrine

for a 6-foot golden
statue of Hathor.

Can clues within
the temple reveal

what sacred rituals
take place here?

Evidence may lie in
the thousands of images

and hieroglyphs that cover
the walls,

but many are difficult
to decipher.

The temple lies abandoned
for centuries

after the fall of the pharaohs.

Sand, dirt, and soot builds up
over the ancient reliefs,

concealing them
from investigators.

Mamdouh Ghandar is an expert
in ancient restoration.

He and his team are tasked

with restoring Hathor Temple's
centuries-old reliefs.

They work chamber by chamber

to delicately transform
the ancient walls,

removing layers of soot
from modern settlers' fires

to reveal
previously hidden details.

Mamdouh starts by
removing the compacted dirt

with a fine brush.

Next, he applies a paper press
with a specialized

chemical solution to remove
the final layer of dirt.

Mamdouh and his team
have restored

up to half of
the temple's reliefs.

And now Cedric
can investigate them to

find out what rituals are
performed here.

Cedric makes his way up
the ancient staircase.

I see a group of priests
carrying a portable shrine

and all they have
these leather straps

around their neck...
Must have been very heavy.

And the reason is, inside was

the gold statue of
the goddess Hathor.

These reliefs imitate
the priests who walk

these exact steps
over 2,000 years ago.

And for the ancient Egyptians,
it was not only a statue,

it was the goddess herself.

The procession is evidence of

an important event in
the Egyptian calendar...

The Egyptian New Year.

Every new year before sunrise,

the temple priests
purify themselves

in the ceremonial pool.

They then carry
the golden statue

of Hathor up
the sacred staircase

to the temple roof.

Here they place the statue
in a small chapel

so it is ready to be exposed
to the first rays of the sun.

As the dawn breaks,
the sun illuminates the statue,

and Hathor is reunited
with her father,

the sun god, Re.

Cedric investigates
the rooftop chapel.

While it was covered
with a veil,

the priest, while standing
outside, would have been waiting

for the sun to be at
the right position.

At that very moment,
they would have unveiled

the kiosk,

therefore revealing the statue
to the rays of sunlight.

That would have made
this goddess,

Hathor, being fully
rejuvenated by the sun.

The rulers of ancient
Egypt built this magnificent

temple to honor the powerful
and popular goddess, Hathor.

Here, they celebrate her rebirth

and all the positive aspects
she represents.

But Dendera's
magnificent reliefs

depict more than just Hathor.

Why does Egypt's most alluring
pharaoh, Cleopatra,

depict herself as
the goddess Hathor here?

Could unique reliefs
discovered around the site

hold clues?

Dendera, Egypt,

a holy site centered around

a temple to the powerful
goddess, Hathor.

But Hathor is not the only
goddess depicted here.

Cedric Gobeil investigates
a stunning relief

at the back of the temple.

Here, I see the image of
a very important person,

and I know that, because
we have a pair of cartouche

in front of it.

So it must be a pharaoh
of some kind.

There's a K-L-O-P-A,

so Cleo,

then D-R-A... Cleopatra.

This is fantastic.

This is an image
of the queen, Cleopatra,

the legendary ruler.

There's the horn of a cow,
the sun disc between the horns.

So she's really seeing herself

and putting herself
here as a goddess.

Cleopatra is Egypt's
last pharaoh, born

in 69 BCE from
Greek Macedonian heritage.

She rules the country
for 21 years

from her capital, Alexandria.

She is
an accomplished mathematician

and a gifted linguist,
fluent in nine languages.

Cleopatra is
the only foreign ruler

who learns to speak
the Egyptian language.

This relief is powerful evidence

of her direct association
with Hathor.

This representation
of Cleopatra,

in fact, is very rare.

Only very few evidences
remain in Egypt of her.

Cedric hunts
for further evidence

of why Cleopatra associates
herself with Dendera.

He explores an intriguing
structure near

to her relief,
which could contain clues.

Hathor's temple is
the main structure at Dendera.

Next to it,

two small chapels...
In the furthest,

a columned entrance
leads to three rooms.

The last is a sanctuary

for a statue of Hathor
nursing the child god, Ihy.

Priests come here to honor
the birth of the gods

and to celebrate
the birth of new pharaohs.

What can this small chapel
tell us

about Hathor and Cleopatra's
devotion to her?

Cedric investigates a relief on

the exterior
of the small chapel.

This is a very good
representation

of the goddess Hathor.

In fact, she's not here only
represented as a goddess

but as a mother goddess,
because we can see

that she's breastfeeding
a child god.

There's a hieroglyph here
that can be read,

"mut n,"

which can be translated
"mother of,"

and she's clearly here
the mother to gods.

Cedric explores the inside wall

of the chapel for more evidence.

We clearly see
the goddess Hathor offering

the ankh sign, the symbol of
life, to the coming pharaoh.

This not only tells us that
Hathor was the mother of

the gods, but that she was also

the mother to the pharaohs.

Maybe this is why Cleopatra
depicts herself as Hathor.

Cedric wants to find out

why Cleopatra
depicts herself as Hathor,

the divine mother
to gods and pharaohs.

He believes
the reason could be linked

with her efforts to maintain
her political power.

What I'm looking at
here are two coins.

The one to the right
depicts Mark Antony,

a late partner of Cleopatra.

Whereas the coin to the left
depicts Cleopatra herself.

The first thing I see is that
she is depicting herself

with Romanesque features that
are similar

to those of Mark Antony.

She's trying to establish
a clear affiliation with

the world dominant power at the
time, the Roman Empire.

In 51 BCE,

Cleopatra succeeds
her father, Ptolemy XII,

but has to share the throne
with her 10-year-old brother.

A power struggle
between the two siblings

forces the queen
to flee from Egypt.

She plots her return to power,

forms an alliance with
Julius Caesar,

and bears him a child,
Caesarion.

Caesar's mighty Roman legions

help Cleopatra
defeat her brother

and reclaim the Egyptian throne.

Cleopatra was
a formidable diplomat.

Despite seeking alliances
with Rome,

she was determined
to keep Egypt independent

and under her rule.

The precarious
power politics could help

explain Cleopatra's efforts

to depict herself
as at one with Hathor.

Cedric returns to
the relief of Cleopatra

on the main temple

to piece together the clues.

It was very smart of Cleopatra
to choose

to depict herself as one of the
most beloved goddesses.

By doing so, she was trying to
increase her popularity

with the Egyptians at
a difficult time in

the country's history.

In fact, it was a very good
political strategy.

Cleopatra is a savvy politician,

and she has one eye
on the future.

Next to Cleopatra is
a depiction of

the son that she had with
Caesar, Caesarion.

By portraying herself
as the goddess Hathor,

she was also legitimizing
her son,

Caesarion, as the rightful
ruler after her.

Cleopatra adds
her reliefs to the temple

around 44 BCE.

But Dendera and the worship of
Hathor begin long before then.

Who are the rulers of

the mighty civilization
that builds this temple?

Can crypts hidden deep beneath
the temple's structure

hold important clues?

The great temple of

Hathor at the mysterious
complex of Dendera.

Its spectacular reliefs
make it unique.

But what's hidden
beneath these ornate chambers

is equally compelling.

Below the temple,

a series of crypts stretches
300 feet underground.

In one of the crypts
at the back of the temple,

priests store small
ceremonial objects

and offerings for festivals
to the goddess...

an ancient musical instrument,

a sistrum, carved in
the likeness of Hathor,

an incense burner,

bread,

and even beer jars.

Could these crypts
reveal more clues

about the rulers
that build this temple?

Cedric Gobeil searches
the subterranean crypts...

The access is very low.

...for evidence of
the main temple's construction.

Here I can see gods
and goddesses

from Egypt's deep past.

I can clearly recognize Tefnut

and Nucknun.

They're absolutely beautiful.

He makes his way
through the chambers

and discovers
a depiction of a pharaoh

resplendent in
his distinctive headdress.

This is Ptolemy XII.

He was Cleopatra's father,
and he ruled Egypt for 26 years.

He was one of
the last members of

one of the last dynasties
of ancient Egypt, the Ptolomies.

The Ptolemies
are the final dynasty

of 3,000 years of ancient Egypt.

This evidence of Ptolemy XII in

the crypt is vital for
Cedric's understanding of

Dendera temple.

This image of Ptolemy XII is an
important discovery,

because it tells me
that the construction

of this temple was started
under his reign.

Cedric wants
to find out why the Ptolemies

choose to construct this
magnificent temple to Hathor

at Dendera.

He ascends to the ground floor
of the temple

to look for clues in its best
preserved room, the Pronaos.

On the ceiling is
a series of cryptic images,

strange creatures
and mysterious gods,

which could help
his investigation.

Here, we have the depiction
of the night sky,

and we see some constellations
there that are represented

with Egyptian gods.

Some other star signs are
absolutely familiar to us.

For example, the Scorpio here
or the Sagittarius sign.

The symbols are
signs of the zodiac,

which aren't typically
used in ancient Egypt

and must derive from elsewhere.

Cedric deciphers their origin.

These star signs
are of Greek influence.

The Ptolemies are not
native Egyptian rulers.

They are Macedonian Greeks,
and they bring with

them the reading of
the cosmos to Egypt.

And it's the very same one
that we use today.

The Ptolemaic dynasty follows

a tumultuous period
in Egyptian history.

Around 500 BCE,

Egypt falls under Persian rule

and, for 200 years, remains
a vassal state of this empire.

In 334 BCE,

Greek leader Alexander
the Great conquers

Persian territories

before setting his sights
on Egypt.

His army overthrows
the Persian occupiers,

and Alexander is hailed
as a liberator in Egypt.

He is crowned pharaoh
but dies shortly after.

His general, Ptolomy,
succeeds him

and establishes
the Ptolemaic dynasty.

The Ptolemies rule Egypt
for 275 years, from 305 BCE

until the death of Cleopatra
in 30 BCE.

They are an authoritarian
Greek elite.

They build temples across
Egypt in

a blend of Greek
and Egyptian style

to solidify their presence
as the new rightful rulers.

And they take special care

to worship the ancient
Egyptian deities,

like Isis at Philae

and Hathor at Dendera.

They build an exquisite temple
like no other.

It is decorated with
more vibrant

and intricate images
than any before it.

What is the meaning of

the zodiac symbols
that cover the ceiling?

Could they hold clues to what
happens in this temple?

Dendera.

For thousands of years,

this temple complex is

a significant religious
site for ancient Egyptians.

Constructed over centuries
by successive pharaohs,

it stands today as one of

the best preserved temples
in Egypt.

The ceiling is covered
with ancient

depictions of constellations
of the night sky...

...the star signs of both

ancient Egyptian pharaohs
and Greek rulers,

but on the roof of the temple

is a relief that has
confounded investigators

for centuries.

On the ceiling
of this small chapel,

beneath a layer of soot,

archaeologists discover
a stunning carving.

Originally painted in
vivid colors,

it depicts figures
and mystical signs

inscribed on a disc.

Thirty-six Egyptian gods
surround the outside.

Other Egyptian gods

and Greek zodiac signs
fill the middle.

These icons from different
cultures seem

to be arranged
in a specific order.

What does this ceiling tell us

about the ancient
understanding of the universe?

Yossra Ibrahim is an expert in
ancient Egyptian astronomy.

She examines Dendera's chapel
to decode

the mysteries of
this incredible zodiac.

The ceiling at Dendera
is one of the earliest

Egyptian zodiacs

we have available
for investigation.

And after years of research,

there is still a lot to learn
about these zodiacal images.

Investigators have debated

when the Dendera
zodiac is created.

Many believe
it dates to the end of

the Ptolemaic period
and the rule of Cleopatra.

The original Zodiac is now in
the Louvre Museum in Paris.

It is removed and taken there in
the 1800s.

The ceiling of the chapel
today holds

an exact replica for
investigators to examine.

This 8-foot-wide carving
offers a unique

insight into how the ancient
Egyptians viewed the cosmos.

The zodiac is one of the visual

and graphic representations

of the ancient Egyptian night
sky.

The zodiac depicts the
heavens as a disc held

up by four female pillars
and assisted by eight falcons.

Twenty-four hands
hold up the disc.

Around the circle,
we have different deities.

These deities represent decans.

The decans here are special
stars utilized by

the Ancient Egyptians to
record and measure time.

A decan is a star that appears

in the eastern sky at dawn,

right before the sun rises.

A new decan star group appears
every 10 days.

Ancient Egyptians use
this recurring event

to regulate their calendar.

By accurately measuring time,

the ancient Egyptians were
able to determine the time of

important festivals, such as

the New Year's Festival,
and seasonal changes that were

central to the Egyptian society.

The 12 Zodiac signs represent

the 12 months of the year,
then just as now.

In the middle of the zodiac,

we have several
star constellations.

Some of them took
the Egyptian iconography

and represent Egyptian concepts,

while others look familiar
to us today.

For example, we have Leo
depicted as a lion striding on

a snake, Pisces
as fish tied to ropes,

and Scorpio.

This incredible scene
blends ancient Egyptian

and Greek ideas of how
the universe can be understood.

Astronomer priests
carefully study the cosmos.

The regular appearance of
stars and constellations in

the night sky is recorded
across the centuries.

They use their records
to make sense of

their universe and to try to
predict the future.

The zodiac is
a representation of how

the ancient Egyptians
visualized the night sky.

Astronomy in itself is
a very practical science.

The Egyptians depended on it
for the measuring of time.

Yossra explores how
the ancient astronomer priests

track the stars across
the night sky.

The ancient Egyptian
priest astronomers would climb

to the roof during the night
and use these tools,

the merkhet and the sighting rod
in order to find the stars

and plot them as they crossed
the ancient night sky.

Dendera's priests are
expert astronomers.

They use cutting-edge ancient
technology to study the cosmos.

So the merkhet is
this L-shaped wooden object,

and attached to it is

the plumb line and the bob
to hold it steady in its place.

The merkhet would be used
in conjunction

with the sighting rod
in order to

plot the exact location of
the star and track it

as it crosses the sky,
so perhaps like this.

Ancient priests use the merkhet

to observe the stars
and planets in the sky.

They group stars into
constellations, patterns

representing Egyptian gods

and the Greek signs of
the zodiac.

The priests map out
the ancient sky on the ceiling

of the Hathor Temple

so that they can try to
predict the will of the gods.

They use the stars
to devise a calendar for

their religious festivals
and predict

when the Nile will flood.

The priests practice and perfect

their astronomy at Dendera.

Their knowledge of the cosmos
gives them great power.

The temple of Dendera is more

than a celebration of
the goddess Hathor,

it's a place where we can
decode the Egyptian universe.

How do ancient
engineers construct

this magnificent
dual purpose temple?

Could clues lie buried
beneath the desert sands?

Hathor Temple
looms over the site of Dendera.

This structure dominates
the desert landscape.

It has stood here for millennia.

Cedric Gobeil investigates
how the ancient engineers

build this majestic temple
in the sand.

This is a religious site
for thousands of years

before Cleopatra makes
her additions to the temple.

Cedric's eye is drawn
to what looks like

an old wall, half buried
beneath the sand,

but there's more here
than meets the eye.

These are mud brick
foundations, and these are

set before the construction of
the whole temple.

And this is the very first stage

of the construction of
the whole building.

It is a hidden example
of ancient engineering

at its finest.

Ancient Egyptians
build a 600-foot-long

mud brick enclosure
for the foundations.

They fill it with sand

before laying down
slabs of stone

to produce a flat surface.

On top, they erect their temple.

Egyptian temples like this
usually align with

the path of the sun
from east to west.

But in Dendera,

the temple of Hathor
deviates by 90 degrees.

Why does Dendera
break from tradition?

Cedric is on a mission
to find out.

He makes his way
to the temple roof.

When Egyptian engineers
build a temple,

they do so with
the greatest precision.

The sun is always central in
every religious ritual.

This is why most of
the temples are built along

an east-west axis,

but then Dendera is different.

There must be a reason.

Cedric scans
the landscape for clues.

In the distance to the southwest
is a mountain range.

This range is called
the Western Mountains.

It is of a sacred importance
to the ancient Egyptians,

partly because the sun is
sitting behind it.

Hathor is known as the goddess
of the Western Mountains.

Ancient priests
and engineers choose

this site for
the temple to Hathor

due to its proximity to
this sacred mountain range.

But the orientation to the north

rather than the east
remains a mystery.

Cedric launches
a high-resolution

drone-mounted camera...

Take off.

...to explore
the surrounding area for clues.

The access of the temple.

And then from here,
if you could start

then also to go
a little bit higher.

Yeah, please. Yeah.

- Towards the Nile?
- Yeah. Yes, absolutely.

-We clearly see, yes,
-Mountains.

The enclosure, the whole site.

We really have the whole...
The whole landscape

of the temple.

It's absolutely amazing.

So from what I see,
actually the temple is facing

north towards the Nile,

but the bank of the Nile is
located one mile away.

So the access to the river
must have changed over time.

The access changes
due to centuries

of irrigation and damming.

In ancient times, the Nile flows

directly in front of
this complex.

The Nile's position is more
than a coincidence.

It could explain the temple's
unusual orientation.

Cedric heads due north towards

the Nile out of Dendera's
main gateway.

He soon comes across the remains

of what could be
an important clue.

I see the outline of
an ancient ruin that appears

to be either an access ramp
or a boat pier.

These are the remains
of a large man-made harbor,

allowing access to
boats to the temple.

And this is hugely significant,
because without proper access

to the river,
the temple would have been

cut off from
the lifeline of Egypt.

It is essential that goods
and offerings

can easily reach
the Dendera temple complex.

The Nile is the main
transport route in Egypt.

Priests rely on its waters to

ship food and ritual offerings
to Dendera.

They also view
the Nile as sacred

for its life-giving powers

and monitor its flood cycle
using a set of stairs called

a Nilometer.

Before the flood season,

the priests tow the statue
of Hathor over

100 miles up
the Nile, from Dendera

to another temple in Edfu.

Here, Hathor is reunited
with the falcon god, Horus,

so that the two can conceive
the child god, Ihy.

Ancient priests
and engineers need

a location that both honors
the goddess Hathor

and allows quick and easy
access to the Nile.

Every aspect of the temple has

been designed to fit
a specific need.

Ancient engineers considered the
construction, position,

and orientation of the temple
with the utmost care.

Pharaohs use
this site for their rituals

for thousands of years,

all the way through to
Cleopatra, who holds it in

high regard.

After the fall of Cleopatra,
what becomes of Dendera?

Could one of the last
structures to be built

at this extraordinary site

reveal clues to its later use?

Dendera.

Much of the existing
temple complex is

built under the rule of
Egypt's last pharaohs,

the Ptolomies,

particularly Cleopatra's
father, Ptolemy XII.

Cedric wants to find out if
Dendera can

reveal who rules Egypt
after this last dynasty.

He hunts for the last
structure to be built at Dendera

and returns to the small chapel.

Distinctive hieroglyphic texts
here can date its construction

and are a clue
to what happens to Egypt

after Cleopatra's rule.

In 44 BCE, a group of senators
kill Caesar.

Cleopatra is left
with no ally in Rome.

She begins an affair with
Caesar's general, Mark Antony.

He joins her in Alexandria
and declares Caesar's son,

Caesarion, as the ruler of
Rome's eastern provinces.

But Caesar's adopted son,
Octavian, sees this

as a threat to his own ambition.

He invades Egypt in 30 BCE
and defeats Mark Antony.

In despair,
Cleopatra commits suicide

ending 275 years
of Ptolemaic rule

and marking the beginning
of Roman Egypt.

After Cleopatra's death,

Egypt is subsumed by
the growing Roman Empire.

But clues at Dendera suggest
that Egyptian and Greek

culture and religion continue to
thrive under Roman rule.

Cedric studies the exterior of
the small chapel.

We believe that
it was constructed

by no less than Octavian.

After he defeated Cleopatra,

he became emperor of Rome
and he changed his name

to Augustus.

He constructed this to project
power over his new dominion.

However, the construction
also makes another statement,

that Rome was willing

to allow the continuation of
the practice of Egyptian

religion and customs.

Cedric scours
the small chapel for

more clues about Egypt
under Roman rule.

He examines a stunning relief.

Wow.

This is really extraordinary.

We have here the Emperor
Trojan himself, and we clearly

see that, because of...
He has his cartouche here,

where you have his name,
he is depicted

as an Egyptian pharaoh.

He is wearing the red
crown, and here on the belt,

he is having the word pharaoh.

And what he's doing is
giving offerings to no other

than the goddess of the Dendera
temple herself, Hathor.

Long after
the fall of the Ptolemies,

Roman rulers are still
portrayed adhering to

the religious customs
and traditions of ancient Egypt.

After the death of Cleopatra,

Rome conquers Egypt.

However, Dendera shows us
that culturally,

it is Egypt that has
conquered Rome.

Dendera's divine
temple is an ancient marvel,

from its colossal columns
to its elaborate interior.

Dedicated to
the mother goddess, Hathor,

discoveries here shed
new light on how

Cleopatra portrays herself
as a living goddess

and allow investigators
to decode how

the ancients understand
their universe

through the mysterious zodiac.

Dendera's treasures
survived for millennia.

It is one of the best
preserved temples

in all of Egypt.