TEMPLE OF HIBIS

Built by Psammetic II and completed by Darius I (521-486), this temple, fairly well preserved and of respectable dimensions, is one of the two architectural testimonies of the Persian occupation in Egypt. It underwent some enlargements under the Ptolemies and during the presence of the Romans

Closed for a few years because of the instability of its soils, its foundations had to be reinforced with a concrete screed to make the site open to the public again. It is accessed by a walkway lined with columns and sphinxes frozen for eternity, giving the whole a character of power. The temple was once bordered by a sacred lake, the waters of which were drawn from a nearby spring.

The temple, now largely restored, is preceded by a building that is quite distinct from it: the kiosk of Nectanebo II. After a pylon, one reaches a hypostyle hall supported by 12 columns, leading to a second hypostyle hall with four columns, then to the square vestibule with four columns, and finally to the sanctuary, in the centre, flanked by the hall of saints to its left. The temple was dedicated to the gods Amun of Hibis and Osiris, a double veneration which explains the original decoration of the site. On the back wall of the first hypostyle hall, you will notice an unusual representation of the god Set, winged and equipped with a falcon's head, piercing with his spear the serpent Apopis, god of chaos. Set was here considered a beneficial god, a deity who protected the desert tracks.