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REVIEW BY SARAH GRIFFITHS
When José María Barrera visited the Temple of Dendera for the first time, he was left breathless by the spectacular celestial ceiling of the pronaos – so much so, he returned a few years later armed with a telephoto lens and high-end digital camera. Over three days, he took more than 5,000 high-resolution photographs, which he stitched together using specialised software to recreate the entire ceiling. This beautifully illustrated book is the result of his ‘obsession’.
A software engineer and avid photographer, the author does not intend this as an academic work. Rather, he wishes to convey the admiration he felt standing beneath this stunning ceiling, but he does provide historical and mythological context to help the reader appreciate the ceiling’s ‘full magnificence’.
The tour begins with introductory chapters on the temples of Egypt and their astronomical function, and the measurement of time and its importance to any society. It continues with an exploration of the Dendera temple layout, with illustrations from the French expedition’s Description de l’Égypte. Dedicated to Hathor, the temple dates back to the Ptolemaic era. The portico structure was added by Tiberius in the 1st century AD, and the ceiling decoration completed under Claudius. The portico’s 24 Hathor-headed columns represent the hours of the day.
The majority of the book is dedicated to the ceiling of the pronaos, which reveals how the universe began and how time was measured. The panorama consists of a central panel flanked by three panels to the east where the sun rises (representing day, light, and life), and three to the west where the sun sets (representing night, darkness, and death). The large landscape format of the book allows each panel to be displayed across a double page, revealing every detail of every scene. Full page photographs illustrate individual gods, zodiac signs, and particular vignettes, with diagrams to explain and illustrate the hours of the day, the phases of the moon, the Decans, the extended Heliopolitan Ennead, and the creation process.
It is a real pleasure to study these stunning images, although the author concludes that photographs alone cannot replace the feeling of being there in person. While time for us is ‘a linear succession of impersonal and cold instants’, he argues, Egyptian time had texture: ‘it was a river of emotions and qualities, repeating daily, monthly, and annually’. The idea is encapsulated in this beautifully painted ceiling, taking us one step closer to finding meaningful ways of understanding the world and who we are.
Read more about the Dendera celestial ceiling in an article by the author in AE 141; and you can win a copy of his book in our photo competition here.
Dendera: Temple of Time
by José María Barrera
Inner Traditions, 2024
ISBN 978-1-6441-1834-4
Hardback £40
