In 1906 Professor A.M. Blackman of Liverpool accompanied by Mr. F. L. Griffiths carefully examined The Temple of Dendur (built ca. 21 B.C.E.) in its original location above the First Cataract of the Nile River. Their results were published in 1911. They were able to observe traces of color from the original work, before the building of the first dam, and long before the high dam eroded all fragments of paint.
When entering the little temple (now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City) one stands in the pronaos, facing the inner sanctum. On ones right there is a late intrusive north door, while on the left, above the south door, there is one of the most significant single scenes in the shrine. It is here that Blackman and Griffiths identified significant elements of color.
The king (whose body was red) offers incense with his left hand to PETESI, (blue body) who sits on a (red) throne in front of his brother PIHOR (green body). In the king's right hand he holds a libation-vase and pours water over a lotus blossom and an offering stand with three cakes.
Over the head, and in front of PETESI there is a damaged text which explains who he is. (This has been carefully reproduced by our artist Antoinette Bibis and is defined in detail in the full text of the book.) The same is true for PIHOR, who is enthroned behind him. His kilt was decorated with stripes of red and blue. The two figures who are accepting the offering of the king are brothers (sons of KWPR) who have been drowned in the Nile, and are highly praised in the underworld. One twin is a heavenly twin (blue) and the other earthly (green). This little temple, built to Roman specifications, is located astride the Tropic of Cancer, which marks the shift in the zodiac from the sign of Gemini. In their Latin form the Gemini are known as the Dioscuri (Pollux and Castor), patrons of the Roman Army.
The book about The Temple of Dendur seeks to assist the discriminating student as he/she visits the site by unwinding the magnificent story of this superb gem which is preserved so perfectly in the Sackler Wing of MMOA. The GUIDE describes the temple from the vantage of 32 different spots (accessible to the visitor) around, and within the temple. One may enjoy the wonderful complexity of a Roman shrine decorated with Egyptian deities featuring Augustus Caesar as The King, which was converted into a late Egyptian reliquary, before it became a Coptic Christian Church (with a descriptive Coptic inscription). It is a focal point for the study of the History of Religion.
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