Temple of Esna (Day Trip)

Ptolemaic-Roman temple dedicated to Khnum, remarkably preserved and worth combining with Edfu on a southern day trip

The Temple of Esna, 55 kilometres south of Luxor on the west bank of the Nile, is a Ptolemaic-Roman temple dedicated to Khnum, the ram-headed creator god. The main hypostyle hall — the only part fully excavated, the rest is still beneath the surrounding city — is in remarkable condition, its painted ceilings largely intact and still retaining colour after two millennia.

The temple is unusual in several ways: it was still being built and decorated during the Roman period, and its inscriptions include astronomical ceiling paintings and texts that mix Ptolemaic and Roman imperial names with traditional Egyptian hieroglyphs. It is smaller than Dendera or Edfu but entirely worth stopping at on a southern day trip. The site is easily reached by taxi or as part of a Nile cruise itinerary.

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A story
The Temple of Esna contains hieroglyphic texts that were still being carved as late as 250 AD, during the reign of the Roman emperor Decius. One inscription is a hymn to Khnum written entirely using hieroglyphs shaped like crocodiles. This is among the very last examples of the ancient script being used for a religious purpose — three centuries after the birth of Christ, Egyptian priests were still writing in an alphabet that had been in use for more than 3,000 years. Within a few decades, knowledge of the script would be entirely lost, not to be recovered until Champollion's decipherment in 1822.