DENDERA

Modern name for the Egyptian city of Iunet, later known as Tentyris in Greek, capital of the sixth nome of UpperEgypt. The site is known from the Early Dynastic Period, and there are tombs from the First Intermediate Period, when the regional rulers were semi-independent. Its main feature is the magnificent Graeco-Roman temple dedicated to the goddess Hathor, from which came the famous Dendera zodiac now in the Louvre Museum. The site was excavated by Flinders Petrie from 1897–1898 and the University of Pennsylvania from 1915–1918. The temple inscriptions are being published by a French expedition.

See also Edfu; Esna; Kom Ombo.