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Ebers Papyrus One of the longest papyri from ancient

Egypt, dating to the reign of AMENHOTEP I(r. 1525–1504

B.C.E.)of the Eighteenth Dynasty, discovered by George

Ebers, a German Egyptologist in 1873, the PAPYRUSis a

medical text measuring 65 feet with 108 separate pages.

The document is one of the modern world’s major

sources for information concerning the medical knowl-

edge and techniques of Egypt’s priest-physicians. These

medical practitioners gained a considerable reputation

throughout the ancient world. Sections on digestive dis-

eases, worm infestations, eye ailments, skin problems,

burns, fractures, rheumatism, and anatomy are included

in the texts, as well as discussions of the treatment of

tumors and abscesses. More than 900 diagnoses and pre-

scriptions are listed in this papyrus. They indicate the

fact that the priest-physicians understood pain and recog-

nized the pulse and the problems related to the main

artery. These priests also displayed a remarkable aware-

ness of the circulation of the blood in the human body.

The Ebers Papyrus is now in Berlin.

See also MEDICINE.

Edfu (Behdet) A site 72 miles south of THEBES, on the

Nile, Edfu was the capital of the second nome of Upper

Egypt and the HORUScultic site from early times. The city

was called “the Exaltation of Horus” in some eras. Tombs

dating to the Sixth Dynasty (2323–2150 B.C.E.) and

erected by the local NOMARCHSwere discovered in the

city’s necropolis, as well as a step pyramid dating to the

Third Dynasty (2649–2575 B.C.E.). MASTABASand reliefs

were also discovered there. In the Ptolemaic Period

(304–30 B.C.E.) a great temple was erected on the site.

The city was always considered militarily strategic for the

defense of the nation and was fortified against assaults by

the Nubians (the modern Sudanese). During the Second

Intermediate Period (1640–1550 B.C.E.) when the Asiatics

(HYKSOS) ruled the northern Delta territories, Edfu was

fortified by the Theban dynasties.

The great temple of Horus, located at Edfu, was

started by PTOLEMY III EUERGETES I(r. 246–221 B.C.E.),

and was probably erected on an earlier established foun-

dation. More than 451 feet long, the temple honored

Horus of the Winged Disk, called Behdet by the Egyp-

tians and revered as the consort of HATHORof DENDEREH.

Hathor’s effigy was brought to the temple on a boat annu-

ally for a ceremonial visit. Fronted by a PYLON, the temple

opened onto a court with columns and elaborate wall

reliefs. Granite falcons were built as well to serve as

divine patrons of this area. The dedication ceremony took

place there in 142 B.C.E., and the temple was completed

in 57 B.C.E.

A processional way, a MAMMISI(a birthing room), and

a colonnade continue the architectural splendor of Edfu’s

temple, with columns and northern and southern wings.

Horus statues adorn the courts, and a relief of the “Feast

of the Beautiful Meeting,” the annual reunion of Horus

and Hathor, depicts the joy of that religious event. Other

chambers honor “the Triumph of Horus,” an annual cele-

bration. Two HYPOSTYLE HALLS open onto an eastern

library and robing rooms and lead to a sanctuary that

contains a pedestal for the sacred bark of Horus and

reliefs depicting PTOLEMY IV PHILOPATOR (r. 221–205

B.C.E.) offering devotion to Horus and Hathor. A relief in

the New Year Chapel shows the goddess NUT.

The sanctuary is a monolithic shrine with an ALTAR

and is illuminated by an aperture in the roof. A staircase

leads to the roof, as at Dendereh, and the granite naos,a