Den (Udimu)(fl. c. 2850 B.C.E.) Fourth ruler of the
First Dynasty
Reigning c. 2850 B.C.E., he was called “the Horus Who
Attacks.” Den received the throne from his father, DJET,
while still an infant, and his mother, MERNEITH(1), stood
as his regent. During this regency, Merneith limited the
powers of court officials and raised Den in the old tradi-
tions.
Upon reaching his majority, Den married Queen
HERNEITH(2). He began vigorous military campaigns and
fought in the eastern desert. A plaque from ABYDOSshows
him striking an Asiatic and states that this was “the first
occasion of smiting the East.” Den used the name Khasty,
meaning “man of the desert.” During his campaigns he
overran an enemy encampment and brought a harem of
females back to Egypt.
Den wrote spells for funerary manuals and recorded
medical lore. He is listed as celebrating rites in honor of
the deities APISand ATUM. Den also instituted a national
census, recorded in the PALERMO STONE, and was depicted
on a hippopotamus hunt on this monument. During his
reign, HEMAKA, a courtier, was appointed the chancellor
of Lower Egypt, a new position in the government.
Den had a tomb in SAQQARAand another in ABYDOS.
The Saqqara tomb is uncertain, however, as the site is
now known to belong to Hemaka. The Abydos tomb is
the first known example of stone architecture, displayed
in the formof a granite pavement. This tomb was large,
with a stairway and vast burial chambers, as well as a
wooden roof. There are 174 satellite burials on the site. A
patron of the arts and a trained medical practitioner, Den
is mentioned in the Ebers and Berlin Medical Papyri. An
object bearing his name was found at ABU ROWASH, where
RA’DJEDEF(r. 2528–2520 B.C.E.) built his pyramidal com-
plex. He is also listed on the Abydos KING LIST.
Dendereh (Dendera, Inuit, Tantere) A site north of
THEBES, the capital of the sixth nome of Upper Egypt and
the cultic center of the goddess HATHOR. The city was
called Inuit or Tantere by the Egyptians. The goddess ISIS
was also honored in the region, and the Egyptians main-
tained a crocodile sanctuary there. In the early periods,
Dendereh was on the trade route from Qena to the Red
Sea.
The main chapel, dedicated to Hathor, dates to the
reign of KHUFU(Cheops, 2551–2528 B.C.E.), and another
from the Eleventh Dynasty (2134–1991 B.C.E.) was dis-
covered near a sacred lake at Dendereh. The main temple
was fashioned out of a stone platform on a sand founda-
tion with a mud-brick enclosure wall. A propylon
entrance leads to a transverse hypostyle hall with 24
columns. A second hall has six columns and a short
ramp. Also included in the temple are the Hall of Offer-
ings, an inner vestibule, and the Hall of the Cycle of the
Gods. Several chapels are also in the complex, the Per-Ur,
dedicated to the start of the new year; Per-Nu, honoring
the journey of the goddess to Edfu; Per-Neser, dedicated
tothe goddess as a lioness. Below, there are 32 treasure
crypts. The main temple reliefs at Dendereh also mention
PEPI I(r. 2289–2255 B.C.E.), TUTHMOSIS III(r. 1479–1425
B.C.E.), and PTOLEMY XIIAuletes (r. 88–58, 55–51 B.C.E.).
This structure also had a “Dendereh Zodiac” relief and a
sanitarium where Egyptians were reportedly cured of ill-
ness through Hathor’s intercessions.
The temple complex dates to the Sixth Dynasty
(2323–2150 B.C.E.), attributed to “the FOLLOWERS OF
HORUS” of that time. The present form dates to the Ptole-
maic Period (304–30 B.C.E.). The chapel of OSIRISand the
temple reliefs of CLEOPATRA VII (r. 51–30 B.C.E.) and
PTOLEMY XV CAESARION(r. 44–30 B.C.E.) attest to the
Ptolemaic influences. Three birth houses, called a MAM-
MISI, and a temple of Isis complete the religious complex.
The necropolis of Dendereh included tombs from the
Early Dynastic Period (2920–2575 B.C.E.) as well as a num-
ber of mastabas belonging to local NOMARCHS. On the
western side of the cemetery there are brick-vaulted cata-
combs in which birds, cows, and dogs were entombed in
mummified form. A small chapel from MONTUHOTEP II(r.
2161–2010 B.C.E.) was also discovered in Dendereh and
now is in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The building
commemorated the royal cult and had inscriptions from
MERENPTAH (r. 1224–1214 B.C.E.) of the Nineteenth
Dynasty. A temple honoring the birth of Isis was decorated
by Emperor AUGUSTUS, and another shrine, dedicated to
HORUSof Edfu, was erected in the area. Extensive building
continued in Dendereh throughout ancient historical eras.Derr A site south of AMADAin NUBIA(modern Sudan),
where a rock-carved temple was discovered, dating to
the reign of RAMESSESII(1290–1224 B.C.E.) of the Nine-
teenth Dynasty. This shrine was dedicated to the god
RÉ-Horakhte and was designed with hypostyle halls andDerr 99The opening to the temple of Isis at Philae
center of the goddess.(Courtesy Steve Beikirch.)