In spite of the 6:30am wake-up call, we enjoyed our early morning visit to Edfu Temple. It is in much better condition than Co'omombo because it is farther away from the Nile River. In fact, it is the best-preserved example of a Greek temple in Egypt. The imposing presence of the outer wall and gates, the floral capitals and the small birthing house are all features typical of Greek temples. Edfu Temple is dedicated to Horus and it celebrates his victory over his uncle, Set. Set tricked Osiris and killed him. When Horus reached manhood he avenged his father. Several of the temple reliefs depict Horus killing a hippo because Set is represented by the hippopatamus. Each year the priest of the temple donned the mask of Horus and killed a live hippo with a spear in front of the people in order to commemorate this event. Other interesting facts - Egyptian priests had to bathe 4 times a day, they wore papyrus sandals, shaved all of the hair off of their bodies and remained unmarried.
