Sekhet the Goddess of the Fields & the Feast of the Beautiful Embrace

At Dendera Temple, many of the Reliefs had been vandalized

by early Christians to eradicate the powers of the Ancient Egyptian Gods, but fortunately for me I followed all the way around the exterior of the Temple where my enthusiasm increased as the relief’s were untouched, beautiful and unspoiled once more, and they portrayed the harvest festival, where  the beautiful goddess Sekhet, the goddess of the fields brings the produce of the land to the temple, Above her head are three sheafs of Wheat, to show that she is the Goddess of the Fields, she walks through the fields to the Temple with offerings of Papyrus and lotus, small geese fly from the ground whilst she follows a calf, her breath has the  scent of flowers and she is adorned with Lotus blossoms, a sacred flower of Ancient Egypt, and in her arms she carries Lotus geese fruits and wine.  

All temples survived on the produce of the land, and the produce of the harvest Festival at Dendera proceeded the most spectacular festival that was known as the Festival of The Beautiful embrace where once a year after the harvest, the Goddess Hathor’s barque was loaded with the produce of the fields in preparation for the visit she made to see her Husband the God Horus at his earthly home the Temple Of Edfu. In splendid celebration Hathor was carried from her sanctuary within Dendera and greeted by all important dignitaries and priests, the locals were allowed to join this celebration,  then   gently her splendid barque that was known as ‘Great of Love’ carried her upstream where she was joined by a flotilla of barques until she arrived at Karnack Temple, where she would stay for a few days to visit the Goddess Mut, the wife of Amun Ra, more barques joined her flotilla as she left Karnack to continue her journey, Her Husband Horus would leave his temple and head downstream to greet her and in glorious celebration he would escort his wife to his home of Edfu Temple to  begin  fourteen days of joyous celebration where their sacred marriage was enacted once more and their son Ihy was conceived.