La terre tentyrite: T3rr et t3-n-jtm

Geographical names are often a puzzle. If the geographical position cannot always be identified, religious texts however allow to define the theological meaning. Two geographical names, t3rr and t3-n-jtm, are particularly common in the texts of the temple of Dendara. Despite the use of the word t3 'land' in t3rr as well as in t3-n-jtm, each of the names refers to quite different theological views of the temple. T3rr is used in a context referring to the inundation, food production and the birth of the goddess Isis; It therefore works as a substitute of t3, identifying the territory of Hathor/Isis with the nourishing land. On the other hand, t3-n-jtm takes a solar connotation that equates it with 3ḫt. Thus, t3rr and t3-n-jtm constitute the dwelling of the goddess Hathor on earth and in the sky.