The Hidden Harm of Pseudoscience

What many people refer to as the “Dendera Light” is a relief carving in a wall of the Egyptian Temple of Hathor. (It takes its name from the Dendera Temple Complex, which this temple is a part of.) When looking at the carving, one may see the image of a light bulb–there is a base, a filament emerging from the center, and what appears to be a bulb-shaped glass casing around it. Many proponents of the idea that Ancient Egyptians had advanced technology, with or without alien interference, point to the Dendera Light as proof of not only electricity but the ability to blow glass into light bulbs. 

Unfortunately, according to all available evidence, the Temple of Hathor has nothing to do with light bulbs or electricity. While it resembles a light bulb to our modern eyes, the “Dendera Light” is, in reality, an image of a snake emerging from a lotus blossom. Beings emerging from lotus blossoms are a recurring motif in many Egyptian myths, especially creation myths, and the hieroglyphs around the carving and on surrounding walls corroborate this. Pictured to the right is the Dendera Light as photographed within the temple, where you can identify the snake and lotus blossom. Below are graphic illustrations of the wall containing this carving, as well as another accompanying it.