The Island of Philae, Upper Egypt

Philae - The Jewel of the Nile

The Island and its Buildings

This little island, an alluvium covered rock of granite, only 460 x 150 m, is situated ca 8 km south of the Assuan Dam in Upper Egypt, in an area which in ancient times made out the border to Nubia. In its vicinity are a few other islands worthy of note: Bigeh, Sehel, Konosso and el-Heisa.

The wellknown name of Philae is Greek. It´s ancient Egyptian name was P-aaleq, meaning "End" or "Remote Place", which later turned into the Coptic Pilak. Another meaning of the ancient name is 'Creation' or 'island of the time of Re', which tells about the Egyptian creation myth of the place where land rose above the waters of Chaos in the beginning of Creation.

Incidentally, Philae is located at 24 degrees North and 33 degrees East, which is almost at the tropic of Cancer, i.e. this is where the sun reaches its´ highest point and stops at the summer solstice and turns in its course to go southwards again.

It was probably a temple site since the 4th century B.C. according to blocks found from the time of Taharqa (690-664 B.C) Many of the buildings here were erected during the Ptolemeian times. As this was the cult center for the worship of Isis, people came here from all over Kemet and from countries far beyond, to worship the Great Isis, or Aset as her ancient Egyptian name is. The legend has it that this was the place where Isis found the heart of Osiris and that she, after having collected his shattered body, buried him on the Island of Bigeh, just across the narrow stretch of water to the west.

The cult of Isis was well spread in the Roman world, and Philae survived far into the Christain days as the last outpost of the ancient religion. It was not officially closed until AD 550 by Justinianus.

There are several temples and other buildings on the island, and the graceful structure by the waterfront, the Vestibule of Emperor Trajan, is dedicated to them all, the reliefs here depict the emperor making offerings to Isis, Osiris and Horus.

Almost the same view nowadays.

A map over the island:

1. Southern Staircase, where the modern day landing is.

2. Two tall obelisks, built by Ptolemy VIII uesd to greet the ancient visitors.

3. Nectanebo´s Pavillion - the oldest building here, dedicated to Isis.

4. The Temple of Arensuphis, (Nubian deity) built in the eastern colonnade by Ptolemy IV.

5. Temple of Mandulis, (Nubian deity) also in the Eastern colonnade.

6. The Eastern Colonnade, never finished.

7. The Western Colonnade - All the capitals of the majestic colonnae are differently decorated.

8. At the Northern end of the East Colonnade lies the Chapel of Imhotep dedicated to Imhotep, the Vizer and architect of King Djoser, 3rd Dynasty. Here are reliefs of Ptolemy IV before Imhotep and several other deities, among them of course Osiris and Isis.

9. Gate of Nectanebo. Two lions made of granite watch the main entrance.

10. The First Pylons, built by Ptolemy VI. They are the main gateway into the Temple of Isis. The door in the Western pylon leads into the Mamissi, i.e. the Birthouse.

11. The Mamissi (Birth House), built and extended by Ptolemy III - VIII.

12. The Nilometer, where watch was kept over the rising and withdrawing of the Nile.

13. The 2:nd Pylons leading into the temple itself.

14. The beautiful pronaos (hypostyle hall), famous for the lovely column heads. Ptolemy VI was the builder.

15. The Sanctum, built by Ptolemy II. This is where the naos enclosing the statue of the goddess was situated.

16. Temple of Harendotes, 'Horus the Avenger', in memory of Horus´ victory over Seth. This one was built by Claudius (A.D.41-54)

17. The Gate of Diocletian.

18. The Temple of Augustus.

19. The Temple of Hathor. Built by Ptolemy VI and extended by Ptolemy VIII, Augustus and others.

20. The Vestibule of Trajan

21. Living Quarters, storages etc. from later periods.

Between Nectanebo I (ca 379-390 B.C.) and Claudius (AD 42-54) new buildings and extensions of older ones went on practically at all times. Besides the priesthood seeing to the daily rituals and the offerings, there must have been much coming and going of stone masons, carpenters, painters and many other crafts men who were continually carrying out the orders of the far away king, whether Greek or Roman.

In those days, over two thousand years ago it must have been like presaging the end of Creation to say that this island one day would be submerged under water and the temples threatened to be destroyed. For them it would have been impossible that the Rule of Ma´at could ever cease to be. But that is what happened when the Assuan dam was built. Philae lay under water for most of the year and the beautiful paintings, which even the visitors in the 18th century could admire, vanished. By a rescue project by Unesco in 1960, in connection to the building of the Assuan Dam, the temples were moved to the island of Agilkia nearby.

Philae Island

Philae Island:	Around the Island	Temple of Isis	Temple of Hathor	Island of Bigeh	Philae Main
Philae History:	Ancient Philae	Historic Philae	Destruction of Philae	Rescue Project I	Temple Inscriptions
Temple of Isis:	Outer Court	Birth House	Hypostyle Hall	Inner Shrine	Aretalogy
Other:	The New Kingdom Temple	Ancient Priesthood	Daily Rituals	Gods & Goddesses	Egyptian Links

Aset, Great of Heka;
Egypt´s Aset or Rome´s Isis? Discover the difference!

How did Aset gain her power from Re?
How did her son Heru win his father Wesir´s throne back from Set?

Akhet:

Pages about
the ancient Egyptian religion, deities, rituals,
priesthood and temple life.

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Image sources:
Author´s own photos
Litographies by D. Roberts.
'Faraohs Blomster': Vivi Täckholm
'Temples D´Edfu, Dendera, Philae': Serge Sauneron
Unknown source, please contact me if possible
.