| Philae
Temple was dismantled and reassembled (on Agilika Island about 550 meters from
its original home on Philae Island) in the wake of the High Dam. The temple, dedicated
to the goddess Isis, is in a beautiful setting which has been landscaped to match
its original site. Its various shrines and sanctuaries, which include The Vestibule
of Nectanebos I which is used as the entrance to the island, the Temple of the
Emperor Hadrian, a Temple of Hathor, Trajan's Kiosk (Pharaohs Bed), a birth house
and two pylons celebrate all the deities involved in the Isis and Osiris myth.
The Victorian world fell in love with the romance of the Temple. But at night
you can also visit the Sound and Light Show, a magical experience as floodlit
buildings are silhouetted against the volcanic rocks and water surrounding them.
So today, Philae is more fun then ever before. Although
antiquities on the island date between the 26th Dynasty and the Roman Period,
most of the work is from that of the Roman. This was a time of immense popularity
of the Goddess Isis, and this was her island, where pilgrims would come from all
over the Mediterranean. Construction on the island took place over an 800 year
span, and it was one of the last strongholds of Ancient Egyptian Religion which
continued to flourish here into the 6th Century. When the Temples where finally
closed by Justinian in A.D 550, it ended 4,000 years of worship of the pagan gods.
The Philae Temple complex, prior
to its removal and restoration, set alongside Biga Island. To the ancient Egyptians,
Biga was the sacred mound, the first ground created from Nun out of Chaos. This
was the legendary burial place of Osiris. The earth was considered to be part
of his body so that only priests and temple servants were permitted to live there. |
