Philae Temples Part IV: Temple of Isis Inner Chambers and Structures to the West

Philae Temples Part IV: Temple of Isis Inner Chambers and Structures to the West By Marie Parsons

At the Temple of Isis formerly on Philae Island, the gate of the Second Pylon gives way to a small open court, which is part of a hypostyle hall. Amelia Edwards said of it: " ere is a place in which time seems to have stood as still as in that immortal palace where everything went to sleep for a hundred years. The !as"reliefs on the walls, the intricate paintings on the ceilings, the colours upon the capitals are incredi!ly fresh and perfect. These e#$uisite capitals have long !een the wonder and delight of travellers in Egypt. They are all studied from natural forms " from the lotus in !ud and !lossom, the papyrus, and the palm. %onventionalised with consummate s&ill, they are at the same time so 'ustly proportioned to the height and girth of the columns as to give an air of wonderful lightness to the whole structure."

The court at one time had a colonnade on its east and west sides, !ut today contains only ten columns. The little court was separated from the vesti!ule !eyond it !y screen walls uniting four columns, !ehind which four other columns helped support the roof of the hall. (n the east site, the reliefs have !een replaced !y %optic %hristian crosses !efore which a %hristian altar was erected in a!out )** A+. At that time there were dedicated several churches here, including one to the ,irgin -ary and one to Saint Stephen, the former !eing the standard %hristian su!stitute for Isis and the second a highly appropriate replacement for arendotes. (n the side doorway leading to a room on the right is another inscription to .ishop Theodorus, made during the reign of /ustinian )01")2) A+3, claiming credit for this "good wor&". A similar inscription commemorates the archaeological e#pedition of 4564 sent !y Pope 7regory 8,I.

Three small antecham!ers, flan&ed !y dar& rooms, leads to the sanctuary which is lit !y two small windows. It still contains the pedestal placed here !y Ptolemy III Euergetes I and his wife .erenice for the image of Isis in her sacred !ar&. The granite shrines 9naos3 were removed to European museums during the 4:th century. ;rom her sanctuary, the statue of Isis would have !een carried out in processions from the temple on her ceremonial !ar$ue to ma&e the short crossing to the island of .igeh to visit the tom! of her spouse, (siris. Surrounding the sanctuary are the (siris cham!ers reached !y a short staircase on the west side of the temple which leads to the roof. aving (sirian rooms on the roof of the temple was standard during the 7raeco"<oman Period, though here they are sun& well !elow the level of the roof at each of its four corners. The (siris room has its own vesti!ule with scenes of gods !ewailing the dead (siris, and the inner room contains scenes relating to the collection of the god=s sacred lim!s.

To reach these, after ascending the stairs, one then descends to the first room where the >ile"god offers li!ations of mil& to the soul or .a of (siris, sitting !efore him in the form of a !ird. In the second room is the falcon"headed mummy of (siris. In the third room the god Shu and the Emperor Antoninus, who !uilt the room, stand !efore (siris and his two sisters Isis and >ephthys. Still another room on the roof shows Isis and >ephthys !y the nude !ody of (siris, lying on a !ier. The frog"headed e&et and the falcon"headed arsiesis stand !y the !ier !eneath which are depicted four canopic 'ars for the entrails of the god. The other walls show the corpse of (siris among marsh plants with a priest pouring consecrated water. The 'ac&al headed Anu!is stands !y the !ier of (siris !eside which &neel Isis and >ephthys. (nce these scenes were !right with !rilliant colors, the columns and capitals scintillating in the clear sunshine against vivid !lue s&ies. As <o!ert %ur?on rote, "E#cepting the Pyramids, nothing struc& me so much as when on a !right moonlight night I first entered the court of the great temple of Philae".

The outside walls of the temple are covered with reliefs largely dating from the reign of Ti!erius. (n the west side of the temple itself are several other structures that must !e considered a part of the overall structure. /ust to the west o the second Pylon stands a gateway and a ruined vesti!ule !uilt !y Emperor adrian. (n the lintel of the gate adrian stands !efore (siris, Isis and arsiesis. @ithin the gateway, -arcus Aurelius stands !efore (siris and !elow this scene, he offers grapes and flowers to Isis. The uncompleted vesti!ule shows >ephthys presenting the crown of Aower Egypt and Isis the %rown of Bpper Egypt to orus. (n one wall is a relief of Isis watching (siris !eing carried on the !ac& of a crocodile across the >ile. Another relief on the north wall shows Isis, >ephthys, orus, Amun and athor worshipping the aw&"god rising over the river !eneath the island of .igeh. This island has a vulture perched on it and !eneath this is a cave surrounded !y a serpent holding the figure of api, the >ile 7od, representing the source of the >ile. Also, at the northern end of the western colonnade that fronts the temple is one of the few ancient nilometers remaining in Egypt, which was used to measure the >ile flood in ancient times. The Temple of Isis, which was moved from old Philae Island due to the !uilding of the igh +am south of Aswan to its present location on Agil&ia Island, !eautiful as it is, has one further distinction. it was the last surviving outpost of the old Egyptian pagan religion. Some say that %hristianity and the pagan religion, for a time, were practiced here side !y side until the pagan priesthood was officially dis!anded !y /ustinian in a!out ))* A+.