Photos unless otherwise noted: ArabCountries.com
The 275-year rule of the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty was initiated by the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 305 BCE, and its second king, Ptolemy Philadelphus, had this great temple built on Philae Island in Nubia (Upper Egypt, paradoxically in the south) during his tenure (284-246 BCE). As he wanted the Egyptian people to love him as they did the previous Egyptian pharoahs of old , by showing them that he too believed in their great gods.
Philae is a Greek word that means “beloved.” During the Ptolemaic era, like any invader in Egypt, the kings tried to win over the Egyptian people by honoring their gods. So Ptolemy II ordered this temple built to Isis, goddess of the moon and motherhoo as well as her husband Osiris and their son Horus. You will see that the igneous rock walls of the temple show scenes of the myths relating to them, including one depicting Isis bringing Osiris back to life and then she gives birth to Horus and another Isis is mummifying Osiris after his death. Other features includes a great corridor lined with Corinthian pillars; a sphinx statue; and a birth chamber for Isis where you can see on the walls a scene of her breastfeeding Horus. And at night there is a wonderful sound and light show.
The location of the Philae temple nowadays is on Agilkia Island in the middle of the River Nile in Aswan, in southern Egypt, just 500 meters from Philae Island, which was threatened with inundation by the construction of the Aswan Dam in 1970, UNESCO sponsored moving the temple to Agilka. Over the course of two years, workers first installed 3,000 steel plates at the bottom of the Nile at a length of 12 meters to form a temporary dam to retain water around the island; cut the temple´s stones into many pieces of up to 30 tons with an average of 20 tons; then reconstructed them on the new island (read more about it here).
Nearby, there´s another, smaller temple, built by Ptolemy V (204-180 BCE) and dedicated to the worship of the god Horus, and a temple built by the Romans who ruled Egypt as a province from 30 BCE to 641 CE, with scenes depicting the emperor Trajan presenting wine to Isis and Horus as well as presenting incense and sacred water to Osiris. All of it is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae.
The entry fee to the Philae temple complex for foreign visitors is 200 Egyptian pounds (currently 4USD, £3.20, and 3.85 euros(
Other Antiquities Down South
There´s a wealth of ancient Egyptian monuments in this region, both in the Aswan area and in Luxor, which can be reached by boat. They include:
- Abu Simbel Temples (above)
- Valley of the Kings
- Temple of Hatshepsut.
- Colossi of Memnon.
- Karnak Temple.
- Temple of Horus.
- Temple of Kom Ombo.
- Kom Ombo Temple.
- Khnum temple.
- Kalabsha Temple.
- Luxor Temple.
- Deir el-Bahari Temple.
For more info, see the page on Aswan and Abu Simbel at ExperienceEgypt.eg.
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