The island of Philae is now submerged below the waters of Lake Nasser, to the south of Aswan. When the Aswan High Dam was built in the 1960s, the island’s temples were dismantled and then reconstructed on the neighbouring Agilkia Island, which was prepared and landscaped to look like the original Philae Island. The earliest evidence of religious structures on the island goes back only to the time of Taharqa (Dynasty XXV), and it was not until the Graeco-Roman period that the island rose to importance. It became the cult centre for Isis, who was revered at that time throughout much of the Roman world. The site survived as a last outpost of the old Egyptian religion well into the Christian era, not being officially closed until the reign of Justinian in AD550.

Quayside Temples Temple of Isis Other Ptolemaic and Roman monuments Trajan's Kiosk

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Quayside Temples

There were numerous temples on Philae. Starting at the ancient quay, the first structure was the kiosk of Nectanebo I. To the north of that, a processional way led to the main temple of Isis. Along the way is the temple of Arensnuphis, a Nubian god, who was venerated at Philae as the companion of Isis. Other structures stand around the temple of Arensnuphis – a ruined chapel of Mandulis, another Nubian deity, and a well-preserved chapel of Imhotep.

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Temple of Isis

The entrance to the main temple is fronted by the pylon of Ptolemy XII. This contained a main entrance, as well as a subsidiary entrance leading to a mammisi. The mammisi is dated from Ptolemy VI onwards, and is similar in plan and decoration to those of Dendara and Edfu. A decorated colonnade ran along the eastern side of the forecourt and fronted a number of chambers, including a “library” dedicated to Thoth. A Roman chapel stood in the court’s northeast corner before the second pylon, which was built on a natural outcrop of rock. It was built at an angle to the outer entrance. The second pylon opened into the hypostyle hall, the first part of which was left open so that it formed, in effect, a combined hypostyle and peristyle hall.

The sanctuary still contains the pedestal, dedicated by Ptolemy III and his wife Berenike, of the barque of Isis. The roof of the inner temple holds an Osiris room, as per other Graeco-Roman temples.

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Other Ptolemaic and Roman monuments

A number of subsidiary pharaonic monuments were built to the west of the temple of Isis. A gateway of Hadrian stands before a stairway leading down to the river. The temple contains several scenes relating to the death and resurrection of Osiris, including one of Isis who watches while a crocodile bears the body of her husband to an area representing the mound of Biga which rose from the Nile opposite the gateway. A little to the north of Hadrian’s gateway are the ruins of the temple of Horus the Avenger (Harendotes), as well as other structures, including a temple of Augustus and the quay and gateway of Diocletian.

To the east of the temple of Isis stood the substantial remains of a temple to Hathor, built by Ptolemies VI and VII.

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Trajan's Kiosk

To the south lay the kiosk of Trajan, nicknamed the “Pharaoh’s Bed”. It consists today of 14 columns, connected by screen walls, which support the great architraves overspanning the building, which once served as the formal entrance to the building.

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