? What is the legend
After the construction of the dam ,the Philae Temple was distamantled , relocated , and rebuilt at a distance of about 500 meters on the island of Agelikia .
This temple is dedicated to the goddess Isis . Philae was a very popular place in the past , because people who believe in Goddess Isis should come here .
What is the story of Isis and Osiris ?
I told you before that the goddess Nut , the goddess of the sky and the god of the earth , Jeb , they are married and have four children , two women and two men . The first son , Osiris , married his younger sister Isis , but his younger brother , Set , married his sister Nephites . So the younger brother hated his brother and wanted revenge on him.
What did Set do ?
One day Set gave to his brother a coffin , to test whether it was suitable for him .
While Osiris tried to lay in the coffin , his brother Set closed the coffin and threw it into the river , but Osiris' wife helped him return .
The younger brother wanted to take revenge on him again , he killed his brother this time . Set divided the body of his brother Osiris into 24 parts , and each part was buried in the capitals of the different regions in Egypt .
But because his wife is a goddess , she will bring him back , why ?
She went to different regions in Egypt to collect her husband's body parts .
So every time she goes to people anywhere , people love her and believe her , so , Isis has had more than 100,000 names .
After she collected her husband's body parts , he resurrected , then she married him , and gave birth to Horus , then Osiris died and was not resurrected again .
Only in the afterlife , he could survive , so Osiris become the god of death in the afterlife .
- What is the origin of the name Philae ?
In Greek , "Philae" are called "Phylus" which means " my beloved " , and the Arabic name is "Anas" , taken from the legend of the thousand and one Nights.
Originally , "Anas" was the son of a king , Anas fell in love with the daughter of the prime minister , and when the girl's father knew that , he deported his daughter to this island .
He left her in the castle on the island because he did not want his daughter to marry .
However , Anas was looking for his beloved , he had a feeling that his beloved locked in this island , after he found her , he lived with and married her , so the Arabs loved this brave hero and they called the island the name of "Anas" .
The coptic name is "Perak" which means , "the last place" , because this place is considered the last place in southern Egypt (the final frontier) .
History of the Temple of Philae :
Philae Island is located 15 kilometers south of Aswan . The island is 450 meters long and 150 meters wide , and is called " the pearl on the throne of the ancient Egyptian king " . From the group of ancient Egyptian temples .
Philae is a small island in the south of the Nile in Aswan , and it is the temple of Isis , the god of love . In 1902 , part of it was sunk , when the Aswan Dam blocked the Nile .
In the 1960 , after the construction of the High Dam on the south side of Philae , the temple was almost completely submerged , to a depth of over 70 meters , so most of the colors are grim black .
Starting in 1972 , to protect these valuable cultural relics from damage , the Egyptian government constructed an upper dam around the temple to drain the river water affecting the building .
Then this group of temples dismantled into more than 45,000 stones and more than 100 stone columns .
In August 1979 , it was rebuilt on another island 1 km from Philae , and the work took 4 years and the relocation project was completed in 1980 .
On March 10, 1980 , the temple of Philae officially reopened at the new site .
There are different temples and interior temples , including the temple of Hathor , the goddess of love in Egyptian mythology . In the myths of Isis and Osiris , the different goddesses are praised .
Among those temples is one of the oldest temples of king Nectanib II , Which was built in the early fourth century AD .
The largest temple called the Temple of Isis , was built by king Vladios (Ptolemy II ) .
Therefore , the temple of the goddess Hathor is the last building from the reign of Ptolemy , it was built before 116 BC .
Introduction to Philae Temple
This temple was built in the last century BC from the era of the Ptolemies and the beginning of the third century AD under the supervision of the Roman Emperor .
The outer courtyard of the temple was built at the end of the Ptolemaic era .
There are many columns in front of you , here is the west portico , and there are 31 stone columns , 10 meters high , with very different shapes .
Inscriptions on the columns show that the emperor presents offerings to the gods.
The tops of the columns are all shaped in papyrus and lotus shapes , which is very complex , ( this was only in the Greco-Roman period ) .
Their artistic style is different, too .
The width of the first tower on the opposite side is 45.5 meters and its height is 18 meters, and in front of it , there are two statues of lion . The ancient Egyptians worshiped lions and thought that lions were the embodiment of strength , so they all preferred to place lions in front of their graves as patron deities .
The decoration in front of the temple was done because that the ancient Egyptian used the powerful animals and birds such as lions and eagles to decorate .
If you look at the murals on the walls , they are different . On the left , you will see the King Nectanib II holding the Prisoners’ hair in one hand , and the Scepter in the other hand to kill them , on the other side their is the goddess of love Isis .
When you enter from the door , you will find in the left three small prayer halls (niches).
A temple for the Trinity on the island of Philae ,
( one for the father , one for the mother , and one for the son ) , because on this island the goddess Isis gave birth to her son Horus, So the most important building on the island is the Temple of Isis . In addition to the temple of Hathor and the church that was built later .
Here , there are many rooms . Because there are many offerings to the temples , so most of the rooms are dedicated to collecting temple offerings . So each room includes one kind of offerings, one room for bread, one for fish, one for spices , and one for birds .
Here , you see the lotus and papyrus on top of the western pillar , and at the top , there is the head of the motherhood goddess Hathor .
The wide of the second main tower on the other side is 32 meters and its height 12 meters and if you look closely at the crosses on either side of the door , you see that the crosses were also placed on the columns inside .
Why ?
In the era of the Ptolemies , Philae was the southern part of the country, so Christianity spread here very late .
The Ptolemies ruled for 300 years , and they continued to build their own buildings on the island of Philae. However, in the fifth century , Philae’s people still believed in the goddess Isis .
At that time, in 391 AD , the Roman Emperor Sodoris wanted to make Christianity the country’s official religion .
Christianity was known on this island only in 550 AD , and thus the Philae began a new religious era , so the Christians held their religious ceremonies in Philae , so there is a cross in front of the door .
In addition, because this temple also became a place where Christians later lived and religious ceremonies were to be held here , so a cross was placed on the pillar .
Some of the temple stones were used to build churches around Philae . After a few years , there were many villages and many buildings around the island .
The Islamic religious conquest did not begin here until the twelfth century, and since that time the name of the island of Philae is “Anas” to commemorate the hero of Arab mythology “Anas” .
Introduction to some of the murals:
The inscriptions are called the Dodo Kachin painting , which is the name that Herdot gave to the area of the southern Nubian population of Philae (District 12 in Upper Egypt) and these inscriptions indicate that there were ritual pilgrimages to elephants ( from the eighth century to the fifth century BC .
Likewise, the inscriptions date the month of Kiahk ( the fourth month after the flood ) , the stage of sowing seeds …
Mamizi is ( the birth house of the divine)
As we go ahead, there is a sacred place to the temple , where Isis gave birth to her son Horus . In the middle, there is a table where the offerings are presented, and there is also a cross . There is on the wall , the maternal goddess Hathor breastfeeds Horus , and this indicates that he is the son of a goddess , what does this mural mean ?
Horus’s uncle ( Set ) feared from that when Horus grew up , he would revenge from him .
That is because he killed Horus’s father before , he also did not want Horus to get the throne . So Set thought of a way to make many people suspect Horus is not his nephew . But through this mural , Isis assures others that Horus is her son and the son of Osiris , so how can I believe this ?
Because there are only sons or daughters of the gods , the goddess of motherhood (Hathor) breastfeeds them , so the goddess Isis tells them that this is the son of Osiris .
- Inscriptions of soldiers of the French campaign:
In the sixth year of the French Republic , the French army led by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte , and the soldiers arrived in Alexandria , and the Mamelukes fled in front of them to the pyramids and to the desert … The forces moved and spread all over Egypt during the seventh year of the establishment of the French Republic in 1799 …
The names of the officers of the French campaign are also inscribed .
Here you will see the king sending the guardian eyes of the goddess to Horus and the goddess of motherhood Hathor, this eye is a symbol of health and a symbol of the gods’ mercy . The King also presents the offerings to two gods .
Here , the King introduces the lotus to the trinity of the gods , “ Osiris “, Isis , and Horus.
The king offers wine to the goddesses Isis and Hathor.
The king offers protection eyes to Horus and Hathor .
The king sings before the gods Isis and Hathor.
Isis opens her wings to protect Osiris .
It's great to learn new facts about the wonders of the ancient Egyptian temples.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mrs Mira for you hard work 🙏❤️