Our trip upriver (south) on the Nile River terminated in Aswan, where we docked for three days for exploration of the area.  Something that we hadn’t known the details of was that the construction of the Aswan High Dam from 1960 to 1970, resulting in the creation of Lake Nasser, threatened many ancient temples and monuments with permanent flooding and their loss.  [Note that the original, so called “Aswan Low Dam” was constructed in 1902 and was not a major threat to the temples and monuments upriver.]  The Egyptian government worked with UNESCO who then assembled a 50-nation consortium of architects, engineers, construction companies, and, most importantly, donors to underwrite the planning, dismantling and reconstruction of many significant temples located upriver of the new dam, in the 1960s and 1970s.  The first such temple that we visited was the Philae Temple.

The Philae Temple was partially underwater from the waters of the Nile River following the construction of the Aswan Lower Dam (since 1902) and the creation of the Aswan Reservoir.  The international UNESCO consortium donated the funds to design an innovative solution to saving the temple (and funded the subsequent deconstruction and reconstruction of the temple on a different, higher nearby island).  A giant steel wall was built on the island of Philae around the temple.  For seven months, a sand slurry (sand carried by water) was pumped 5 kilometers [3 miles] from the source of the sand into the temple within the steel barrier.  Once the barrier was filled, the water was pumped out and the temple was then buried in sand.  Subsequently, the sand was removed and the mud and debris from the Nile River flooding of 70 years was then removed by an army of workers – by hand, so as to not damage the temple and the relief figures.  It was noted that in some areas the mud was up to 4 meters [13.1 feet] deep.  Once the temple was free standing, the walls and columns and decorations were cleaned.  Then began the slow process of sawing the various stone components of the ENTIRE temple into large blocks that could be moved by boat to the nearby Agilkia Island, that had been prepared to have a flat “foundation” area matching the design of the original Philae Temple area on Philae Island.  The temple’s blocks were slowly reassembled and the Philae temple, now on Agilkia Island, looks now just like it did hundreds of years ago in its original location.  UNESCO produced a movie in the 1970s that has about 10 minutes at the end (the first 45 minutes document the movement of the two massive Abu Simbel temples (which we visited two days later; see our upcoming blog post) documenting the saving of the Philae Temple – “Saving the Philae Temple in Aswan – Egypt – a rare film from UNESCO – for the first time on YouTube” (available on YouTube).

The Temple of Philae is “located on a peaceful island and dedicated to the goddess of love, the Temple of Isis was almost lost in floods when the Aswan Dam was built in the 1960s. Thankfully it was rescued, and it is now one of Egypt’s most beautiful and best-preserved ancient sanctuaries.

“The Temple of Isis was originally located upon the island of Philae, which meant ‘the end’ in Ancient Egypt language and marked the southernmost boundary of the historic nation. It was one of the last temples dedicated to the cult of Isis, who was worshiped for bringing her husband Osiris back to life after he was murdered and dismembered by his brother Seth. Iris and Osiris went on to have a son, Horus, who was one of the most important Ancient Egyptian deities, and the goddess therefore earned the title ‘Mother of God’.

“When the Aswan Dam was constructed in the 1960s, Philae Island and the temple perched upon it were almost completely lost underwater. Thanks to the efforts of UNESCO and the Egyptian government, the Temple of Isis was painstakingly taken apart and rebuilt on higher ground, in its current location on Agilkia Island.

“Despite flooding and vandalism by early Christians, the Temple of Isis is one of Egypt’s most spectacular sanctuaries. The columns of its hypostyle hall are amazingly well-preserved, and reliefs like the carvings of musical scenes in the Temple of Hathorhave retained much of their ancient beauty. A favourite of Victorian artists was the unfinished Kiosk of Trajan, a pavilion also known as the ‘bed of Pharaoh’.” — www.introducingegypt.com/philae-temple

Frequently the Temple of Philae is represented by a single photograph – that of the “Kiosk of Trajan”.  It was the most famous of Philae’s monuments and was frequently painted by Victorian artists.  The unfinished pavilion by the water’s edge is also referred to by locals as “Pharoh’s Bed”.  With no roof nor floor, “Trajan’s Pavilion” is a rectangular room surrounded by fourteen columns with beautiful, complex flowering crowns.  Small walls were built between the columns to bear inscriptions and decorations, but those inscriptions were not completed.  Inside are reliefs showing Trajan as a pharaoh making offerings to Osiris, Isis and Horus. [Note: the Emperor Trajan lived around 100 A.D.]

“Built during the reign of Ptolemy II (Egypt’s Greco-Roman Period), the Temple of Isis at Philae is dedicated to Isis, Osiris, and Horus.  The temple walls contain scenes from Egyptian mythology of Isis bringing Osiris back to life, giving birth to Horus, and mummifying Osiris after his death.

“From early times the island was sacred to the goddess Isis.  The complex of structures of the Temple of Isis was completed by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (reigned 285–246 BCE) and his successor, Ptolemy III Euergetes (reigned 246–221 BCE).  Its decorations, dating from the period of the later Ptolemies and of the Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius (27 BCE-37 CE) were never completed.  The Roman emperor Hadrian (reigned 117-138 CE) added a gate west of the complex.  Other small temples or shrines dedicated to Egyptian deities include a temple to Imhotep, one to Hathor, and chapels to Osiris, Horus, and Nephthys.

“The obelisks in front of the temple were removed in 1918 by British Consul Henry Salt and his assistant Giovanni Belzoni, and are now in a garden in Dorset, England.” — https://egyptianmuseum.org/explore/greco-and-roman-period-monuments-philae

“The most prominent monument of the Philae Temple complex “is a temple begun by Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BC), which he dedicated to Isis, the mother of Horus, the god of kingship.  A scene in the mammisi, or birth [house], where the birth of Horus was celebrated, depicts Isis suckling her son Horus in the marshes.” — https://egymonuments.gov.eg/archaeological-sites/philae/  

The carving of Isis suckling her son Horus is on the back wall of the Sanctuary of the Mammisi, behind the center of the room where in Egyptian times a stone pedestal held a barque (a small boat) that had on it a small statue of the goddess Isis, that was taken out of the temple on festivals to share the statue of Isis with worshipers – both local and those who made a pilgrimage from far away.  The barque was removed long ago and sent to Paris, France.

“The Temple was dedicated to the goddess Isis, the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus.  These three characters dominate ancient Egyptian culture and their story possesses all the drama of a Shakespearian tragedy.  The god Osiris is murdered and dismembered by his brother Seth.  Isis searches for the fragments, collects them together and with her magic powers brings Osiris back to life.  They then conceive the god Horus.  Osiris becomes god of the underworld and judge of the dead – who must answer to him for their deeds on Earth.  Meanwhile Isis gives birth to Horus and protects the young god.  Later when Horus is grown, he avenges his father by defeating Seth in combat.

“Isis is a very important figure in the ancient world.  She is associated with funeral rites but as the enchantress who resurrected Osiris and gave birth to Horus, she is also the giver of life, a healer and protector of kings.  She was known as ‘Mother of God’ and was represented with a throne on her head.  During the Roman period her cult spread throughout Greece and the Roman Empire.  There was even a temple dedicated to her in London.” — https://discoveringegypt.com/pyramids-temples-of-egypt/philae-temple/

One of the questions many of us had during our tour was why so many of the human figures and bodies of the gods in the relief carvings on the walls and columns of the temple had been defaced (blurring out the details of the bodies).  “The temple of Isis was one of the last ancient Egyptian temples to remain active, as it continued to function until the reign of the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I (527–565 AD), who ordered the foreclosure of all pagan temples.  It is here that a priest of Isis named Esmet-Akhom carved the very last dated hieroglyphic inscription, which dates to the late 4^th century AD (394 AD).  The temple was converted into a Christian church and many inscriptions were deliberately destroyed.” — https://egymonuments.gov.eg/archaeological-sites/philae/

History records that there was a deliberate program of chiseling away the features of the bodies of the humans and gods in the temple

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