Philae temple complex: Difference between revisions
m Reverted edits by DBATTOASTER (talk) to last version by 24.19.214.89 |
DBATTOASTER (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 51: | Line 51: | ||
At the southern extremity of the dromos of the Great Temple was a smaller temple, apparently dedicated to [[Isis]]; at least the few columns that remained of it are surmounted with the head of that goddess. Its portico consisted of twelve columns, four in front and three deep. Their capitals represented various forms and combinations of the [[palm branch]], the dhoum-leaf, and the lotus-flower. These, as well as the sculptures on the columns, the ceilings, and the walls were painted with the most vivid colors, which, owing to the dryness of the climate, have lost little of their original brilliance. |
At the southern extremity of the dromos of the Great Temple was a smaller temple, apparently dedicated to [[Isis]]; at least the few columns that remained of it are surmounted with the head of that goddess. Its portico consisted of twelve columns, four in front and three deep. Their capitals represented various forms and combinations of the [[palm branch]], the dhoum-leaf, and the lotus-flower. These, as well as the sculptures on the columns, the ceilings, and the walls were painted with the most vivid colors, which, owing to the dryness of the climate, have lost little of their original brilliance. |
||
==History== |
|||
===Pharaonic era=== |
|||
The ancient Egyptian name of the smaller island is ''Philak'', or ''boundary''. As their southern frontier, the [[Pharaoh]]s of Egypt kept there a strong garrison, and, for the same reason, it was a barrack also for Macedonian and [[Roman Empire|Roman]] soldiers in their turn. The first temple structure, which was built by native pharaohs of the thirtieth dynasty, was the one for [[Hathor]]. |
|||
===Greco-Roman era=== |
|||
The island temple construction at Philae was continued over a three-century period by the Greek [[Ptolemaic dynasty]] and the rulers of the [[Roman Principate]]. The principal deity of the temple complex was [[Isis]], but other temples and shrines were dedicated to her son [[Horus]] and the goddess [[Hathor]]. In Ptolemaic times Hathor was associated with Isis, who was in turn associated with the Greek goddess [[Aphrodite]]. For centuries the temple complex was the holiest site for Isis worshippers. The temple was closed down officially in the [[6th century]] A.D. by the [[Byzantine emperor]], [[Justinian]]. It was the last [[pagan]] temple to exist in the Mediterranean world (although a Roman temple to Isis remained in England). Philae was a seat of the Christian religion as well as of the ancient Egyptian faith. Ruins of a Christian church were still discovered, and more than one adytum bore traces of having been made to serve at different eras the purposes of a chapel of Osiris and of [[Jesus of Nazareth|Christ]]. The Philae temple was converted into a church dedicated to the [[Virgin Mary]], until that was closed by [[Muslim]] invaders in the [[7th century]]. |
|||
===1800s=== |
|||
[[Image:Egypt Temple Philae.jpg|thumb|300px|right|The temple of Philae, from ''Description de L'Egypte'', 1800]] |
|||
The island of Philae attracted much attention in the nineteenth century. In the 1820s, [[Joseph Bonomi the Younger]], a British [[Egyptologist]] and [[museum]] [[curator]] visited the island. So did [[Amelia Edwards]], a British [[novelist]] in 1873–1874|4. |
|||
:''The approach by water is quite the most beautiful. Seen from the level of a small boat, the island, with its palms, its colonnades, its pylons, seems to rise out of the river like a mirage. Piled rocks frame it on either side, and the purple mountains close up the distance. As the boat glides nearer between glistening boulders, those sculptured towers rise higher and even higher against the sky. They show no sign of ruin or age. All looks solid, stately, perfect. One forgets for the moment that anything is changed. If a sound of antique chanting were to be borne along the quiet air–if a procession of white-robed priests bearing aloft the veiled ark of the God, were to come sweeping round between the palms and pylons–we should not think it strange.'' |
|||
These visits were only a sampling of the great interest that [[Victorian era|Victorian-era]] Britain had for Egypt. Soon, [[tourism]] to Philae became common. |
|||
===1900s=== |
|||
====Aswan Low Dam==== |
|||
[[Image:Egypt.Aswan.AswanLowDam.01.jpg|right|220px|thumb|Aswan Low Dam]] |
|||
In [[1902]], the [[Aswan Dam|Aswan Low Dam]] was completed on the Nile River by the [[United Kingdom|British]]. This threatened many ancient landmarks, including the temple complex of Philae, with being submerged. The dam was heightened twice, from [[1907]]–[[1912|12]] and from [[1929]]–[[1934|34]], and the island of Philae was nearly always flooded. In fact, the complex was not underwater only when the [[dam]]'s [[sluice]]s were open, from July to October. |
|||
It was postulated that the temples be relocated, piece by piece, to nearby islands, such as [[Bigeh]] or [[Elephantine]]. However, the temples' [[foundation (architecture)|foundation]]s and other [[architecture|architectural]] supporting structures were strengthened instead. Although the buildings were physically secure, the island's attractive [[vegetation]] and the colors of the temples' [[relief]]s were washed away. Also, the bricks of the Philae temples soon became encrusted with [[silt]] and other debris carried by the Nile. |
|||
====Rescue project==== |
|||
By [[1960]], [[UNESCO]] had decided to move many of the endangered sites along to Nile to safer ground. Philae's temple complex was moved, piece by piece, to Agilkai, 550 meters away, where it was reassembled and remains today. That project lasted from [[1977]] to [[1980]]. |
|||
==Nearby== |
==Nearby== |
||
Revision as of 16:02, 26 January 2008
- For the ESA space probe see Philae lander.
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criteria | Cultural: i, iii, vi |
| Reference | 88 |
| Inscription | 1979 (3rd Session) |
Philae (Greek: Φιλαί) or Pilak or P'aaleq (Egyptian: remote place or the end or the angle island) or Arabic: Anas el Wagud, is an island in the Nile River and the previous site of an Ancient Egyptian temple complex in southern Egypt. The complex is now located on the nearby island of Agilika.
Situation
Philae is mentioned by numerous ancient writers, including Strabo (i. p. 40, xvii. pp. 803, 818, 820), Diodorus (i. 22), Ptolemy (iv. 5. § 74), Seneca (Quaest. Nat. iv. 1), Pliny the Elder (v. 9. s. 10), and was, as the plural name both in the Greek and Latin denotes, the appellation of two small islands situated in latitude 24° North, just above the cataract of Syene (in Ancient Egyptian: Swenet =trade). Groskurd (Strab. vol. iii. p. 399) computes the distance between these islands and Syene at about 61.5 miles (99 km).
Philae proper, although the smaller island, is, from the numerous and picturesque ruins formerly there, the more interesting of the two. Prior to the inundation, it was not more than 1250 English feet, or rather less than a quarter of a mile, long, and about 400 feet broad. It is composed of Syenite stone: its sides are steep and perhaps escarped by the hand of man, and on their summits was built a lofty wall encompassing the island.
For Philae, being accounted one of the burying-places of Osiris, was held in high reverence both by the Egyptians to the north and the Ethiopians (Aethopians in Greek) to the south, and it was deemed profane for any but priests to dwell therein, and was accordingly sequestered and denominated the unapproachable (̓́αβατος, Plut. Is. et Osir. p, 359; Diod. i. 22). It was reported too that neither birds flew over it nor fish approached its shores. (Senec. Quaest. Nat. iv. 2.) These indeed were the traditions of a remote period; since in the time of the Macedonian kings of Egypt, Philae was so much resorted to, partly by pilgrims to the tomb of Osiris, partly by persons on secular errands, that the priests petitioned Ptolemy Physcon (170-117 BC) to prohibit public functionaries at least from coming thither and living at their expense. The obelisk on which this petition was engraved was brought into England by Mr. Bankes, and its hieroglyphics, compared with those of the Rosetta stone, threw great light upon the Egyptian phonetic alphabet.
The islands of Philae were not, however, merely sacerdotal abodes; they were the centres of commerce also between Meroë and Memphis. For the rapids of the cataracts were at most seasons impracticable, and the commodities exchanged between Egypt and Ethiopia were reciprocally landed and re-embarked at Syene and Philae.
The neighbouring granite-quarries attracted hither also a numerous population of miners and stonemasons; and, for the convenience of this traffic, a gallery or road was formed in the rocks along the east bank of the Nile, portions of which are still extant.
Philae also was remarkable for the singular effects of light and shade resulting from its position near the Tropic of Cancer. As the sun approached its northern limit the shadows from the projecting cornices and mouldings of the temples sink lower and lower down the plain surfaces of the walls, until, the sun having reached its highest altitude, the vertical walls are overspread with dark shadows, forming a striking contrast with the fierce light which embathes all surrounding objects. (Ritter, Erdkunde, vol. i. p. 680, seq.)
Construction
The most conspicuous feature of both islands was their architectural wealth. Monuments of very various eras, extending from the Pharaohs to the Caesars, occupy nearly their whole area. The principal structures, however, lay at the south end of the smaller island.
The most ancient were the remains of a temple for Hathor built in the reign of Nectanebo I during 380-362 BCE, was approached from the river through a double colonnade. Nekhtnebef is his Homen and he became the founding pharaoh of the thirtieth and last dynasty of native rulers when he deposed and killed Nefaarud II. Hathor is named alternatively, Athor, and was associated with their goddess, Aphrodite, by the Greeks.
For the most part, the other ruins date from the Ptolemaic times, more especially with the reigns of Ptolemy Philadelphus, Ptolemy Epiphanes, and Ptolemy Philometor (282-145 BC), with many traces of Roman work in Philae dedicated to Ammon-Osiris.
In front of the propyla were two colossal lions in granite, behind which stood a pair of obelisks, each 44 feet high. The propyla were pyramidal in form and colossal in dimensions. One stood between the dromos and pronaos, another between the pronaos and the portico, while a smaller one led into the sekos or adytum. At each corner of the adyturn stood a monolithal shrine, the cage of a sacred hawk. Of these shrines one is now in the Louvre, the other in the Museum at Florence.
Beyond the entrance into the principal court are small temples or rather chapels, one of which, dedicated to Hathor (Athor), is covered with sculptures representing the birth of Ptolemy Philometor, under the figure of the god Horus. The story of Osiris is everywhere represented on the walls of this temple, and two of its inner chambers are particularly rich in symbolic imagery. Upon the two great propyla are Greek inscriptions intersected and partially destroyed by Egyptian figures cut across them.
The inscriptions belong to the Macedonian era, and are of earlier date than the sculptures, which were probably inserted during that interval of renaissance for the native religion which followed the extinction of the Greek dynasty in Egypt in 30 BC by the Romans.
The monuments in both islands indeed attested, beyond any others in the Nile-valley, the survival of pure Egyptian art centuries after the last of the Pharaohs had ceased to reign. Great pains have been taken to mutilate the sculptures of this temple. The work of demolition is attributable, in the first instance, to the zeal of the early Christians, and afterward, to the policy of the Iconoclasts, who curried favour for themselves with the Byzantine court by the destruction of heathen images as well as Christian ones.
The soil of Philae had been prepared carefully for the reception of its buildings–being levelled where it was uneven, and supported by masonry where it was crumbling or insecure. For example, the western wall of the Great Temple, and the corresponding wall of the dromos, were supported by very strong foundations, built below the pre-inundation level of the water, and rested on the granite which in this region forms the bed of the Nile. Here and there steps were hewn out from the wall to facilitate the communication between the temple and the river.
At the southern extremity of the dromos of the Great Temple was a smaller temple, apparently dedicated to Isis; at least the few columns that remained of it are surmounted with the head of that goddess. Its portico consisted of twelve columns, four in front and three deep. Their capitals represented various forms and combinations of the palm branch, the dhoum-leaf, and the lotus-flower. These, as well as the sculptures on the columns, the ceilings, and the walls were painted with the most vivid colors, which, owing to the dryness of the climate, have lost little of their original brilliance.
Nearby
Prior to the inundation, a little west of Philae lay a larger island, anciently called Snem or Senmut, but now Beghé. It is very precipitous, and from its most elevated peak affords a fine view of the Nile, from its smooth surface south of the islands to its plunge over the shelves of rock that form the First Cataract. Philae, Beghé, and another lesser island divided the river into four principal streams, and north of them it took a rapid turn to the west and then to the north, where the cataract begins.
Beghé, like Philae, was a holy island; its and rocks are inscribed with the names and titles of Amenhotep III (Amunoph III), Rameses the Great, Psammetichus, Apries, and Amasis, together with memorials of the later Macedonian and Roman rulers of Egypt. Its principal ruins consisted of the propylon and two columns of a temple, which was apparently of small dimensions, but of elegant proportions. Near them were the fragments of two colossal granite statues and also an excellent piece of masonry of much later date, having the aspect of an arch belonging to some Greek church or Saracen mosque.
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)
See also
External links
- Sacred Temple Island of Philae
- Philae @ Mark Millmore's Ancient Egypt
- Philae @ EgyptSites
- Cruising the Nile: Philae
- Philae @ Rigby's World of Egypt
- Philae @ The Domain of Het-Hert another alternative name for Hathor - aerial view of the temples
- Philae @ Akhet Egyptology
- Philae Photograph Gallery
- Temple Complex: Distant Views
- Pictures of complex's features
- Philae Temple photographs on GlobalAmity.net
| ||
