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Words spoken by Isis " I have come so that I may protect thee, O Osiris, thou shalt not be weary, these thy limbs shall not be tired, O Osiris"
The Philae Sanctuary dedicated to the Great Goddess; is the real 'Jewel on the Nile', the temple complex being described as "The Pearl of Egypt"
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During the Roman occupation of Egypt, Philae expanded to become
a centre of worship and pilgrimage from all over the Roman Empire.
Meanwhile the Cult of Isis was exported by her worshippers to
remote locations like York in the North of England. The arrival
of Mark the Apostle in A.D. 45 and the Foundation of the Coptic Church did little harm to the rites performed on the site. Even when
Egypt was formally incorporated into the Byzantine Empire and
Christianity became the state religion; the edict of Theodosius
(A.D. 395) officially closing the Temple... failed to make any
difference! Somehow the order for the Temple's destruction became
mislaid and the site was maintained as a place of pilgrimage for
the Nubian Kingdoms of the South. In A.D. 536 Justinian made a
second attempt to close down the Temple marking a final end to
the old religion. Despite this the Nubians continued their pilgrimages
and worship until about A.D. 551!
Map of Temple Complex and Key to the various Buildings
(12 KB GIF 113KB HTML Document)
More importantly Philae was the site of the last truly Egyptian
Masonic Traditions: The stonecarvers who knew the old Words of
God "Medu Netcher". In A.D. 394 the last ever Hieroglyphic inscription in the ancient world was made on
this site. Thereafter the Egyptian state embraced Christianity
and "God's Words" lost to the World for one and a half millennia.
(On the 22nd September 1822 Jean-François Champollion's letter
to Monsieur Dacier signalled the end to the mystery of Hieroglyphics!)
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Philae was always at the centre of the rescue effort but the more monumental task of relocating the Temple at Abu Simbel was allowed to take the headlines. The Resurrection of "The Pearl of Egypt" was to prove more problematic and costly. To help raise the necessary funds (Twenty Million U.S. Dollars!) an exceptional event was to take place. For the first time since the last century, Egyptian artifacts were to be allowed out of the country! "The Treasures of Tutankhamun" were taken on a global tour, starting in London in 1972. Just as work started, in August of that year, with the construction of a long sheet metal cofferdam 2954 feet (900m) surrounding the Island of Philae. The interior was then pumped dry and the temple buildings dug up out of the Nile Mud. After a short period of consolidation and archeological excavation, the blocks used in the construction of the various buildings of the complex were labeled and carefully disassembled. |
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| The Temple of Isis emerging from the Waters |
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The Temple has not been officially rededicated to the Cult of Isis... so far.
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Philae Island was (is!) a small granite outcropping above Aswan
at the Nile's First Cataract. A Sacred Site dating back to antiquity,
the earliest surviving temple structure dates back to the 30th
Nubian or Kushite Dynasty and a built by the Pharaoh Nectanebo
I (381 - 364 B.C.). Most of the current structure was built by
the Ptolemys and equitably used by the Kushite Dynasties that
ruled the lands to the far South. Despite the subsequent changes
to the North, Philae remained the Southern focus for the Isaic
religion in one form or another over the Millennia.
Philae was eventually converted into a Coptic Church with especial
prominence given to the Virgin Mary. After many of Isis' portraits
were destroyed by Christian Cenobites from the desert; a thick
layer of doubly protective mortar was applied over the sensual
images of the Goddess. Protecting the congregation from sinful
thoughts and protecting the carvings for later generations!. After
its conversion, it then proved to be a stronghold of Christianity
in the years following the invasion of the country by the Umayyad
Caliphs of Damascus. (A.D. 639) And a sacred site where the Coptic
cult of the 'Virgin Mary' stood firm against the rising tide of
Islam. 
It was the British who finally drowned the complex (Sorry!) with
the first "Old Dam" completed in 1899. This being further heightened
in 1907 and again in 1929. By this time the Temple was half submerged
for most of the year. 
Then the plans for a "Great Dam", conceived in the 1950's, eventually
bore fruit. Construction of the Aswan High Dam (Sadd El-Ali) started
in the 1960's and was completed in 1971. During this period UNESCO
was pressured into making a special effort to rescue Philae and
other sacred sites from being drowned and lost to the World.
Meanwhile the Island of Agikila or Agilqiyyah, 980 ft (300 m)
to North of Philae, was selected as the new site and became the
first global terraforming project. An international team rearranging
its contours to duplicate the original island. 150 tons of dynamite
were used to move 90,000 tons of rock! Then, in 1974, the 40,
000 odd blocks, each weighing between 2 - 5 tons were transported
and reassembled. The mammoth task of reconstruction /restoration
was to take six years and the New Temple complex was opened in
1980. Since that date "The Temple of Isis of Agikila" has become
a premiere attraction and the usual climax to a voyage up the
River of Life. Its spectacular Son et Lumîère attracting millions
of tourists from all over the World.
To end on an esoteric note the concerted Worldwide effort to resurrect
her Temple ontologically replicates not only her own Myth Cycle,
that of reconstruction of the body of Osiris from its 14 pieces.
But also one of the earliest of the Egyptian Creation Myths. Just
as the Atum mound rose out of the primeval chaos Nun, so Philae
was uncovered from its watery shroud! And any woman will tell
you that any building site will contain its fair share of Primeval
Chaos!