The Temple of Isis is one of the largest architectural monuments ancient egypt that religious significance. It was built by order of Pharaoh Ptolemy II. The building of the temple has been well preserved to our times thanks to the improvement and expansion of its territory by subsequent generations of the royal dynasty. This was primarily due to the fact that the cult of Isis was revered throughout the history of ancient civilization.

During the construction of the building, the technologies of the New Kingdom period were used in Ancient Egypt. Elements of the Greco-Roman period were also introduced into the decoration of the Egyptian shrine. A "nilometer" was created, which served to determine the level of water in the river. And the sanctuary of Horus, the son of Osiris.

Halls of the Temple of Isis at Philae

The entrance to the temple of Isis opens through the passage between the towers. The courtyard leads to the second pylon, the walls of which are decorated with bas-reliefs telling of the birth of Horus by Isis.

Through the second pylon you can get into the pillared hall, decorated with 10 pillars, rising to the sky with lotuses. At the end of it are the ruins of the first temple of Philae, glorifying the power of Isis. The southern wall of the temple from the outside is decorated with a sculpture of a lion.

The rays of the sun almost do not touch the altars, on which the most beautiful women were sacrificed by order of the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt and the priests.

Additional buildings adjacent to the temple of Isis are the chapel of Osiris, the temple of Hathor (Hator), the temple of Augustus, the pedestal of Trajan and Diocletian.

After the arrival of Christianity in Egypt, Coptic rites began to be held in some halls of the temple.

Finding a temple in Aswan is easy. It is located on Abtal el-Tahrir Square near the Museum of Nubia.

Fillet. Temple of Isis from the side of the secret pier. (c) photo - Victor Solkin, 2003.

Philae Island, located near modern Aswan, is one of the most important cult centers of the goddess Isis. His ancient name Paiurek goes back to the expression "island of times (Ra)", i.e. the eternal hill created by God at the beginning of time. The island was also dedicated to Hathor, "Lady of Nubia". According to tradition, it was on this island that the good “golden” goddess first set foot, returning in the guise of Tefnut from distant southern lands. Osiris, the husband of Isis, was also revered here, one of whose tombs was located on the neighboring "forbidden" island of Abaton (modern Bige).

Isis hiding with Horus in the swamps of Ah-Bit. Relief from the Mammizi temple of Isis on the island of Philae. 4th c. BC. (c) photo - Victor Solkin, 2007

It is not known when the first temple was erected on Philae. Architectural fragments with the names of the pharaohs of the New Kingdom were discovered here, however, all the main temple structures of the island, which have come down to our time in excellent condition, were erected under the kings of the XXX dynasty and in Greco-Roman times. The oldest surviving building on Philae is a small portico inscribed with the names of Pharaoh Nectanebo I, located near the ancient pier, from which the road leads to the main temple of Isis. Damaged by a flood, it was rebuilt by Ptolemy II. The graceful colonnades with composite capitals, located between the portico and the first pylon of the temple, were erected by the Romans - Augustus and Tiberius. Small temples of the Nubian gods Mandulis and Irihemesnefer adjoin the eastern colonnade, which was never completed. The third temple, located closest to the temple of Isis, was dedicated to the deified Imhotep.

Osiris and Isis. Relief of the sacrificial hall of the Temple of Isis. 1 in. BC. (c) photo - Viktor Solkin, 2007

In front of the first pylon of the Temple of Isis, there once stood two obelisks of Ptolemy VIII, now located in Kingstonhall, England. Between the first and second pylons is located mammisi, the construction of which began under Ptolemy VIII, and ended under Tiberius. The second pylon, not as massive as the first, is covered with reliefs depicting Ptolemy XII beating foreigners in front of the great goddess. Fragments of the most beautiful polychrome painting, which once covered the columns of the hypostyle hall, are still visible on the capitals, despite the fact that after the construction of the first Aswan dam at the beginning of the 20th century, the unique temple was flooded by the waters of the Nile for nine months a year for several decades. The green spots of algae that have eaten into the sandstone of the temple walls and destroyed the murals still testify to the thoughtless and barbaric attitude of man to the heritage of bygone centuries.

Hathoric capital of the column at the entrance to the temple of the goddess Isis mammizi. (c) photo - Victor Solkin, 2007

The sanctuary of Isis itself consists of twelve rooms and a crypt, the walls of which are richly decorated with reliefs; these halls included the famous temple library dedicated to the god Thoth. From the chambers adjacent to the Holy of Holies, the stairs lead to the terrace and the secret sanctuary of Osiris, the walls of which are covered with relief compositions telling how Isis put together the parts of the body of her murdered husband. The reliefs that cover the outer walls of the temple were made under the Roman emperors. In the central sanctuary, there is still a base for the boat of Isis, installed under Ptolemy III; the granite naos for the statue of the goddess was taken to Europe in the 19th century.

The central passage of the temple of Isis and the base for the sacred boat. (c) photo - Victor Solkin, 2003.

To the west of the temple of Isis, perpendicular to the plane of the second pylon, there are the gates of Hadrian and one of the two nilometers that existed on the island. On the surface of the gate, unique images associated with the Osirian rituals of Philae have been preserved. On one of them, Isis watches the crocodile, which takes the body of Osiris out of the waters to the island of Bige, which was once located opposite the gates of Hadrian. To the north are the ruins of the temple of Chora Nejitef, built under the emperor Claudius.

Mystery of Abaton. Relief on Hadrian's Gate at Philae. (c) photo - Viktor Solkin, 2003.

To the east of the temple of Isis, under Ptolemy VI, a small temple of Hathor was erected, and a little to the south of it - one of the most beautiful buildings on the island - the famous kiosk of Trajan with fourteen capitals in the form of flowers, over which the sculptural faces of Isis-Hathor were to be carved. Unfortunately, striking in its monumentality and, at the same time, elegance, the kiosk, which in ancient times was considered the official gate of the island of Isis, remained unfinished.
A huge amount of graffiti left in the temple by pilgrims testifies to the popularity of the temple, which was considered one of the the greatest shrines Egypt. Isis was honored here not only by the Egyptians, but also by the nomadic inhabitants of Nubia, who, despite constant clashes with the governor of nearby Siena, always treated the island of Isis with respect and even, according to the agreement of 453 AD. received the right to consecrate their lands with a statue of the goddess. The cult of Isis flourished at Philae after the rest of Egypt had been Christianised. The temple was closed only in 550 AD. under Justinian, after long battles for the ancient shrine, during which the last priests died, who kept the foundations of the culture of the land of the pharaohs.

"Kiosk" of Trajan on the island of Philae. (c) photo - Viktor Solkin, 2007.

During the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 60s of the 20th century, the temple of Isis, rightfully considered the pearl of ancient Egyptian architecture, was moved to the neighboring, higher island of Agilkia and thus saved from complete flooding.

Solkin V.V. Pillars of Heaven. Secret Egypt. M., 2006.
Junker G. Der grosse Pylon des Tempels der Isis in Philä. Vienna, 1958.
Junker H., Winter E. Das Geburtshaus des Tempels der Isis in Philä. Vienna, 1965.
Kákosy L. Zu einer etymologie von Philä: die “Insel der Zeit”.// Studia Aegyptiaca VII. Budapest, 1981, pp. 185-194.
Peters-Desteract M. Philae. Le domaine d'Isis. Paris, 1997.
Sauneron S., Stierlin H. Edfou et Philae, derniers temples d'Egypte. Paris, 1975.
Vassilika E. Ptolemaic Philae. Leuven, 1989.

Cit. by: Solkin V.V. Fillet // Ancient Egypt. Encyclopedia. M., 2005, 2008

Isis, "hidden ornament". Chapter VIII from the book

Name:

Location: about.File. near Aswan High Dam (Egypt)

Creation: III c. BC. (start construction)

In connection with the construction of the Aswan Platinum, the complex was dismantled and completely transferred to the island of Agilkia.

Buildings on the island

Philae Island was one of the constituent parts of the region of the first rapids, but the significance and nature of the monuments preserved here make us consider it as an independent archaeological center. Isis has been worshiped here since time immemorial, as well as Hathor, the mistress of Nubia, who returned from the scorching south in the guise of the lioness Tefnut and rested here, where she first set foot on Egyptian soil. The wife of Isis, Osiris, was also revered here, one of whose tombs was located on the neighboring island of Bige. This island became an important cult center quite late.

The blocks with the name of Taharqa prove that there was a building dating from the XXV dynasty - the oldest building in its place dating back to the reign of Nectaneb I. This is a small portico on the southwestern tip of the island, from which a road led to the main temple of Isis (H. Junker, E. Winter Das Geburtshaus des Tempels der Isis in Phila Vienne 1965). Washed away by a catastrophic flood, it was restored by Ptolemy Philadelphus. Behind the portico are two colonnades built by Augustus and Tiberius, of which the eastern one was left unfinished. Nearby were two temples dedicated to the Nubian deities Arensnupis and Mandulis. The third chapel, which stood at the pylon of the temple of Isis, was dedicated to Imhotep.

In front of the 45-meter pylon of the temple of Isis, there were two obelisks from the time of Euergetes II, now in England, in Kingston Hall. At the entrance there is a famous inscription in memory of the campaign of the Deze division to Siena. In the west, between the first and second pylons, there is the chapel of the Holy Conception - mammisium, founded by Euergetes II, but completed only under Tiberius. The second, 32-meter pylon is decorated, like the first one, with reliefs depicting Ptolemy Neos Dionysus (E. Vassilika. Ptolemaic Philae. Leuven, 1989). Traces of paint were preserved on the columns of the hypostyle, although for many years after the construction of the first Aswan dam and before the transfer of the temples to the island of Agilkia, Philae remained under the waters of the Nile for nine months every year. The temple itself consisted of 12 halls and a crypt, the walls of which were covered with reliefs. The stairs led to the terrace with the chapel of Osiris. The reliefs on the outer walls of the temple date back to the times of Augustus and Tiberius.
To the west of the temple of Isis, in front of the side wall of the second pylon, are the "Gate of Hadrian", decorated with reliefs from the time of Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus. The plots of these reliefs are associated with the cult of Osiris, and therefore this badly damaged building is sometimes mistakenly considered the chapel of Osiris.

In the north was the temple of Horendot (Horus defending his father Osiris), erected by the emperor Claudius, now completely destroyed. Further to the northeast are the ruins of the Temple of Augustus and the gates of Diocletian. To the east of the temple of Isis stands the small temple of Hathor-Aphrodite, built by Ptolemy Philometor and Ptolemy II Euergetes. To the northeast of it, on the banks of the Nile, is the most beautiful architectural structure of this island - the famous kiosk of Trajan, which looks like a portico with 14 columns. Two nilometers have also been preserved on the island, and in Coptic times a monastery and two churches were built here.

Pilgrims who visited the temple of Isis during the Ptolemaic and Roman times left a lot of graffiti here, among which was found the latest known hieroglyphic inscription, dating from 394 AD. e. On the island of Philae, Isis was also worshiped by the Nubian tribes of the Nobads and Blemmii, who raided the southern borders of the Eastern Roman Empire in the 5th century BC. Despite the wars that were fought in this region, Philae remained a place of peaceful coexistence between two rival systems. The priests of the militant Nubian tribes could worship Isis in her temple, and under the agreement of 443, the Nobads and Blemmii even received the right to temporarily take away the statue of the goddess to their lands. Her cult persisted here for a long time after the official Christianization of Egypt. Only under Justinian, in connection with the Christianization of Nubia, the pagan temples on the island were closed or converted for Christian worship.

temple complex Filet, numbering 27,000 tons and 45,000 blocks, was transferred to the island of Agilkia, the topography of which was changed for this purpose during the work carried out from 1972 to March 10, 1980, the date of the grand opening of the monuments in the new place. Monuments from Nubia and the flood zone of the Saad al-Ali dam were also transferred to the area of ​​the first rapids on the western bank of the reservoir.
Three dismantled monuments of Nubian sacred architecture were restored here. The most significant of them is the temple of Kalabshi, built by Emperor Augustus on the site of an older temple of Amenhotep II. It was dismantled and moved to a new location by the FRG expedition in 1965 (H. Stock-K. Siegler, Kalabscha, Wiesbaden, 1965). The Egyptian Antiquities Service moved here a small rock sanctuary of Ramesses II from Beit el-Wali and a kiosk from Kertassi, very similar to Trajan's kiosk from the island of Philae. The stele of Psammetichus II, found in 1964, was also installed nearby, which is important from a historical point of view. Thus, in the area of ​​the first rapids, a new archaeological center was formed, consisting of monuments displaced from the territory of Nubia.

Sources:

• Margaret Murray "Egyptian Temples", 2006, Centerpolygraph
• “Description de l'Egypte, ou, Recueil des observations et des recherches qui ont été faites en Egypte pendant l'expédition de l'armée française. Atlas Geographique. 1818 AD

Philae Island and its Temple of Isis have fascinated visitors since Ptolemaic times, when most of the complex was erected. The devout and curious were drawn here by a cult that flourished throughout the Roman Empire until the onset of the Christian era. The first Europeans, "rediscovering" Philae in the 18th century, could only admire it from afar. Their attempts to land ashore "were met with screams, threats and, finally, spears local residents who lived in the ruins. However, subsequent travelers were able to fully enjoy contact with this ghost of classical antiquity. “If we were to see a procession of white-clad priests carrying the ark of the deity above them, we would not find it strange,” Amelia Edwards noted.

After the construction of the first, rising waters approached the temple itself, flooding it for six months, and tourists could admire the ghostly contours of the building under the thickness clear water. When it became clear that the construction of a new high-rise dam would lead to the final flooding of Philae, UNESCO and the Egyptian Antiquities Service prepared a grand operation (1972-1980) to transfer the temples to the neighboring island of Agilika, for which its landscape was changed. The new Temple of Philae stands majestically amidst the volcanic rocks, like a jewel on the regal blue of the lake, but it is more façade towards the island of Biga, dedicated to Osiris, from which its own sanctity stemmed.

Most visitors get to Philae Island by taxi from Aswan. This is the only easy way to get there and back. The taxi will drop you off at the Shallal Motorboat Pier, two kilometers from the eastern end of the old dam. You can buy tickets there (the monument is open to visitors daily, in winter 7:00-16:00; in summer 7:00-17:00 in Ramadan - 7:00-16:00; 35 pounds).

Having agreed on a price for the motorboat that will take you to the island (officially it costs 27 pounds for the boat round trip or two and a half pounds each if there are more than eight people in the boat), do not pay anything until you are back on that the same bank so that the boatman will wait for you while you explore the monument. If you stay longer than an hour, you will have to pay baksheesh. There is nowhere to buy food or drinks on the island.

• Light and music performance on Philae Island

Some people think that the light and music show is more spectacular in Fila than in Phil because of its island location. There are two or three performances every night. Check the program at the tourist office. As in Karnak, the show includes an hour-long tour of the ruins, whose floodlit contours are more impressive than the melodramatic soundtrack.

Sneaking into the first row, you will be able to enjoy a panoramic view of the entire complex without having to twist your head too much in the second act. Tickets (£55, no student discounts) are on sale at the pier just before the first performance. You need to hire a taxi from to take you there and back. Expect to pay £20-30 for a four-seater car (including waiting time) plus £30-35 for a motorboat ride to and from the island.

Philae's status as a cult center dates back to the time of the New Kingdom, when the island of Biga was considered one of the resting places of Osiris and the first piece of land that arose from the waters of the original Chaos. Since Biga was a forbidden land for everyone except the priesthood, the neighboring Philae, originally known as the "Island from the time of Ra", became the center for public holidays.

Except for a few elements from the Late Period, the present temple of Isis was built and rebuilt over eight centuries under Hellenistic and Roman rulers who sought to identify themselves with the myth of Osiris and the cult of Isis.

Representing an exquisite fusion of ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman architecture, the temple complex is extremely harmonious with its surroundings. Stone-hewn columns and pylons sparkle white or glow with gold, contrasting with the almost Mediterranean blue of the water and the black Nile cliffs.

• Cult of Isis

Of all the cults of the ancient world, none lasted so long or spread so widely as the cult of the goddess Isis. As the wife of Osiris, she brought the world out of the animal state by introducing the institution of marriage and teaching women household crafts. As a sorceress, she collected parts of his dismembered body and briefly revived him to conceive a son, Horus, and then used her magic to help the latter defeat the evil Set and restore divine order.

Since the pharaohs identified themselves with Horus, Isis was revered as the divine mother of the living king. In this role, she was inevitably identified with Hathor. In the Late Period, the two goddesses completely merge into one. Since that time, Isis has been known as the Great Mother of all gods, the mistress of natural forces, the goddess of ten thousand names, the patroness of women, virginity and carnal love.

As it merges with the cults of other Mediterranean female deities, the veneration of Isis gradually spread throughout the Roman Empire (the westernmost surviving Iseum, a cult temple, is located in). Isis, nourishing, loving and forgiving, was the main rival of Christianity between the third and fifth centuries. Many researchers believe that the emergence of the cult of the Virgin Mary was caused by an attempt by Christians to take the worshipers away from Isis. Early Coptic art identifies one with the other, Horus with Jesus, and the Christian cross with the ancient Egyptian ankh.

• On the way to the temple of Isis

Motor boats stop near the ancient pier at the southern tip of the island. In ancient times, on the former site of the island of Philae, visitors climbed a double staircase to the portico of Nectanebo, located at the entrance to the temple. Erected by the pharaoh of the XXX dynasty in honor of his "Mother Isis", it became the prototype of the elegant buildings of the Ptolemaic and Roman eras. Note the double capitals of the surviving columns.

In the lower part they are traditional, in the form of a flower, and in the upper part they are square, imitating the sister of Hathor. It is on them that the architrave rests. The partitions, which once were walls, are decorated in the upper part with a cornice with a fillet and a frieze of urei - a motif dating back to the buildings of Pharaoh Djoser, erected three thousand years before.

Behind the vestibule lies an elongated trapezoidal courtyard framed by colonnades. The western colonnade, with beautifully carved and slightly different capitals, is better preserved. The windows of the wall behind it once overlooked Biga, the island of Osiris. One of the windows, opposite the first two columns, is crowned with a relief portrait of Nero offering two images of the eye to Horus and Isis. The less interesting and incompletely completed eastern colonnade adjoins the group of ruined buildings.

Behind the foundation of the temple of Arensnupis (revered in the Late Period under the nickname "Good companion of Isis") lies the ruined chapel of Mandulis, the Nubian deity Kalabsha (). Near the first pylon is the unfinished temple of Imhotep, erected in honor of the sage and healer who planned the step pyramid of Djoser and later revered as the patron god of healing. On the walls of the outer courtyard of this temple are depicted Khnum, Satit, Anuket, Isis with Osiris and Ptolemy IV in front of Imhotep.

• Pylons and outer courtyard of the Temple of Isis

The majestic first pylon was erected by Neos Dionysus, who is depicted in the traditional manner striking enemies at each of its corners under the gaze of Isis, Horus and Hathor. Placed on the right side of the pylon, the gates of Ptolemy II, apparently, remained from an earlier temple. The main portal of the pylon is still in good condition (although it dates from the reign of Nectanebo). Once it was flanked by two granite obelisks, but now only two stone lions remain. Inside the portal, there are inscriptions by Napoleonic soldiers commemorating their victory over the Mamluks in 1799.

The smaller door in the western part of the pylon leading to the "house of birth" was used for mammizi rituals. This entrance is decorated with personified images of Nubian deities and figures from the traditional Egyptian pantheon. On the reverse side of the pylon, scenes of the solemn removal of the boat of Isis by the priests are depicted.

Once in the outer courtyard, most visitors go straight to the "birth house" or second pylon to view the eastern colonnade. The reliefs behind graceful columns stylized plant forms depict the king performing rituals, such as carrying out Sokar's boat. Several doors lead to six rooms, which probably had service functions.

One of them, called the "Library", depicts Thoth in the form of an ibis and a baboon, Maat, the lion-headed Tefnut and Seshet, the goddess of writing. To the north is a ruined chapel, which the Romans erected opposite a granite rock, turned into a stele under Ptolemy IV. The latter reports on the land holdings transferred by the king to the temple.

Standing at an angle to the first, the second pylon changes the direction of the central axis, to which the other buildings of the temple are oriented. A large relief placed on the right tower shows Neos Dionysus offering sacrifices to Horus and Hathor. In the smaller scene above, he presents a wreath to Horus and Nephthys, places frankincense and myrrh on the altar of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Similar images on another tower were erased by the first Christians, who also destroyed the frescoes in the upper right corner of the gate leading to the temple in the proper sense of the word.

• Birth house in the Temple of Isis

In the western part of the outer courtyard rises the colonnaded "birth house" of Ptolemy IV, who traced his origins to Horus and Osiris. Most of the reliefs on the outside were added in Roman times, which explains why the figure of Emperor Augustus overshadows Buto, the goddess of the north, playing the harp in front of the young naked Horus and his mother at one of the edges of the central tier behind a row of columns with hathoric capitals.

To the south and above, under the Roman reliefs, there are inscriptions in hieroglyphic and demotic characters, which partially repeat the inscriptions on the Rosetta stone. Inside the mammisi, a columned outer courtyard and two antechambers point the way to the sanctuary, which contains wonderful images.

And although the iconoclasts erased the goddesses nursing the baby pharaoh on the left wall, you can still see Isis giving birth to Horus in the swamps at the bottom of the far wall. With reverse side of the sanctuary behind the northern colonnade there is a scene in common with this, depicting Isis feeding Horus in the middle of a swamp.

• Interior of the Temple of Isis

Directly behind the second pylon lies a small open courtyard, which was originally separated from the hypostyle by a partition, now destroyed. A wonderful painting by David Roberts captures this "Grand Portico" in its original colors: plant-shaped capitals against a background of green and yellow flowers and bluish buds; dark red and gold winged solar disks hovering under the central part of the ceiling, which in all other places is decorated with reliefs of astronomical content.

Unpainted walls and column shafts bear images of the builder of the hall, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, who makes sacrifices to various gods. After the emperor Justinian banned the worship of Isis at Philae in 550 AD, the Copts began to hold their services in the hall and carved crosses on the walls. On the left pillar of the doors in the rear vestibule, a surviving part of the Latin inscription states: В Mure stultus est (“B. Mure is a fool”).

As with other temples, the vestibules become lower and darker as you get closer to the sanctuary. Next to the door to the right of the first vestibule, a Greek inscription reports the "cleansing" of this pagan building under Bishop Theodore during the reign of Justinian. On the other side of the vestibule is a room that opens up a staircase to the roof.

In the next vestibule there is an interesting depiction framing the entrance from the back, showing the king offering sistrum (left) and wine (right) to Isis and Harpocrates. On the left pillar of the door, he delivers offerings to Min, a basket of Sekhmet, and wine to Osiris. Behind are the sacred bull and seven cows. In a partially destroyed transverse vestibule outside the sanctuary, the king presents necklaces, wine, and an image of an eye to Osiris, Isis, Hathor, and Nephthys.

In the dimly lit, thanks to two holes in the roof, the sanctuary has preserved a stone pedestal dedicated by Ptolemy III and his wife Berenice, on which the boat of the goddess was once placed. On the left wall, the pharaoh stands opposite Isis, whose wings carefully embrace Osiris. On the opposite side, Isis, seated on the throne, feeds the baby Horus (above) and rises to give breast to the young pharaoh (below, now the image is damaged). Other rooms used to store gifts contain reliefs depicting a goddess with Nubian features.

• Sanctuary of Osiris in the Temple of Isis

Try to convince the guards to unlock the door to the stairs that lead to the roof. Several low-ceilinged rooms here tell of the resurrection of Osiris. After the mourning scenes in the vestibule of this Osiris-dedicated sanctuary, you can see Isis collecting its parts and the slain god lying naked and bloated on a funeral stretcher (the phallus, as always, was damaged by the hands of vandals).

Mourned by Isis and Nephthys, Osiris comes to life to impregnate his sister consort while the two goddesses rebuild his body for solar rebirth. The four sons of Horus carry Osiris, represented as the falcon-headed Sokar, to a papyrus-covered swamp to consecrate it with sacred waters in the presence of Anubis.

Leaving the temple through the western door of the first vestibule, you will find yourself near Hadrian's Gate, placed in the ring wall that once encircled the island. To your side are two walls of the old vestibule, decorated with remarkable reliefs. The right wall depicts the birth of the Nile, whose double stream spills onto the earth Hapi, the god of the Nile, from his cave under the island of Biga, on which a falcon sits. To the right of this scene, Isis, Nephthys and others are worshiping a young falcon taking off from a swamp.

Above the door in the opposite wall, Isis and Nephthys present a double crown to Horus, whose name is written on the trunk of the palm tree Thoth (left) and Seshet (right). Below, Isis watches as a crocodile drags the body of Osiris to a rocky promontory (possibly the island of Biga). Near the gate, in the proper sense of the word, among the images of the gods, the figure of Hadrian appears (above the lintel).

The pillars of the door bear the symbols (left) and Osiris (right). At the top of the wall, Marcus Aurelius is depicted standing in front of Isis and Osiris. Below, he presents Isis with grapes and flowers. To the north of the gate lies the foundation of the temple of Horendot (one of the incarnations of Horus), built by Emperor Claudius.

Temple of Hathor and Trajan's Pavilion on Philae Island

In order to honor all the gods that appear in the myth of Osiris, a small temple of Hathor was built to the east of the main complex. Apart from two columns with heads of Hathor in situ and the remnants of capitals on the reverse side, the ruined temple is notable only for the relief depicting musicians, among whom the god Bes playing the harp is placed.

The most conspicuous, true symbol of Philae is the graceful open pavilion of Trajan, nicknamed the “Couch of the Pharaoh”. Carried from its watery grave by a team of British naval divers and restored, it successfully combines the colorful rows of plant-like columns with the austere classical form of the entire building. There are reliefs on only two walls.

Last in order are the ruined temple of Augustus and the gates of Diocletian, which separated the old Philae from the Roman village built of raw brick. The latter was so badly damaged by repeated floods that it was decided to leave it under the waters of the lake. In the same direction are the restrooms.

In contact with

In continuation

Elephantine was located on the border of Egypt with Nubia. The island served as an excellent defense for the city and an excellent point for river trade. The city, lying in the southeastern part of the island, was the capital of the first nome of Upper Egypt.

Most of the monuments of Elephantine were destroyed before the 19th century, but sketches of these architectural marvels have survived to this day. On the island, were there the remains of several ancient temples, the largest of which is the temple of Khnu-ma, races - false in the southern part of the island.

From the ancient temple of Khnum and expanded during the reign of Nectaneb (allegedly in the 400s BC), as well as in the Greco-Roman era, only the foundation has survived to this day.

To the north of the Khnu-ma temple, there is a smaller temple of the goddess Satet.
During the excavations carried out from 1906 to 1909, between the temple of Khnum and the temple of Satet, a necropolis of sacred rams was found with burials of mummified rams covered with gilded cardboard cases, one of which is on display at the Nubian Museum.

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During the reign of Queen Hatshepsut, a temple was erected in honor of the goddess Satet. The temple was located in a place where the noise of the approaching masses of water could be heard even before they became visible to the eye. Thus, her function as the guardian of the borders, the mistress of the flood of the Nile, and the goddess on whom abundance and fertility depended, was strengthened.
The XII Dynasty pharaoh Amenemhat II (c. 1917-1882 BC) in the Aswan inscription called himself "Beloved of Satis, lady of Elephantine." The pharaoh of the same dynasty Senusret III (c. 1878-1841 BC) built a canal in her honor. In fact, the whole of Upper Egypt was called Ta-Satet or "Land of Satet".

Near the temple was one of the most important "nilometers" of ancient Egypt, with which the height of the Nile flood was measured.
The nilometer (water level meter) consists of an inclined shaft with steps leading to the Nile, the height of the water in which is marked on the measuring scales printed on the side. White marble plaques show that the Nilomere of Roman times was restored in the 19th century.
Since now, after the construction of the hydroelectric dam, the water level always remains low, the Nilomere has lost its significance.

For the first time, the name Sa-tis appears-yav-la-et-sya on jugs-shi-nah found under the step-pen-cha-that pi-rami-doy in Sak-ka-re.
Sa-tis is mentioned in the "Teks-stakh of the Py-ramids", where she purifies the dead king of the sacred water of times-li-va, with -carried in jugs-shi-nah from the island of Ele-fan-ti-na. Usually, she was represented in the form of a tall, slender woman with a white crown of Upper Egypt with a uraeus, on the sides of which usually antelope horns or feathers are found.
The temple of Sathis is decorated with amazing reliefs and several chaotic pilasters. The temple also depicts the goddess Satet herself in the crown of upper Egypt with antelope horns.

The temple of Satis was erected on the site of an even earlier pre-dynastic sanctuary, which was a cave carved into the rock. The temple was upset and decorated for many centuries.
Archaeological data testify that the island was inhabited back in the pre-dynas-ty-chess era, and the expedition did not -mets-ko-go-in-sti-tuta ar-he-olo-gyi in Ca-ira our-la under the temple of Sa-tis the remnants of more ancient temples, from-no-syaschi -esya to the pe-ri-ode of the first di-us-ty. And really, but, the peculiarity of the Sa-tis temple is zak-lu-cha-et-sya in that it was built on the times-va-lines of several ancient temples, going underground in layers, like a wedding cake.
Archaeologists are sure that under the temples of the 18th, 11th, 6th dynasty of the pharaohs, an Early Dynastic structure was found. These buildings are very different from many other temples in Egypt, where the "old" foundation structures were simply removed to build the "new" ones.

This temple of Early Dynastic structure is one of the earliest found in Egypt..
For this small sanctuary, a natural niche in the rock was used, which expanded into small rooms in which many small household items were found.

Sa-my first sanctuary from-but-sit-sya to the era of the first di-nas-ty and yes-tiru-et-sya approx-li-zitel-but 2900 year before n. e., then comes the sanctuary of the era of the Ancient Tsars-tva (2200 BC), the temple of the era of the Middle Tsars-tva (1800 BC . e.), the temple of the era of the New Tsars-tva and, finally, the restored temple of the era of Pto-Leme-ev, which can be seen this year -nya and who yes-tyru-et-sya in the second century BC. e.
The current temple was reconstructed by the German Archaeological Institute from the blocks of the last temple of the Ptolemaic era.

Different epithets of the goddess testify to the close connection of Sa-tis with the stellar world and hint at her identity -nie with Si-ri-mustache: "Lady of the stars", "Ho-son of the east-horizon-ta-ne-ba, whose glance brings joy", "great in Heaven, ruler of the stars", "Sa-tis, whose beauty os-ve-scha-is two lands."
In 1983, astronomer Ron Wells of the University of California became interested in the Sathis temple and decided to investigate its orientation. Wells knew that Sathis was closely associated with the flooding of the Nile, and thus with the heliacal rising of Sirius. The last temple of Satis on this site was built in the Ptolemaic era, and he saw (noticeable even with the naked eye) that its axis was rotated several degrees north with respect to the axis of the older temple on whose ruins it was built.
Wells realized that this shift to the north could be explained by the shift of Sirius (also north) as a result of the precession. He calculated that the Ptolemaic temple had an orientation 24,65 to the southeast, while the axis of the previous temple was located at an angle of 30.60 south of east direction. He then found that this difference of 5.95 corresponds to the precessional displacement of Sirius during the time elapsed between the construction of the two temples.

Although the exact orientation of older temples is more difficult to calculate, it is quite clear that their axes are even more shifted in southbound, and this confirms that the ancient Egyptian topographers knew about the effect of precession on the star Sirius and, more interestingly, followed this effect for three millennia.

It is known that the heliacal rising of Sirius is the first appearance of a star in the sky after a long period.
The period of invisibility of Sirius begins from the moment when, after sunset, Sirius is still visible above the western horizon. In Egypt, this happens at the end of May. After that the star approaches the sun and becomes invisible against the background of its bright radiance. In fact, this is due to the movement of the Earth around the Sun.
In the sky, it looks like this. During annual movement The sun moves among the stars in a direct motion from west to east. Therefore, for stars setting at a given observation latitude, there are time intervals when they are in the daytime sky with the Sun, so we do not observe them.
Over time, the Sun moves to the east, which is why Sirius begins to rise in the morning earlier than the Sun. At some point in time, the star ceases to be lost in the rays of the morning dawn and becomes available for observation.. It is believed that on this day there was a heliacal rising of the star.

Obviously, if we observe a star rising at dawn, then the closer this moment is to sunrise, the more difficult it is to observe it. Therefore, a reasonable question arises, what time should be between the sunrises of two luminaries in order to clearly observe the rising of a star in the rays of the rising sun?
How many degrees must the Sun be below the horizon to clearly see the rising of Sirius and orient the temple to the rising of the star?

In his book Echoes from Ancient Skies, archaeoastronomer Dr. Ed Krup writes:
« After disappearing from the night sky (for seventy days), Sirius reappears at dawn, before sunrise. This event, which occurs every year, is called the heliacal rising of the star. On this day, Sirius remains visible only within a short period of time until the sky is too bright to see the star. In ancient Egypt, the annual reappearance of Sirius fell close to the summer solstice and coincided in time with the flood of the Nile. Isis, like Sirius, was the "mistress of the beginning of the year", since the Egyptian New Year was associated with this event. New Year's ceremonial texts at Dendera say that Isis is persuading the Nile to overflow its banks. The metaphor is astronomical, hydraulic and sexual, it parallels the function of Isis in myth. Sirius revives the Nile in the same way that Isis revives Osiris. It is her turn to hide from Set when Sirius leaves (for seventy days) from the night sky. She (Isis) gives life to her son Horus, and Sirius gives rise to a new year, and in the texts of Horus and New Year are identified. She is the link for the rebirth of life and order. Shining for a moment, only one morning in the summer she awakens the Nile and starts the year».
The archaeoastronomer speaks of a short period of time.

In turn, the period before sunrise or sunset is called twilight. At this time, the solar disk is not far from the horizon, and therefore part of the rays, falling into the upper layers of the atmosphere, are reflected from it to the earth's surface.
It is customary to distinguish three types of twilight: civil, navigational and astronomical, depending on the maximum angle of the Sun (the center of the solar disk) under the true horizon. The light border of twilight is 0°50′.
Most sources give the following division according to the type of twilight:

Dust	The angle of the sun below the horizon
civil	from 0°50′ to 6°
navigational	from 6° to 12°
astronomical	from 12° to 18°

Navigational twilight. It is believed that in the interval of the angle of the Sun under the horizon from 6 ° to 12 °, all navigational stars are already clearly visible and the horizon line is still visible, which allows the navigator to use a sextant to measure the angle between celestial bodies and the visible horizon.

Astronomical twilight. In the range of the angle of the Sun below the horizon from 12° to 18°, most casual observers note that the entire sky is already completely dark and practically does not differ from the night sky. At this time, astronomers can easily observe celestial bodies, such as stars.
In many cases, the term "astronomical twilight" refers to all the time when the Sun is between 6 and 18°.
It can be concluded that after the Sun has sunk below 12°, the twilight illumination on the earth practically ceases and only the faint light of dawn remains in the sky.

In the time of Ptolemy, in the case of heliacal sunrises and sunsets of stars of the first magnitude, if the star and the sun were on the same horizon, then the angle of immersion of the sun below the horizon was taken equal to 11 °; if on opposite horizons, then the immersion angle was taken equal to 7°. For stars of the second magnitude, these values ​​were 14° and 8.5°.
However, one should not think that even in Egypt all the stars can be observed at the very moment when they appear above the horizon. Fogs are especially common in the mornings, so it is not uncommon, because of the constant band of evaporation along the horizon, that only the brightest stars are visible, and the rest only when they rise 1 ° or 2 °.

The solar disk moves at an average speed of 0.25° per minute, or 15° per hour (360° per day), but the movement at sunrise and sunset is usually not at right angles to the horizon, so the duration of any interval of twilight is determined by this angle, increasing at sharper angles. The angle of the trajectory of the movement of the solar disk near the horizon depends on:
- from geographical latitude places;
- from the time of year (due to changes in the angle of inclination of the earth's axis towards the sun).
The shortest average annual duration of twilight is observed at the equator.

Astronomers state that in general in Egypt during the heliacal rising of the star Sirius, the Sun was about 10° below the horizon.
So we will accept this angular value in further calculations.

So. Satet - Sa-tis would be closely connected with the development of Ni-la and with he-li-aki-ches-kim vos-ho-house of Si-ri-usa. The last temple of Sa-tis at this place was co-built in the era of the Pto-Lemes.

Sathet temple 24°05′28″ s. sh. 32°53′12″ E d.
We explore its orientation, using for calculations, Google Earth and the celestial calculator StarCalc 5.72.

The Temple of Satet in its current form has an orientation in azimuth114,66 degrees, or ori-en-ta-tsiu24,66 to the southeast, which corresponds to the orientation of the temple of the Ptolemaic era.

07/29/2000. Heliacal rising of Sirius. Azimuth = 108.65°.

Sirius rising - 1° (0.992) above the horizon. Horizontal coordinates - the height of the Sun is 9.63° below Sirius (8.642+0.992).
The difference between the rises of Sirius and the Sun is 42 minutes (04.34 and 05.16)

Direction to Sirius, azimuth 108.65°.

Dates (year, day) and azimuths, right ascension, declination of the heliacal rising of Sirius, based on the calculations of the celestial calculator StarCalc 5.72
Pivot table.

The temple was built according to estimates almost 5000 years ago, one of the first and was almost destroyed.
Around the 2000s BC. the heliacal rising of Sirius occurred during the summer solstice (the declination of the Sun is maximum 23.55).

Note that for 500 summer period(1 - 500 AD) date 13.07 heliacal rising does not change. Sirius only 5 minutes later began to rise above the horizon.
It is worth noting that it was at the turn of 500 BC. the precessional course of Sirius changed direction. The azimuth (amplitude) of Sirius used to move closer to the east, after 500 years (107.52) it moves closer to the south in the sky. This is due to a similar change in the declination (latitude) of Sirius. Before this milestone, the declination of the star clearly indicated its displacement closer to the celestial equator (-16.27; -15.45). Now the star is moving south of the equator (-16.43).
All these changes are observed against the background of a linear translational shift of the Sun's Azimuth to eastern point horizon from 2000 BC to the present day (63.2; 69.03). The declination of the Sun changed steadily towards the celestial equator (+23.55; +16.43)

Based on the calculations and the foregoing, it can be stated, first of all, that no global displacements of the earth's axis, with the exception of precessional movements, did not occur.
And the changes in the declination of Sirius at the turn of the 500s AD probably occurred due to the movement of the Sirius system itself relative to the solar system.
In addition, there is not one star in the Sirius system.