The First Great Pylon
The north side of the Outer Court at Philae is bounded
by the First Great Pylon of the temple . It is an imposing structure, 150 feet
in width and 60 feet in height, consisting of two towers with a gate between
them . The deep grooves for flag-poles are cut on either side of the portal .
The main gateway between the towers is of earlier work than the rest of the
structure, being of Nectanebos, and erected by this king at the same time as
his little temple and vestibule . Its decorations, of course, were carried out
for over a much longer period, and indeed was never quite finished .
Unfortunately the reliefs have been severely damaged
by the industrious Egyptian Christians, the Copts, which on either side of the
doorway Coptic crosses have been carved into the sandstone . Along the whole
length of the base of the first Pylon are reliefs of small Nile figures ( Hapi
) bringing offerings . The reliefs on the lintel show Nectanebos dancing before
Osiris and Isis, Khnum and Hathor .
On either side of the thickness of the portal, the
king is seen in the presence of various gods, one large relief showing him
before Isis . On the right-hand thickness is a French inscription recording the
presence of the force under General Desaix ( during the French campaign in
Egypt by Napoleon Bonaparte ) which had pursued the Mamelukes in 1799 to this
point . General Desaix greatly appreciated the treasures of Ancient Egypt, and
it was he who spotted the famous Dendera Zodiac when in pursuit of the remnants
of the army of Murad Bey .
The towers of the pylon are adorned with reliefs which
show Ptolemy XII, Neos Dionysos . On the front of the right or eastern tower
stands the huge figure of Ptolemy XII, Neos Dionysos, grasping a band of
enemies by the hair and raising his royal mace for the fatal stroke . To the
left stands Isis watching the sacrifice with the falcon-headed Horus of Edfu
and Hathor .
Above are two reliefs : to the right Neos Dionysos
presents the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt to Horus and Nephthys ; on the left
he offers incense to Isis and Horus the child . The scenes here are interfered
with by the Gateway of Philadelphus, but it is obvious from the masonry that
the pylon and the gateway were built at the same time .
On the western tower of the Pylon the Pharaoh is seen
in the same stance slaying his enemies once more whilst Isis, Horus and Hathor
look on . Above this, he appears in the presence of Unnefer ( the name given to
Osiris after his resurrection ) and Isis and again before Isis and Hariesis (
stressing his kinship to Isis ) .
There is a subsidiary doorway through the tower, on
the left ( west ), leading to the birth-house, which stands between this pylon
and the second pylon . This doorway is adorned with reliefs showing Ptolemy VI,
Philometor, in the presence of various divinities, and beyond this are scenes
introducing and explaining the special subject of the birth-house, the story of
the birth and childhood of Horus .
Passing now through the main doorway, we find
ourselves in the Forecourt of the temple . The south side of the forecourt is
bounded by the rear of the main gateway and the rear walls of the First Great
Pylon . Turning back to see the reliefs on the rear side of the pylon which we
have just passed, we see On the right or western tower, Ptolemy XII, Neos
Dionysos stands before Osiris, Isis, and other deities, while below we see two
sacred barques are carried in procession by priests . On the left or eastern
tower, Ptolemy XII, Neos Dionysos, stands before Amun, Mut and other gods .
In this east tower, there is a small doorway leads
into a guard room adorned with reliefs showing Ptolemy IX, Soter II, before
Isis, Hathor and Horus, and accompanied by his queen and the Princess
Cleopatra, before Isis . The chamber into which one now passes has reliefs on
the south wall showing the king before Osiris, Isis, Horus, and Harpocrates .
Four niches have been cut in the walls in later times in order to form
cupboards . From this room another small chamber leads off, but this is
entirely undecorated .
Farther to the east, under the colonnade, another
small doorway, which has above it reliefs showing Ptolemy XII, Neos Dionysos, leaving
his palace, accompanied by the flags of the nation with the four standard
bearers ( the jackal, ibis, hawk, and another ) before him . Passing through this
doorway one ascends a flight of steps which leads to the roof . A chamber opens
off the steps a few metres from the ground, and farther up a second chamber
leads on to the top of the doorway of Nectanebos . From here the steps ascend
up each of the pylons to the top, from which there is an excellent general view
of the island . On different parts of the walls of the Great Pylon there are
Greek and demotic inscriptions, the former being particularly numerous .
The Birth-house of Horus
Beyond the gateway lies the forecourt of the temple of
Isis . On the left or western side is the Birth-house, which, it will be
remembered, can also be reached by the doorway through the west tower of The
Great Pylon, which containing scenes of the birth and childhood of Horus . The
Birth-house is an essential features of the temples of the Ptolemaic period .
The idea for it may have originated in the representations in the temples of
Deir el-Bahari and Luxor of the divine birth of Hatshepsut and of Amenophis (
Amenhotep ) III . Starting as an element in the relationship between the
reigning monarch and the imperial deity Amen-Re and continuing as an important
justification of the divinity of the king, it grew in importance with the
remarkable spread of the Osiris cult as the universal religion of Egypt and
reached its full development in the Ptolemaic period . These temples were
designed to celebrate the rites relating to the Osirian tradition of the child
Horus, who grew to manhood after the murder of Osiris and overthrew the enemies
of his father . Horus as Pharaoh of Egypt became the ancestor of all succeeding
Pharaohs and the prime giver of all law and order in the land . It was
therefore essential that each Pharaoh on his accession should be recognized as
a true descendant of Horus and a legitimate inheritor of the Horus tradition . The
main building has in front of it a portico, whose rood is supported by four
columns . Then follows a couple of chambers ( a vestibule and an adytum ), and
finally the Sanctuary . Round three sides of the building runs a colonnade
which have floral capitals surmounted by sistrum capitals with Hathor heads ( A
sistrum was a musical instrument rather like a rattle ) . The walls, columns
and screen-walls between the columns are decorated with the customary reliefs
of the Pharaoh who may be Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy VII, Ptolemy XI, or Tiberius, as
the case may be, in the presence of various gods .
The portico of the Birth-House
On the doorway leading to the portico Ptolemy VII, Neos
Philopator, is seen on either side, with the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt on
his head, and holding a mace and sceptre in his hands . On the west wall are
eight reliefs showing Tiberius before Osiris, Isis, and Horus ; Shu and Tefnut
; Horus, Hathor, and another deity ; Satis and Anukis ; Isis, Osiris, and Horus
; Hathor suckling a child, and Shu ; Unnefer, Isis, and Horus ; and Harpocrates
and Hathor . On the east wall the eight reliefs show Tiberius before Osiris,
Isis, and Horus ; Thoth and a goddess whose name is not clear ; Amen-Ra, Mut,
and Khonsu ; Isis suckling a child, and Shu ; Isis, Osiris, and Horus ; and
Isis suckling Harpocrates . On the north wall Ptolemy VI, Philometor, is seen
before Isis and Hathor ; Khnum, Satis, and Anukis ; Osiris-Unnefer and Isis ;
Isis and Hathor ; Shu and two other deities ; and Isis and Horus . On the
architraves are small figures of deities, most of which represent Taurt ( the
crocodile-headed god ) . The ceiling decoration is in the usual form of
vultures with wings spread .
The vestibule and adytum of the Birth-House
The walls of the vestibule are not decorated with
reliefs, but many Demotic inscriptions have been written here . Entering the
adytum, the reliefs on this side of the doorway are seen to represent eight ( sic ) figures of Hathor, each holding a tambourine, while a king and queen
whose cartouches have not been filled in worship Isis . Around the lower part
of the walls of this chamber are a series of curious reliefs, representing
various deities standing amidst the papyrus swamps in which Isis gave birth to
Horus, where legend placed the birth of Horus . Here there are hawk-headed and
snake-headed figures holding spears, snakes, hippopotami-gods with cows' and
hawks' heads, a cynocephalus enthroned, and so on . At the top of the wall,
Amen-Ra addresses Khnum ; Khnum models a figure of the king ; Thoth speaks with
the queen-mother ; and the queen is led forward by Khnum and another god . On
the east wall the scenes are much damaged, but one can make out a child being
presented to various gods, and Hathor addressing Amen. These scenes are
intended to indicate the divine birth of the king by showing the various gods
interesting themselves in the child's creation .
The sanctuary of the Birth-House
Around the doorway leading into the sanctuary Ptolemy
VI, Philometor, is shown before Isis and other gods . The reliefs on the west,
east, and south walls of the sanctuary show Ptolemy VI before various gods . On
the north wall, the central scene the most interesting scene, shows a hawk of
Horus, crowned with the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, standing amidst
a clump of papyrus ; and below this, Isis is seen with the baby to whom she has
just given birth in her arms . Surrounding her protectively are the gods Thoth,
Wazet, Amen-Ra, Nekhbet, and Hor-Behudti ( or Horus of Edfu ) . Above these
scenes, the king is shown before the trinities of Khnum, Hathor, and Horus ;
and Osiris, Isis, and Horus .
The colonnades of the Birth-House
Passing now into the colonnade around the temple .
Here, the reliefs would be merely wearisome to describe, but the reliefs on the
west side must be recorded . These are in four rows . In the top row, the
Pharaoh Tiberius is seen worshipping Osiris- Unnefer and Isis ; Isis, Hathor, and
Horus ; Khnum and Hathor ; Min ; the Pharaoh of Senem ; Horus and Hathor ; Geb,
Nut, and Horus ; Hathor and Horus ; Isis suckling the young Harpocrates, and
Horus ; and Isis . In the second row, the king offers to Horus, who is carried
in a chest on a lion's back, and Isis ; he offers to Hathor and Horus, while a
goddess with a bunch of papyri on her head plays a harp ; he offers to Ptah and
Sekhmet ; Thoth ; Arsenuphis and Tefnut ; Amen-Ra, Mut, and Khonsu ; Isis
suckling Horus; Neith and Maet ; and Horus and Hathor . In the third row, the
king worships various gods . The bottom row consists of a group, many times
repeated, made up of an ibis standing on a shrine, and a hawk perched on a
clump of papyrus . It is perhaps worthy of note that the representation of an
ibis upon a shrine occurs as early as the 1st Dynasty, and is to be
observed on the mace-head of King Narmer found at Hieraconpolis . The reliefs
on the north wall are in four rows . In the first two rows, the king is shown
before Khnum and Hathor ; Hathor suckling Horus, and Wepwawet ; Osiris and Isis
; and other deities as before . In the third row Isis, nursing Horus, is seated
between Amen-Ra and Wazet, while Thoth, Neith, another goddess, and the king
stand by them; and next to this Hathor nurses Horus, while Nekhbet sits behind
her, and Khnum models a figure before her, Thoth, two goddesses, and the king
standing behind . In the lowest row, the king and various demi-gods bring
offerings to Isis nursing Horus in the papyrus swamps . The reliefs on the east
wall are damaged in part . They repeat more or less closely the scenes on the
west wall, and do not mention any different gods .
To be
continued ....
Part ( 8 ) .. Coming SoOoOon .....
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