The Ancient Egypt: Philae Island .. The Great Temple of Isis .. Part ( 9 )

The Hypostyle Hall of the temple of Isis

Ascending the stairs from the forecourt one passes through the great doorway . On the two jambs are reliefs showing the king offering to various gods . On the east side is an inscription of Bishop Theodorus ( reign of Justinian, A.D. 527 – 565 ) .

On the main inner wall of the doorway is a Coptic painting of Christ (?) with adoring angels . On the west side, Ptolemy IX, Soter II, offers before Unnefer, Isis, and Horus .

Passing through the doorway one finds ourselves in a rectangular hall, having ten columns, and in the middle a restored semi-portal . The beautiful capitals of the columns excite one's profound admiration for the work of this period . The roof is intact but only covers half the hall, a large part having been left open in the original design . From the north end, a gateway leads into the vestibule and sanctuary . On the east and west sides are small doorways, and in the west side of the pylon another doorway leads to a staircase by which one may ascend to the roof .

The walls and columns of the hall are covered with reliefs, some of which are much damaged by bird-droppings, while others have been quite chiselled out by Christians . There are the usual wearisome reliefs, which have been removed on the east side of the hall, and a Christian altar erected in about A.D. 600 to use the place as a church . This altar is facing east, because when the Christians pray, they face east as they believed in their Christian religion, also they made an open niche in the same wall for putting the holy books and the incense, and numerous Coptic crosses carved on the walls and columns . The reliefs have also been erased on the lower part of the other walls . The water when the reservoir was full, floods this hall to the depth of about a foot or so ; but when the height of the barrage was raised, the hall was about entirely submerged .

The reliefs show Ptolemy IX, Soter II, and other Pharaohs before the gods . On the north wall of the hall Ptolemy III, Euergetes I, and Berenice are seen in attitudes of worship . These figures were introduced by Ptolemy IX, Soter II .

The floor at this side of the hall shows the rough granite protruding through the pavement in several places, while it actually forms part of the wall in one place . Considering the care with which the temple is built, one can only suppose that this natural rock has been left untouched owing to the objection which the priests felt to cutting it away, all the rocks of the island being regarded as sacred .

The Inner Court of the temple of Isis

We now passes from the hall into an inner court, and on either side of the doorway is an inscription relating to Bishop Theodorus, claiming the credit for ' this good work ', by which is meant the disfigurement of the hall and the walls that which surrounding it, which we could wish the good bishop had let alone . High up over the doorway is a large modern inscription . The same remark applies to the inscription commemorating the archaeological expedition of 1841, sent by Pope Gregory XVI . It was well to send such an expedition, but not so well to deface the very objects to study which the expedition was sent . But Bishop Theodorus and Pope Gregory will both now be condemned to a common doom in the interests of the living population of Egypt .

The small court which we now enters was originally divided into two parts by a doorway, now destroyed . The west portion formed a hall in front of the main chambers of the Isis Temple ; and the east part was partly roofed, and through it we passed into a passage which led round into the adytum again .

As we enters the court a series of reliefs will be seen on its south wall . To the west of the doorway King Ptolemy II, Philadelphus, is represented, having the crown of Lower Egypt on his head, leaving his palace censed by a sem-priest ( The High Priest of Ptah ), and preceded by the two jackal standards . Above this, he offers to Isis . On the east doorway he leaves the palace crowned with the Upper Egyptian crown, and is preceded by the jackal, shell, ibis, and standards . Above this, he is seen dancing before Isis, and performing an unknown ceremony before Isis and Nephthys . At the bottom on the east side, the goddess Safkhet writes the Ka-name of the king, while on the west side, Thoth does likewise . We see, then, from these reliefs that the king has left his palace ; and in the presence of various gods has come to worship Isis . The inscription here tells us that these gods are giving to the king many jubilees in which he is crowned as King of Upper and Lower Egypt on the throne of Horus-Menthu ( or Horus-Montu ) .

On the west wall, the king is now seen to be purified by Horus and Thoth . Above this, he offers to the Pharaoh of Senem, who is crowned with the war-helmet ; and still higher he offers to Amen-Ra and Isis . On the north wall, i.e. on the sides of the door into the inner chambers, he is crowned, on the west side, by Menthu of Thebes and Tum of On ( Nefertum ), and is given many years and jubilees . Above this he worships Geb and Horus . On the east side he is led forward by Khnum and Isis ; and above he worships Isis, and Isis suckling Harpocrates, and Wazet . This scene is much damaged, and cannot be easily distinguished . Over the doorway he worships Osiris and Isis ; and down either side he offers to Hathor, Sekhmet, Isis, and Tefnut .

The vestibule and adytum of the temple of Isis

We may now enter from this court into the main building consisting of the vestibule, adytum, and sanctuary . In the west wall of the vestibule there is a doorway leading into an inner chamber which is quite dark, and the reliefs of which are much damaged . On this west wall there is a relief showing the king offering to Osiris . The east wall is much damaged, but it can be seen that the king has been shown offering to Isis .

The adytum is somewhat dark . On the west end of the south wall, Ptolemy II, Philadelphus, is seen before Osiris and Isis, and before Harmachis " Horus in the horizon " and Tefnut . On the east end of the south wall, he stands before Unnefer, Isis, and other deities . On the east wall he worships Isis, and on the west wall Isis, Hathor, etc. .

On the north wall he is seen worshipping Isis of Philae and Queen Arsinoë, the first daughter of Ptolemy I, Soter, and the wife of the King Lysimachus . From this room, a doorway in the west wall leads into a dark chamber in which there are reliefs showing the king in the presence of Sekhmet, Hathor, and Nephthys . There is an additional inscription added by Ptolemy III, Euergetes I, (?) . In the north wall of the adytum is a door leading into a dark chamber in which are large reliefs showing Ptolemy II, Philadelphus, before Hathor, Anukis, and Isis in various forms. There is again an additional inscription by Ptolemy III, Euergetes I .

The sanctuary of the temple of Isis

The sanctuary is lighter, and most of the reliefs can be easily seen . The walls are covered with scenes showing Ptolemy II, Philadelphus, before the gods . Isis predominates here of course, and on the north wall which forms the main wall of the sanctuary she is shown six times, no other deities being with her . In this chamber there is a pink granite altar or pedestal of a statue, inscribed with the cartouches of Ptolemy II, Philadelphus, and Berenice .