Page:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography Volume II.djvu/614

 598 PHILAE.

Plut. Is. et Osir. p, 359; Diod. i. 22). It was re- ported too that neifher 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 Aezypt 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 (8. c. 170—117) 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 Aegyptian pho- netic alphabet. The islands of Philae were not, however, merely sacerdotal abodes ; they were the centres of conmerce also between Meroé and Mem- phis. For the rapids of the cataracts were at most seasons impracticable, and the commodities ex- changed between Aegypt and Aethiopia were reci- procally 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 E. bank of the Nile, portions of which are still ex- tant. Philae is also remarkable for the singular effects of light and shade resulting from its position near the tropic of Cancer, As the sun approaches 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.)

The hieroglyphic name of the smaller island is Philak, or boundary. As their southern frontier. the Pharaohs of Aegypt kept there a strong garrison, and, fur the same reason, it was a barrack also for Macedonian and Roman soldiers.

The most conspicuous feature of both islands is their architectural wealth. Monuments of very various eras, extending from the Pharaohs to the Caesars, occupy nearly their whole area. The prin- cipal structures, however, lie at the S. end of the sinaller island. The most ancient, at present dis- covered, are the remains of a temple of Athor (Aphrodite), built in the reign of Nectanebus. The other ruins are for the most part coeval with the Ptolemaic times, more especially with the reigns of Philadelphus, Epiphanes, and Philometor (B. c. 282 —145), with many traces of Roman work as recent as Claudius I. (a. p. 41—54). The chief temple in Philae, dedicated to Ammon-Qsiris, was ap- proached from the river through a donble colonnade. Jn 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 pro- naos and the portico, while a smaller one led into the sekos or adytum. At each corner of the ady- tum 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. Right and left of the entrance into the principal court are two small temples or rather chapels, one of which, dedi- cated to Athor, is covered with sculptures represent- ing the birth of Ptolemy Philometor, under the figure

PHILAE.

of the god Horus. ‘The story of Osiris is every- where 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 Aegyptian figures cut across them. The in- scriptions belong to the Macedonian era, and are of earlier date than the sculptures, which were pro- bably inserted during that interval of renascence for the native religion which followed the extinction of the Greek dynasty in Aecypt. (B.c. 30.) The monuments in both islands indeed attest, beyond any others in the Nile-valley, the survival of pure Aegyptian art centnries after the last of the Pha- raohs had ceased to reign. Great pains have been taken to mutilate the sculptnres of this temple. The work of demolition is attributable, in the first instance, to the zeal of the early Christians, and afterwards to the policy of the Iconoclasts, who cur- ried favour for themselves with the Byzantine court by the destruction of heathen as well as Christian images. The soil of Philae was carefully prepared 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 west- ern wall of the Great Temple, and the correspond- ing wall of the dromos, are supported by very strong foundations, built below the level of the water, and resting on the granite which in this region forms the bed of the Nile. Here and there steps are hewn out from the wall to facilitate the communication be- tween the temple and the river.

At the S. extremity of the dromos of the Great Temple is a smaller temple, apparently dedicated to Isis; at Jeast the few columns which remain of it are surmounted with the head of that goddess. Its portico consists of twelve columns, four in front and three deep. Their capitals represent various forms and combinatious of the palm-branch, the dhoum-leaf, and the lotus-flower. These, as well as the sculp- tures on the columns, the ceilings, and the walls, were painted with the most vivid colours, which, owing to the dryness of the climate, have lost little of their original brilliance.

Philae was a seat of the Christian religion as well as of the ancient Aegyptian faith. Ruins of a Christian church are still visible, and more than one adytum bears traces of having been made to serve at different eras the purposes of a chapel of Osiris and of Christ. For a more particular account of the architectural remains of Philae we must refer the reader to the works of Dénon, Gau, Rosellini, Rus- segger, and Hamilton (Aegyptiaca). The latter has minutely described this island—the Loretto of ancient Aecypt. The Greek inscriptions found there are transcribed and elucidated by Letronne.

A little W. of Philae lies a larger island, anciently called Snem or Senmut, but now by the Arabs Beghe. It is very precipitous, and from its most elevated peak affords a fine view of the Nile, from its smooth surface S. of the islands to its plnnge over the shelves of rock that form the First Cataract. Philae, Beghe, and another lesser island, divide the river into four principal streams, and N. of them it takes a rapid turn to the W. and then to the N., where the cataract begins. Beghé, like Philae, was a holy island ; its rocks are inscribed with the names and titles of Amunoph IIL, Rameses the Great, Psammitichus, Apries, and Amasis, together with memorials of the Macedonian and Roman rulers of Aegypt. Its principal ruins consist of the propylon and two