It was reported too that neither birds flew over it nor fish approached its shores. It was deemed profane for any but priests to dwell there and was accordingly sequestered and denominated "the Unapproachable" ( Ancient Greek: ἄβατος). Since Philae was said to be one of the burying-places of Osiris, it was held in high reverence both by the Egyptians to the north and the Nubians (often referred to as "Ethiopians" in Greek) to the south. It is composed of syenite: its sides are steep and on their summits a lofty wall was built encompassing the island. Prior to the inundation, it was not more than 380 metres (1,250 ft) long and about 120 metres (390 ft) broad. Groskurd computes the distance between these islands and Aswan at about 100 km (62 mi).ĭespite being the smaller island, Philae proper was, from the numerous and picturesque ruins formerly there, the more interesting of the two. It was, as the plural name indicates, the appellation of two small islands situated in latitude 24° north, just above the First Cataract near Aswan (Egyptian Swenet "Trade " Ancient Greek: Συήνη). Philae is mentioned by numerous ancient writers, including Strabo, Diodorus Siculus, Ptolemy, Seneca, Pliny the Elder. The hieroglyphic reliefs of the temple complex are being studied and published by the Philae Temple Text Project of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, Vienna (Institute OREA). The temple complex was dismantled and moved to nearby Agilkia Island as part of the UNESCO Nubia Campaign project, protecting this and other complexes before the 1970 completion of the Aswan High Dam. These rapids and the surrounding area have been variously flooded since the initial construction of the Aswan Low Dam in 1902.
![oswan isis oswan isis](https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large-5/temple-of-isis-on-philae-island-near-aswan-egypt-ruth-hager.jpg)
Philae was originally located near the expansive First Cataract of the Nile in Upper Egypt and was the site of an Egyptian temple complex. Philae ( / ˈ f aɪ l iː/ Greek: Φιλαί or Φιλή and Πιλάχ, Arabic: فيلة Egyptian Arabic:, Egyptian: p3-jw-rķ' or 'pA-jw-rq Coptic: ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ, ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕϩ) is an island in the reservoir of the Aswan Low Dam, downstream of the Aswan Dam and Lake Nasser, Egypt. Nubian Monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae