Who built the temple of Isis. Temple of Isis. Birth house in the Temple of Isis

Temple at the bottom of the abyss Temple of Kailash Nath (Lord of Kailash), named after sacred mountain, the top of which was considered the heavenly abode of Shiva, was built in a very special way. To create a temple, the builders first carved a moat in the rock in the shape of the letter “p”

So the temple left - everything is a temple, / The idol defeated - everything is God! From the poem “I don’t love you” (1830) by M. Yu. Lermontov (1814-1841). Allegorically: even if any shrine, authority, etc. is debunked, nevertheless there are people who have them still inspires respect and

Temple of the Virgin Mary in front of Tyn - Tyn Church Kostel Panny Marie p?ed T?pet - T?nsk? chr?m Address: Prague 1, Stare Mesto, Old Town Square. How to get there: Staromestska metro station. The Church of the Virgin Mary in front of Tyn is located in the Old Town of Prague. Initially, it consisted of settlements

When I say that the only order I belonged to was the temple of Isis, I mean my training and the mission entrusted to me when I was initiated into the mysteries of Isis. I began to study the mysteries of Isis (the mysteries of Isis) at the age of 12 under the guidance of my mother. Since my mother was an Egyptian, she wanted to pass on to me the knowledge she had. She started working with me when I was 12 years old and I became a girl. At eighteen I entered the temples of Egypt to continue my studies directly under the priestesses. For my mother, this was the last step. She did what she was going to.

In many ways, I was, as you say, a black sheep. I was Jewish, but at the same time I was educated and initiated into the mysteries of Isis, the Egyptian goddess. To some this may seem strange. But look at it this way: in your time, if you were born into an educated and wealthy family, even if you adhere to certain religious beliefs, you still have the opportunity to get an education outside your homeland. My family belonged to an educated and wealthy circle. In ancient times, very often people with means sought to visit cultural centers, including Greece and Egypt, as well as other areas of the Mediterranean. My parents came from Egypt, which is why I was sent there to study.

While studying in Egypt, I went through an initiation ceremony in the temple of Isis and, within the understanding of the time, made direct contact with Isis. It seemed interesting to me that in some ways Isis reminded me of what I had previously learned about the Shekinah (feminine in Judaism).

Shekinah is an expression of the ancient female ability to transform. She overcomes obstacles and obstacles. She excites and corrects the balance in favor of the woman - while she represents the fiery aspect, and not a gentle, soft presence. Shekinah is rough, fiery, full of vibrating power. She never had a physical body. She exists only as an energy substance, just like Isis.

So, as you can see, on my personal level, I was trying to balance, so to speak, the cultural understanding that I was given, which included the Shekinah, the transforming female energy, and what I learned about Isis in the temples and in direct contact. The direct contact with Isis happened during what you call meditation. We were taught to go through the windows of consciousness - you call this state of altered consciousness - and through these windows of consciousness we had direct access to Isis or other goddesses. In a way, this is reminiscent of what today you call contacting. I also received information from Isis, but I did not talk about it and did not pass it on to anyone.

The only exception was that during the test, I told the priestess what I experienced in direct contact. If the information that the priestess received at that time matched what I said, the test was considered passed. If not, that meant I failed the test. This is the only case when I had to share what I received.

As a young Jewish girl going to Egypt to study, I was considered "very good" by my family and my teachers. I was considered a “high-flying bird,” but no one imagined that, so to speak, Isis would lay her finger on me. So I went to Egypt, only to expand my own consciousness and gain an understanding of another culture, in the process of which I became (a student of) Isis.

Philae Island, located near modern Aswan, is one of the most important cult centers of the goddess Isis. Its 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 - Viktor 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 - Viktor 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 - Viktor 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 - Victor 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 greatest shrines of 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

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, the rising waters approached the temple itself, flooding it for half a year, and tourists could admire the ghostly contours of the building under the thickness of 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. Behind graceful columns of stylized plant forms, the reliefs 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. On the 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.

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