larger island is called Biggeh, the Senemet

of the Egyptian texts, and the name Phile now generally refers to the smaller island, on which stands the group of ancient buildings of the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. The name Phila is derived from the Egyptian words P-å-lek, □ i.e., "the Island of Lek," or

; from these words the Copts formed the name п, and the Arabs the name Bilâk, . A well-known name for Philæ in the inscriptions is "the city of Isis," and one text speaks of it as the "interior of heaven," ; that it was held to be a most holy

"Holy Island" respectively. Of the history of the Island of Philæ during the Early and Middle Empires nothing is known; only it is certain that the Egyptians made use of it for military purposes in very early times. Whether they built forts upon it cannot be said, but the site was an excellent one for a garrison. Judging by analogy, shrines to local gods, or temples, must have stood upon one or both of the islands, for it is impossible to imagine that such a well-protected and picturesque spot for a temple or temples should have remained unoccupied. The early travellers in Egypt declare that slabs of granite and sandstone inscribed with the names of Amenophis II., Amenophis III., and Thothmes III., were visible on this island, as well as on that of Biggeh; but it is certain that nothing of the kind remains there now. We shall be probably correct in assuming that the first temple of any great importance was built there in the XVIIIth dynasty,

A Temple of Nectanebus II.
B Temple of Ari-hes-nefer.
C Temple of I-em-hetep.
D Temple of Hathor.

Plan of the Island of Phile (after Lyons and Garstin).

E Gateway of Hadrian.

F Temple of Cæsar Augustus.

G Temple of Isis.

H Temple of Heru-netch-tefef.

Nilometer.

J The Kiosk.

K, L Coptic church.

and that the sides of the granite rock which forms the island were scarped that walls might be built upon them. This would have the effect of destroying the rough graffiti which the troops of the Usertsens and Amenemḥāts must have chiselled upon it, as they did on the rocks on the cataract on their way south. The island is 1,418 feet long, i.e., from north to south, and 464 feet wide, i.e., from east to west, and is formed by a mass of crystalline rock, mainly hornblendic granite, on which Nile mud has been deposited. The main portion of the Temple of Isis is founded on the solid rock of the island, while the other buildings have foundations usually from four to six metres in depth, which rest on Nile mud; a portion of one of the buildings rests upon an artificial quay made of stone. The oldest portion of a building on the island are the remains of a small edifice which was set up at the southern end of it by Nectanebus II., the last native king of Egypt (B.C. 358–340). Of the other buildings, all the temples date from the Ptolemaïc period, and were the works of the Ptolemies and of one or two Nubian kings. Under the Roman emperors a few of the existing buildings were enlarged, and a few architectural works of an ornamental character were added. An ancient tradition made Phile to be one of the burial places of Osiris, and an oath sworn by Osiris of Phile was inviolable; the very earth of the island was considered to be holy, and only those who were priests, or were employed in the temples, were allowed to live there. In early times the gods of the Cataract were the gods of Philæ, i.e., Khnemu and Satet, Khnemu-Rā, and Hathor, Anuqet, Ptaḥ and Sekhet, etc.; but in Greek and Roman times the deities chiefly worshipped in the island were Isis and Osiris, and the gods who were in their train, i.e., Horus, Nephthys, etc. In connection with the worship of Isis and Osiris a number of ceremonies were performed, in which the death and mutilation of the body of Osiris, the

gathering together of his scattered limbs, the reconstruction of the body by Isis, and its revivification by means of the words of power which Thoth had taught her, formed very prominent scenes. Together with such ceremonies, a number of others connected with the worship of Osiris as the god of life and fecundity were also celebrated at Philæ, something after the manner of a miracle play, and there is no doubt that great crowds would be drawn to the spot by such performances. Primarily, such ceremonies would most appeal to the Egyptians, who, seeing that the great, and probably original, shrine of Osiris at Abydos had fallen into decay, endeavoured to make Philæ its successor; but in Ptolemaïc times and later the Greeks and Romans flocked to the spot, the former to worship Osiris, and the latter to worship Isis. The form of Osiris which the Greeks revered was Serapis, i.e., Ausȧr-Ḥāpi, "Osiris-Apis," to whom they ascribed all the attributes of Pluto, the Greek god of Hades. The Egyptian priests, of course, approved of the introduction of the god into the national collection of gods as long as it could be effected by identifying him with an ancient god of the country, and thus the Egyptian and Greek priests found a deity which could satisfy the religious aspirations of both peoples. The introduction of the god was made in the reign of Ptolemy Soter; but in a few generations the attributes of Pluto were forgotten, and the worship of Serapis became identical with that of Osiris. This having been brought about, and Phile being recog nized as one of the most holy shrines of the god, the palmy days of the island began, and as long as the Ptolemies could keep the tribes quiet on the south and west of Egypt, all went well, and the shrine became very rich. In B.C. 22, however, Candace seized Philæ, Aswân, and Elephantine, and in A.D. 250 the Blemmyes followed her example; in the reign of Diocletian the Blemmyes invaded the neighbourhood so frequently that this Emperor was obliged to

come to terms with them, and eventually ceded Nubia to them on the understanding that they allowed no inroads upon Egypt from the south. Meanwhile, Christianity had spread into Egypt, and was making its way into Nubia, but the worship of Osiris and Isis was continued at Philæ, apparently without much interruption. In A.D. 380 Theodosius the Great issued the edict for establishing the worship of the Trinity, and a year later he prohibited sacrifices, and ordered some of the temples to be turned into Christian churches, and the rest to be shut; but in spite of everything, sacrifices were offered at Philæ, and the worship of Osiris was carried on there, just as was the worship of the gods of Greece and Rome in Italy and elsewhere, until nearly the end of the Vth century. In Christian times the Copts built at Philæ one church in honour of Saint Michael and another in honour of Saint Athanasius, and recent excavations have shown that many small churches were built there. Abu Salîḥ says that there are “many idols and temples" on the island, and that on the west bank of the river there were several churches overlooking the cataract, but adds that they were in ruins in his day.

When Strabo visited Phile he says that he came from Syene (Aswân) in a waggon, through a very flat country. Along the whole road on each side we could see, in many places, very high rocks, round, very smooth, and nearly spherical, of hard black stone, of which mortars are made; each rested upon a greater stone, and upon this another; they were like unhewn stones, with heads of Mercury upon them. Sometimes these stones consisted of one mass. The largest was not less than 12 feet in diameter, and all of them exceeded this size by one-half. We crossed over to the island in a pacton, which is a small boat made of rods, whence it resembles woven-work. Standing there in the water (at the bottom of the boat), or sitting upon some little planks, we easily crossed over, with some alarm,