The New Student's Reference Work/Philæ

Philæ (fī′lḗ), an island in the Nile, near Assuan and south of Syene in Nubia. It is situated near the first cataract, and is a small granite rock, fringed with rich verdure, about 1,200 feet long and 450 broad, almost covered with ancient buildings of great architectural beauty. The kiosk, Pharaoh's bed, a roofless hall, belongs to the Greek and Roman period, and consists of fourteen great columns with capitals of various patterns, joined at the lower part by solid walls, 63 feet long and 48 feet wide. The great temple of Isis, to whom the island was sacred, was built by the Ptolemies. It contains representations of the birth, bringing up, death and embalmment of Osiris. It was converted into a Christian church in A. D. 557. See Assuan Dam.