Philae and the End of Ancient Egyptian Religion: A Regional Study of Religious Transformation (298-642 CE)

by Jitse H.F. Dijkstra

The famous island of Philae, on Egypt's southern frontier, can be considered the last major temple site where Ancient Egyptian religion was practiced. According to the Byzantine historian Procopius, in 535-537 CE the Emperor Justinian ordered one of his generals to end this situation by destroying the island's temples. This account has usually been accepted as a sufficient explanation for the end of the Ancient Egyptian cults at Philae. Yet it is by no means unproblematic. This book shows that the event of 535-537 has to be seen in a larger context of religious transformation at Philae, which was more complex and gradual than Procopius describes it. Not only are the various Late Antique sources from and on Philae taken into account, for the first time the religious developments at Philae are also placed in a regional context by analyzing the sources from the other major towns in the region, Syene(Aswan) and Elephantine.

Genres: Religion, Egyptology

466 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[DAJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Religion in the First Cataract region of Egypt from 300 to 650 CE is a pretty narrow subject. But if you're really interested, this is a rewarding read. Dijkstra analyzes texts and archaeological evidence from the region in detail without overwhelming the reader with minutiae. He spends nearly a quarter of the book studying how the temples at Aswan and Elephantine were abandoned, reused, and dismantled. His main focus, however, is Philae, the site of Upper Egypt's greatest temple to Isis, which, as all scholars agree, was the last fully functioning Egyptian temple.

The reader gets a feel for the conflicts between Nubian peoples as the kingdom of Meroe breaks down, as well as for Nubian relations with the Roman authorities and the temple of Philae. As disorder in Nubia and the wider Roman Empire make the First Cataract feel like a backwater and conversions to Christianity reduce Philae's influence, Isis' priesthood dwindles, then disappears from the record entirely. Yet many of the locals, including nearby Nubian rulers, may have revered the temple for more than a century after the priests die out. And as the details slip from their memory, Christians rewrite the temple's history in different ways. Procopius, far away in Constantinople, writes to flatter the emperor, while Christians near Philae tell a story to lionize their first bishop. In both cases they're distorting reality (and making themselves look more destructive in our eyes than they actually were).

Dijkstra's account argues against several long-held assumptions about the region's history. Some scholars have proposed different readings of some of his evidence, but they don't say definitively that his interpretations are wrong, and most of what he says seems to have gained acceptance. He has produced a surprisingly vivid picture of society on Egypt's frontier with Nubia and the Christianization of the region. It serves as a case study for far larger changes that were affecting Nubia, Egypt, and the entire Roman Empire.