DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4393#0217
PUIL^E. 199
were still in occupation of the island and still celebrating
the mysteries of Osiris and Isis. There even seems reason
for believing that the ancient worship continued to hold
its own till the end of the sixth century, at which time,
according to an inscription at Kalabsheh, of which I shall
have more to say hereafter, Silco, " King of all the
Ethiopians," himself apparently a Christian, twice invaded
Lower Nubia, where God, he says, gave him the victory,
and the vanquished swore to him "by their idols" to
observe the terms of peace.*
There is nothing in this record to show that the invaders
went beyond Tafa, the ancient Taphis, which is twenty-
seven miles above Phils ; but it seems reasonable to con-
clude that so long as the old gods yet reigned in any part
of Nubia, the island sacred to Osiris would maintain its
traditional sanctity.
At length, however, there must have come a day when
for the last time the tomb of the god was crowned with
flowers and the " Lamentations of Isis "were recited on
the threshold of the sanctuary. And there must have
come another day when the cross was carried in triumph
up those painted colonnades and the first Christian mass
was chanted in the precints of the heathen. One would
like to know how these changes were brought about;
whether the old faith died out for want of worshipers, or
was expelled with clamor and violence. But upon this
* In the time of Strabo, the Island of Phila?, as has been recently
shown by Professor Bevillout in his " Seconde Memoire sur les
Blemmys," was die common property of the Egyptians and Nubians,
or rather of that obscure nation called the Blemmys, who, with the
Nobades and Megabares, were collectively classed at that time as
" Ethiopians." The Blemmys (ancestors of the present Barabras)
were a stalwart and valiant race, powerful enough to treat on equal
terms with the Boman rulers of Egypt. They were devout adorers
of Isis, and it is interesting to learn that in the treaty of Maximin with
this nation, it is expressly provided that, " according to the old law,"
the Blemmys were entitled to take the statue of Isis every year from
the sanctuary of Phila? to their own country for a visit of a stated
period. A graffito at Phila;, published by Letronne, states that the
Writer was at Philas when the image of the goddess was brought
back from one of these periodical excursions, and that he beheld
the arrival of the sacred boats "containing the shrines of the divine
statues." From this it would appear that other images than that of
Isis had been taken to Ethiopia; probably those of Osiris and Horns,
and possibly also that of Hatlior, the divine nurse. [Note to second
edition.!
were still in occupation of the island and still celebrating
the mysteries of Osiris and Isis. There even seems reason
for believing that the ancient worship continued to hold
its own till the end of the sixth century, at which time,
according to an inscription at Kalabsheh, of which I shall
have more to say hereafter, Silco, " King of all the
Ethiopians," himself apparently a Christian, twice invaded
Lower Nubia, where God, he says, gave him the victory,
and the vanquished swore to him "by their idols" to
observe the terms of peace.*
There is nothing in this record to show that the invaders
went beyond Tafa, the ancient Taphis, which is twenty-
seven miles above Phils ; but it seems reasonable to con-
clude that so long as the old gods yet reigned in any part
of Nubia, the island sacred to Osiris would maintain its
traditional sanctity.
At length, however, there must have come a day when
for the last time the tomb of the god was crowned with
flowers and the " Lamentations of Isis "were recited on
the threshold of the sanctuary. And there must have
come another day when the cross was carried in triumph
up those painted colonnades and the first Christian mass
was chanted in the precints of the heathen. One would
like to know how these changes were brought about;
whether the old faith died out for want of worshipers, or
was expelled with clamor and violence. But upon this
* In the time of Strabo, the Island of Phila?, as has been recently
shown by Professor Bevillout in his " Seconde Memoire sur les
Blemmys," was die common property of the Egyptians and Nubians,
or rather of that obscure nation called the Blemmys, who, with the
Nobades and Megabares, were collectively classed at that time as
" Ethiopians." The Blemmys (ancestors of the present Barabras)
were a stalwart and valiant race, powerful enough to treat on equal
terms with the Boman rulers of Egypt. They were devout adorers
of Isis, and it is interesting to learn that in the treaty of Maximin with
this nation, it is expressly provided that, " according to the old law,"
the Blemmys were entitled to take the statue of Isis every year from
the sanctuary of Phila? to their own country for a visit of a stated
period. A graffito at Phila;, published by Letronne, states that the
Writer was at Philas when the image of the goddess was brought
back from one of these periodical excursions, and that he beheld
the arrival of the sacred boats "containing the shrines of the divine
statues." From this it would appear that other images than that of
Isis had been taken to Ethiopia; probably those of Osiris and Horns,
and possibly also that of Hatlior, the divine nurse. [Note to second
edition.!