Phile
an island in the Nile, near Assuan and S. of Syene, in Nubia. It 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 and interest, though not of very ancient date.
That to the E., a hypæthral or roofless hall, commonly called "Pharaoh's bed," belongs to the Greek and Roman period, and consists of 14 great columns with capitals of various patterns, connected at the lower part by solid walls; the length is 63 feet, the width 48. The great temple of Isis, to whom the island was sacred, was mainly built by Ptolemy Epiphanes, and continued by his successors, especially by Ptolemy III., Euergetes. To the N. stood the great propylon or gateway, 60 feet high and over 120 wide. This is the oldest part of the temple, and bears the name of Nectanebes II. (about 361 B. c.). The temple proper contains representations of