The tiny island of Philae, a mere 450 metres long and less than 150 metres wide, captured the imagination of countless travellers to Egypt from early times. It was famed for its beauty and was known as the "Pearl of Egypt'. Plants and palm trees grew from the fertile deposits that had collected in the crevices of the granite bedrock. Gracious Graeco-Roman temples and colonnades, kiosks and sanctuaries rose proudly against the skyline. There was a sense of mystery. Not furtive, in violate secrets, so much as veiled mystification.

The sanctity of Philae during the Graeco-Roman period outrivalled many of the other cities of Egypt. It had become the centre of the cult of Isis, which was revived during the Saite period (664-525 BC). The Ptolemies, as already noted, sought to please the Egyptians by building temples to their most beloved gods and goddesses.

Ptolemy II (285-246 BC) started construction of the main Temple of Isis. temple to her consort, Osiris, was built on a neighbouring island, Bigeh (only a portal of which remains). Their son Horus, or Harendotus as he was called by the Ptolemies, had a temple of his own on Philae. Other structures on the island included a small temple to Imhotep, builder of Zoser's Step Pyramid at Sakkara, who was later deified as a god of medicine, and temples to two Nubian deities: Mandolis and Arhesnoter.

Philae was situated south of Aswan and, therefore, strictly belonged to Nubia. Isis was worshipped by Egyptians and Nubians alike. Fantastic tales were told of her magical powers. It was believed that her knowledge of secret formulae had brought life back to her husband Osiris; that her spells had saved her son Horus from the bite of a poisonous snake; and that she was the protectress of all who sought her. Countless visitors came to the island, where the priests, appropriately clad in white vestments, claimed a knowledge of the mysteries. With carefully rehearsed liturgies and the necessary symbolism, they drew hordes of faithful. If these visitors were lucky they could view the image of the goddess during the spring and autumn festivals in her honour. This was when the death and resurrection of Osiris was enacted, in which Isis played a major role. It was Isis who found the body of her husband that had been locked in a chest and cast on the Nile by his wicked brother Set. It was she who made the body whole through her prayers. It was she who knew the secrets, the spells, and even the name of the Sun-god. Isis was the great goddess; she was at once mother-goddess and magician. It was believed that her single tear, shed for Osiris, caused the annual flood, which brought life to the land.

The myth of Osiris and Isis had, by this time been enlarged and embellished countless times. In one version the coffin containing the body of Osiris was swept out to sea, and came to rest on the Phoenician coast where a tamarisk tree enclosed the entire coffin in its trunk. The king of Byblos, who needed a strong prop for the roof of his palace, ordered the tree to be cut down. Were it not for the fact that the tree gave off a sweet-smelling odour, which spread across the Mediterranean, and reached Isis, she would never have been able to trace the body of her husband. She set off for Byblos without delay and, disguised as a nurse, she took charge of the newborn son of the king. When she finally revealed who she was, and the reason for her being there, the king gave her the miraculous tree containing the coffin, and she took the body of Osiris back to Egypt. This was when Set found it, and cut it to pieces.

Once established on the island of Philae, the priests lost no time in laying claim to additional territory: over eighty kilometres lying to the south of Seheil island. They found an ancient tradition on which to base their claim. In a forged inscription inscribed high on the rocks of Seheil, is a record of how a governor of Elephantine appealed to the pharaoh Zoser (builder of the Step Pyramid some 2,500 years earlier) because of his concern for the people following years of famine. Zoser responded by enquiring about the sources of the Nile and asked whether the governor knew which god controlled its waters. The governor promptly responded that it was Khnum of Elephantine but that he was angry because his temple had been allowed to fall to ruin. Zoser forthwith issued a decree granting a Targe tract of land to Khnum and levying a tax on all those who lived on the produce of the river, fishermen and fowlers alike, for the benefit of the priests of Khnum. It was this land that the priests of Philae claimed had been granted to them by the pharaoh Zoser, and for the same reason: to put an end to the famine that had been raging for seven long years. The taxes on fishermen forth with went to their benefit.