The center of  ancient Egypt’s cult of Isis, the Temples of Philae were venerated from the Pharaonic era through the Greek, Roman, and Byzantine periods with each ruler making their own additions to the temples here. From early times the island was sacred to the goddess Isis and her temple on the island relates the tragic story of her life, the temple walls contain scenes from Egyptian mythology of Isis bringing her love  Osiris back to life, giving birth to Horus, and mummifying Osiris after his death.

With the construction of the new Aswan dam the temple was in danger of being completely submerged, however  the Egyptian government and UNESCO collaborated to  relocate the entire temple, stone by stone all 50,000 stones to the nearby Agilka, island  where it stands today.