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[German version] (Λεπιδότων πόλις; Lepidótōn pólis). Town in upper Egypt, modern Nagʿ el-Mescheich opposite Girga, Egyptian probably Bḥdt-jtt, with remains of a temple of Ramesses II and the rock tomb of a high priest. The chief god was the lioness Mḥjt; but the lepidotus fish was also worshipped here (cf. Hdt. 2,72; Str. 17,812; confirmed by the find of a naos filled with fish bronzes). Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography F. Gomaà, s.v. Mescheich, LÄ 4, 107 H. Kees, s.v. L., RE 12, 2066f.

[German version] (Ὄνουφις; Ónouphis). Town in Lower Egypt and the nome named after it (Ὀνουφίτης), first referred to in Hdt. 2,166 as a settlement area of the Calasirieis, later mentioned by ancient geographers (Plin. HN 4,49; Ptol. Geog. 4,5,22 among others) and in a Coptic list of bishops; presumably in the central Delta near modern Maḥallat Minūf. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography A.B. Lloyd, Herodotus, Book II, Commentary 99-182, 1988, 193-4.

(Τάνις; Tánis). [German version] [1] City in the northeast of the Nile Delta This item can be found on the following maps: Egypt City in the northeast of the Nile Delta, Egyptian Ḏn.t, Biblical Zoan, modern (Tell) San el-Hagar, the largest ruin mound in Egypt (177 ha, 30 m high). T. was founded as a residence in place of the abandoned Pi-Ramesses ( c. 20 km to the south) at the beginning of the 21st Dynasty ( c. 1070 BC). Sculptures and other stone from Pi-Ramesses (some of which had already been re-used there) were used for the construction of T. This older building…

[German version] (Σαβάκων/ Sabákōn). First king of the 25th (Nubian) dynasty, Egyptian Šbk­, brother and successor of Pi(anch)i (Pije). In the traditional chronology, his minimally 15-year reign is estimated at c. 716/5 to 702/1 BC. However, since a recently published Assyrian inscription indicates that his successor Sebichus was already king in 706 [1], S. must have ascended the throne in 720 at the latest. In the 2nd year of his reign, S. conquered Egypt and according to Manetho [1] had his adversary Bokchoris burnt ali…

(Μενέλαος/Menélaos, Attic Μενέλεως/Menéleos; Latin Menelaus). [German version] [1] Ruler of Sparta, married to Helena A significant character in the cycle of myths about the Trojan War ( Troy: Cycle of myths). A younger brother of Agamemnon, who ruled the most significant power centre in Greek myth, Mycene, by marriage to Zeus's daughter Helen ( Helene [1]; their only child was a daughter, Hermione) M. became king of a region in the Eurotas valley with its capital Sparta and Amyclae [1], which was significant…

[German version] [1] Ancient name for Egypt Ancient name for Egypt used in Aesch. Supp. 75; see also Steph. Byz., s. v. Αἴγυπτος ( Aígyptos) and Apoll. Rhod. 4,267. The etymology is unclear, perhaps from ἀήρ. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) [German version] [2] Town in  Gallia Narbonensis Town in  Gallia Narbonensis (Str. 4,185), probably the place today known as Mont Ventoux. Lafond, Yves (Bochum) [German version] [3] Aphrodite's name in Paphus  Aërias (Ἀερία; Aería). Aphrodite's name in Paphus  Aërias. Graf, Fritz (Columbus, OH) [German version] [4] Figure from Greek myth Mother of …

[German version] (Νιτρίαι/ Nitríai). Settlement on the western edge of the Nile delta around 15km to the south of Damanhūr, modern Gabal Barng. The area around N. produced natron. Since Ptolemaic times it is documented in Greek sources (e.g. Str. 17,803; Steph. Byz. s.v. Ν.; Pall. Laus. 7,1 and others). In the 2nd cent. BC it had a Jewish synagogue. Around AD 315, the Coptic abbot Apa Amoun founded a Christian hermitic community in this region, which flourished in the 4th-5th cents. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography 1 A. Bernand, Le delta égyptien d'après les textes grecs…

[German version] (λύκων πόλις; lýkōn pólis, ‘wolfs' town’). City on the western bank of the Nile c. 400 km upstream from Cairo, modern Asyūṭ, Egyptian swtj (‘guard’), Assyrian siāutu, capital city of the 13th district of upper Egypt. Because of its position at a narrow stretch of the river, it formed the border of upper Egypt proper and was therefore (and as the point of departure of a caravan road to the western oases) of particular strategic importance. In the 1st Intermediate Period ( c. 2190-1990 BC) it was the main bulwark against the expansion of the Theban rulers northw…

(Πτολεμαίς; Ptolemaís). [German version] [1] Daughter of Ptolemaeus [1] I and Eurydice [4] Daughter of Ptolemaeus [1] I and Eurydice [4]; presumably married to a descendant of the pharaoh Nectanebus [2]; from 298 BC betrothed, and from 287 married to Demetrius [2] Poliorcetes. PP VI 14565. Ameling, Walter (Jena) Bibliography W. Huß, Das Haus des Nektanebis und das Haus des Ptolemaios, in: AncSoc 25, 1994, 111-117  J. Seibert, Historische Beiträge zu den dynastischen Verbindungen in hellenistischer Zeit, 1967, 30 ff. 74 f. [German version] [2] P. from Cyrene Ancient scholar of m…

Name of four Pharaohs of the 18th Dynasty, Egyptian Ḏḥwtj-msjw ('Thot is born'). Their chronology is uncertain, as the lengths of the reigns of T. I and II are unknown and T. III's ascent of the throne has been astronomically dated to 1504, 1490 or (most credibly) 1479 BC. [German version] [1] T. I Throne name -ḫpr-k-R, third king of the 18th Dynasty, c. 1496-1482 (only three regnal years are safely attested). T. undertook campaigns to Nubia and Syria as far as the Euphrates, during which the first conflicts with Mittani occured.  He was the first Phar…

(Ταποσῖρις; Taposîris). [German version] [1] Town in the Nile Delta Town in the Nile Delta (modern Abusir), about 50 km to the west of Alexandria [1] between Lake Mareotis and the sea; first recorded in the Ptolemaic period and named after a temple of Osiris (enclosure walls are extant). In the Christian period, a church was incorporated into the temple. Another large church building was discovered outside the area of the town. In addition, there are remains of a lighthouse and of (interior) port installations. T. ( megálē) was probably a transit and customs station for trade a…

[German version] [1] Egyptian city in the eastern Nile delta This item can be found on the following maps: Egypt City in the eastern Nile delta, east of the Damiette arm of the Nile, Egyptian T-rmw, modern Tell Moqdam; one of the largest hills of ruins in the delta. L. is documented from the Middle Kingdom, but the majority of finds and mentions come from the period after the New Kingdom. L. was of great significance in the 3rd intermediate period (1080-714 BC), when it was the residence of a local king. In the Ptolemaic era, L.…

[German version] (Νίτητις/ Nítētis). According to Hdt. 3,1-3 daughter of the Egyptian king Apries; Amasis [2] pretended she was his daughter and gave her in marriage to Cambyses [2]; in response to this deception Cambyses attacked Egypt. In the Egyptian version she was the wife of Cyrus [1] I and Cambyses' mother. Although the name is Egyptian ( Njtt-jj.tj), the princess is not documented in Egyptian sources. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin)

[German version] I. Egypt and the Near East The cat was particularly significant in Egypt where there is evidence of it being kept as a pet from the beginning of the 2nd millennium BC at the latest; the period of its domestication, however, stretched far into the 1st millennium. The Egyptian cat used to be regarded as the precursor of the European domestic cat, but today it is assumed that the origin of the latter was the Near East: it was first mentioned in Mesopotamia [1] in the 17th cent. BC as a wil…

[German version] I. Terminology and Definition The modern term ‘palace’ is derived from the Palatine (Mons Palatinus), one of Rome’s seven hills, on which the residences of the Roman emperors were located. Palaces are buildings that a ruler uses as a residence and for representation. Depending on additional functions, they could have other names in Antiquity, relating to their respective use. Nielsen, Inge (Hamburg) II. Ancient Near East [German version] A. Structural History In the Ancient Near East and Egypt, the palace was originally a house with considerably expa…

Greek form of the name of two Egyptian kings. [German version] [1] N. I. Local ruler in the western Nile Delta ( Nkw). Local ruler in the western Nile Delta c. 672-664 BC, father of Psammetichus I, the founder of the 26th Dynasty. N. was the only one of the Delta princes to be pardoned by Assurbanipal despite his participation in an anti-Assyrian conspiracy and was reinstalled as ruler in Saïs. According to Hdt. 2,152,3, N. was killed during the Nubians' advance north (probably in 664 under Tanutamun). Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) [German version] [2] N. II. Egyptian king of the 26. …

[German version] (Πανῶν πόλις; Panôn pólis). City in Upper Egypt, on the eastern bank of the Nile, c. 200 km north of Luxor, Egyptian Jpw or Ḫnt-Mnw, from this Greek Χέμμις ( Chémmis; Hdt. 2,91) and the modern name Aḫmīm. The name Πανῶν πόλις or Πανὸς πόλις ( Panòs pólis; 'city of Pan') is based on the identification of the main deity of P., the ithyphallically depicted god of fertility Min, with Greek Pan. Isis and (Min-)Horus were also worshipped in P. and the latter was presumably identified by Hdt. 2,91 with Perseus. The competitions in h…

[German version] [1] Town in Upper Egypt The Greek town called κυνῶν πόλις ( kynôn pólis); ‘town of dogs’; Str. 17,812) was at times the capital city of the 17th nomos of Upper Egypt (κυνοπολίτης; Kynopolítēs) and according to Ptol. 4,5,29 was situated on an island. C. (Egyptian Ḥr-dj) is often mentioned in texts of the New Kingdom and was the cult town of the dog-headed god  Anubis. Under Ramses XI it was destroyed in a civil war. Its exact location is unknown, presumably it was near Sheikh Fadl where a dog cemetery was also found. Plut. De …

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Egypt | India, trade with (Φιλαί/ Philaí, Egyptian P-Jrk, probably a Nubian name). Small island at the southern end of the first Nile cataract, with a famous temple of Isis and a number of smaller sanctuaries. Blocks incorporated in the buildings, which show the names of kings, prove that there was a sanctuary under Taharka (690-664) at the latest, and a temple of Isis from the time of Amasis [2] at the latest. The earliest still visible buildings date…

[German version] (Egyptian mr-wr) is the name of the holy bull of Heliopolis [1], which was worshipped in an animal selected for certain features (black coat, hair against the grain, particularly large testicles). The bull Onouphis (Ὄνουφις; Egyptian Wnn-nfr, a designation of Osiris) described in Ael. NA 12,11 may therefore have been a form of M. Theologically M. was considered the soul ( ba) of the Sun God and its herald (corresponding entirely to the relationship of the apis bull to Ptah). The cow goddess Hesat was regarded as its mother. The name M. is f…

[German version] (Ψάμμουθις; Psámmouthis). Ruler of the 29th dynasty, Egyptian P-š(rj-n) Mwt, rival claimant to the throne of Acoris [2] (presumably 393-392 or 391-390 BC), attested particularly in Thebes. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography J. D. Ray, Ps. and Hakoris, in: JEA 72, 1986, 149-156.

[German version] A. Introduction The country on the Nile from the 1st Cataract to the Mediterranean, Egyptian km.t, ‘the Black (Land)’, Greek Αἴγυπτος ( Aígyptos). The division of Egyptian history into ‘kingdoms’, ‘intermediate periods’ (periods of unified and divided states) and ‘dynasties’ essentially derives via Manetho from Egyptian annalists. The absolute chronology, which is based on contemporary information on dates, lists of kings and astronomical calculations, is only (more or less) firm for the late period an…

[German version] (Θεαδέλφεια; Theadélpheia). Village in the Fayyum to the south of Lake Karun near modern (Baṭn) Ihrīt, founded under Ptolemaeus [3] II c. mid-3rd century BC and known from numerous papyrus finds. The chief deity was a crocodile god worshipped under the name Pnepheros. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography 1 A. Calderini, Dizionario, vol. 2, 1977, 240-248; suppl. 1, 1988, 135 f.; suppl. 2, 1996, 66 2 E. Bernand, Recueil des inscriptions grecques du Fayoum, vol. 2, 1981, 1-86.

[German version] (Παθῦρις; Pathŷris). City in Upper Egypt c. 30 km south of Luxor near modern Ǧabalain. The name derived from an old sanctuary to Hathor, Egyptian Pr-Ḥwt-Ḥr ('house of Hathor'), from this also derived the Greek designation Aphroditopolis (Str. 17,1,47). In the pre-Ptolemaic period, P. belonged to the 4th nome of Upper Egypt. Under the Ptolemies, it was the main town in the new nome of Pathyrites. There are numerous Greek and Demotic papyrus finds from a military settlement dating to the 2nd cent. BC. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography A. Calderini, s.v. P., Di…

[German version] Name of the first Nile cataract on the border between Egypt and Nubia near  Elephantine, first attested in Hdt. 2,17. The name alludes to the noisy roaring of the water (Cic. Rep. 6,19). Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography H. Kees, s.v. Katadupa, RE 10, 2458.

[German version] [1] Nomos, nomoi (ὁ νόμος/ ho nómos, pl. οἱ νόμοι/ hoi nómoi). Siewert, Peter (Vienna) [German version] A. General In Greek, nómos (pl. nómoi) refers to customary conduct or a behavioural norm observed by members of a community; depending on the context it can be translated with ‘custom’, ‘habit’, ‘practice’, ‘rule’, ‘order’, ‘institution’, ‘constitution’, ‘law’ etc. (cf. [1. 20-54; 2. 14-19]). The size of the communities where a nómos applied could vary considerably: from married couples and families to cult and settlement communities, from cit…

[German version] (Φάκουσ(σ)α/ Phákous(s)a and similar). Town in the north-east of the Nile delta, modern Fāqūs. Its ancient Egyptian name is unknown. P. is not attested until the Ptolemaic period. Str. 17,1,26 describes it - probably incorrectly - as the departure point of a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea (Ptolemaïs [4]). According to Ptol. Geog. 4,5,24, P. was the metropolis of the nome of Arabia. In the Christian period, P. was a diocesan town. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography St. Timm, Das christlich-koptische Ägypten in arabischer Zeit, vol. 2, 1984, 923-926.

[German version] Name of the (mostly stone) jugs in which the Egyptians interred entrails, often stored in their own boxes. They came under the protection of four gods (‘Sons of Horus’) and four goddesses ( Isis,  Nephthys,  Neith,  Selcis) and often are inscribed with sayings that correlate the parts of the corpse with the corresponding divinities. From the 1st interim period (2190-1990 BC) the lid of the Canope was mostly shaped like the head of a human, from the 19th dynasty also as heads of th…

[German version] (Μώμεμφις; Mṓmemphis). Town in the north-western Nile delta, according to Str. 17,803 a regional capital in Roman times; centre of a cult of Aphrodite (ibid.; Diod. Sic. 1,97), i.e. the Egyptian Hathor (later also of Isis: POxy XI, 1380, 14f.). According to Herodotus (2,163; 169), the decisive battle between Amasis [2] and Apries took place at M. (and this is supported by Egyptian sources), while Diod. Sic. (1,68) places this at Marea (representing M. as the site of the victory of …

(Μέμνων; Mémnon). [German version] [1] Mythical King of the Ethiopians Mythical King of the Ethiopians, son of Tithonus and Eos, brother of Emathion (Hes. Theog. 984-5). His entry into Troy as an ally of the Trojans after the death of Penthesilea, his successful single combat with Antilochus, his death at the hands of Achilles and the immortality conferred upon him by Zeus at the behest of Eos were, as the summary of Proclus (Chrestomathia 172) shows, depicted in the lost Cyclic epic Aithiopís . Hom. Od. 4,187-8 and Pind. P. 6,28-39 also refer to his single combat with Antiloc…

[German version] (Καρανίς; Karanís). Important Greek settlement (κώμη) on the northern edge of the  Fayum, now Kom Ausīm; founded in the early Ptolemaic period and abandoned again in the 5th cent. AD. Large parts of the town are still well preserved and have been carefully excavated; among these are two temples. From C. come c. 5,000 Greek Papyri and Ostraka, mostly from Roman times (2nd-3rd cents. AD). Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography A. Calderini, s.v. Karanis, Dizionario dei nomi geografici e topografici 3, 1978, 70-79 R. Alston, Soldier and Society in Roman Egypt…

[German version] (Πικραὶ λίμναι/ Pikraì límnai). Term (Str. 17,1,24) for the brackish 'bitter lakes' on the Isthmus of Suez, ancient Egyptian km-wr, 'great black (lake)'. In the 3rd and early 2nd millennia there were fortifications there, later the canal to the Red Sea (Ptolemaïs) was routed through these waters. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography K.W. Butzer, s.v. Bitterseen, LÄ 1, 824f.

[German version] (Προσωπῖτις, Προσωπίτης/ Prosōpîtis, Prosōpítēs). Region in the south-western Nile delta, situated between the branch of Canopus and another watercourse (according to Hdt. 2,41 an island), probably the area of the 4th administrative district of Lower Egypt, according to Hdt. 2,165 the area where the Hermotybians settled. Apart from the capital city Nikiu there were several other cities here, among others Atarbechis where Aphrodite (= Hathor) was worshipped and where mass burials of c…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Colonization Egyptian city on the edge of the East Delta, today known as Tall Dafana (Egyptian Ṯbn?). According to Hdt. 2,30, it was a border fortress of  Psametichus I; archaeological discoveries dating from the New Kingdom, the 26th Dynasty and later, including fortifications, weapons and Greek ceramics. It is possible that it could also have been one of the stratópeda of Greek and Carian mercenaries mentioned in Hdt. 2,154. It is disputed as to whether it is the same as the OT Thachpanches. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibl…

[German version] [1] City in Middle Egypt City in Middle Egypt, north of Minia on the east bank of the Nile, nowadays called Tehne (el-Gebel). There is evidence of A. dating from the Ptolemaic period and official documentation dating back to Roman times. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) [German version] [2] Egyptian king Third king of the 29th Dynasty (393/2-380 BC, Egyptian Hkr), kinship with predecessors and successors is uncertain. He formed an alliance with Athens and  Evagoras of Salamis to fight against the Persians and, in 385-83 BC, was abl…

Name of eleven pharaohs, Egyptian R-msj-sw (“Re (the sun god) is the one who gave him birth”), vocalized Rīamašeša in Babylonian, rendered in Greek by Ῥαμέσσης and the like. [German version] [1] R. I Dynasty founder (Throne name Mn-pḥtj-R). The founder of the 19th dynasty ( c. 1292-1290 BC) came from a non-royal family (from the eastern Delta?) and was a high-ranking officer before he was named as vizier and heir to the throne by his predecessor Haremhab. His son Sethos I was probably immediately designated as his successor. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) [German version] [2] R. II Egy…

[German version] (Σιρβωνὶς λίμνη/ Sirbōnís límnē). Coastal lake east of Pelusium on the northeastern border of Egypt, separated from the Mediterranean by only a narrow strip of land, west of Mount Casium. According to Strabo, it was 200 stadia long, 50 stadia wide and rather deep (16,2,32; 16,2,42). The lake was claimed to be dangerous due to marshiness (cf. Diod. Sic. 1,30; 16,46) and to seaquakes (Str. 16,2,26). Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin)

[German version] (Νηίθ; äg. Njt.t (?)). Egyptian goddess with her main cult site at Sais in the western Nile delta. With regard to monuments as well as to personal names, N. was the most prominent goddess of the Early Period (1st half of 3rd millennium BC). Later, especially during the Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom, she receded in comparison to other divinities; from the 26th Dynasty on, however, when Sais became the royal residence, she regained pre-eminent importance. Originally, N. may have been…

[German version] (Egyptian Ḥwt-[t]-ṛj-jb, Arabic Tall Atrı̄b). Capital city of the 10th Lower Egyptian district, in the southern central delta. Main god Chentechtai in older times honoured as a crocodile, in the New Kingdom mostly as a falcon. A. gains additional significance in the New Kingdom. In the 9th-7th cents. BC it forms with  Heliopolis an independent principality. Ammianus Marcellinus (22,16) counts it as one of the most important cities of Egypt. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography P. Vernus, Athribis, Bibliothèque d'études coptes 74, 1978 LÄ 1, 519-24.

[German version] City in the west delta to the north of Sais in the 6th region of Lower Egypt; actually a twin city which, in older sources, only appears in the names of its parts Pe and Dep. The name B. has its origins in the Egyptian Prw dyt, house of Wśdy (Uto), who, in the form of a snake, is the national and crown goddess of Lower Egypt and who, together with  Horus, is the most important local deity. B. was already settled in prehistoric times and was apparently an important centre. Archaeological finds and epigraphic reports about B., ho…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Egypt | Syria | Zenobia | | Diadochi and Epigoni | Alexander | Commerce | Pilgrimage | Rome | Rome | Egypt (Πηλούσιον/ Pēloúsion; Latin Pelusium). City at the far northeastern corner of the Nile delta (southeast of Port Said), Egyptian Sjn, earlier Snw, 'fortification', from Ptolemiac times also known as P-Pr-jr-Jmn, Coptic ΠΕΡΕΜΟΥΝ, modern Tall al-Faramā. The Greek name P. probably originated from a popular etymological derivation of the Egyptian sjn, 'clay' = Greek pēlós (cf. Str. 17,1,21). Based on the city's name…

(Φιλαδέλφεια/ Philadélpheia). [German version] [1] Lydian town founded by Seleucus I This item can be found on the following maps: Christianity | Education / Culture Lydian town founded by Seleucus I (cf. SEG 35, 1985, 1170 [2. 180139; 3. no. 20]) or by Attalus [5] II Philadelphos (who definitely gave the town its name). It lay at the northeast foot of Mt. Tmolus in the fertile valley of the river Cogamis (cf. the coins in HN 655, present-day Alaşehir Çayı), a southern tributary of the Hermus, in southern Catacecaumene [1] on the …

(Ἀλεξάνδρεια; Alexándreia). Name of numerous cities founded by Alexander the Great, including nine in eastern Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. [German version] [1] in Egypt This item can be found on the following maps: Egypt | Caesar | Christianity | Wine | Zenobia | | Diadochi and Epigoni | Alexander | Commerce | Hellenistic states | Hellenistic states | India, trade with | Legio | Legio | Limes | Pilgrimage | Pompeius | Rome | Rome | Athletes | Education / Culture | Egypt Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) [German version] A. Topography City on the Egyptian Mediterranean coast foun…

[German version] (Κερκάσωρος, Κερκέσουρα; Kerkásōros, Kerkésoura). Town in Lower Egypt where, according to Hdt. 2,15; 2,17, the Nile divides into the branches of Pelusium and Canobus, according to Str. 17,806 situated on the west bank opposite Heliopolis, perhaps the Egyptian Ḥwt-šd-bd. Jansen-Winkeln, Karl (Berlin) Bibliography F. Gomaà, s.v. Hutsched-abed, LÄ 3, 89-90.

[German version] (ὀβελίσκος/ obelískos, Latin obeliscus). Slender column of square cross-section tapering upwards with a pyramid shaped top, Egyptian tḫn, in the Graeco-Roman period also bnbn. In Egypt, obelisks have been connected with the sun cult since the earliest times (Sun god). Their concrete function and significance, however, is unknown. Royal obelisks outside temples and sanctuaries to the sun are attested from the 5th Dynasty (2450-2300 BC). In the New Kingdom they were often erected in pairs in front of the …

I. Ancient Orient [German version] A. General remarks Several hundred prayers have been preserved from the ancient Orient, dating from as far back as the 3rd millennium BC. In some cases, the history of their texts can be traced back for several centuries. A variety of genres usually classified as lamentations, hymns, etc., are actually prayers, since lamentations or hymns of praise to a deity simply represent the occasion for a following prayer, which constitutes the underlying reason for that hymn or lamentation. Renger, Johannes (Berlin) [German version] B. Egypt Invocations of th…

[German version] This item can be found on the following maps: Achaemenids | Egypt | Caesar | Zenobia | | Diadochi and Epigoni | Alexander | Commerce | Pilgrimage | Aegean Koine | Egypt City in Egypt, situated on the west bank of the Nile about 30 km south of the apex of the Delta. The name M. (Greek. Μέμφις; assyr. Mempi) derived from the name of the pyramid town of king Pepi I. (around 2300), Egyptian Mn-nfr-( Pjpj). The older name, ‘White Wall’ (Egyptian Jnb-ḥḏ; leúkon teíchos/λευκὸν τεῖχος in Hdt. 3,91 and Thuc. 1,104), probably referring to the particularly well-fortified cen…

I. Ancient Orient [German version] A. Introduction Judged by the principles of modern historiography, this discipline did not exist in the Ancient Orient. Nevertheless, the past has been treated in the literature in various ways, which indicates that history was an essential source of political and religious identity in the Ancient Orient. Frahm, Eckart (Heidelberg) [German version] B. Mesopotamia Records with a historical orientation do not emerge until the middle of the 3rd millennium BC in the form of royal inscriptions of Lagaš. Deeds are reported f…

[German version] (Egyptian Jwnt[- t-nṯrt], Greek Τεντυρα; Tentura), city in Upper Egypt, located on the west bank of the Nile opposite today's Qena, capital of the 6th Upper Egyptian nome. From earliest times, D. was an important centre, and especially significant from the Old Kingdom to the early Middle Kingdom. Details of a large number of the nome's strategoi from the Ptolemaic and Roman periods have been preserved on their monuments. The most important deity was the goddess of love, Hathor. Her sanctuary, dating from the Old Kingdom, was extended …

[German version] (Σε(μ)βρῖται/ Se(m)brîtai). According to Str. 16,4,8 and 17,1,2 the term ('foreigners') for (allegedly 240,000) Egyptian soldiers who under Psammetichus [1] I (664-610 BC) deserted from their garrison in Elephantine (cf. Hdt. 2,30 and Diod. Sic. 1,67) and settled in Sudan. As for the precise location of this settlement the sources conflict (cf. apart from Str. also Plin. HN 6,191 ff.; Ptol. 4,20 ff.). The historicity of Herodotus's account can not be confirmed from Egyptian sources…