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94-563: Originally erected as a lasting monument at the Great Temple of Ptah in Memphis in the late eighth century BCE, the stone was at some point removed (for unknown reasons) to Alexandria . From there, it was transported by a navy vessel from Alexandria to England . It was brought back as ballast along with a capital of an Egyptian column, fragments of a Greco-Roman black basalt capital, two fragments of quartzite lintel of Senwosret III , and

188-710: A World Heritage Site . The site is open to the public as an open-air museum . According to legends related in the early third century BC by Manetho , a priest and historian who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom during the Hellenistic period of ancient Egypt , the city was founded by King Menes . It was the capital of ancient Egypt ( Kemet or Kumat ) during both the Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom and remained an important city throughout ancient Egyptian history . It occupied

282-605: A black granite kneeling statue of Ramesses II . In 1805, the stone was donated to the British Museum by George Spencer, 2nd Earl Spencer (1758–1834), who was First Lord of the Admiralty and since 1794 the trustee of the museum. In 1901, the stone was deciphered, translated, and interpreted for the first time by the American Egyptologist, James Henry Breasted . The monument has remained at the museum to

376-578: A decline during the Third Intermediate Period , which saw great changes in the geopolitics of the country. Instead it is likely that the kings worked to develop the Memphite cult in their new capital of Tanis , to the northeast. In light of some remains found at the site, it is known that a temple of Ptah was based there. Siamun is cited as having built a temple dedicated to Amun , the remains of which were found by Flinders Petrie in

470-462: A dedicatory introduction, states that the stone is a copy of the surviving contents of a worm-eaten papyrus Shabaka found as he was inspecting the Great Temple of Ptah. Lines 3 to 47 describe the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the god Horus at Memphis. The text first declares the political and theological supremacy of the Memphite god Ptah, the king of both Upper and Lower Egypt, and

564-464: A mythical king, similar to Romulus of Rome. Some scholars suggest that Egypt most likely became unified through mutual need, developing cultural ties and trading partnerships, although it is undisputed that the first capital of united Egypt was the city of Memphis. Some Egyptologists had identified the legendary Menes with the historical Narmer , who is represented on the Palette of Narmer conquering

658-435: A number of its brown quartzite blocks were found to have been reused by Ramesses II (r. 1279–1213 BC) for the construction of the small temple of Ptah. This leads some Egyptologists to suggest that the latter temple had been built over the site of the first. According to inscriptions found in Memphis, Akhenaten (r. 1353/51–1336/34 BC; formerly Amenhotep IV) founded a temple of Aten in the city. The burial chamber of one of

752-469: A palace and developed the southeast wall of the temple of Ptah. For the early part of the 19th Dynasty , Memphis received the privileges of royal attention, and it is this dynasty that is most evident among the ruins of the city today. With the Twenty-first and Twenty-second Dynasties , there is a continuation of the religious development initiated by Ramesses. Memphis does not seem to have suffered

846-619: A panel recording official acts of the royal court during this time. In the ruins of the Temple of Ptah, a block in the name of Senusret II bears an inscription indicating an architectural commission as a gift to the deities of Memphis. Moreover, many statues found at the site, later restored by the New Kingdom kings, are attributed to kings of the Twelfth Dynasty . Examples include the two stone giants that have been recovered amidst

940-469: A strategic position at the mouth of the Nile Delta , and was home to bustling activity. Its principal port, Peru-nefer (not to be confused with Peru-nefer at Avaris ), featured a high density of workshops, factories, and warehouses that distributed food and merchandise throughout the ancient kingdom. During its golden age, Memphis thrived as a regional centre for commerce, trade, and religion. Memphis

1034-433: A young prince in Memphis. During his exploration of the site, Karl Richard Lepsius identified a series of blocks and broken colonnades in the name of Thutmose IV to the east of the Temple of Ptah. They had to belong to a royal building, most likely a ceremonial palace. The founding of the temple of Astarte (Mespotamian or Assyrian goddess of fertility and war; Babylonian = Ishtar), which Herodotus syncretically understands

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1128-434: Is a creation myth , the "Memphite Theology" or "Memphite Drama", that establishes Ptah as the creator of all things, including gods. The text stresses that it is in Memphis that the unification of Egypt took place. The inscription also states that this town was the burial-place of Osiris , after he drifted ashore. The first line of the stone presents the fivefold royal titulary of the king: "The living Horus: Who prospers

1222-1024: Is a borrowing via Latin of the Greek name enneás ( ἐννεάς ), meaning "the nine". The term was a calque of the Egyptian name, written psḏt and also meaning "the Nine". Its original pronunciation is uncertain, since hieroglyphs do not record vowels, but may have been /piˈsiːcʼat/ in Old Egyptian , /piˈsiːtʼaʔ/ in Middle Egyptian , and /pəˈsiːtʼə/ in Late Egyptian . Egyptologists conventionally transcribe it as Pesedjet . The ancient Egyptians created several enneads as their unification under Dynasty I brought numerous local cults into contact with one another. The ancient Egyptian mythology often had many different explanations for

1316-498: Is called Moph . The Muslim tradition adopted the Coptic etymology which operates with an etymon Māfah , derived from Coptic : ⲙⲁⲁⲃ , lit.   'thirty'. It made the number significant in the following traditions relating to Memphis: it was thirty miles long, Manqāwus built it for his thirty daughters and Baysar lived here with his thirty children. The city of Memphis is 20 km (12 mi) south of Cairo , on

1410-450: Is closely linked to that of the country itself. Its eventual downfall is believed to have been due to the loss of its economic significance in late antiquity, following the rise of coastal Alexandria . Its religious significance was diminished after the abandonment of the ancient religion following the Edict of Thessalonica (380 AD), which made Nicene Christianity the sole religion of

1504-650: Is dedicated to the Greek goddess Aphrodite , also may be dated to the Eighteenth Dynasty, specifically the reign of Amenhotep III (r. 1388/86–1351/1349 BC). The greatest work of this king in Memphis, however, was a temple called "Nebmaatra united with Ptah", which is cited by many sources from the period of his reign, including artefacts listing the works of Huy , the High Steward of Memphis. The location of this temple has not been precisely determined, but

1598-550: Is only one of many creation stories . The Egyptians believed no specific myth was more correct than the other, rather that some combination of these myths was correct. This creation story, the Heliopolitan tradition, is one of physiological creation. The other major creation traditions are the Memphite Theology and Hermopolitian Ogdoad creation myth . A dual Ennead ( Psḏty ) was written Most of

1692-591: The Babylonians , reconstructed and even fortified structures in the city, as is attested by the palace built by Apries at Kom Tuman. Egypt and Memphis were taken for Persia by king Cambyses in 525 BC after the Battle of Pelusium . Under the Persians , structures in the city were preserved and strengthened, and Memphis was made the administrative headquarters of the newly conquered satrapy . A Persian garrison

1786-892: The Egyptian calendar of lucky and unlucky days , may reference the Pleiades . The most important was the "Great" or "Heliopolitan Ennead" of Awanu ( Ancient Egyptian : I͗wnw ), known under the Greeks and Romans as Heliopolis . It celebrated the family of the sun god Atum (sometimes referred to as Atum-re ) and thrived from the Old Kingdom to the Ptolemaic period . Its development remains uncertain, although it appears to have first appeared when Ra 's cult – supreme under Dynasty V – declined in importance under Dynasty VI . Egyptologists have traditionally theorized that

1880-617: The Old Kingdom . The stone is archaic, both linguistically (its language is similar to that used in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom) and politically (it alludes to the importance of Memphis as the first royal city). As such, Henri Frankfort , John Wilson, Miriam Lichtheim , and Erik Iversen have also assessed the stone to be from the Old Kingdom. However, Friedrich Junge and most other scholars since then have argued that

1974-543: The Palermo Stone , and beginning from the reign of Menkaura , we know the names of the high priests of Memphis who seem to have worked in pairs, at least until the reign of Teti . The architecture of this period was similar to that seen at Giza royal necropolis of the Fourth Dynasty, where recent excavations have revealed that the essential focus of the kingdom at that time centred on the construction of

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2068-455: The Sed festival were celebrated in the temple of Ptah. The earliest signs of such ceremonies were found in the chambers of Djoser . During this period, the clergy of the temple of Ptah came into being. The importance of the temple is attested with payments of food and other goods necessary for the funerary rites of royal and noble dignitaries. This temple also is cited in the annals preserved on

2162-492: The Twenty-ninth Dynasty . The execution was recorded in an Aramaic papyrus document (Papyrus Brooklyn 13). Nepherites moved the capital to Mendes , in the eastern delta, and Memphis lost its status in the political sphere. It retained, however, its religious, commercial, and strategic importance, and was instrumental in resisting Persian attempts to reconquer Egypt. Under Nectanebo I , a major rebuilding program

2256-607: The sun god Atum ; his children Shu and Tefnut ; their children Geb and Nut ; and their children Osiris , Isis , Set , and Nephthys . The Ennead sometimes includes Horus the Elder , an ancient form of the falcon god, not the son of Osiris and Isis. The Great Ennead was only one of several such groupings of nine deities in ancient Egypt. Claims to preeminence made by its Heliopolitan priests were not respected throughout Egypt, as each nome typically had its own local deities, whose priests insisted stood above all others; even in

2350-584: The Achaemenid monarchy. The stelae dedicated to Apis in the Serapeum at Saqqara, commissioned by the reigning monarch, represent a key element in understanding the events of this period. As in the Late Period, the catacombs in which the remains of the sacred bulls were buried gradually grew in size, and later took on a monumental appearance that confirms the growth of the cult's hypostases throughout

2444-591: The Ennead are portrayed in Gods of Egypt (2016 movie); the main focus of the movie is the conflict between the protagonist god Horus versus the antagonist god Set. In the first episode of the 2022 Marvel Cinematic Universe television miniseries Moon Knight , Steven Grant points out a problem with some of the museum's marketing material that seems to refer to the Ennead as a pantheon consisting of seven, rather than nine, gods. Yet in episode 3 they name Hathor as part of

2538-524: The Ennead, pointing out a deviation with the series' interpretation of the mythology. In the BL manhwa ENNEAD , written and illustrated by Mojito, Set (using the name Seth) is the main character. It draws heavily upon classic Egyptian mythology and centers on the conflict between Horus and Seth. The Infernal Relics expansion to the cooperative superhero card game Sentinels of the Multiverse introduced

2632-533: The Great Ennead was well established, the cult of Ra – identified with Atum – recovered much of its importance until superseded by the cult of Horus . The two were then combined as Ra-Horus of the Horizons . B C D F G H I K M N P Q R S T U W According to the creation story of the Heliopolitan priests, the world originally consisted of

2726-414: The Heliopolitan priesthood established it to establish the preeminence of Atum over the others, incorporating some major gods in lesser positions and omitting others entirely. The most prominent of such deities was Osiris , god of vegetation and the afterlife , who was incorporated into the ennead as Atum's great-grandson. However, in the 20th century, some Egyptologists question the whole scenario. After

2820-455: The Kushite king was driven back into Nubia . The Assyrian king Esarhaddon , supported by some of the native Egyptian princes, captured Memphis in 671 BC. His forces sacked and raided the city, slaughtered villagers, and erected piles of their heads. Esarhaddon returned to his capital Nineveh with rich booty, and erected a victory stele showing the son of Taharqa in chains. Almost as soon as

2914-403: The New Kingdom, was still functioning several generations after its establishment at the temple, leading some scholars to suggest that it may have contained the royal burial chamber of the king. Sheshonk also ordered the building of a new shrine for the god Apis , especially devoted to funeral ceremonies in which the bull was led to his death before being ritually mummified . A necropolis for

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3008-529: The Ptolemaic rulers. These decrees were engraved on stelae in three scripts to be read and understood by all: Demotic , hieroglyphic , and Greek . The most famous of these stelae is the Rosetta Stone , which allowed the deciphering of ancient Egyptian script in the nineteenth century. There were other stelae, funerary this time, discovered on the site that have forwarded knowledge of the genealogy of

3102-554: The Roman empire. By the Middle Ages , nearby Cairo had emerged as a major political and economic center. Today, the ruins of the former capital offer fragmented evidence of its past. Many of its remains have become significant tourist destinations. Memphis has had several names during its history of almost four millennia. Its Ancient Egyptian name was Inebu-hedj (𓊅𓌉, translated as "the white walls" ). Because of its size,

3196-535: The Temple of Amun in Gebel Barkal . Following the capture of Memphis, he restored the temples and cults neglected during the reign of the Libyans . His successors are known for building chapels in the southwest corner of the temple of Ptah. Memphis was at the heart of the turmoil produced by the great Assyrian threat. Under Taharqa , the city formed the frontier base of the resistance, which soon crumbled as

3290-487: The Temple of Ptah serves as a memorial of the city's former power and prestige. The Memphis triad , consisting of the creator god Ptah, his consort Sekhmet , and their son Nefertem , formed the main focus of worship in the city. Memphis declined after the Eighteenth Dynasty with the rise of Thebes and the New Kingdom, but was revived under the Persians , before falling firmly into second place following

3384-855: The Third Intermediate Period and the Late Period , Memphis is often the scene of liberation struggles of the local dynasties against an occupying force, such as the Kushites , Assyrians, and Persians. The triumphant campaign of Piankhi , ruler of the Kushites, saw the establishment of the Twenty-fifth Dynasty , whose seat of power was in Napata . Piankhi's conquest of Egypt was recorded on the Victory Stele at

3478-548: The Two Lands"), stressing the strategic position of the city between Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt . This name appears to date from the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055–1640 BCE), and is frequently found in ancient Egyptian texts. Some scholars maintain that this name was that of an area that contained a sacred tree, the western district of the city that lay between the great Temple of Ptah and the necropolis at Saqqara . At

3572-635: The Two Lands; the Two Ladies: Who prospers the Two Lands; the King of Upper and Lower Egypt: Neferkare; the Son of Re: [Shabaka], beloved of Ptah-South-of-His-Wall, who lives like Re forever." The first three names emphasize the king's manifestation as a living god (especially of the falcon-headed Horus, patron god to the Egyptian kings), while the latter two names (the king's throne name and birth name) refer to Egypt's division and unification. The second line,

3666-501: The ancient Egyptian later name for Memphis mjt-rhnt meaning "Road of the Ram-Headed Sphinxes" being a reference to the ancient causeway connecting Memphis and Saqqara, on which the procession of the dead bull travelled for burial in the Serapeum of Saqqara , but its been rejected by numerous Egyptologists on the basis of the town's earlier name Minyat Rahina ( Arabic : منية رهينة ), which could possibly be derived from

3760-541: The beginning of the New Kingdom (c. 1550 BC), the city became known as mn-nfr (anglicized as Men-nefer , meaning "enduring and beautiful"), which became " Memfi " ( ⲙⲉⲙϥⲓ ) in Bohairic Coptic . The name " Memphis " ( Μέμφις ) is the Greek adaptation of the name that they had given to the pyramid of Pepi I , located west of the city. Some claim that modern town Mit Rahina received its name from

3854-400: The center is 12 by 14 centimetres (4.7 by 5.5 in), with eleven radiating lines ranging in length from 25 to 38 centimetres (9.8 to 15.0 in). The area of the surface which has been completely worn-out measures 78 centimetres (31 in) across. In 1901, James Henry Breasted identified the stone as a rectangular slab of black granite . While other scholars postulated that the monument

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3948-482: The city also came to be known by various other names that were the names of neighbourhoods or districts that enjoyed considerable prominence at one time or another. For example, according to a text of the First Intermediate Period , it was known as Djed-Sut ("everlasting places"), which is the name of the pyramid of Teti . At one point the city was referred to as Ankh-Tawy (meaning "Life of

4042-634: The city of Memphis came under siege. Following its capture, many monuments and statues of the ancient capital were dismantled, looted, or damaged by the Hyksos kings, who later carried them off to adorn their new capital at Avaris . Evidence of royal propaganda has been uncovered and attributed to the Theban kings of the Seventeenth Dynasty , who initiated the reconquest of the kingdom half a century later. The Eighteenth Dynasty thus opened with

4136-638: The city's gradual decline. It was Ptolemy I who first introduced the cult of Serapis in Egypt, establishing his cult in Saqqara. From this period date many developments of the Saqqara Serapeum, including the building of the Chamber of Poets, as well as the dromos adorning the temple, and many elements of Greek-inspired architecture. The cult's reputation extended beyond the borders of the country, but

4230-468: The city's population to have numbered approximately 6,000 inhabitants during the Old Kingdom. During the Early Dynastic Period and Old Kingdom, Memphis became the capital of Ancient Egypt for more than six consecutive dynasties . The city reached a peak of prestige under the Sixth Dynasty as a centre for the worship of Ptah , the god of creation and artworks. The alabaster sphinx that guards

4324-461: The city. Memphis under the Late Period saw recurring invasions followed by successive liberations. Several times besieged, it was the scene of several of the bloodiest battles in the history of the country. Despite the support of their Greek allies in undermining the hegemony of the Achaemenids, the country nevertheless fell into the hands of the conquerors, and Memphis was never again to become

4418-421: The construction of royal tombs. Spread over several kilometres stretching in all directions, Memphis formed a true megalopolis , with temples connected by sacred temenos , and ports connected by roadways and canals. The perimeter of the city thus gradually extended into a vast urban sprawl . Its centre remained around the temple complex of Ptah. At the beginning of the Middle Kingdom , the capital and court of

4512-570: The country, and particularly in Memphis and its necropolis. Thus, a monument dedicated by Cambyses II seems to refute the testimony of Herodotus, who lends the conquerors a criminal attitude of disrespect against the sacred traditions. The nationalist awakening came with the rise to power, however briefly, of Amyrtaeus in 404 BC, who ended the Persian occupation. He was defeated and executed at Memphis in October 399 BC by Nepherites I , founder of

4606-525: The creator of the Ennead . The inscription then describes how Horus, as a manifestation of Ptah, initially rules Lower Egypt while his rival Set rules Upper Egypt . However, Horus receives Upper Egypt from Geb , becoming the sole ruler of the land. Lines 48 to 64 recount the creation myth known as the Memphite Theology. Ptah , the patron god of craftsmen, metalworkers, artisans, and architects

4700-482: The early twentieth century, in the south of the temple of Ptah complex. According to inscriptions describing his architectural work, Sheshonk I (r. 943–922 BC), founder of the Twenty-second Dynasty, constructed a forecourt and pylon of the temple of Ptah, a monument that he named the "Castle of Millions of Years of Sheshonk, Beloved of Amun". The funerary cult surrounding this monument, well known in

4794-403: The erection by the king of a shrine to the god Ptah, master of Truth. Other blocks registered in the name of Amenemhat II were found to be used as foundations for large monoliths preceding the pylons of Ramses II. These kings were also known to have ordered mining expeditions, raids, or military campaigns beyond the borders, erecting monuments or statues to the consecration of deities, evinced by

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4888-435: The first nome of Lower Egypt that was known as mḥw ("North"). Its ruins are located in the vicinity of the present-day village of Mit Rahina (Arabic: ميت رهينة ), in markaz ( county ) Badrashin , Giza , Egypt . Along with the pyramid fields that stretch on a desert plateau for more than 30 kilometres (19 mi) on its west, including the famous Pyramids of Giza , Memphis and its necropolis have been listed as

4982-421: The footprint of the ancient city is uninhabited. The closest modern settlement is the town of Mit Rahina. Estimates of historical population size differ widely among sources. According to Tertius Chandler , Memphis had some 30,000 inhabitants and was by far the largest settlement worldwide from the time of its foundation until approximately 2250 BC and from 1557 to 1400 BC. K. A. Bard is more cautious and estimates

5076-470: The foundation of something round, possibly a column or a pillar. Some parts of the stone were intentionally cut out during the Dynastic Period. This included the name of Seth (line 7), a god which was condemned during this time. Additionally, Psamtik II or Psamtik III erased the proper name and throne name of Shabaka from the stone. Psamtik III then engraved his name onto the stone, but his name

5170-469: The founder of the city. Alternatively, Epaphus (king of Egypt, whose wife was Memphis ) is regarded in the Greek myths as the founder of Memphis, Egypt. Little is known about the city of the Old Kingdom and before. It was the state capital of the powerful kings, who reigned from Memphis from the date of the First Dynasty . According to Manetho, during the earliest years of the reign of Menes,

5264-541: The founding of Alexandria . Under the Roman Empire , Alexandria remained the most important Egyptian city. Memphis remained the second city of Egypt until the establishment of Fustat (or Fostat) in 641 AD. Afterward it was largely abandoned and became a source of stone for the surrounding settlements. It was still an imposing set of ruins in the twelfth century, but soon became little more than an expanse of low ruins and scattered stone. The legend recorded by Manetho

5358-436: The gods.” And he is Ta-tenen , who gave birth to the gods, and from whom every thing came forth, foods, provisions, divine offerings, and all good things. Thus it is recognized and understood that he is the mightiest of the gods. Thus Ptah was satisfied after he had made all things and all divine word. . . . Indeed, Ptah is the fountain of life for the gods and all material realities. Lines 61 through 64 summarize

5452-546: The high priests of Memphis dating precisely from the Twenty-second Dynasty has been found west of the forum. It included a chapel dedicated to Ptah by a prince Shoshenq , son of Osorkon II (r. 872–837 BC), whose tomb was found in Saqqara in 1939 by Pierre Montet . The chapel is currently visible in the gardens of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, behind a trio of colossi of Ramesses II, which are also from Memphis. During

5546-458: The high priests of Ptah were constructed near the royal pyramids at Saqqara, showing that the royalty and the clergy of Memphis at that time were closely linked. The Thirteenth Dynasty continued this trend, and some kings of this line were buried at Saqqara, attesting that Memphis retained its place at the heart of the monarchy. With the invasion of the Hyksos and their rise to power ca. 1650 BC,

5640-485: The higher clergy of Memphis, a dynasty of high priests of Ptah. The lineage retained strong ties with the royal family in Alexandria, to the extent that marriages occurred between certain high priests and Ptolemaic princesses, strengthening even further the commitment between the two families. Ennead The Ennead or Great Ennead was a group of nine deities in Egyptian mythology worshipped at Heliopolis :

5734-454: The king had moved to Thebes in the south, leaving Memphis for a time. Although the seat of political power had shifted, Memphis did remain perhaps the most important commercial and artistic centre, as evidenced by the discovery of handicrafts districts and cemeteries, located west of the temple of Ptah. Also found were vestiges attesting to the architectural focus of this time. A large granite offering table on behalf of Amenemhat I mentioned

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5828-420: The king left, Egypt rebelled against Assyrian rule. In Assyria, Ashurbanipal succeeded his father and resumed the offensive against Egypt. In a massive invasion in 664 BC, the city of Memphis was again sacked and looted, and the king Tantamani was pursued into Nubia and defeated, putting a definitive end to the Kushite reign over Egypt. Power then returned to the Saite kings , who, fearful of an invasion from

5922-456: The monument was produced in the Twenty-fifth Dynasty . Today, scholars feel it is clear that it cannot predate the Nineteenth Dynasty . The stela is around 137 centimetres (54 in) wide, with the left side height estimated at 91 centimetres (36 in) and the right side about 95 centimetres (37 in). The written surface is 132 centimetres (52 in) in width and on average, 66 centimetres (26 in) in height. The rectangular hole in

6016-415: The name of a Bedouin tribe. While attempting to draw ancient Egyptian history and religious elements into that of their own traditions, the Greek poet Hesiod in his Theogony explained the name of the city by saying that Memphis was a daughter of the Greek river god Nilus and the wife of Epaphus (the son of Zeus and Io ), who founded the city and named it after his wife. In the Bible, Memphis

6110-410: The nation's capital. In 332 BC came the Greeks, who took control of the country from the Persians, and Egypt would never see a new native ruler ascend the throne until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 . In 332 BC, Alexander the Great was crowned king in the Temple of Ptah, ushering in the Hellenistic period . The city retained a significant status, especially religious, throughout the period following

6204-451: The nearby city of Memphis , which along with Heliopolis is contained within the limits of modern Cairo , the priests of Ptah celebrated him as singularly superior to the Nine — In addition to Memphis having its own creation myth, the contemporaneous city of Hermopolis had another creation story, the Ogdoad , that accounted for the physical creation of the universe by eight (different) primordial gods. The English name ennead

6298-486: The nearby port of Peru-nefer (literally, "Good Travels" or " Bon Voyage ") the gateway to the kingdom for neighbouring regions, including Byblos and the Levant . In the New Kingdom, Memphis became a centre for the education of royal princes and the sons of the nobility. Amenhotep II, born and raised in Memphis, was made the setem —the high priest over Lower Egypt—during the reign of his father. His son, Thutmose IV received his famed and recorded dream whilst residing as

6392-415: The nighttime sky personified as Nut . Geb and Nut were the parents of Osiris and Isis and of Set and Nephthys , who became respective couples in turn. Osiris and Isis represent fertility and order, while Set and Nephthys represent chaos to balance out Osiris and Isis. Horus , the son of Osiris and Isis, is often included in this creation tradition. Due to the duality of Ancient Egyptian myths, this

6486-409: The present day. The stone's dedicatory introduction claims that it is a copy of the surviving contents of a worm-ridden, decaying papyrus found by the pharaoh Shabaka in the Great Temple of Ptah. Homer W. Smith dates the original text to the First Dynasty , calling it "the oldest written record of human thought". Breasted, Adolf Erman , Kurt Sethe , and Hermann Junker all dated the stone to

6580-557: The priests of this cult has been uncovered at Saqqara. His successor Tutankhamun (r. 1332–1323 BC; formerly Tutankhaten) relocated the royal court from Akhenaten's capital Akhetaten ("Horizon of the Aten") to Memphis before the end of the second year of his reign. Whilst in Memphis, Tutankhamun initiated a period of restoration of the temples and traditions following the era of Atenism , which became regarded as heresy . The tombs of important officials from his reign, such as Horemheb and Maya , are situated in Saqqara, although Horemheb

6674-431: The primordial waters of precreation personified as Nun . From it arose a mound on the First Occasion. Upon the mound sat the self-begotten god Atum , who was equated with the sun god Ra . Atum evolved from Nun through self-creation. Atum either spat or masturbated, producing air personified as Shu and moisture personified as Tefnut . The siblings Shu and Tefnut mated to produce the earth personified as Geb and

6768-562: The recovery of the country by the Persians, he succumbed to an invasion in 340 BC. Nectanebo II retreated south to Memphis, to which the Achaemenid king Artaxerxes III laid siege, forcing the king to flee to Upper Egypt, and eventually to Nubia. A brief liberation of the city under the rebel-king Khababash (338 to 335 BC) is evinced by an Apis bull sarcophagus bearing his name, which was discovered at Saqqara dating from his second year. The armies of Darius III eventually regained control of

6862-467: The royal funerary chamber, housing all the elements necessary to royalty: temples, shrines, ceremonial courts, palaces, and barracks. The golden age began with the Fourth Dynasty , which seems to have furthered the primary role of Memphis as a royal residence where rulers received the double crown , the divine manifestation of the unification of the Two Lands. Coronations and jubilees such as

6956-417: The royal tombs. A strong suggestion of this notion is the etymology of the name of the city itself, which matched that of the pyramid of Pepi I of the Sixth Dynasty . Memphis was then the heir to a long artistic and architectural practice, constantly encouraged by the monuments of preceding reigns. All these necropoleis were surrounded by camps inhabited by craftsmen and labourers, dedicated exclusively to

7050-569: The same phenomenon. This concept is especially unique because no single story was more accurate than another, but rather the truth was a mix of them all. The Pyramid Texts of Dynasties V and VI mention the "Great Ennead", the "Lesser Ennead", the "Dual Ennead", and the "Seven Enneads". Some pharaohs established enneads that incorporated themselves as gods . The most notable case is Seti I of Dynasty XIX , whose mortuary temple at Redesiyah celebrated an ennead of six major gods and three deified forms of himself. The ennead mentioned in

7144-496: The seat of power was farther to the south, at Thinis . According to Manetho, ancient sources suggest the "white walls" (Ineb-hedj) or "fortress of the white wall" were founded by Menes. It is likely that the king established himself there to better control the new union between the two kingdoms that formerly were rivals. The complex of Djoser of the Third Dynasty , located in the ancient necropolis at Saqqara , would then be

7238-464: The six daughters of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. Her fate is unknown. Similarly, Horemheb consolidated power when he married Nefertiti's sister Mutnodjemet. There is evidence that, under Ramesses II , the city developed new importance in the political sphere through its proximity to the new capital Pi-Ramesses . The king devoted many monuments in Memphis and adorned them with colossal symbols of glory. Merneptah (r. 1213–1203 BC), his successor, constructed

7332-485: The stone are radial rough stripes, which destroyed the inscription within a radius of 78 cm, measured from the middle of the stone. According to the secondary literature on the monument, this damage occurred because the stone was re-used as a millstone. The oldest reference speculating the stone's use as a millstone is found in the display of the British Museum of 1821. However, the stone could instead have been

7426-526: The takeover by one of his generals, Ptolemy I . On the death of Alexander in Babylon (323 BCE), Ptolemy took great pains in acquiring his body and bringing it to Memphis. Claiming that the king had officially expressed a desire to be buried in Egypt, he then carried the body of Alexander to the heart of the temple of Ptah, and had him embalmed by the priests. By custom, kings in Macedon asserted their right to

7520-426: The temple ruins, which were later restored under the name of Rameses II. Finally, according to the tradition recorded by Herodotus, and Diodorus , Amenemhat III built the northern gate of the Temple of Ptah. Remains attributed to this king were indeed found during the excavations in this area conducted by Flinders Petrie , who confirmed the connection. It is also worth noting that, during this time, mastabas of

7614-582: The territory of the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt and establishing himself as king. This palette has been dated to ca. 31st century BC and thus, would correlate with the legend of Egypt's unification by Menes. However, in 2012 an inscription depicting the visit of the predynastic king Iry-Hor to Memphis was discovered in the Sinai. Since Iry-Hor predates Narmer by two generations, the latter cannot have been

7708-519: The text as a whole. According to Ragnhild Bjerre Finnestad, there are three theories on the possible purpose of the Shabaka text: As a temple text written down and set up in the temple of Ptah, it is likely that the Shabaka Stone served a religious, cultic-theological purpose, placing its subject matter within a cultic frame of reference. Projecting from the rectangular hole in the center of

7802-415: The throne by burying their predecessor. Ptolemy II later transferred the sarcophagus to Alexandria, where a royal tomb was constructed for its burial. The exact location of the tomb has been lost since then. According to Aelian , the seer Aristander foretold that the land where Alexander was laid to rest "would be happy and unvanquishable forever". Thus began the Ptolemaic dynasty , during which began

7896-502: The victory over the invaders by the Thebans. Some Eighteenth Dynasty kings, particularly Amenhotep II (r. 1427–1401/1397 BC) and Thutmose IV (r. 1401/1397–1391/1388 BC) gave considerable royal focus to Memphis, but for the most part, power remained in the south. With the long period of peace that followed, prosperity again took hold of the city, which benefited from her strategic position. Strengthening trade ties with other empires made

7990-541: The west bank of the Nile . The modern cities and towns of Mit Rahina, Dahshur , Abusir , Abu Gorab , and Zawyet el'Aryan , south of Cairo, all lie within the administrative borders of historical Memphis ( 29°50′58.8″N 31°15′15.4″E  /  29.849667°N 31.254278°E  / 29.849667; 31.254278 ). The city was also the place that marked the boundary between Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. (The 22nd nome of Upper Egypt and 1st nome of Lower Egypt). Today,

8084-405: Was a slab or basalt or a conglomerate stone, a recent analysis by a scientist of the British Museum revealed the stone to be green breccia originating from Wadi Hammamat . The text includes two main divisions with a short introduction and an ending summary. The first division relates the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt . Ptah works through Horus to accomplish this unification. The other

8178-399: Was believed to be under the protection of the god Ptah , the patron of craftsmen. Its great temple , Hut-ka-Ptah (meaning "Enclosure of the ka of Ptah"), was one of the most prominent structures in the city. The name of this temple, rendered in Greek as Aἴγυπτoς (Ai-gy-ptos) by Manetho, is believed to be the etymological origin of the modern English name Egypt . The history of Memphis

8272-513: Was buried in the Valley of the Kings after reigning as king himself (r. 1319–1292 BC). He had been commander of the army under Tutankhamun and Ay . Maya was overseer of the treasury during the reigns of Tutankhamun, Ay, and Horemheb. Ay had been Tutankhamun's chief minister, and succeeded him as king (r. 1323–1319 BC). To consolidate his power he married Tutankhamun's widow Ankhesenamun , the third of

8366-417: Was in turn erased by the Persians during their conquest. 51°31′09″N 0°07′41″W  /  51.5193°N 0.1281°W  / 51.5193; -0.1281 Memphis, Egypt#Great Temple of Ptah Memphis ( Arabic : مَنْف , romanized :  Manf , pronounced [mænf] ; Bohairic Coptic : ⲙⲉⲙϥⲓ ; Greek : Μέμφις ), or Men-nefer , was the ancient capital of Inebu-hedj ,

8460-442: Was initiated for temples across the country. In Memphis, a powerful new wall was rebuilt for the Temple of Ptah, and developments were made to temples and chapels inside the complex. Nectanebo II meanwhile, while continuing the work of his predecessor, began building large sanctuaries, especially in the necropolis of Saqqara, adorning them with pylons, statues, and paved roads lined with rows of sphinxes. Despite his efforts to prevent

8554-620: Was later eclipsed by the great Alexandrian Serapeum , built in Ptolemy's honour by his successors. The Decrees of Memphis were issued in 216 and 196 BC, by Ptolemy IV and Ptolemy V respectively. Delegates from the principal clergies of the kingdom gathered in synod , under the patronage of the High Priest of Ptah and in the presence of the king, to establish the religious policy of the country for years to come, also dictating fees and taxes, creating new foundations, and paying tribute to

8648-459: Was permanently installed within the city, probably in the great north wall, near the domineering palace of Apries. The excavations by Flinders Petrie revealed that this sector included armouries. For almost a century and a half, the city remained the capital of the Persian satrapy of Egypt ("Mudraya"/"Musraya"), officially becoming one of the epicentres of commerce in the vast territory conquered by

8742-525: Was that Menes , the first king to unite the Two Lands , established his capital on the banks of the Nile by diverting the river with dikes. The Greek historian Herodotus , who tells a similar story, relates that during his visit to the city, the Persians , at that point the suzerains of the country, paid particular attention to the condition of these dams so that the city was saved from the annual flooding . It has been theorised that Menes may have been

8836-441: Was viewed as a creator-god, a divine craftsman of the universe who was responsible for all existence. Creation was first a spiritual and intellectual activity, facilitated by the divine heart (thought) and tongue (speech/word) of Ptah. Then, creation became a physical activity carried out by Atum , who, created by Ptah's teeth and lips, produced the Ennead from his seed and hands. Thus it is said of Ptah: “He who made all and created

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