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Thermopolis |
Hermopolis is far from being the most zealously
excavated sites of Egypt, the ruins here are to a
large extent pulverized. It was once the centre
for the cult of Thoth, the god of wisdom, healing
and writing. Then the city was known as Khmunu,
but with the Greeks it was transferred into a
centre of Hermes (a god they saw resembling Thoth).
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Corinthian capitals and columns at
Hermopolis Magna.
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The legend of Khmunu told that this was the place
where the sun-god emerged from a cosmic egg. This
egg was the result of the original choas, a chaos
that was recognized for a certain set of
characteristics. According to the myth of
Hermopolis, called the Hermopolitan Ogdoad, thoth
laid the cosmic egg.
Most of the ruins found in Hermopolis dates no
longer back than the Middle and New Kingdom. The
only decent remains are from Roman and Christian
times. The Christian basilica , of which there are
24 slender columns as well as the foundations, is
unique of its kind in age and size, in an Egyptian
context. These were originally used in an
Ptolemaic temple |
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