Hermopolis

(Redirected from Hermopolis magna)

Categories: Ancient Egypt stubs | Ancient Egypt

Hermopolis (or Hermopolis Magna) is the site of ancient Khnum, and is located near the modern Egyptian town of El Ashmunein.

It was the capital of the 15th Nome of Upper Egypt. It was the major cult centre of the worship of Thoth, and as the Ancient Greeks associated him with Hermes, in later times the area became known to them as Hermopolis.

The town is in a ruinous state, as it was built in the cultivation and has mostly disappeared under the water table.

Currently there is a small open air museum in which stand 2 massive statues of Thoth as a baboon worshipping the sun, and a few carved blocks of masonary.