Psenophis of Heliopolis
Egyptian priest named as a teacher of Solon
- City
- Heliopolis, Egypt
- Role
- Priest
- Named by
- Plutarch, Life of Solon 26; On Isis and Osiris
- Known only from
- Plutarch
An Egyptian priest of Heliopolis who, Plutarch says, studied with Solon, the Athenian said to have brought home the Atlantis story.
What is Psenophis of Heliopolis known for?
Psenophis is known only from Plutarch, writing around 100 CE. In his Life of Solon (chapter 26) Plutarch says that during his travels in Egypt Solon spent time in study with Psenophis of Heliopolis and Sonchis of Sais, 'very learned priests', and that from them he heard the story of Atlantis, which he tried to turn into a poem for the Greeks but abandoned.
Plato's own account in the Timaeus names no priest. No Egyptian record of Psenophis exists, and historians generally treat the name as Plutarch's or his sources' later detail added to the Atlantis frame story. Heliopolis was a major center of Egyptian priestly learning, which made it a natural setting for such a tradition.
Plutarch names him as one of Solon's Egyptian teachers.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeSolon and the priests of Sais
- PersonPlutarch
- PersonSonchis of Sais
- PlaceHeliopolis
Sources
- Plutarch, Life of Solon 26 (Loeb translation, LacusCurtius, University of Chicago)Primary text
- Wikipedia, 'Atlantis'Reference
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