Hermopolis
Thoth's city in Middle Egypt, named by the Greeks for Hermes, where priests taught that eight primeval gods began the world.
- Egyptian name
- Khemenu, 'Eight Town'
- Modern site
- El-Ashmunein, Minya Governorate
- Modern country
- Egypt
- Gods
- Thoth; the Ogdoad (eight primeval gods)
- Necropolis
- Tuna el-Gebel, with ibis and baboon burials and the tomb of Petosiris
- Greek name
- Hermopolis Magna, after Hermes
What is Hermopolis known for?
Hermopolis was the Greek name for Khemenu, 'Eight Town', at modern el-Ashmunein in Middle Egypt. It was the main cult center of Thoth, the ibis- and baboon-headed god of writing, wisdom and the moon. Because the Greeks identified Thoth with Hermes, they called it Hermopolis Magna, 'the great city of Hermes'.
Its name refers to the Ogdoad, eight primeval gods arranged as four male-female pairs representing water, infinity, darkness and hiddenness, whom the local priests placed at the beginning of creation. In its desert cemetery at Tuna el-Gebel, millions of mummified ibises and baboons were buried as offerings to Thoth, and the tomb of the priest Petosiris mixes Egyptian and Greek art.
Thoth's identification with Hermes at places like Hermopolis led, through the Greek world, to the figure of Hermes Trismegistus and the Hermetic writings.
Thoth's main cult center, which the Greeks named for Hermes.
Mentioned on these pages
- Rabbit holeThoth
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Hermopolis Magna'Reference
- Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'Ogdoad of Hermopolis'Reference
- Wikipedia, 'Hermopolis'Reference
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