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HELIOPOLIS , one of the most See also: ancient cities of See also:Egypt, met with in the See also:Bible under its native name On. It stood 5 M. E. of the See also:Nile at the See also:apex of the See also:Delta. It was the See also:principal seat of See also:sun-See also:worship, and in historic times its importance was entirely religious. There appear to have been two forms of the sun-See also:god at Heliopolis in the New See also:Kingdom—namely, Ra-Harakht, or Re`-Harmakhis, See also:falcon-headed, and Etom, human-headed; the former was the sun in his See also:mid-See also:day strength, the latter the evening sun. A sacred See also:bull was worshipped here under the name Mnevis (Eg. Mreu), and was especially connected with Etom. The sun-god Re' (see EGYPT: See also:Religion) was especially the royal god, the ancestor of all the Pharaohs, who therefore held the See also:temple of Heliopolis in See also:great See also:honour. Each See also:dynasty might give the first See also:place to the god of its See also:residence—Ptah of See also:Memphis, See also:Ammon of See also:Thebes, See also:Neith of See also:Sais, See also:Bubastis of Bubastis, but all alike honoured Re`. His temple became in a See also:special degree a depository for royal records, and See also:Herodotus states that the priests of Heliopolis were the best informed in matters of See also:history of all the Egyptians. The See also:schools of See also:philosophy and See also:astronomy are said to have been frequented by See also:Plato and other See also:Greek philosophers; See also:Strabo, however, found them deserted, and the See also:town itself almost uninhabited, although priests were still there, and cicerones for the curious traveller. The See also:Ptolemies probably took little See also:interest in their " See also:father " Re', and See also:Alexandria had eclipsed the learning of Heliopolis; thus with the withdrawal of royal favour Heliopolis quickly dwindled, and the students of native See also:lore deserted it for other temples supported by a wealthy See also:population of pious citizens. In See also: Roman times obelisks were taken from its temples to adorn the See also:northern cities of the Delta, and even across the Mediterranean to See also:Rome. Finally the growth of Fostat and See also:Cairo, only 6 m. to the S.W., caused the ruins to be ransacked for See also:building materials. The site was known to the See also:Arabs as `A yin esh shems, " the See also:fountain of the sun," more recently as Tel Hisn. It has now been brought for the most See also:part under cultivation, but the ancient See also:city walls of crude See also:brick are to be seen in the See also:fields on all sides, and the position of the great temple is marked by an See also:obelisk still See also:standing (the earliest known, being one of a pair set up by Senwosri I., the second See also:- KING
- KING (O. Eng. cyning, abbreviated into cyng, cing; cf. O. H. G. chun- kuning, chun- kunig, M.H.G. kiinic, kiinec, kiinc, Mod. Ger. Konig, O. Norse konungr, kongr, Swed. konung, kung)
- KING [OF OCKHAM], PETER KING, 1ST BARON (1669-1734)
- KING, CHARLES WILLIAM (1818-1888)
- KING, CLARENCE (1842–1901)
- KING, EDWARD (1612–1637)
- KING, EDWARD (1829–1910)
- KING, HENRY (1591-1669)
- KING, RUFUS (1755–1827)
- KING, THOMAS (1730–1805)
- KING, WILLIAM (1650-1729)
- KING, WILLIAM (1663–1712)
king of the Twelfth Dynasty) and a few See also:granite blocks bearing the name of See also:Rameses II.
See Strabo xvii. cap. 1. 27-28; See also:Baedeker's Egypt. (F. Li..
End of Article: HELIOPOLIS
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