Akhmim
Just across the river from Sohag on the east bank
of the Nile lies the town of Akhmim. It is an ancient town,
known as Ipu or Khent-Menu to the early Egyptians and Panopolis
to the Greeks. Panopolis was named for the principal god of
the city, Min, who was Pan to the Greeks and the god of fertility
and master of the deserts between the Nile and the Red Sea.
Plutarch states that, "The pans and Satyris who live near
Chemmis (Akhmim) were the first to learn of the death of Osiris
and spread the news. This was how the sudden fear that grips
a multitude became known as panic".
A recently discovered statue of Meryetamun (Beloved of the
God Amun), the tallest statue of an ancient queen, now stands
in the middle of town. She was one of the consort of Rameses
II after the death of Nefertari, as well as a priestess of the
Temple of Min. As a side note, near the statue is a weaving
factory where one may purchase bolts of silk and Egyptian cotton.
The main attraction here is the Necropolis of El-Hawawish,
where the governors of the area were buried from the 4th to
the 11th Dynasties and at the El-Salamuni Promontory where rock
cut tombs of the Graeco-Roman period can be found. Nearby is
the gate to the Grotto of Pan, the temple dedicated to Min and
Amun-Re. It was built by Ay who succeeded Tutankhamun, and is
one of the few temples attributable to him.
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