Leontopolis
- This article is about the large ancient city of Lower Egypt; for other uses of Leontopolis, see Leontopolis (disambiguation)
Leontopolis (Greek: Λεόντων πόλις, Ptol. iv. 5. § 51, Strabo xvii. pp. 802, 812) or Leonto (Λεόντω, Hieronym. ad Jovian. ii. 6) or Latin: Leontos Oppidum (Plin. v. 20. s. 17) or Egyptian: Taremu, was an Ancient Egyptian city known as Tell al Muqdam today.
History
The city is located in the central part of the Nile Delta region. It was the capital of the 11th nome of Lower Egypt (the Leontopolite nome) and was probably the centre of pharaonic power under the 23rd dynasty. Strabo is the earliest writer who mentions either the nome, or its chief town: and it was probably of comparatively recent origin or importance.
The Greek name means "City of Lions", given on account of the presence here of a temple to the lion god Maahes. Sekhmet and Bast were also both worshipped locally.
In the reign of Ptolemy VI Philometor (180-145 BC) a temple, modelled after that of Jerusalem, was founded by the exiled Jewish priest Onias. (Joseph. Ant. Jud. xiii. 3. § 3; Hieronym. in Daniel. ch. xi.) The Hebrew colony, which was attracted by the establishment of their national worship at Leontopolis, and which was increased by the refugees from the oppressions of the Seleucid kings in Palestine, flourished there for more than three centuries afterwards. In the reign of Vespasian the Leontopolite temple was closed, amid the general discouragement of Judaism by that emperor. (Joseph. B. Jud. vii. 10. § 4.)
The site
Antiquarians were long divided as to the real site of the ruins of Leontopolis. According to D'Anville, they were covered by a mound called Tel-Essabè (Tel es-sab`), or the Lion's Hill (Comp. Champollion, l'Egypte, vol. ii. p. 110, seq.). Jomard, on the other hand, maintains that some tumuli near the village of El-Mengaleh in the Delta, represent the ancient Leontopolis., And this supposition agrees better with the account of the town given by Xenophon of Ephesus. (Ephesiaca, iv. p. 280, ed. Bipont.) Smith sites the city at latitude 30° 6′North, which is considerably further south than the actual site.
Most scholars today agree that Leontopolis is located at Tell al Muqdam, at latitude 30° 45′North.
See also
- Temple in Jerusalem (section on Attempts at Rebuilding: Temple at Leontopolis)
References
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Smith, William, ed. (1854–1857). Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London: John Murray. {{cite encyclopedia}}: Missing or empty|title=(help)- Richard Talbert, Barrington Atlas of the Greek and Roman World, (ISBN 069103169X), p. 74.
External links
Leontopolis article at JewishEncyclopedia.com [1]