Mendes: Encyclopedia - Mendes

Mendes

Mendes (Μένδης), the Greek name of ancient Djedet (modern تل الربع Tall al-Rubˁ), is a city in the eastern Nile delta (30°58′N 31°30′E). It was the capital of the 16th Lower Egyptian nome, and during the 29th dynasty, it was the capital of ancient Egypt. It lays on the Mendesian branch of the Nile (now silted up), about 35 kilometres east of Mansura. The site is today the largest surviving tell in the Nile delta, and consists of both Tell al-Rubˁ (the site of the main temple enclosure) and Tell Timai (the settlement site to the south). Overall, Mendes is about three kilometres long from north to south and averages about 900 metres east to west.

The chief deities of Mendes were the ram deity Banebdjed (lit. Ba of the lord of djed, and titled "the Lord of Mendes"), who was the Ba of Osiris, and his consort, the fish goddess Hatmehit. With their child Har-pa-khered ("Horus the Child"), they formed the Mendesian triad.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Mendes", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki