HADRIAN RETURNS TO MENNEFER (MEMPHIS) CITY OF THE GREAT WHITE WALLS

 

AFTER the death of Antinous in October 130 AD, grief-stricken Emperor Hadrian continued alone on his tour of Egypt, returning finally to the great city of Mennefer/Memphis in spring of 131 AD, the city which he and Antinous had seen with eyes of wonder only a few months before.

Now archaeologists have unearthed fragments of the fabled "White Walls" of the Egyptian city of Mennefer ... walls which Alexander the Great saw and which Hadrian and Antinous saw when they visited the land of the Nile in 130 AD.

The White Walls surrounded the enclosure of the Great Temple of Ptah compound. They were visible at a great distance and were so impressive that the temple became synonymous with Egypt itself.

Scientists from the Egyptology Studies Center of Russian Academy of Sciences (CESRAS) claim to have found white stones which were the foundation of the huge walls that used to surround the ancient Egyptian capital currently known under its Greek name, Memphis.

The success of the Russian effort to bring to light part of the 5,200-year-old walls was confirmed by Egypt’s Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty.

"Several white limestone fragments of the ancient capital's wall were discovered during excavation work," he said.

The Egyptians called their capital city Mennefer (Location of Beauty) or Memphis in Greek. Another ancient name for the city was Ineb-hedj, meaning "White Walls" or "White Fortress".

The White Walls were such a landmark that the sprawling Temple of Ptah compound … The House of the Ka of Ptah (Haut-Ka-Ptah) … became synonymous with the land itself: Hautkaptah, Aegypto, Egypt.

Memphis was founded 5,200 years ago by the First Dynasty Pharaoh Menes – who is believed to have united Upper and Lower Egypt into one single kingdom. He became something of a mythical figure, with ancient texts saying he inherited the throne directly from the god Horus.

He is thought to have reigned for 62 years and was eventually killed by a hippopotamus.

Memphis was located at the mouth of the Nile Delta and held the royal palaces of the Pharaohs.

Kamal Wahid, director of the administration of Giza antiquities told The Cairo Post: "Unlike royal tombs, pyramids, mortuary and cult-related temples and any other buildings related to the afterlife, ancient Egyptian royal palaces, administrative offices, houses and other life-related buildings were often made of mud brick."

But the main reason why few ruins have been found at Memphis is because the city was used as a quarry when Cairo was founded just a few kilometers down stream. Palaces, temples and walls were dismantled and carried stone by stone to build the new capital of Egypt.

In a sense, Memphis never ceased to exist ... it lives on as Cairo.

In 130 AD, Hadrian and Antinous arrived in splendor at Mennefer/Memphis the ancient capital of the Old Kingdom.

Pictured here is the Memphite triad with a very white-skinned king who resembles Antinous.

The Memphite cosmology held that the god Ptah was the creator of the universe, that out of fire he created Atum and the Ennead of the Heliopolis. 

Ptah created the Atum from his burning heart and speech, and then the Atum created the world with his hands and semen. 

In later days Ptah would become a ruler of the underworld, or more specifically, of what lied beyond these world, he was the root of the root. 

He was accompanied two other goddess, Sekhmet-Bast, the Lion-Cat Goddess who represents destruction and Nefertum, their son, whose name means "the accomplisher of Atum" and represents preservation and healing.

Another son of Ptah and Sekhmet-Bast was Maahes, the lion-headed boy god of war, protection, knives, lotus blossoms and also vanquishing enemies of light and justice.

Yet another deity associated with Ptah at Memphis/Mennefer was the dwarf deity Ptah-Pataikos ... who at first glance resembles BES, but who appears to represent all Egyptian dwarf deities.

Ancient Egyptian dwarfs were assumed neither fully adult or pre-pubescent and assumed part of both human and animal realms. Patakoi symbolised youthful solar gods. 

The symbolic aspect was the solar affinities of dwarfs reflecting the idea of regeneration.

They assumed the role of protectors of small children and were strongly connected with fertility and magical amulets. 

The dwarf Ptah-Pataikos-Sokar amulets were concerned with both the living and the dead ... the Ptah-Patakoi guarded the living, especially children, and what appears to be an insignificant figurine is in reality a beautiful and magical amulet.

Hadrian arrived at Memphis in the spring of 131 on his return trip down the Nile. Memphis was the original capital of the Old Kingdom founded by King Narmer who unified Egypt, and founded the city where the two kingdoms met.  

The Memphite cosmology held that Ptah was the creator of the universe, that out of fire he created Atum and the Ennead. Ptah created Atum from his burning heart and speech, and then Atum created the world with his semen. 

Ptah was accompanied by his consort Sekhmet, the lion goddess and Nefertum, their son, whose name means "the accomplisher of Atum" and represents regrowth, healing and beauty.  

Ptah was the patron of builders, artists and craftsmen and his priests created the most advanced library of mathematics, geometry and architecture in the ancient world.  

He was later seen as a god of the underworld through association with tombs.  

The name for the Temple of Path is the origin of the Greek word for the whole country of Egypt.  It was the Priests of Ptah who constructed the Pyramids of Saqqara and Giza using their mystical understanding of geometry.  

Among these priests was one of the few non-royals to be deified, the enigmatic magician Imhotep.  The capital of Egypt was moved to Thebes during the New Kingdom, but Memphis continued to be the largest city. 

The Greek philosopher Pythagoras studied mathematics for 20 years at Memphis, but when the Persians invaded, he was taken captive to Babylon where he learned from the Chaldeans before returning to Greece to found his own school.  

The Persians burned Thebes and transferred the capital back to Memphis and when Alexander invaded, it was at Memphis that he accepted the surrender of the Persian Satrap.  

Memphis was the first Ptolemaic capital, where the body of Alexander was kept until Alexandria was constructed and the capital moved again.  

Memphis was still vibrant during Hadrian’s visit but was in slow decline until it was completely destroyed for the building materials of Cairo. 

The earliest recorded gay couple in history lived in Memphis, Khnumhotep and Niankhkhnum who were chief manicurists for the 5th dynasty Pharaoh, they are buried together at Saqqara and are shown embracing and kissing. 

We praise the ancient sacred city of Memphis and may the blessings of the great god Ptah be with us.