Greco-Egyptian art
Petosiris's reliefs.
Roland Unger — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Roland Unger — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Roland Unger — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Roland Unger — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Roland Unger — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Roland Unger — CC BY-SA 3.0
The necropolis of ancient Hermopolis, cult centre of Thoth, god of wisdom and writing, on the edge of the Western Desert south of Minya. Its remains span from the age of Akhenaten to Roman times. Its best-known monument is the tomb of Petosiris, high priest of Thoth around 300 BC, built like a small temple, whose reliefs blend Egyptian and Greek art in a rare way, showing craftsmen and farmers in Greek dress and poses within Egyptian scenes. Underground run long catacombs where thousands of mummified ibises and baboons, the sacred animals of Thoth, were buried. The site also holds the tomb of Isadora, a girl who drowned in the Nile in Roman times and whose mummy is still on show, a deep well with an old waterwheel and a boundary stela of Akhenaten. A foreign visitor's ticket costs about two hundred Egyptian pounds according to the ministry list, open from eight to five. It is usually combined with Tell el-Amarna and Hermopolis on a day from Minya.
Petosiris's reliefs.
Sacred mummies.
A Roman girl's story.
West of Mallawi, southern Minya Governorate, about seventy kilometres from Minya city
Best by car with a driver from Minya or Mallawi, on a day that includes Tell el-Amarna and Hermopolis; bring water and a hat.