Heliopolis
(Ancient Egyptian City)
Heliopolis (ancient Egypt) (Greek, city of the sun), city of
ancient Egypt, the center of sun worship during the pre-Christian
Egyptian civilization. The ruins of the city are 8 km (5 mi) east
of the Nile River at the apex of the Nile delta, and about 10 km
(about 6 mi) northeast of Cairo. Heliopolis was originally the
center of worship of the god Tem, deity of the setting sun, later
regarded as a form of the sun god Ra. In Egyptian theological
literature, the city was known as Per-Ra (City of Ra), of which
the Greek name is a translation. In the Bible, Heliopolis is
referred to as On, Aven, and Beth-Shemesh. Although its history
goes as far back as about 2900 BC, the city reached its greatest
development during the New Kingdom, beginning about 1570 BC, when
Ra, later called Amon-Ra, came to be regarded as the chief god of
the Egyptian pantheon. Under the pharaoh Ramses II during the
13th century BC, the temple of Heliopolis reached the height of
its influence, with almost 13,000 priests and slaves serving in
it. Most of the religious literature of ancient Egypt was written
by the priests of Heliopolis, who were renowned for their
learning, and the temple was the repository for royal records.
The city declined under later dynasties, especially after the
founding of Alexandria (332 BC), and the Ptolemies almost
disregarded it. When Rome occupied Egypt, the obelisks of
Heliopolis were removed, and the walls of its buildings were used
as construction materials for other cities.