Canopus (also: Canobus) was an Ancient Egyptian coastal town, located in the Nile Delta. Its site is in the eastern outskirts of modern-day Alexandria, around 25 kilometres from the centre of that city. It has been suggested that Hieroglyph (French Wiki article) be merged into this article or section. ... Ancient Egypt was a civilization located in Africa, along the upper Nile, reaching from the Nile Delta in the north to as far south as Jebel Barkal at the Fourth Cataract of the Nile at the time of its greatest extension (15th century BC). ... NASA satellite photograph of the Nile Delta The Nile Delta is the delta formed in Northern Egypt where the Nile River spreads out and drains into the Mediterranean Sea. ... This article needs to be updated. ...

Canopus stood on the western bank at the mouth of the westernmost branch of the River Nile – known as the Canopic or Heracleotic branch. It was the principal port in Egypt for Greek trade before the foundation of Alexandria. Early Egyptological excavations some 2 or 3 km from the area known today as Abu Qir have revealed extensive traces of the city with its quays, and granite monuments with the name of Ramesses II, but they may have been brought in for the adornment of the place at a later date. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... AbÅ« QÄ«r (Arabic أبو قير) (also Abukir or Aboukir) is a village on the Mediterranean coast of Egypt, 23 kilometers (14. ... nomen or birth name Ramesses II, Abu Simbel Ramesses II (also known as Ramesses the Great and alternatively transcribed as Ramses and Rameses) was an Egyptian pharaoh of the nineteenth dynasty. ...

The exact date of the foundation of Canopus is unknown, but Herodotus refers to it as an ancient port. Homeric myth claims that it was founded by Menelaus, and named after Canopus, the pilot of his ship, who died there after being bitten by a serpent. Homer describes how Menelaus built a monument to his memory on the shore, around which the town later grew up. This article is about Menelaus the king of Sparta. ... In Greek mythology, Canopus (or Canobus) was the pilot of the ship of King Menelaus of Sparta during the Trojan War. ...

The real origin of the name Canopus is said to be Ancient Egyptian Kah Nub = "golden floor", referring likely to the profits made by merchants trading through the port. There is unlikely to be any connection with "canopy". Map of Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt was the civilization of the Nile Valley between about 3000 BC and the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. As a civilization based on irrigation it is the quintessential example of an hydraulic empire. ... Look up Canopy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

A temple to Osiris was built by Pharaoh Ptolemy Euergetes (the third ruler of Egypt's Ptolemaic dynasty), but, according to Herodotus, very near to Canopus was an older shrine, a temple of Heracles that served as an asylum for fugitive slaves (the Decree shows that Heracles here stands for Amun). Osiris was worshipped at Canopus under a peculiar form: that of a vase with a human head. Through an old misunderstanding, the name "canopic jars" was applied by early Egyptologists to the vases with human and animal heads in which the internal organs were placed by the Egyptians after embalming. Osiris (Greek language, also Usiris; the Egyptian language name is variously transliterated Asar, Aser, Ausar, or Ausare) is the Egyptian God of the dead and the underworld. ... Pharaoh (Arabic فرعون ) (Hebrew פַּרְעֹה ); is a title used to refer to the kings (of godly status) in ancient Egypt. ... Ptolemy III Euergetes I, (Ptolemaeus III) (Evergetes, Euergetes) (reigned 246 BC-222 BC). ... The Ptolemaic dynasty was a Greek royal family which ruled over Egypt for nearly 300 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC. Ptolemy, a Macedonian and one of Alexander the Greats generals, was appointed satrap of Egypt after Alexanders death in 323 BC. In 305 BC he declared... Bust of Herodotus at Naples Herodotus of Halicarnassus (Greek: , Herodotos) was a historian who lived in the 5th century BC (484 BC-ca. ... Hercules, a Roman bronze (Louvre Museum) In Greek mythology, Heracles, or Herakles (glory of Hera, Ἥρα + κλέος, ) was a divine hero, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, stepson of Amphitryon and great-grandson of Perseus. ... Amun (also spelt Amon, Amoun, Amen, and rarely Imenand, and spelt in Greek as Ammon, and Hammon) was the name of a deity, in Egyptian mythology, who gradually rose to become one of the most important deities, before fading into obscurity. ... Among the ancient Egyptians, canopic jars were covered funerary vases, normally composed of clay, intended to keep the viscera of mummified corpses. ...

Canopus, under Hellenistic Egypt

In Ptolemy Euergetes' ninth regnal year (239 BC), a great assembly of priests at Canopus passed an honorific decree (the "Decree of Canopus") that, inter alia, conferred various new titles on the king and his consort, Berenice. Two examples of this decree are known, inscribed in Egyptian (in both hieroglyphic and Demotic scripts) and in Greek, and they were second only to the more famous Rosetta Stone in providing the key to decyphering the ancient Egyptian language. The bilingual decrees for the Three-Stela Series are: Ptolemy III, Ptolemy IV, Ptolemy V, the Decree of Canopus(also named the "Şân Stele"), the Decree of Memphis (Ptolemy IV), and the famous "Stele of Rosetta" (Decree of Memphis (Ptolemy V)), the Rosetta Stone, (grandfather, son, and grandson). The documents are bilingual as a result of the Greek domination of Egypt that followed Alexander the Great's ascendency to the role of pharaoh. (At Rosetta Stone topic can be found the listing of the 3-Stone Series. It includes 6 separate, and "named" stelae (plural of stela/stele), and some partials.) It has been suggested that Hieroglyph (French Wiki article) be merged into this article or section. ... Centuries: 4th century BC - 3rd century BC - 2nd century BC Decades: 280s BC 270s BC 260s BC 250s BC 240s BC - 230s BC - 220s BC 210s BC 200s BC 190s BC 180s BC Years: 244 BC 243 BC 242 BC 241 BC 240 BC - 239 BC - 238 BC 237 BC... The Decree of Canopus (Stone of Canopus) is the memorial Stone inscribed by the Pharaoh, Ptolemy III, Euergetes, in 239 B.C.E. This is the beginning of the discussion of the Rosetta Stone Series stones, with the 2nd stone being the Decree of Memphis (Ptolemy IV), for Ptolemy IV... If you are looking for something or someone else named Berenice, please go here. ... Hieroglyphs are a system of writing used by the Ancient Egyptians, using a combination of logographic, syllabic, and alphabetic elements. ... Demotic script on a replica of the Rosetta stone. ... The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum The Rosetta Stone is dark grey-pinkish granite stone (originally thought to be basalt in composition) with writing on it in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, using three scripts, Hieroglyphic, Demotic Egyptian and Greek. ... The term bilingualism (from bi meaning two and lingua meaning language) can refer to rather different phenomena. ... Ptolemy III Euergetes I, (Ptolemaeus III) (Evergetes, Euergetes) (246 BC-222 BC). ... Under the reign of Ptolemy IV Philopator (reigned 221-204 BC), son of Ptolemy III, the decline of the Ptolemaic kingdom began. ... Ptolemy V Epiphanes (reigned 204-181 BC), son of Ptolemy IV Philopator and Arsinoë, was not more than five years old when he came to the throne, and under a series of regents the kingdom was paralysed. ... The Decree of Canopus (Stone of Canopus) is the memorial Stone inscribed by the Pharaoh, Ptolemy III, Euergetes, in 239 B.C.E. This is the beginning of the discussion of the Rosetta Stone Series stones, with the 2nd stone being the Decree of Memphis (Ptolemy IV), for Ptolemy IV... The Decree of Canopus (Stone of Canopus) is the memorial Stone inscribed by the Pharaoh, Ptolemy III, Euergetes, in 239 B.C.E. This is the beginning of the discussion of the Rosetta Stone Series stones, with the 2nd stone being the Decree of Memphis (Ptolemy IV), for Ptolemy IV... The Decree of Memphis (Ptolemy IV) is the 2nd block stone, memorial stone of the Rosetta Stone Series, inscribed in three Writing systems. ... The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum The Rosetta Stone is dark grey-pinkish granite stone (originally thought to be basalt in composition) with writing on it in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, using three scripts, Hieroglyphic, Demotic Egyptian and Greek. ... Alexander the Great (in Greek , transliterated Megas Alexandros) (July 356 BC – June 11, 323 BC), King of Macedon (336–323 BC), is considered one of the most successful military commanders in world history, conquering most of the world known to the ancient Greeks before his death. ... Pharaoh (Arabic فرعون ) (Hebrew פַּרְעֹה ); is a title used to refer to the kings (of godly status) in ancient Egypt. ... The Rosetta Stone in the British Museum The Rosetta Stone is dark grey-pinkish granite stone (originally thought to be basalt in composition) with writing on it in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, using three scripts, Hieroglyphic, Demotic Egyptian and Greek. ... Stele is also a concept in plant biology. ...

In Roman times, the town was notorious for its dissoluteness. Juvenal, in his Satire VI, referred to the "debauchery" that prevailed there. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000-5,500 years, with cuneiform possibly being the oldest form of writing. ... Woodcut of Juvenal from the Nuremberg Chronicle Decimus Iunius Iuvenalis, Anglicized as Juvenal, was a Roman satiric poet of the late 1st century and early 2nd century AD. He is known for coining the phrase panem et circenses (bread and circuses) to describe the primary pursuits of the Roman populace. ... Satire VI of Juvenal is often titled Against Women in English translation. ...

External link

• The Canopus Decree

References

• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.