230 THE ANCIENT EGYPTIANS. CHAP. XIV. 



In Lower Egypt it was particularly sacred at a 

 place also called the City of Crocodiles, and after- 

 wards Arsinoe, in honour of the wife and sister of 

 Ptolemy Philadelphus, which was the capital of a 

 nome, now the province of Fyoom. The animals 

 were there kept in the lake Moeris, and were 

 buried, according to Herodotus*, in the under- 

 ground chambers of the famous Labyrinth. There 

 was another Crocodilopolis in the Thebaid, placed 

 by Strabo on the west bank, next in order to, and 

 on the south of, Hermonthis ; which I suppose to 

 have stood at the Gebelayn, where the vestiges of 

 a town appear on the hill nearest the river. Judg- 

 ing from the numerous mummies of crocodiles in 

 the extensive caves of Maabdeh (opposite Manfa- 

 loot), another town, particularly devoted to their 

 worship, also stood in that neighbourhood. 



From the account of Pliant it appears that, 

 in places where they were worshipped, their num- 

 bers increased to such an extent " that it was 

 not safe for any one to wash his feet or draw water 

 at the river ; and no one covdd walk near the edge 

 of the stream, either in the vicinity of Ombos, 

 Coptos, or Arsinoe, without extreme caution." 



Near one of the cities called Crocodilopolis was 

 the ])lace of interment of the first Asclepius, the 

 reputed inventor of medicine ; to whom a temple 

 was said to have been dedicated on the Libyan 

 hills in the vicinity, t That city was probably 



# Hcrodot. ii. 148. _ f iElian, x. 24. 



J Mercur. Trismegistus' Dialogue with AHclc|)ius. Vide .supra, 

 p. 54. 



