ESNE. 
169 
monies of worshipping the ram, the crocodile, 
and the Nile. In the vicinity of this city are 
various ruins of temples and large buildings, that 
appear from the sculptures to have been conse- 
crated to the crocodile, which is sometimes re- 
presented with the head of a hawk. The inhabi- 
tants of this district, if they have not retained 
their ancient veneration for this animal, still pre- 
serve many superstitions concerning it. In the 
vicinity of Esne the king of the crocodiles is said 
to reside, who, unlike the rest of the race, is de- 
void of a tail, but, as a compensation for this loss, 
he is adorned with ears. Among the qualities of 
this royal crocodile, is that of never doing any 
hai'm, a circumstance which is extremely proba- 
ble. This superstition resembles that which the 
negroes in the West Indies entertain concerning 
the cayman. Beneath Esne there appears, from 
Strabo, to have been an ancient city, denominat- 
ed Crocodilopolis. The situation of the Eilei- 
thyia of Ptolemy, or the city of Bubaste, on 
the eastern bank of the Nile, is indicated by 
an enclosure containing various ruins, at El 
Kab.* The mountain in its vicinity is pierc- 
ed with numerous sepulchral excavations, on 
which are sculptured the details of rural and 
* Ripaud's Report on the Antiquities of Upper Egypt, 
p. 25. 
