Eilethyia

Eilethyia (hieroglyph. Nekhheb; city of Lucina, now called El-Kâb), a city of ancient Egypt, situated on the right bank of the Nile, a little below Edfu. The present ruins consist of the remains of small temples dedicated by Rameses III. to Ra; a Ptolemaic temple dedicated to the eponymous goddess Lucina by Physcon or Euergetes II., with additions by Ptolemy Alexander I. and the elder Cleopatra; and an ancient temple dedicated by Amenophis III. to the local deities. The names of other monarchs are also found in the ruins; but the most interesting and important remains are the rock-tombs, some as early as the 13th dynasty, excavated in the hills. That of Aahmes, the 'captain of the sailors,' records his services in the wars of the early monarchs of the 18th dynasty against the Hyksos or Shepherds, and other Asiatic and Nigritic races. Another, that of Pahir, is decorated with rich and elaborate paintings representing the pursuits of agriculture, fowling, fishing, &c. The city was an outpost against the southern tribes, and its fort, a large inclosure of crude brick, was of importance as early as the Shepherd war. The goddess Suben (Eilethyia or Lucina) was a special protectress of Upper Egypt. See Brugsch, Reiseberichte, and History of Egypt under the Pharaohs; Wilkinson, Ancient Egyptians; Mariette, Monuments.