Esné

Esné (hieroglyphic Sne, Gr. Latopolis—'the city of the Latus nobilis'—the fish there worshipped) is a considerable town of Upper Egypt, and is situated on the left bank of the Nile, in 25° 15' N. lat., 36 miles above Luxor. It contains about 7000 inhabitants, including many Copts and a large colony of dancing-girls, and has manufactures of fine cotton, shawls, and pottery. Indigo dyeing is a staple industry, and until the Egyptian troubles of 1881 and following years there was a considerable trade with the Soudan. The climate is considered particularly healthy, and invalids are frequently ordered there by the native doctors. The ancient temple, dedicated to the god Khnum, is buried beneath the accretions of the modern houses, except the noble portico or hypostyle hall, of 24 columns, four deep, which was excavated to the pavement by Mohammed Ali, to serve as a gunpowder cellar. Of the older temple behind nothing is known, but Champollion ascribed it to Thothmes III. The back of the portico of the temple of Khnum presents the name of Ptolemy Philometer; but the rest is more modern, and belongs to the time of the Cæsars. The sculptures are poor in design and execution. It has a Roman zodiac like that of Dendera, formerly thought to be of the most remote antiquity. A smaller temple, with a zodiac, erected in the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes, formerly stood at Ed-Deyr, 2½ miles N. of Esné, but has been destroyed. At Esné is also a stone quay bearing the name of M. Aurelius. This city was the capital of a nome, and the coins struck in it in the reign of Hadrian, 127-128 A.D., represent the fish latus.—Champollion, Not. Descr.; Wilkinson, Anc. Egyptians; Mariette, Mon. of Upper Egypt; Lane-Poole, Egypt.