Esna

關於Esna

Esna or Λάττων (Lattōn); Latin: Lato) is a city of Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile some 55 km (34 mi) south of Luxor. The city was formerly part of the modern Qena Governorate, but as of 9 December 2009, it was incorporated into the new Luxor Governorate.

This city of Latopolis (πόλις Λάτων) in the Thebaid of Upper Egypt should not be confused with the more northerly city of Letopolis (Λητοῦς Πόλις), ancient Khem, modern Ausim, in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt.

In Arabic: iwan-iyyah (إيوان-ية) in New Kingdom and (زين-ية) in Late Period.

The name "Latopolis" is in honor of the Nile perch, Lates niloticus, the largest of the 52 species which inhabit the Nile, which was abundant in these stretches of the river in ancient times, and which appears in sculptures, among the symbols of the goddess Neith, associated by the ancient Greeks as Pallas-Athene, surrounded by the oval shield or ring indicative of royalty or divinity. Held sacred, the Lates niloticus was buried in a...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.