Crocodilopolis (or Krokodilopolis, or Ptolemais Euergetis, or…
260 BCE
Crocodilopolis (or Krokodilopolis, or Ptolemais Euergetis, or Arsinoe, or Krialon, or Taaud) is an ancient city in the Heptanomis, Egypt, the capital of Arsinoites nome, on the western bank of the Nile, between the river and Lake Moeris, southwest of Memphis, in latitude 29° N.
Its native Ancient Egyptian name is Shedyet.
The region in which Crocodilopolis stands—the modern Fayyum—is the most fertile in Egypt.
Besides the usual cereals and vegetables of the Nile valley, it abounds in dates, figs, roses, and its vineyards and gardens rival those in the vicinity of Alexandria.
Here, too, the olive is cultivated.
The city in the Pharaonic era was the most significant center for the cult of Sobek, the crocodile-god.
The Greeks, in consequence, named it Crocodilopolis, "Crocodile City", from the particular reverence paid by its inhabitants to crocodiles.
The city worships a sacred crocodile, named Petsuchos, that is embellished with gold and gems.
The crocodile lives in a special temple, with sand, a pond and food.
When the Petsuchos dies, it is replaced by another.
After the city passes into the hands of the Ptolemies, the city is renamed Ptolemais Euergetis.
The former Queen of Thrace, now Queen Arsinoe II of Egypt, has become highly influential in the Egyptian government; after her death in 260, Ptolemy names a province—Arsinoitis—for his sister-consort, and renames the city Arsinoe.
Ptolemy continues to refer to her on official documents, as well as supporting her coinage and cult.
He also establishes her worship as a goddess, a clever move, because by doing this he establishes also his own worship as a god.
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The Near and Middle East
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