Busiris (Greek: Βούσιρις) or Aphroditopolis was an ancient city of Middle Egypt, in the Aphroditopolite nome, on the west bank of the Nile, southwest of the modern town of Atfih.
Location of Aphroditopolis of Aphroditopolite Nome
Aphroditopolis is located 38 miles upstream from Cairo, near the ruins of Memphis, Egypt. The city’s remains are mounds and ruins, which Matthew Flinders Petrie excavated.
History of Aphroditopolis of Aphroditopolite Nome
Aphroditopolis of the Aphroditopolite Nome was known as Tpyhwt during pharaonic times, Βούσιρις(Busiris) in Hellenistic times, Aphroditopolis during the Byzantine and Roman Empires, Petpeh in Coptic, and since the Islamic conquest as Atfih.
Under the Ptolemaic dynasty, Aphroditopolis was the seat of the Aphroditopolis Nome; under the Romans, it was also the seat of the former diocese in the Roman province Arcadia Aegypti. Known bishops included:
- Chysaorius of Aphroditopolis
- Issac of Aphroditopolis fl.1183 (Latin)
- Jacob, Bishop of Aphroditopolis fl.1020s
- Father Zosima el-Antony (Orthodox)
It remains today a vacant titular see.
Aphroditopolis was known as Per-nebet tep-ihu in ancient Egypt and Busiris (Aphroditopolis) to the Romans. Some ancient Egyptian monuments discovered in the town include an animal cemetery, Greco-Roman tombs, and burials of cows in massive limestone tombs. About 17 km North was found the Tomb of ‘Ip, who lived around 2000 BC. in Aphroditopolis.
Hesateum
“Hesateum” (in the analogy of the “Serapeaum” at Saqqara”) was a cemetery of sacred cows of the goddess Hesat. Sixteen animal tombs of the Ptolemaic Period have survived.
Modern history
On 1 March 2011, the town’s core in Atfih saw skirmishes between some Muslim and Christian people happen because of an alleged affair between a young Coptic Christian and a Muslim girl. When some people tried to blame the girl’s father, a brawl started and ended, killing the girl’s father and one of his relatives. An outrage arose on 4 March, and Muslims of the town went to the church of the two martyrs and set it on fire. Hence, on 8 March, the Christians demonstrated in front of the Maspiro television building, demanding that the church be built in the same place and that Christians be returned safely to their homes in the town.
Some religious, political, and public figures have intervened to calm the situation, including the Islamic scholar Sheikh Mohamed Hassan and the Islamic preacher Amr Khaled. Prime Minister Essam Sharaf visited them to manage the case, and the priest Mtawos Wahba was released. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces pledged to rebuild the church.
