The Alabaster Sphinx of Memphis
Memphis is the very first Egyptian city and one of the first cities in the world. Founded in 3200 BC, before the four ancient cities of Ur and Babylon and well before Rome and Jerusalem, yet unlike Rome and Jerusalem, Memphis did not survive into modern times. It lies 30 km south of Cairo.
Memphis was founded by the legendary Narmer, a native of Upper Egypt. Narmer conquered the Nile delta and was the first to unify the two kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt. Narmer was an administrator as well as a warrior, and realized that he would have a hard time governing the two kingdoms of Upper Egypt. So he founded this city at the junction of two countries. Its privileged position on the west bank of the Nile, between the cultivated area and the desert plateau, and just above the Nile delta, 30 km south of Cairo, was the key to its power. From there, it was easy to keep an eye on the comings and goings between Lower and Upper Egypt.
The name of this place was first Inb Hedj, in hieroglyphic, meaning the white wall, due to a limestone wall. The White Wall was erected by Pharaoh Pepi I, the 3rd pharaoh of the 6th pharaonic dynasty, around the 24th century BC. Memphis is the Greek pronunciation of the Egyptian expression Men Nefer, meaning stable beauty. Memphis is also known as Hat Ka Ptah, meaning temple of the spirit of Ptah, the oldest sanctuary dedicated to the god Ptah, of creative forces. Following linguistic modifications, this expression gave rise to the name of Egypt as we know it today.
Founded by Pharaoh Narmer (Menes in Greek) in the 4th millennium BC. It was Pharaoh Djeser, founder of the Old Pharaonic Empire, who gave Memphis all its lustre by having splendid necropolises built nearby, including his tomb, the famous step pyramid of Saqqarah. Memphis was a religious center, home in particular to the sanctuary of its mythical founder, the god Ptah, where the coronation ritual was performed as a token of the legitimacy of power.
It was also a major administrative center, and above all the residence of the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom, who built their tombs nearby. Memphis was home to an important river port, perhaps the first in ancient Egypt. Alluvial deposits and sandbanks did not permit the establishment of ports on the coast until the Greco-Roman period. Specialized in the manufacture of weapons, it was the country's arsenal.
