Sais

Sais already existed during the first dynasties of the pharaohs and is mentioned in the texts of the pyramids as an important religious center. The city was also an industrial center: Egyptian canvases were woven here, going to the needs of the cult and for mummies.

Sais was the center of the cult of the goddess Nate ; her temple was one of the largest in Egypt, her priests were famous for their scholarship and made Sais a center of science. Many Greek sages and philosophers, including Solon , Plato and Herodotus, were sent to talk to them.

The city achieved particular prosperity during the Third Transition , when during the dodecarchy, its kings began to seek unification under their Egyptian rule and acted, relying on Assyria , against the Cushites . Since the time of Psammetichus I in Egypt began the "Sais era." Sais becomes the capital, beautified and richer. Even Cambyses , having conquered Egypt, found it necessary to be initiated in the mystery of Nate.

Under the Ptolemies , congresses of Egyptian priests gathered in Sais.

How long Sais existed is unknown; Makrizi mentions him in the XV century. The city has long been the residence of the Monophysite bishop. For the first time, Carsten Niebuhr ( 1762 - 1767 ) drew attention to the ruins of Sais, a description of them is given in the writings of the Napoleonic expedition, at Champollion and Lepsius .

In Sais, a sacred lake was preserved, on which, according to Herodotus, night festivities were held in honor of Osiris , a colossal wall of 790 steps in length and 20 width, as well as a hill covering the place of the palace and temple.

In Sais, the action of Novalis ’s novel “Pupils in Sais” takes place.

• Sais on egyptology.ru
• Sais // Encyclopedic Dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 volumes (82 volumes and 4 additional). - SPb. , 1890-1907.