Memphis is the Greek version of one of the many names the Ancient Egyptians used to between Upper and Lower Egypt, on the Nile delta. Memphis was discovered by King Menes soon after the unification of Egypt (apx. 2575 BC) and became the first capital in history. The original name of the city was Inb-hd, which means “The White Walls” (a reference to the white walls that surrounded the city). Memphis, which means “The Beautiful Monument”, was originally used for the pyramid of Pepi I, but from the 18th Dynasty on, this name was extended to cover the entire region or city where this pyramid was built.
During the Old Kingdom, Memphis served as the nation’s capital and it held the king’s primary residence. After the end of the Old Kingdom, Memphis remained the political and administrative center of Lower and Middle Egypt. The importance of the city was also recognized by Theban kings of the 18th Dynasty. Thutmosis III and Amenhotep II often held residence at Memphis. Also, to be accepted as a king in Egypt, one needed to be crowned at Memphis.
Memphis was the principle place of the cult of the god Ptah, who is accepted as a creator-god in the region. There had been many temples built for him, his wife Sekhmet, and their son Nefertem. Now the temples lie in ruins, or have been demolished, destroyed and stripped of their riches and decorations. It was from one of those temples, Hut-Ka-Ptah, that the Greeks derived the name Aegyptos, hence the modern name Egypt.
Closely associated with the ancient city’s site are the necroplises of Memphis. These ancient cemeteries are where famous pyramids and the Great Sphinx are located. Memphis out-lived its importance at the end of the Ptolmaic Dynasty when the Arabs built the nearby city of Al Fustat just 15 miles north of the ancient capital. Today, Al Fustat is better known as Cairo.
One of the most important features of Memphis today is that it houses the largest alabaster statue of the world, the Sphinx that represents Amenophis II. Also, an 80 ton colossal statue of Ramesses II, made of crystallized limestone that once stood at the entrance to the temple of Ptah is in Memphis.
