Heliopolis

(Gen 41:45), also called On (Ezek 30:17) or Beth-shemesh (Jer 43:13), was called Heliopolis by the Greeks, that is, City of the Sun. This name was given to the city because the Egyptians there especially worshiped the sun, or Ra, the remains of whose magnificent temple still exist. Heliopolis was considered one of the most ancient cities in the world. It stood in the land of Goshen, a few miles northwest of present-day Cairo. Eighteen centuries ago, when Strabo visited Heliopolis, it already lay in ruins.

According to Josephus, Joseph gave this city to his brothers when they first arrived in Egypt; and we know from Genesis 41:45 that Pharaoh gave Joseph Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, priest of Heliopolis, as his wife. Here also, in the days of Ptolemy Philadelphus, the Jew Onias received permission to erect, on the site of a sanctuary of Diana, a temple resembling the one in Jerusalem, which for a long time was visited by Hellenistic Jews. The priests of Heliopolis once formed a wealthy and learned corporation, and among them, it is thought, Moses studied the wisdom of Egypt.

According to some, Pythagoras and Plato likewise received their higher education here. The ruins of Heliopolis may still be seen near the village of Matariyeh. Among them rises a solitary red-granite obelisk covered with hieroglyphs, around which fragments of marble, granite, clay, and other materials lie scattered in abundance. Another, larger obelisk was long ago removed from its place and now stands in Rome. The sacred Egyptian bull Mnevis was kept at Heliopolis. On the first obelisk, among other inscriptions, the following has been deciphered and read: Horus - life-giving king of the obedient people, lord of Upper and Lower Egypt.

The village of Matariyeh is noteworthy for us Christians because, according to tradition, the Most Holy Virgin Mary with the Christ Child stayed there for a time during the flight from Herod.