Esne, Esna, or Esneh

Esne, Esna, or Esneh "the hieroglyphic Sen, and the Greek Latopolis or Lattpolis — the city of the latus fish or Latus nobilis, from the fish there worshipped — is a small and badly-built town of Upper Egypt, and is situated on the left bank of the Nile, in lat. 250 15' N. The central portion of Esne has edifices of colored brick. It contains about 4000 inhabitants, of whom 1500 are Copts, and has some manufactories of blue cotton and pottery. There are famous ruins at Esne, which consist of a sandstone temple, with a portico of four rows of six columns, which appears to have been founded by Thothmes III, whose name is seen on the jambs of a door. The temple, however, seems to have been restored or principally constructed by Ptolemy Euergetes (B.C. 246- 222), and the pronaos was erected in the reign of the emperor Claudius (A.D. 41-54), and completed in that of Vespasian. The interior is of the date of Trajan, the Antonines, and Geta, whose name, erased or replaced by that of Caracalla, is there found. The great temple was dedicated to Chnumis, Satis and Har-Hek. It has a zodiac like that of Denderah. formerly thought to be of the most remote antiquity, but now known to be no older than the Romans. A smaller temple with a zodiac, erected in the reign of Ptolemy Euergetes, formerly stood at E'Deyr, 21 miles north of Esne, but it has been destroyed. At Esne is also a stone quay, bearing the names of M. Aurelius. This city was the capital of a nome, and the coins struck in it in the reign of Hadrian (A.D. 127-128) represent the fish latus. See Champollion, Not. Descrip. p. 283; Wilkinson, Modern Egypt. 2:268; Tochon d'Annecy, Midailles."