Soknopaiou Nesos Dime 29°32'20N 30°40'04E

Soknopaiou Nesos (Ancient Greek: Σοκνοπαίου Νῆσος) was an ancient settlement in the Faiyum Oasis (Egypt), located a few kilometers north of Lake Qarun (known in antiquity as Lake Moeris). The settlement - known nowadays as Dimeh es-Seba (Arabic: ديمة السباع), possibly meaning "Dimeh of the lions" - was an important religious center with an imposing temple dedicated to the god Soknopaios, an oracular god in shape of a crocodile with falcon head, from which the toponym of the town itself derived. According to papyrological evidence Soknopaiou Nesos was founded in the 3rd century BCE, during...