Soknopaiou Nesos was a Greco-Egyptian town located on the northern shore of Lake Moeris, in Faiyum.
In the 1st century BCE, the town was home to a cult of Wadjet, who sought to eliminate Greek influence in the region. Hotephres, an informant of Apollodorus, also had a bureau established in the town.
History[]
In the 1st century BCE, the Egyptians living in the town, like many other settlements in Faiyum, were faced with a number of discriminations. While Greeks were either exempted or paid reduced taxes, Egyptians were imposed a number of taxes by the Greek official The Butcher, who was allied with the Nomarch and Order of the Ancients member Berenike. As a result, the Egyptian merchants guild wrote and signed an official complaint to protest the taxation levied upon them in town.[1] At the same time, a cult who worshipped the Egyptian goddess Wadjet sought to take matters in the own hands by using methods to forcefully remove Greek influence in the town and region. Under Sheshanka, they cult used a cave below a temple ruin to breed snakes which they unleashed on the Greek quarter of the town.[2] They similarly sent a number of cultist to Karanis in the east to conduct murders in the Sarapeion.[3]
Hotephres' bureau in the town
In 48 BCE, the Medjay Bayek of Siwa visited the town on the suggestion of Apollodrus to look for his informant Hotephres. Bayek arrived at Hotephres' bureau to find it ransacked. By climbing up to a Pigeon coop on the roof, Bayek was able to recover a letter and locate Hotephres, who was seeking refuge on a trireme in Lake Moeris.[4]
At the same time, Bayek met a stuttering orator Nanefer, who directed him to the Greek quarters where a supposed "curse" had fallen upon. Bayek arrived there to find a number of bodies of Greek townsmen dead and several snakes in the area. After investigating the scene, Bayek met the "caretaker" Sheshanka, who claimed it was due to the curse of Wadjet. Sheshanka proceeded to invite Bayek to join the cult, directing him to a burrow below the temple. In reality, Sheshanka sought to have him trapped and eliminated to prevent his interference. Despite Sheshanka's efforts, Bayek was able to eliminate him and his guard while destroying the shrine in the process.[5]
Appearances[]
References[]
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – Curse of Wadjet
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – Murder in the Temple
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – The Crocodile's Scales
- ↑ Assassin's Creed: Origins – Curse of Wadjet