Medjed was a kind of elephantfish worshipped at

Oxyrhynchus Oxyrhynchus (; grc-gre, Ὀξύρρυγχος, Oxýrrhynchos, sharp-nosed; ancient Egyptian ''Pr-Medjed''; cop, or , ''Pemdje''; ar, البهنسا, ''Al-Bahnasa'') is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cai ...

(Ὀξύρρυγχος) in

ancient Egyptian religion Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with many deities believed to be present in, and in contro ...

. These fish were believed to have eaten the penis of the god

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He wa ...

after his brother

Set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...

had dismembered and scattered the god's body. A settlement in

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ar, صعيد مصر ', shortened to , , locally: ; ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the lands on both sides of the Nile that extend upriver from Lower Egypt in the north to Nubia in the south. In ancient E ...

, Per-Medjed, was named after the fish; it is now better known under its Greek name ''Oxyrhynchus,'' meaning "sharp-nosed", a nod to the Egyptian depiction of the fish. As a sacred fish, it is frequently depicted wearing a horned sun-disc. Figurines were sometimes provided with rings to enable them to be worn as pendant

amulet An amulet, also known as a good luck charm or phylactery, is an object believed to confer protection upon its possessor. The word "amulet" comes from the Latin word amuletum, which Pliny's ''Natural History'' describes as "an object that protect ...

s. Freshwater elephantfish (subfamily Mormyrinae) are medium-sized freshwater fish abundant in the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest riv ...

. Some of the species have distinctive downturned

snout A snout is the protruding portion of an animal's face, consisting of its nose, mouth, and jaw. In many animals, the structure is called a muzzle, rostrum, or proboscis. The wet furless surface around the nostrils of the nose of many mammals is ...

s, lending them their common name. The Oxyrhynchus fishes depicted as bronze figurines, mural paintings, or wooden coffins in the shape of fishes with downturned snouts, with horned sun-disc crowns like those of the goddess

Hathor Hathor ( egy, ḥwt-ḥr, lit=House of Horus, grc, Ἁθώρ , cop, ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ, Meroitic: ) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion who played a wide variety of roles. As a sky deity, she was the mother or consort of the sky ...

, have been described as resembling members of the genus ''

Mormyrus ''Mormyrus'' is a genus of ray-finned fish in the family Mormyridae. Species There are currently 22 recognized species in this genus: * '' Mormyrus bernhardi'' Pellegrin 1926 (Bernhard's elephant-snout fish) * '' Mormyrus caballus'' Boul ...

''.

References

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer Mormyridae Ancient Egyptian religion Egyptian legendary creatures