God Arensnuphis |
The Egyptian rendering of his name Ari-hes-nefer gives little clue to his nature, other than being a benign deity. A early kiosk-style temple was developed in his honor on the island of Philae during the dominate of Ptolemy IV Philopator (220 BC), the blocks from the southwest enclosure wall rendering that it was a joint enterprise with the Meroitic King Arqamani (Ergamenes II). However, only the fact that he is a companion of the goddess Isis, pre-eminent god of Philae, can be cleared from the letterings. He is also presented on a wall of Dendur temple (earlier sited introductory the first cataract of the Nile, now re-erected at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York) where he follows the localized deified fighters Peteese and Pihor being revered by the Roman emperor Octavius Augustus (27 BC - 14 AD).