Abstract
Hierakonpolis is a central place of Egyptian state formation and key for understanding urbanism and the emergence of sacred kingship in Egypt. Excavations and interpretation of the site focus on the Predynastic and Early Dynastic periods, while its later history is little explored. The article sets a review of the Middle Kingdom evidence from Hierakonpolis against a discussion of urbanism and temple religion in Egypt. Urbanism is defined as a driving force of the development and longevity of local temples. Unlike in Mesopotamia, however, it accounts less for the integration of different local gods in the Egyptian pantheon.
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