Medjed (fish)

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Medjed were sacred freshwater elephantfish worshipped in Oxyrhynchus, an ancient Egyptian city. The Greek name Oxyrhynchus means “sharp-nosed.” These fish have downturned snouts and live in the Nile. In art they are often shown as bronze figurines, murals, or fish-shaped coffins, and they are crowned with a horned sun-disc like Hathor. Some figurines were made with rings so they could be worn as pendant amulets. The Upper Egyptian town Per-Medjed was named after them. The Oxyrhynchus fish are connected to Osiris in myth and resemble the Nile’s elephantfish.