Heracleion (Egyptian and Greek) was a vanished city that existed before Alexandria was founded in 331 BC. The city had its heyday when it functioned as the major port of entry into Egypt for all ships arriving from Greece.
It was also of religious importance because of the temple Amun. The city was most likely founded about the eighth century BC, but it was destroyed by natural disasters in the eighth century AD, causing the entire city to collapse into the Mediterranean.
Thonis-Heracleion has been discovered after being entirely hidden beneath the Mediterranean for over 2,000 years, thanks to the unprecedented discovery by Franck Goddio and his team from the IEASM, as well as the assistance of the Egyptian Supreme Council.
“The city is located inside an overall research area of 11 by 15 kilometres in the western section of Aboukir Bay,” according to a detailed description on Frank Goddio’s website, The enormous temple of Amun and his son Khonsou (Herakles for the Greeks), the harbours that formerly controlled all trade into Egypt, and the daily lives of its residents have all been discovered by Franck Goddio.”
