Ras Kouroun Explained

Ras Kasaroun
Map:Egypt
Map Size:250
Location:Egypt
Coordinates:31.1595°N 33.0882°W

Ras Kasaroun [1] or El-Kas, also known as Casius Mons in Latin, or Kasion Oros [2] to Greek geographers such as Herodotus (who considered it to mark the boundary between Egypt and Syria), is a small mountain and a former town near the marshy Lake Bardawil, the "Serbonian Bog" of Herodotus, where Zeus' ancient opponent Typhon was "said to be hidden".[3] Here, Greeks knew, Baal Sephon was worshipped.

The sandy mount stands out about the flat landscape, though it is a mere 100 metres above the sea.

Its name is given to the Catholic titular see of Casius.

Like the other Mount Casius in Syria, it was historically associated with a shrine to Zeus, one of whose epithets was Kasios.

The saying "Kasiotic knot", which in Medieval Greek meant "someone who are crooked in their ways", comes from the town's name.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1818 . Carte geographique de l'Egypte et des pays environnans by Pierre Jacotin . PAThs – Archaeological Atlas of Coptic Literature.
  2. Web site: TM Places . 2023-03-24 . www.trismegistos.org.
  3. Lane Fox 2009:253-56.
  4. Web site: SOL Search . 2023-04-19 . www.cs.uky.edu.