Nevertheless, Bubastis (the modern Tel-Basta) may have been the place where Joseph saw Pharaoh for the first time, as it was a place of great importance, and had a celebrated temple dedicated to the goddess Bast. Memphis, too, may be regarded as having claims, on account of its being situated so near to On, the abode of Joseph's father-in-law.
On, where Potiphera ("dedicated to the Sun") was priest, was the celebrated city of the Sun-god in Egypt, whose foundation went back to an exceedingly remote antiquity. Besides Râ, Tum or Tmu (the evening sun), Râ-Harmachis (the morning sun), his companion Thoth, Sehu and Tefnut, children of Tum, and Osiris, who was venerated there as the soul of Râ, were among the deities of the place. To these must be added Horus, son of Osiris and Isis, god of the upper world or region of light. His mother Isis was worshipped at On under the name of Isis-Hathor, corresponding with Venus Urania. Besides these deities, various animals were held in honour, among them being two lions, perhaps representing Sehu and Tefnut, who were worshipped under the form of these animals; the bull Mnevis, sacred to Râ or Rê; and the Phoenix, called by the Egyptians _Bennu_, the bird of Râ, which was supposed to bring the ashes of its father to On once every 500 years, after the latter had been consumed by fire. Other sacred animals in this city were cats and a white sow. No wonder the Israelites of old winced at the thought that their hero Joseph, so perfect in character, wedded the daughter of a priest of this idolatrous city.
The shrine here was immensely wealthy. The staff of priests, officials, and subordinates connected with the temple is said to have numbered no less than 12,913. As the embodiment of the god Râ on earth, the king of the land naturally gave this shrine predominance, and increased its wealth by his gifts. This, added to the fact that the place had the honour of giving him a title ("Lord of On") of which he, in his turn, was naturally proud, added greatly to the renown of the city. Besides the great temples, it is said to have been also "full of obelisks," which were dedicated to the Sun-god in consequence of their being emblematic of his rays. "Cleopatra's Needle" on the Embankment, the obelisk bearing the same name at Cairo, the Flaminian obelisk at Rome, and probably many others, all came from this city. According to Herodotus, the priests of Heliopolis or On were renowned above all others in Egypt for learning.