Darat al Funun renovation

An inscription mentioning St. George was also found at the site. The relationship between Herakles and St. George is relevant to our structure.

Herakles, known for his strength, was one of the heroes of classical mythology. St. George is, of course, known for slaying a dragon. F. M. Abel (1908: 570) commented: "The metamorphosis of Hercules into St. George is easy since the two characters have physical strength as an attribute." There is a further association between St. George and al-Khadr al-Akhdar, the legendary being of Islam. The common factor that al-Khadr shares with St. George is that they both appear as horsemen. There is some evidence that the cave was associated with al-Khadr well into the 20th century. This is a very special site, a place where, it seems, there was a continuity in cult spanning millennia - one cult taking the place of another, each embodying some of the feautures of the earlier one. The Christian church,perhaps dedicated to St.George and perhaps on or near the site of a shrine dedicated to herakles, in turn, became a memorial of al-khadr.