Abydos (Egypt), ancient city of Egypt, on the western bank of the Nile River, about 160 km (about 100 mi) downstream from the ancient city of Thebes. Most Egyptian kings of the 1st and 2nd Dynasties, from about 2920 to 2649 bc, were buried there. Between the 1st Dynasty and the end of the 26th Dynasty (525 bc), one section of the town was the site of nine successive temples. The Great Temple of Abydos, constructed on another site during the reign of Seti I from 1306 to 1290 bc, is remarkably well preserved.