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Hapi
Hapi
is the god of the Innundation, the Nile's annual life-giving flooding
that fertilized the fields, making the Nile valley such a rich and
prosperous region in the middle of the desert. He was supposed to
dwell in the turbulent waters that were considered to be the beginning
of the Nile. His principle centers of worship were Gebel El-Silsila
and the Elephantine (Aswan). His usual representation was that of a
pot-bellied, long haired, bearded man with pendulous breasts. He is
often carrying a full laden offering tray, another sign of his
fecundity. Sometimes he bears a bunch of papyrus in his hand or on his
head. Many sources site him as being androgynous due to his prominent
breasts - but to this author, he bears a striking resemblence to other
representations of corpulent men in Egyptian art, signifying wealth.
It seems more than likely that his full figure is representative of
the fertility of the land and good eating. Hathor Het-Hert
(Hathor) was an important bovine goddess from early Predynastic times.
In her vengeful aspect she shared the leonine form of Sekhmet,
and was regarded thus as the Eye of the sun-god Re. She was
also called lady of the sky, and as daughter of Re, was the wife of Heru
(Horus) at Edfu, a falcon-god associated with the heavens as well as
with kingship. Her
name was written in hieroglyphs as representing a rectangular building
containing a falcon, as Het-hert was translated Mansion or House of
Heru (Horus). Het-Hert was regarded as divine mother of each reigning
king, and one royal title was son of Het-Hert. Horus
Heru
was portrayed since the beginning of dynastic Egypt, and is probably
the falcon god shown on the Narmer palette. He was early on equated
with kingship - a celestial falcon with outstretched wings, one eye
the sun and one eye the moon. The king was the manifestation of Heru
on earth, and Heru name of the king was written inside a serekh, a
representation of a palace facade, surmounted by a falcon. Later he
also is presented as a falcon headed man. During this time it seems he
was born of Geb and Newet (Nut).
Over time Heru absorbed many of the other falcon Netjer and hence the
proliferation of myths, names, and symbols. One
of the most significant stories of Heru is his battle with his uncle Set. Heru was
claimed as the son of Wesir
(Osiris) and Aset
(Isis) and after Wesir was betrayed by Set, Heru and Set battled for
Egypt. In this battle Heru was supposed to have lost his moon eye -
though it was later restored by Het-Hert
(Hathor). Thus the "Eye of Heru" became a symbol of healing,
the wadjet. ISIS Meaning
"the Throne", the seat for kings. The hieroglyph depicting
her name resembled a "throne" or "seat", she is
associated with the kingship and seen as the "Mother of kings".
First mentioned in Dynasty IV when she was known in myth as the sister
and spouse of Wesir (
Osiris), mother of Heru (
Horus) and sister of Nebt-Het (
Nephthys) and Set. In this
relationship she is one of the Heliopolitian Ennead. She
was called the "Mistress of Magic" as in myth she managed to
trick Re into
telling her his secret name, thus getting access to great knowledge. Together
with her sister Nebt-Het ( Nephthys) she is frequently seen on coffins
in the form of a kite with outstretched wings protecting the deceased
or standing protectively behind the throne of Wesir. She
sometimes appears as the scorpion goddess Serket and
as the star Sopdet (Sirius, Sothis)
she is considered to bring on the inundation. In
the New Kingdom Aset and Het-Hert
(Hathor) began to merge and could only be identified, not by their
iconography, but by their hieroglyphs. In
Roman days she was known as "Isis of Ten Thousand names",
her aspects as "Mother Goddess" overriding that of the
protector of the deceased. At this time her cult spread around all of
the Mediterranean world. NOUT Meaning
"the Throne", the seat for kings. The hieroglyph depicting
her name resembled a "throne" or "seat", she is
associated with the kingship and seen as the "Mother of kings".
First mentioned in Dynasty IV when she was known in myth as the sister
and spouse of Wesir (
Osiris), mother of Heru (
Horus) and sister of Nebt-Het (
Nephthys) and Set. In this
relationship she is one of the Heliopolitian . She
was called the "Mistress of Magic" as in myth she managed to
trick Re into
telling her his secret name, thus getting access to great knowledge. Together
with her sister Nebt-Het ( Nephthys) she is frequently seen on coffins
in the form of a kite with outstretched wings protecting the deceased
or standing protectively behind the throne of Wesir. She
sometimes appears as the scorpion goddess Serket and
as the star Sopdet (Sirius, Sothis)
she is considered to bring on the inundation. In
the New Kingdom Aset and Het-Hert
(Hathor) began to merge and could only be identified, not by their
iconography, but by their hieroglyphs. In
Roman days she was known as "Isis of Ten Thousand names",
her aspects as "Mother Goddess" overriding that of the
protector of the deceased. At this time her cult spread around all of
the Mediterranean world. OSIRIS Wesir
(Osiris) is one of the most important of the Netjeru (gods), and King
of the Duat (underworld). The Wesir mythology is some of the most
complex of the Egyptian beliefs. His various attributes and stories
accrued over time as his cult gained in popularity and universality.
His name means "the place of the eye" and from early times
was a chthonic diety, also symbolizing fertility. He is usually
portrayed mummiform, his hands free of wrappings and holding the crook
and flail and wearing the atef crown. His flesh is shown as white,
symbolizing the linen mummy wrappings, or green for resurrection (the
sprouting of the grain in the spring), or black to symbolize the Black
Land, the alluvial richness associated with fertility. Wesir's
fertility goes back to his beginning's, probably even representing the
growth of the crops - a corn god. First the corn was trod into the
dark earth (burial) and then sprouted analogous to resurrection. It
seems that he assorbed the attributes of other Netjeru (gods) as time
went on. His
best known epitaph was Wennefer translating as "eternally good"
or "the perfect one" implying his incorruptibility (in death).
He was also known as the "chief of the westerners" - in
Egyptian Khentamentu - or "he who dwells in Heliopolis"
designating him as part of the Ennead. The
myths and functions of Wesir are many and complex - watch this page
for more indepth articles. RA The
sun-god of Heliopolis (Ancient Egyptian Iuni or On of the bible,
modern Cairo) became an important diety throughout all of Egypt -
kings of the 4th Dynasy onwards call themselves Sa Re 'son of Re' -
though evidence of his worship goes back to the 2nd Dynasty. Re was
most usually represented as a hawk-headed human figure wearing the sun
disc on his head, the cobra-goddess coiling around the sun. In the
netherworld where he sailed the solar barque, he appeared ram-headed.
He is called 'sacred ram of the west' or 'ram in charge of his harem'.
Re was the considered to be the physical representation of the sun, or
'Lord of Heaven', or as the eye thereof. The
deep symbolism of the lordship of the sun meant that he was coupled
with other important Netjeru (gods) such as Amun-Re, Re-Atum, Re-Herakhty,
and Montu-Re. The king as son of Re ascends to the heavens on a
stairway of the sun's rays to join the entourage of Re. It was the
basis of the king's divine right to rule that he upheld the divine and
universal order, Ma'at.
Diviation from Ma'at proved a king unfit to rule - though often this
unfitness was only ascertainable after the fact. Re
came into being at the beginning of time. He emmerged from the primal
waters on the mound represented by the benben stone.
Rising from the eastern mountains at dawn he is 'Re of Bakhu'. As a
child figure he raises from the lotus flower. He had a title of 'the
Weeper' where the sun-god weeps and his tear falls on the earth to
become man. The cycle of the three seasons, revolving around the
Innundation, was at the command of Re. In the Book of the Dead he cuts
his phallus, probably circumcision, and from the drops of blood are
created Hu (word
of command) and Sia (the
perceptive mind). THOT Djehuty
(Thot) was the Netjer (god) of scribes, writing, wisdom, knowledge,
judgement. He was a lunar deity and associated with the baboon (Papio
Cynocephalus) and the sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus). He was
the scribe of the Ennead,
adjudicator between the Netjeru (gods), and guardian of the deceased
in the duat (underworld), and recorded their deeds. In
Djehuty's baboon aspect he is closely associated with Hedj-wer, a
baboon diety, of the early Dynastic period, superceding him in Khnum (Greek:
Hermopolis) where Djehuty was worshipped along with his obscure
consort Nehmetaway. Not much remains of the temple of Djehuty there
except two colossal baboon statues. Djehuty
is often shown with a lunar headdress, representing all four aspects
of the moon's phases. The typical crouching posture of the Djehuty
baboon seems to be a reference to the full mooon, much as we have the
man in the moon. The association with baboons and the moon may perhaps
be inferred by the behaviour of baboons in making agitated chattering
calls at the sunrise. In Egyptian symbology, the baboon is often shown
doing obesience to the rising sun. In his baboon form Djehuty is
sometimes shown perching on the scales of the weighing of the heart.
Djehuty
is more frequently portrayed in his aspect as a sacred ibis, or as an
ibis-headed male figure. The moon connection can still be inferred
with the curve of the ibis bill echoing the crescent moon, or the
black and white plummage of the ibis suggesting the waxing and waning
moon. The association with the ibis goes back to the Predynastic
period. The gods or the kings were sometimes portrayed as crossing to
the duat on the wing of Djehuty. In
his role in the duat, it is Djehuty's job to record all the dead that
entered the underworld. He is portrayed in numerous funerary papyri
and on tomb walls with scribe's palette recording the weighing of the
heart, where the deceased heart is weighed against the feather of Ma'at.
When the heart passes the test Djehuty proclaims the deceased to Wesir
(Osiris) as having lead a blameless life and to be "True of Voice"
or "Justified".
"Lord
of the Sacred Words" is an epitaph of Djehuty. He was the creator
and teacher of hieroglyphs. Words had a magical force in the view of
the ancient Egyptians. The privileged literate class of scribes called
themselves "the Followers of Djehuty". Knowledge,
mathematics, and science, were all under the protection of Djehuty.
Per Ankh, the house of life, containing the papyri containing the
knowledge of the Egyptians was under the patronage of Djehuty - and
was only available to the scribes. PTAH Peteh
(Ptah), 'South of His Wall', 'The Ancient One', worshipped in Mennefer
(Memphis) already in the early dynastic period, probably at first as
the local patron of craftsmanship, his High Priest in Mennefer was
titled 'Greatest of the controllers of craftsmen', showing the
importance and status that craftsmen held at the time. He was depicted
in mummiform, only his hands reaching forward, wearing a tight-fitting
cap and carrying a combined was- and djed-pillar
scepter. The
Pyramids Texts
mention him as a creator god and already in the Old Kingdom the
priesthood in Mennefer created a theology aimed at defining Peteh as
the creative impulse behind the universe, accepting the other creator
gods but placing them as forms of Peteh. On the Shabaka Stone (c. 700
B.C.) he is altogether identified as eight primitive forms of God; the
first is 'Peteh who is upon the great (i.e. primeval) place', meaning
the original spirit. Then Peteh-Niu - the waters 'who was the father
of Atum', next is Peteh-Naunet - 'the Primeval Mother who gave birth
to Atum. Then
'Peteh the very great one who is the heart and tongue of the Divine
Compay'. Unfortunately several of the names have been lost to us,
except Nefertum,
the lotus. In
the Coffin Texts
and in the 19th Dynasty he was associated with the early earth god of
Mennefer, Ta-tenen, 'The Land Which Has Become Distinguishable',
meaning distinguishable from the primeval waters, i.e. the Primeval
Mound. For
the people he was 'the sculptor of the earth', with a likeness to Khnum who
fashioned mankind on his potter´s wheel but he never gained a wide
and unchallenged popularity, perhaps on account of his intellectual
and not so colourful mythology. He
was associated with Apis, the sacred fertility bull of Mennefer which
was called his 'spokesman' and his 'glorious soul'. In
the Late Period he was merged with the ancient Memphitian mortuary
deity Sokar and through him also with Wesir
(Osiris), thus becoming a composite god; Peteh-Sokar-Osiris. The ancient Egyptians believed that the name of something held the essence of that being or thing. Instead of as in the Heliopolitan creation myth, where Atum creates the Ennead with his semen and his fingers, Peteh creates with his word; the thought originates in his heart and when it is formed and spoken by his tongue, the authority of his utterance cause all things come into being. The Ennead of Peteh is his teeth and lips, when he speaks, his essence transmits and causes gods and mankind to exist. The theology of Peteh suggests a synthesis of the mind and the material world, a well thought out theology, probably created in order to make Peteh take precedence over rivalling centres of worship, but intellectually advanced and fascinating even today. ZOSER
/ DJOSER King Zoser who was
he? What time frame did he live in? What was his place in history?
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