Amun the god of the invisible

Amun (also Amon, Ammon, Amen; Greek Ἄμμων Ámmōn, Ἅμμων Hámmōn) was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amaunet. With the 11th dynasty (c. 21st century BC), Amun rose to the position of patron deity of Thebes by replacing Monthu.

After the rebellion of Thebes against the Hyksos and with the rule of Ahmose I (16th century BC), Amun acquired national importance, expressed in his fusion with the Sun god, Ra, as Amun-Ra or Amun-Re.

Amun-Ra retained chief importance in the Egyptian pantheon throughout the New Kingdom (with the exception of the "Atenist heresy" under Akhenaten). Amun-Ra in this period (16th to 11th centuries BC) held the position of transcendental, self-created creator deity"par excellence", he was the champion of the poor or troubled and central to personal piety. His position as King of Gods developed to the point of virtual monotheism where other gods became manifestations of him. With Osiris, Amun-Ra is the most widely recorded of the Egyptian gods.

As the chief deity of the Egyptian Empire, Amun-Ra also came to be worshiped outside Egypt, according to the testimony of ancient Greek historiographers in Libya and Nubia. As Zeus Ammon he came to be identified with Zeus in Greece.

Early history

Amun and Amaunet are mentioned in the Old Egyptian Pyramid Texts. The name Amun (written imn) meant something like "the hidden one" or "invisible".

Amun rose to the position of tutelary deity of Thebes after the end of the First Intermediate Period, under the 11th dynasty. As the patron of Thebes, his spouse was Mut. In Thebes, Amun as father, Mut as mother and the Moon god Khonsu formed a divine family or "Theban Triad".

Temple at Karnak

The history of Amun as the patron god of Thebes begins in the 20th century BC, with the construction of the Precinct of Amun-Re at Karnak under Senusret I. The city of Thebes does not appear to have been of great significance before the 11th dynasty.

Major construction work in the Precinct of Amun-Re took place during the 18th dynasty when Thebes became the capital of the unified ancient Egypt. Construction of the Hypostyle Hall may have also begun during the 18th dynasty, though most building was undertaken under Seti I and Ramesses II. Merenptah commemorated his victories over the Sea Peoples on the walls of the Cachette Court, the start of the processional route to the Luxor Temple. This Great Inscription (which has now lost about a third of its content) shows the king's campaigns and eventual return with booty and prisoners. Next to this inscription is the Victory Stela, which is largely a copy of the more famous Israel Stela found in the funerary complex of Merenptah on the west bank of the Nile in Thebes. Merenptah's son Seti II added 2 small obelisks in front of the Second Pylon, and a triple bark-shrine to the north of the processional avenue in the same area. This was constructed of sandstone, with a chapel to Amun flanked by those of Mut and Khonsu.

The last major change to the Precinct of Amun-Re's layout was the addition of the first pylon and the massive enclosure walls that surrounded the whole Precinct, both constructed by Nectanebo I.

New Kingdom

Identification with Min and Ra

When the army of the founder of the Eighteenth dynasty expelled the Hyksos rulers from Egypt, the victor's city of origin, Thebes, became the most important city in Egypt, the capital of a new dynasty. The local patron deity of Thebes, Amun, therefore became nationally important. The pharaohs of that new dynasty attributed all their successful enterprises to Amun, and they lavished much of their wealth and captured spoil on the construction of temples dedicated to Amun.

The victory accomplished by pharaohs who worshiped Amun against the "foreign rulers", brought him to be seen as a champion of the less fortunate, upholding the rights of justice for the poor. By aiding those who traveled in his name, he became the Protector of the road. Since he upheld Ma'at (truth, justice, and goodness), those who prayed to Amun were required first to demonstrate that they were worthy by confessing their sins. Votive stelae from the artisans' village at Deir el-Medina record:

"[Amun] who comes at the voice of the poor in distress, who gives breath to him who is wretched..You are Amun, the Lord of the silent, who comes at the voice of the poor; when I call to you in my distress You come and rescue me...Though the servant was disposed to do evil, the Lord is disposed to forgive. The Lord of Thebes spends not a whole day in anger; His wrath passes in a moment; none remains. His breath comes back to us in mercy..May your ka be kind; may you forgive; It shall not happen again."

Subsequently, when Egypt conquered Kush, they identified the chief deity of the Kushites as Amun. This Kush deity was depicted as ram-headed, more specifically a woolly ram with curved horns. Amun thus became associated with the ram arising from the aged appearance of the Kush ram deity. A solar deity in the form of a ram can be traced to the pre-literate Kerma culture in Nubia, contemporary to the Old Kingdom of Egypt. The later (Meroitic period) name of Nubian Amun was Amani, attested in numerous personal names such as Tanwetamani, Arkamani, Amanitore, Amanishakheto, Natakamani. Since rams were considered a symbol of virility, Amun also became thought of as a fertility deity, and so started to absorb the identity of Min, becoming Amun-Min. This association with virility led to Amun-Min gaining the epithet Kamutef, meaning Bull of his mother, in which form he was found depicted on the walls of Karnak, ithyphallic, and with a scourge, as Min.

Amun-Ra in hieroglyphs

As the cult of Amun grew in importance, Amun became identified with the chief deity who was worshiped in other areas during that period, the sun god Ra. This identification led to another merger of identities, with Amun becoming Amun-Ra. In the Hymn to Amun-Ra he is described as

"Lord of truth, father of the gods, maker of men, creator of all animals, Lord of things that are, creator of the staff of life."

Atenist heresy

During the latter part of the eighteenth dynasty, the pharaoh Akhenaten (also known as Amenhotep IV) disliked the power of the temple of Amun and advanced the worship of the Aten, a deity whose power was manifested in the sun disk, both literally and symbolically. He defaced the symbols of many of the old deities, and based his religious practices upon the deity, the Aten. He moved his capital away from Thebes, but this abrupt change was very unpopular with the priests of Amun, who now found themselves without any of their former power. The religion of Egypt was inexorably tied to the leadership of the country, the pharaoh being the leader of both. The pharaoh was the highest priest in the temple of the capital, and the next lower level of religious leaders were important advisers to the pharaoh, many being administrators of the bureaucracy that ran the country.

The introduction of Atenism under Akhenaton constructed a monotheist worship of Aten in direct competition with that of Amun. Praises of Amun on stelae are strikingly similar in language to those later used, in particular the Hymn to the Aten:

"When thou crossest the sky, all faces behold thee, but when thou departest, thou are hidden from their faces ... When thou set in the western mountain, then they sleep in the manner of death ... The fashioner of that which the soil produces, ... a mother of profit to gods and men; a patient craftsmen, greatly wearying himself as their maker..valiant herdsman, driving his cattle, their refuge and the making of their living..The sole Lord, who reaches the end of the lands every day, as one who sees them that tread thereon ... Every land chatters at his rising every day, in order to praise him."

When Akhenaten died, the priests of Amun-Ra reasserted themselves. His name was struck from Egyptian records, all of his religious and governmental changes were undone, and the capital was returned to Thebes. The return to the previous capital and its patron deity was accomplished so swiftly that it seemed this almost monotheistic cult and its governmental reforms had never existed. Worship of Aten ceased and worship of Amun-Ra was restored. The priests of Amun even persuaded his young son, Tutankhaten, whose name meant "the living image of Aten"—and who later would become a pharaoh—to change his name to Tutankhamun, "the living image of Amun".

Theology

In the New Kingdom, Amun became successively identified with all other Egyptian deities, to the point of virtual monotheism (which was then attacked by means of the "counter-monotheism" of Atenism). Primarily, the god of wind Amun came to be identified with the solar god Ra and the god of fertility and creation Min, so that Amun-Ra had the main characteristic of a solar god, creator god and fertility god. He also adopted the aspect of the ram from the Nubian solar god, besides numerous other titles and aspects.

As Amun-Re he was petitioned for mercy by those who believed suffering had come about as a result of their own or others wrongdoing.

Amon-Re "who hears the prayer, who comes at the cry of the poor and distressed...Beware of him! Repeat him to son and daughter, to great and small; relate him to generations of generations who have not yet come into being; relate him to fishes in the deep, to birds in heaven; repeat him to him who does not know him and to him who knows him...Though it may be that the servant is normal in doing wrong, yet the Lord is normal in being merciful. The Lord of Thebes does not spend an entire day angry. As for his anger – in the completion of a moment there is no remnant..As thy Ka endures! thou wilt be merciful!"

In the Leiden hymns, Amun, Ptah, and Re are regarded as a trinity who are distinct gods but with unity in plurality. "The three gods are one yet the Egyptian elsewhere insists on the separate identity of each of the three." This unity in plurality is expressed in one text:

"All gods are three: Amun, Re and Ptah, whom none equals. He who hides his name as Amun, he appears to the face as Re, his body is Ptah."

A Leiden hymn to Amun describes how he calms stormy seas for the troubled sailor:

"The tempest moves aside for the sailor who remembers the name of Amon. The storm becomes a sweet breeze for he who invokes His name... Amon is more effective than millions for he who places Him in his heart. Thanks to Him the single man becomes stronger than a crowd."

Third Intermediate Period

Theban High Priests of Amun

While not regarded as a dynasty, the High Priests of Amun at Thebes were nevertheless of such power and influence that they were effectively the rulers of Egypt from 1080 to c. 943 BC. By the time Herihor was proclaimed as the first ruling High Priest of Amun in 1080 BC—in the 19th Year of Ramesses XI—the Amun priesthood exercised an effective hold on Egypt's economy. The Amun priests owned two-thirds of all the temple lands in Egypt and 90 percent of her ships and many other resources.

Consequently, the Amun priests were as powerful as the Pharaoh, if not more so. One of the sons of the High Priest Pinedjem would eventually assume the throne and rule Egypt for almost half a decade as pharaoh Psusennes I, while the Theban High Priest Psusennes III would take the throne as king Psusennes II—the final ruler of the 21st Dynasty.
Decline

In the 10th century BC, the overwhelming dominance of Amun over all of Egypt gradually began to decline. In Thebes, however, his worship continued unabated, especially under the Nubian Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt, as Amun was by now seen as a national god in Nubia. The Temple of Amun, Jebel Barkal, founded during the New Kingdom, came to be the center of the religious ideology of the Kingdom of Kush. The Victory Stele of Piye at Gebel Barkal (8th century BC) now distinguishes between an "Amun of Napata" and an "Amun of Thebes". Tantamani (died 653 BC), the last pharaoh of the Nubian dynasty, still bore a theophoric name referring to Amun in the Nubian form Amani.

Egyptian God Kek Deity of Darkness, Obscurity and Night

O you eight chaos gods, keepers of the chambers of the sky...The bnbn [phoenix] of Ra was that from which Atum came to be as ... Kek, darkness... I am the one who begot the chaos gods again, as Heh, Nun, Amun, Kek. I am Shu who begot the gods.

-- Coffin Text, Spell 76

Kek (also Kuk) is the deification of the concept of primordial darkness (kkw sm3w) in the Ancient Egyptian Ogdoad cosmogony of Hermopolis.

The Egyptians believed that before the world was formed, there was a watery mass of dark, directionless chaos. In this chaos lived the Ogdoad of Khmunu (Hermopolis), four frog gods and four snake goddesses of chaos. These deities were Nun and Naunet (water), Amun and Amaunet (invisibility), Heh and Hauhet (infinity) and Kek and Kauket (darkness). The chaos existed without the light, and thus Kek and Kauket came to represent this darkness. They also symbolized obscurity, the kind of obscurity that went with darkness, and night.

The Ogdoad were the original great gods of Iunu (On, Heliopolis) where they were thought to have helped with creation, then died and retired to the land of the dead where they continued to make the Nile flow and the sun rise every day. Because of this aspect of the eight, Budge believe that Kek and Kauket were once deities linked to Khnum and Satet, to Hapi - Nile gods of Abu (Elephantine). He also believed that Kek may have also been linked to Sobek.

He was the god of the darkness of chaos, the darkness before time began. He was the god of obscurity, hidden in the darkness. The Egyptians saw the night time, the time without the light of the sun, as a reflection of this chaotic darkness.

The characteristics of the third paid of gods, Keku and Kauket, are easier to determine, and it is tolerable certain that these deities represent the male and female powers of the darkness which was supposed to cover over the primeval abyss of water; they have been compared by Dr. Brugsch with the Erebos of the Greeks.

-- The Gods of the Egyptians, E. A. Wallis Budge

As a god of the night, Kek was also related to the day - he was called the "bringer-in of the light". This seems to mean that he was responsible for the time of night that came just before sunrise. The god of the hours before day dawned over the land of Egypt. This was the twilight which gave birth to the sun.

Egyptian God Heh

Ḥeḥ (also Huh, Hah, Hauh, Huah, Hahuh and Hehu) was in Egyptian mythology, the personification of infinity or eternity in the Ogdoad, his name itself meaning "endlessness". His female counterpart was known as Hauhet, which is simply the feminine form of his name.

Like the other concepts in the Ogdoad, his male form was often depicted as a frog, or a frog-headed human, and his female form as a snake or snake-headed human. The frog head symbolised fertility, creation, and regeneration, and was also possessed by the other Ogdoad males Kek, Amun, and Nun. The other common representation depicts him crouching, holding a palm stem in each hand (or just one), sometimes with a palm stem in his hair, as palm stems represented long life to the Egyptians, the years being represented by notches on it. Depictions of this form also had a shen ring at the base of each palm stem, which represented infinity. Depictions of Heh were also used in hieroglyphs to represent one million, which was essentially considered equivalent to infinity in Ancient Egyptian mathematics. Thus this deity is also known as the "god of millions of years".

Origins and mythology

The primary meaning of the term ḥeḥ was "million" or "millions"; subsequently, a personification of Ḥeḥ was adopted as the Egyptian god of infinity. Together with his female counterpart Ḥauḥet, Ḥeḥ represented a member of the Ogdoad of eight primeval deities whose worship was centered at Hermopolis Magna. The other members of the Ogdoad, Nuand Naunet, Amun and Amaunet, Kuk and Kauket, who joined together to create the cataclysmic event that gives rise to the sun and sun god, Atum.

Forms and iconography

Heh

The god Ḥeḥ was usually depicted anthropomorphically, as in the hieroglyphic character, as a male figure with divine beard and lappet wig. Normally kneeling (one knee raised), sometimes in a basket—the sign for "all", the god typically holds in each hand a notched palm branch (palm rib). (These were employed in the temples for ceremonial time-keeping, which use explains the use of the palm branch as the hieroglyphic symbol for rnp.t, "year"). Occasionally, an additional palm branch is worn on the god's head.

In Ancient Egyptian Numerology, Gods such as Heh were used to represent numbers in a decimal point system. Particularly, the number 1,000,000 is depicted in the hieroglyph of Heh, who is position in his normal seated position.

Cult and worship

The personified, somewhat abstract god of eternity Ḥeḥ possessed no known cult centre or sanctuary; rather, his veneration revolved around symbolism and personal belief. The god's image and its iconographic elements reflected the wish for millions of years of life or rule; as such, the figure of Ḥeḥ finds frequent representation in amulets, prestige items and royal iconography from the late Old Kingdom period onwards. Heh became associated with the King and his quest for longevity. For instance, he appears on the tomb of King Tutankhamen, in two cartouches, where he is crowned with a winged scarab beetle, symbolizing existence and a sun disk. The placement of Heh in relation to King Tutankhamen's corpse means he will be granting him these "millions of years" into the afterlife.

The primordial Egyptian Nun

Your offering-cake belongs to you, Nun and Naunet,

Who protects the gods, who guards the gods with your shadows

-- Pyramid Text 301

Nun, also spelled Nu , oldest of the ancient Egyptian gods and father of Re, the sun god. Nun’s name means “primeval waters,” and he represented the waters of chaos out of which Re-Atum began creation.

Nun appearance portrayed as a bearded man or a frog headed man with blue green skin which represents water and wearing the palm frond that symbolized long life, one on his head, and another on his hand. Naunet appearance portrayed as a snake headed woman or as a snake itself. Sometimes, Nun also depicted as man carrying a solar bark on his upraised arms. On the boat standing is by eight deities.

Nun’s qualities were boundlessness, darkness, and the turbulence of stormy waters; these qualities were personified separately by pairs of deities. Nun, his female counterpart, Naunet, and three further pairs together formed the Ogdoad (group of eight gods) of Hermopolis. Various Egyptian creation myths retain the image of the emergence of a primeval hillock formed of mud churned from the chaotic waters of Nun. Since it was believed that the primeval ocean continued to surround the ordered cosmos, the creation myth was reenacted each day as the sun god rose from the waters of chaos. Nun was also thought to continue to exist as the source of the annual flooding of the Nile River.

According to the theology of the Ogdoad the universe was formed from the interaction of eight elements (instigated by one of a number of possible gods including Thoth, Amun, Horus and Ra); water, nothingness or invisibility, darkness and infinity. 

(The Masuline is illustrated as Frogs while Feminine are snakes) 

Water was represented by Nun and Naunet (the female form). 

Although the Egyptians had many different creation myths, they all agreed that the universe came from the primordeal waters of Nun, and many legends suggested that everything would slip back under these waters at the end of the world. 

There were no priests or temples devoted specifically to Nun, but he was represented by the sacred lake of each temple and was frequently referred to in religious inscriptions.

"You [the Eight] have made from your seed a germ [bnn], and you have instilled this seed in the lotus, by pouring the seminal fluid; you have deposited in the Nun, condensed into a single form, and your inheritor takes his radiant birth under the aspect of a child."  

(Edfu VI, 11-12, and Esna V, 263.)

Nun existed in every particle of water and formed the source of the river Nile and the yearly innundation. The god was also associated with the laying of foundations for all temples, possibly because the Egyptians used simple and effective technique which took advantage of the fact that water will always form a horizontal level in order to ensure that the foundation layers of structures were flat.

Nun is often associated with the forces of chaos. When Ra decided that the people were not giving him the respect he was due, it was Nun who suggested that Re should send out his 'eye' to destroy mankind and end the world. 

However, unlike the water serpent Apep (who was the enemy of Ra and a purely destructive force) Nun had a positive aspect. Nun protected Shu and Tefnut from the forces of chaos, as represented by demonic snakes. 

According to one myth it was Nun who told Nut to transform herself into a solar cow and carry Ra across the sky because he had become old and weary.

Nun was represented as a frog or a frog-headed man (as a member of the Ogdoad) but could also be depicted as a bearded man with blue or green skin (reflecting his link with the river Nile and fertility). 

In the latter form he can look fairly similar to Hapi, the god of the Nile, and often appears either standing on a solar boat or rising from the waters holding a palm frond (a symbol of long life) Occasionally he appears as hermaphroditic with pronounced breasts.

In Memphis, Nun was associated with the creator god, Ptah in the form of the composite deity Ptah-Nun. 

Both gods were described as the father of the sun god (Ra or Atum), However, rival priests claimed that Thebes was the place where the primeval mound first rose above the waters of Nun. 

As Amun was both the creator god of Thebes and a member of the Ogdoad they suggested that Nun had been a powerful, but inert force until Amun turned himself into the primeval mound and thereafter created the other gods.

 Naunet and Nun

In the 12th Hour of the Book of Gates Nu is depicted with upraised arms holding a "solar bark" (or barque). The boat is occupied by eight deities, with the scarab deity Khepri standing in the middle surrounded by the seven other deities.

During the late period when Egypt became occupied, the negative aspect of the Nun (chaos) became the dominant perception, reflecting the forces of disorder that were set loose in the country.

The Egyptian Creation Epic

In the beginning there was only the Nun: the great celestial waters of the Unmanifest; the depths of the nighttime sky. Swimming within this primordial Deep were the mighty Ogdoad: eight Gods who consisted of four Serpents, and four Frogs. There names were Nun and Nunet, deities of the watery abyss; Heh and Hehet, deities of infinite space; Kek and Keket, deities of darkness; and Amon and Amonet, deities of the invisible. These primordial Gods swam within the Waters, guarding the Great Egg that incubated the Creator.

In time, the Egg began to hatch. It split into two halves, dividing the waters of the Nuninto the upper and lower, and making between them a space wherein the Creator could fashion the world.

From the Egg arose a single blue Lotus. It rose high above the darkness of the abyss, and opened it's great petals. Within it's golden heart rested a beautiful young God, the Creator Amen-Re, with one single finger pressed against His lips in Silence.

Light streamed from the body of this Divine Child, banishing darkness to the far reaches of the universe. Like a phoenix with flaming plumage He arose, uttering a cry that shattered the eternal silence. This was the first sound- the first Word- and that Word manifested as a living God. Thoth was His name: the Self-Created, the Logos, Wisdom.

Amon-Re then constructed an island for Himself to rest upon, and He surveyed the expanse of water around Him. He knew that He was alone, and soon found He could not bear the solitude. He longed for others to share the Light with Him.

Thus, He began his creation. In this He is known as Khephera, the God of Creation, the God of the Rising Sun. He brought order to the chaotic Ogdoad- setting Them in Their proper places- and it was thus the world came into existence. He accomplished this through the mighty power of the Divine Word, Thoth, and that power was yet another God: Ptah, the architect of the world and all of its creatures.

The first to be created was the Great Goddess Maat; Justice, Truth, the Judge and Balance of Dualities; for, duality is the law of the universe. Thoth took Her as His wife, and the two sustain the universe even unto this day; the Divine Word and Truth.

And more were created, in Their turn, by the thoughts of Amen-Re. He empowered Them with His word- by naming Them. First among Them were Shu, the God of Air, and Tefnut, the Goddess of Moisture.

Yet, Shu and Tefnut were quickly lost to Re in the waters of the abyss, and He was once again alone. He therefore took an Eye from His face and filled it with His own power. He called the Eye his daughter, Hathor, Goddess of the Sky, and sent Her out into the darkness to find His children.

The light of Hathor pierced the forces of darkness and Shu and Tefnut were quickly found and returned to Their Father. As a reward, Re set the Eye upon His brow in the form of the Great Cobra, the Uraeus Serpent. He swore an oath to Her that She would ever have power over His enemies, and in ages to come both Gods and men would fear Her.

Now Shu and Tefnut loved each other, and in time Tefnut gave birth to twins. The eldest was Geb, God of the Earth. The younger was Nut, Goddess of the Heavens. Re took the Star Goddess Nut for His wife, yet it was Geb for whom She yearned. It was Geb that She moved toward. The Earth and Sky, entangled in love, were intermixed and chaotic. The universe was formless; as if rebelling against order.

Re, unaware, stumbled upon this union of Geb and Nut. Angered at his unfaithful wife, He forced the lovers apart. He pulled the Sky far above the Earth, and held Them distant by force. He then set Shu between the lovers, upholding Nut in Her place to keep Them forever apart. It was thus that the Air came to reside between Sky and Earth.

Though Re's wrath against His wife was not yet complete. He further decreed that Nut, impregnated by Her union with Geb, should never give birth to Her young in any month of any year. Instead, They were to be locked within Her, never to see the light of day.

Nut mourned for Her loss; the loss of both Her lover and Her unborn children. Her lamentations reached even unto the ears of Thoth, the Self Created. He rushed to Her side, and dried Her tears. He soothed Her and spoke with Her, discovering the pain which inflicted Her. Thoth, who was the Lord of all magick and spells, knew that Re's decree could not be undone. Yet, he knew also that there was a way in which to relieve great Nut of Her suffering.

To this end, Thoth created the game of draughts, and challenged the Moon Goddess Silene; whose light then rivaled that of the sun. Thoth convinced Her to gamble a seventieth part of Her light for each day of the year. Being the Lord of Wisdom, He easily won from Her this light, and to this day the moon dwindles and darkens at certain periods. Thoth pieced together the light he had won- enough to fashion five whole days- and added them to the end of the 360-day lunar year.

These days did not rest within any month, nor any year, and thus Nut was able to bear Her children, one on each day. On the first was born Osiris. As he came into the World a Great Voice was heard throughout the heavens proclaiming that the Lord of Creation was born.

On the second day was born the great Elder Horus, whose right eye is the sun, and left eye the Moon. The Sky Goddess' name, Hathor, literally means "The Abode of Horus."

On the third day was born dark Set, the Lord of warfare and the burning deserts.

On the fourth day was born Isis, Goddess of Love, Magick, and Wisdom. The Great Lady of the heavens. Osiris took Her as His wife, and there was great love between Them.

Finally, on the fifth day, was born Isis' beloved sister Nephthys. The dark aspect of Her sister, She was taken by Set as His wife, but there was never love between Them at all. She, instead, remained always loyal to Her sister.

And thus is the birth of the Great Shining Ones, the Company of the Gods of Annu. They are the Ennead, the Great Company of Gods: Re; His children Shu and Tefnut, His grandchildren Geb and Nut, and His great-grandchildren Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. Many other Gods were also created by Re; and He filled the sky above the earth, and the abyss below it with spirits, demons, and lesser Deities.

Last of all was created Man and the other creatures of the earth. The mighty Khnem'u fashioned them upon His potter's wheel, and Re breathed into them the breath of life. Further, He made a land for them to dwell within, and named the kingdom Khemet (Egypt).

He protected the land with great barriers of desert, and created the river Nile so that it's waters would flood the land and rich crops would be plentiful. He also made other countries, and for them he created a Nile in the sky that would rain down its waters and sustain their life. He populated the world with all forms of animal, bird, fish, and plant; and gave them also the breath of life.

Each day Re walks through His kingdom, or sails across the sky in His Barque of Millions of Years (that is- the Ship of Eternity). To restrain the forces of darkness and chaos, He created the kingship; He then established Himself as the first and greatest King of Egypt and reigned for countless centuries in joy and peace.

But, alas, every evening the great primordial Lotus closes it's petals and sinks once more into the waters of the abyss. Darkness reigns throughout the Night until the young God within the Lotus is reborn. The forces of darkness were not conquered forever at the beginning of time; instead they surrounded the earth as serpents poised to attack the Sun God. The war between darkness and light sustains the world; and when it comes to a final end, so too will the world.

The Scepters (or Staves), Flail, Mace, Ureas, Bull's Tail and False Beard of Egypt

The ancient Egyptians royal emblems often developed from fairly humble beginnings, but became a powerful tool for expressing the duties and powers of the Pharaoh both graphically and symbolically. Early versions may have been crude and simplistic in form or functional rather than ceremonial, but as time progressed they were formed from precious stones and materials and imbued with great cultural significance in this world, and the afterlife.

Scepters and Staffs

The oldest such staff in Egypt was found in the grave of a man at the pre-dynastic el Omari site. It was about thirty-five centimeters long and was similar in shape to the ames scepter which in historical times was a symbol of royal power. Consequently it was suggested that the deceased was a local ruler.

The sceptre or staff is one of the most ancient symbols of authority. The words "nobleman" and "official" both included the hieroglyph of a staff, so at an early stage the staff seems to have represented the authority of any person with significant power, not just the pharaoh. One of the oldest staffs discovered in Egypt was recovered from a pre-dynastic grave in El Omari Lower Egypt (a neolithic site now absorbed by the suburbs of Cairo). We do not know whether the owner of this staff was a local chief, or priest, but it is generally agreed that the staff was an emblem of his authority. The staff soon became associated with pharaonic authority, but there were also forms which were solely associated with specific gods.

An early scepter carved from wood to resemble a bundle of reeds was recovered from a First Dynasty mastaba in Saqqara. Similar fragments were found in royal tombs at Abydos and the pharaoh Den is depicted on an ivory label holding a long staff. A beautiful gold and sard ceremonial sceptre was recovered from the tomb of Khasekhemwy.

Was Sceptre

The Was Sceptre was a long straight staff with two prongs at the bottom and a canine head at the top. It symbolised power or dominion and was associated with the gods as well as with the pharaoh. The earliest examples date to the First Dynasty. An ivory comb from the reign of Djet depicts two Was sceptres supporting the outstretched wings of a falcon (representing the heavens). In a funerary context the Was Sceptre was also an amulet which ensured the well-being of the deceased and so often appeared as a decoration on funerary equipment. The sceptre also formed the hieroglyph for the fourth nome of Upper Egypt, whose capital was Thebes (known as Waset by the ancient Egyptians).

was septer

Mks Staff

The Mks (Mekes) Staff was a variant of the standard design of long staff, characterised by a nodule approximately half way down the staff. It is thought that it was originally a defensive weapon, used in conjunction with a mace, but soon accrued more ceremonial, priestly connotations. Stone vessels depict Anedjib bearing the mks sceptre, and Djoser is depicted with a similar sceptre on a panel located underneath the Step Pyramid of Djoser. The mekes was also used in the Great Offering ritual, together with the hedj club and the flail. There was also a shorter variant referred to as the Hts (Hetes) staff.

Heqa sceptre

The heqa sceptre (or shepherd's crook) was closely associated with the king and was even used to write the word "ruler" and "rule" in hieroglyphics. It was essentially a long stick with a hooked handle and in later times it was often composed of alternating bands of blue and gold. This sceptre became one of the most famous emblems of kingship. It is thought that the heqa was originally associated with the god Andjety, who was himself considered to be a ruler. When Osiris absorbed Andjety, he also adopted the heqa as one of his emblems.

One of the earliest examples was found in a tomb at Abydos (U-547) dated to the Naqada II period of pre-dynastic Egypt. This heqa sceptre was composed of limestone but was in fragments. Another early example (this time complete) made from ivory was found in the largest predynastic tomb in the Abydos cemetery (U-j). The earliest representation of a pharaoh bearing the heqa staff is a statuette of Nynetjer, but arguably the most famous is that held by Tutankhamun in his sarcophagus. The heqa was often paired with the flail, indicating that pharaoh was charged with the duty to guide the Egyptian people (represented by the heqa) and his power to command them (represented by the flail). The heqa was held by viceroys of Nubia or by the viziers (for example in depictions in the tomb of Tutankhamun .

Sekhem Scepter

The Sekhem Scepter was carried by gods, kings and high officials. Deriving from the verb "to be mighty" it was also the logogram for the word "power". Early dynastic kings were sometimes depicted with the Sekhem in their right hand and a censer or a mace in their left, while high officials usually carried the Sekhem on its own.

The Sekhem was closely connected with specific gods - most notably the goddess Sekhmet whose name ("the Powerful One") was written using the Sekhem. Osiris and Anubis were both gods of the underworld who held the epithet "Great sekhem who dwells in the Thinite nome" and the Sekhem was part of the ritual observed in mortuary cults in the presentation of offerings to the ka of the deceased.

The Kherep Sceptre ("that which directs) and the Aba Scepter ("that which commands") bear such a striking resemblance to the Sekhem that it can be difficult to distinguish them. However, they seem to have played different roles in the ceremonies, the Kherep being used by dignitaries and the Aba by commanders.

Flail

The flail (nekhakha) was a short rod with three beaded strands attached to its top. Its form was clearly ceremonial but probably derived from a shepherd's whip. It may also have derived from the ladanisterion which is used to collect ladanum from the leaves of the cistus plant (or other gum bearing plants) which could then be used in the preparation of incense.

The flail was another popular emblem of pharaonic power. In early Egyptian history it appears on its own (such as in the depictions of the pharaoh Den at his Sed festival on a label from the First Dynasty) but in later times if was often paired with the Heqa staff (or crook). Like the Heqa, the flail was associated with the regal gods such as Andjety and Osiris. the flail was also associated with the ithyphallic deities, in particular Min, and often depicted hovering above the hand raised above their head. The flail was also associated with certain sacred animals (such as sacred bulls and hawks) who were often depicted carrying a flail on their backs. The flail was occasionally carried by priests or high officials, but this practice seems to have been limited to royal jubilee festivals.

Royal Mace

There seem to have been two forms of mace or club, the Ames (or Amesh) and the Hedj. Originally a functional weapon, over time it became primarily symbolic. It symbolised the might of the pharaoh, crushing his enemies, and was believed to confer invincibility on the bearer. It was usually made of wood, alabaster, clay, or gold and great pride was taken in being the craftsman who made this scepter. One of the titles recorded in the tomb of Prince Ramose is "Great Prophet of Heliopolis, unique one of festival, Craftsman of the Ames Scepter." . Thutmose III claimed that "It was my mace which felled the Asiatics, it was my Ames scepter that struck the Nine Bows" (the traditional enemies of Egypt) and the mace is depicted in numerous "smiting" scenes. The Pyramid Texts in the pyramid of Unas pairs the Ames with the Lotus scepter to give dominion over tyhe living and dead...

Sit on the throne of Osiris, your Ames Scepter in your hand, so that you give orders to the living, your Lotus Scepter in your other hand, so that you give orders to those whose seats are hidden (the dead)."

Ureas

The ureaus was the image of a rearing cobra which was worn on the brow of the pharaoh on top of a number of different crowns and headdresses. It was only worn by pharaohs, queens and regal gods and clearly identifies royalty in art works and inscriptions. According to the Pyramid Texts, Geb granted the ureaus to the pharaoh as the legitimate ruler of Egypt. However, another (Ptolemaic) story tells that when Geb reached out to pick up the crown of Ra so that he could assume the throne following the ascent to heaven of his father Shu, the ureaus attacked and almost killed him because it knew that he had committed a heinous crime by raping his mother Tefnut. This indicates that the ureaus was also seen as a protector of the law and punisher of the wicked.

The ureaus was closely associated with the cobra goddess Wadjet who was the patron of Lower Egypt and protected both the pharaoh and the queens of Egypt. Wadjet was also one of the goddesses associated with the Eye of Ra who could be seen as the personification of divine punishment and the protector of Ra in the underworld. The ureaus was also a popular motif in architecture, statuary and jewellery and was a commonly used hieroglyph (appearing in the name of Wadjet and the word "snake" and also in the names of other goddesses and terms for priestesses and shrines).

Bull's Tail

The pharaoh was often depicted with a Bull's tail hanging from the back of his kilt. It is likely that this emphasised the strength and procreative power of the ruler. This emblem was adopted at a very early stage in Egyptian history - it appears on both the Narmer palette and the Scorpion macehead (the Predynastic Period). In later periods, the bull's tail fell out of favour, but epithets such as "Strong Bull," or "Mighty Bull" were retained by many pharaohs.

False beard

Although beards were popular with ancient Egyptian men during the predynastic period, by the early dynastic period it had become fashionable, at least among the noble classes, to shave off all facial hair. This fashion spread to the rest of the population as time progressed. Despite this, certain types of beard were strongly associated with divinity - in particular a closely plaited beard was considered to be a divine attribute. For this reason, the pharaoh would wear a ceremonial false beard in certain situations to emphasise his god-like qualities. This false beard was often made of goat's hair and was wider at the bottom than the top.

When deceased, the pharaoh was often depicted as Osiris, and so wore the osiriform beard which was long and narrow with a curl at the end. Even non-royal men were sometimes depicted with a short form of this beard after their death.

The Magic Book, c. 1100 BCE

Tales of Ancient Egypt: 

Princess Ahura: 

We were the two children of the King Merneptah, and he loved us very much, for he had no others; and Naneferkaptah was in his palace as heir over all the land. And when we were grown, the king said to the queen, "I will marry Naneferkaptah to the daughter of a general, and Ahura to the son of another general." And the queen said, "No, he is the heir, let him marry his sister, like the heir of a king, none other is fit for him." And the king said, " That is not fair; they had better be married to the children of the general." And the queen said, "It is you who are not dealing rightly with me." And the king answered, "If I have no more than these two children, is it right that they should marry one another? I will marry Naneferkaptah to the daughter of an officer, and Ahura to the son of another officer. It has often been done so in our family."

And at a time when there was a great feast before the king, they came to fetch me to the feast. And I was very troubled, and did not behave as I used to do. And the king said to me, "Ahura, have you sent some one to me about this sorry matter, saying, "Let me be married to my elder brother?'" I said to him, "Well, let me marry the son of an officer, and he marry the daughter of another officer, as it often happens so in our family." I laughed, and the king laughed. And the king told the steward of the palace,"Let them take Ahura to the house of Naneferkaptah tonight, and all kinds of good things with her." So they brought me as a wife to the house of Naneferkaptah; and the king ordered them to give me presents of silver and gold, and things from the palace.

And Naneferkaptah passed a happy time with me, and received all the presents from the palace; and we loved one another. And when I expected a child, they told the king, and he was most heartily glad; and he sent me many things, and a present of the best silver and gold and linen. And when the time came, I bore this little child that is before you. And they gave him the name of Merab, and registered him in the book of the "House of Life."

And when my brother Naneferkaptah went to the cemetery of Memphis, he did nothing on earth but read the writings that are in the catacombs of the kings and on the tablets of the "House of Life," and the inscriptions that are seen on the monuments, and he worked hard on the writings. And there was a priest there called Nesiptah; and as Naneferkaptah went into a temple to pray, it happened that he went behind this priest, and was reading the inscriptions that were on the chapels of the gods. And the priest mocked him and laughed. So Naneferkaptah said to him, "Why are you laughing at me? "And he replied, "I was not laughing at you, or if I happened to do so, it was at your reading writings that are worthless. If you wish so much to read writings, come to me, and I will bring you to the place where the book is that Thoth himself wrote with his own hand, and which will bring you to the gods. When you read but two pages in this, you will enchant the heaven, the earth, the abyss, the mountains, and the sea; you shall know what the birds of the sky and the crawling things are saying; you shall see the fishes of the deep, for a divine power is there to bring them up out of the depth. And when you read the second page, if you are in the world of ghosts, you will become again in the shape you were in on earth. You will see the sun shining in the sky, with all the gods, and the full moon."

And Naneferkaptah said, "By the life of the king! Tell me of anything you want done, and I'll do it for you, if you will only send me where this book is." And the priest answered Naneferkaptah, "If you want to go to the place where the book is, you must give me a hundred pieces of silver for my funeral, and provide that they shall bury me as a rich priest." So Naneferkaptah called his lad and told him to give the priest a hundred pieces of silver; and he made them do as he wished, even everything that he asked for. Then the priest said to Naneferkaptah, "This book is in the middle of the river at Koptos, in an iron box; in the iron box is a bronze box; in the bronze box is a sycamore box; in the sycamore box is an ivory and ebony box; in the ivory and ebony box is a silver box; in the silver box is a golden box; and in that is the book. It is twisted all round with snakes and scorpions and all the other crawling things around the box in which the book is; and there is a deathless snake by the box." And when the priest told Naneferkaptah, he did not know where on earth he was, he was so much delighted.

And when he came from the temple, he told me all that had happened to him. And he said, "I shall go to Koptos, for I must fetch this book; I will not stay any longer in the north." And I said, "Let me dissuade you, for you prepare sorrow and you will bring me into trouble in the Thebaid." And I laid my hand on Naneferkaptah, to keep him from going to Koptos, but he would not listen to me; and he went to the king, and told the king all that the priest had said. The king asked him, "What is it that you want?" And he replied, "Let them give me the royal boat with its belongings, for I will go to the south with Ahura and her little boy Merab, and fetch this book without delay." So they gave him the royal boat with its belongings, and we went with him to the haven, and sailed from there up to Koptos.

Then the priests of Isis of Koptos, and the high priest of Isis, came down to us without waiting, to meet Naneferkaptah, and their wives also came to me. We went into the temple of Isis and Harpokrates; and Naneferkaptah brought an ox, a goose, and some wine, and made a burnt offering and a drink offering before Isis of Koptos and Harpokrates. They brought us to a very fine house, with all good things; and Naneferkaptah spent four days there and feasted with the priests of Isis of

Koptos, and the wives of the priests of Isis also made holiday with me.

And the morning of the fifth day came; and Naneferkaptah called a priest to him, and made a magic cabin that was full of men and tackle. He put the spell upon it and put life into it, and gave them breath, and sank it in the water. He filled the royal boat with sand, and took leave of me, and sailed from the haven: and I sat by the river at Koptos that I might see what would become of him. And he said, "Workmen, work for me, even at the place where the book is." And they toiled by night and by day; and when they had reached it in three days, he threw the sand out and made a shoal in the river. And then he found on it entwined serpents and scorpions, and all kinds of crawling things around the box in which the book was; and by it he found a deathless snake around the box. And he laid the spell upon the entwined serpents and scorpions and all kinds of crawling things which were around the box, that they would not come out. And he went to the deathless snake, and fought with him, and killed him; but he came to life again, and took a new form. He then fought again with him a second time; but he came to life again, and took a third form. He then cut him in two parts, and put sand between the parts, that he should not appear again.

Naneferkaptah then went to the place where he found the box. He uncovered a box of iron, and opened it; he found then a box of bronze, and opened that; then he found a box of sycamore wood, and opened that; again he found a box of ivory and ebony, and opened that; yet, he found a box of silver, and opened that; and then he found a box of gold; he opened that, and found the book in it. He took the book from the golden box, and read a page of spells from it. He enchanted the heaven and the earth, the abyss, the mountains, and the sea; he knew what the birds of the sky, the fish of the deep, and the beasts of the hills all said. He read another page of the spells, and saw the sun shining in the sky, with all the gods, the full moon, and the stars in their shapes; he saw the fishes of the deep, for a divine power was present that brought them up from the water. He then read the spell upon the workmen that he had made, and taken from the haven, and said to them, "Work for me, back to the place from which I came." And they toiled night and day, and so he came back to the place where I sat by the river of Koptos; I had not drunk nor eaten anything, and had done nothing on earth, but sat like one who is gone to the grave.

I then told Naneferkaptah that I wished to see this book, for which we had taken so much trouble. He gave the book into my hands; and when I read a page of the spells in it, I also enchanted heaven and earth, the abyss, the mountains, and the sea; I also knew what the birds of the sky, the fishes of the deep, and the beasts of the hills all said. I read another page of the spells, and I saw the sun shining in the sky with all the gods, the full moon, and the stars in their shapes; I saw the fishes of the deep, for a divine power was present that brought them up from the water. As I could not write, I asked Naneferkaptah, who was a good writer and a very learned one; he called for a new piece of papyrus, and wrote on it all that was in the book before him. He dipped it in beer, and washed it off in the liquid; for he knew that if it were washed off, and he drank it, he would know all that there was in the writing.

We went back to Koptos the same day, and made a feast before Isis of Koptos and Harpokrates. We then went to the haven and sailed, and went northward of Koptos. And as we went on, Thoth discovered all that Naneferkaptah had done with the book; and Thoth hastened to tell Ra, and said, "Now, know that my book and my revelation are with Naneferkaptah, son of the King Merneptah. He has forced himself into my place, and robbed it, and seized my box with the writings, and killed my guards who protected it." And Ra replied to him, "He is before you, take him and all his kin." He sent a power from heaven with the command, "Do not let Naneferkaptah return safe to Memphis with all his kin." And after this hour, the little boy Merab, going out from the awning of the royal boat, fell into the river: he called on Ra, and everybody who was on the bank raised a cry. Naneferkaptah went out of the cabin, and read the spell over him; he brought the body up because a divine power brought him to the surface. He read another spell over him, and made him tell of all that happened to him, and of what Thoth had said before Ra. We turned back with him to Koptos. We brought him to the Good House, we fetched the people to him, and made one embalm him; and we buried him in his coffin in the cemetery of Koptos like a great and noble person.

And Naneferkaptah, my brother, said, "Let us go down, let us not delay, for the king has not yet heard of what has happened to him, and his heart will be sad about it." So we went to the haven, we sailed, and did not stay to the north of Koptos. When we were come to the place where the little boy Merab had fallen into the water, I went out from the awning of the royal boat, and I fell into the river. They called Naneferkaptah, and he came out from the cabin of the royal boat. He read a spell over me, and brought my body up, because a divine power brought me to the surface. He drew me out, and read the spell over me, and made me tell him of all that had happened to me, and of what Thoth had said before Ra. Then he turned back with me to Koptos, he brought me to the Good House, he fetched the people to me, and made one embalm me, as great and noble people are buried, and laid me in the tomb where Merab my young child was.

He turned to the haven, and sailed down, and delayed not in the northof Koptos. When he was come to the place where we fell into the river, he said to his heart, "Shall I not better turn back again to Koptos, that I may lie by them? For if not, when I go down to Memphis, and the king asks after his children, what shall I say to him? Can I tell him, "I have taken your children to the Thebaid and killed them, while I remained alive, and I have come to Memphis still alive?=" Then he made them bring him a linen cloth of striped byssus; he made a band, and bound the book firmly, and tied it upon him. Naneferkaptah then went out of the awning of the royal boat and fell into the river. He cried on Ra; and all those who were on the bank made an outcry, saying, "Great woe! Sad woe! Is he lost, that good scribe and able man that has no equal?"

The royal boat went on without any one on earth knowing where Naneferkaptah was. It went on to Memphis, and they told all this to the king. Then the king went down to the royal boat in mourning, and all the soldiers and high priests and priests of Ptah were in mourning, and all the officials and courtiers. And when he saw Naneferkaptah, who was in the inner cabin of the royal boat---from his rank of high scribe---he lifted him up. And they saw the book by him; and the king said, "Let one hide this book that is with him." And the officers of the king, the priests of Ptah, and the high priest of Ptah, said to the king, "Our Lord, may the king live as long as the sun! Naneferkaptah was a good scribe and a very skillful man." And the king had him laid in his Good House to the sixteenth day, and then had him wrapped to the thirty-fifth day, and laid him out to the seventieth day, and then had him put in his grave in his resting-place.