|
|
Aken
Patron of the ferryboat that carries the souls of the dead to the underworld.
He was depicted as a man dressed in the garb of a sailor, standing in the stern of a papyrus boat.
Aken was the custodian of the ferryboat in the Underworld.However, he was somewhat amusing,
for he had to be woken from slumber by the ferryman Mahaf to provide the boat for travel on the celestial waters.
Aken was not truly worshipped, but mentioned in many hymns and passages of The Book of the Dead .
Aker
Aker is an earth god who also presided over the western and eastern boarders of the Underworld.
In early representations, Aker is shown as a narrow strip of land with a human or lion head at both ends But later he was shown as the foreparts of two opposing lions, sometimes with human heads, facing away from each other. One lion faces west while the other faces east. In between them is the sign of the horizon. In the later period of Egyptian theology the two lions making up the Akeru were named Sef and Tuau - 'yesterday' and 'today' respectively.
Ancient Egyptian mythologists believed that during the night the sun journeyed through a tunnel that existed in the earth - its entry into the tunnel caused the night, its emergence again bringing the day once more. Each end of this tunnel was guarded by a lion god.
It was Aker who opened the earth's gate for the king to pass into the Underworld. He was also known to absorb the poison from the body of anyone bitten by a snake and he neutralizes the venom in the belly of a person who has swallowed an obnoxious fly.
More importantly, he imprisons the coils of the snake, Apophis, after it is hacked to pieces by Isis , and Aker could, along his back, provide a secure passage for the sun-god's boat as it traveled from west to east during the hours of the night.
From the tomb of Ramesses VI in the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of Luxor (ancient Thebes ), the tomb of Pedamenopet ( 26th Dynasty ) at el-Asasif , also on the West bank at Luxor, and mythological papyri of the priesthood of Amun in the 21st Dynasty , it is even possible to reconstruct a "Book of Aker", concerned with the solar journey.
There was also a more threatening side to Aker that can be seen when he is pluralized as Akeru in the form of multiple earth gods. In passages from the Pyramid Texts, the Akeru are said not to seize the monarch, but later there is a general hope for everyone to escape the grasp of the earth gods. The Akeru appear to be primeval deities more ancient then Geb
Am-Heh
Am-He was a threatening Underworld god whose name means "Devourer of Millions".
he dwells in a Like of Fire, and if that were not enough,
his ferocity is augmented by his having the face of a hunting dog and an appetite for sacrifices.
Only Atum could fend off Am-Heh
Amentet was the Egyptian goddess and friend of the dead,
and the personification of the Land of the West, Amenty - imnty. It
was she who welcomed the deceased to their new dwelling place in the netherworld.
She was also a goddess who helped with the rebirthing process, and
thus a goddess of fertility and rebirth, who regenerated the deceased with food
and water.
She was depicted as a beautiful woman as wearing the hieroglyph of the west
on her head, carrying a sceptre and the ankh of life in her hands. She is
occasionally seen as a winged goddess, when linked to the goddesses Isis and
Nephthys. The standard of the west is usually a half circle sitting on top of
two poles of uneven length, the longer of which is tied to her head by a headband.
Often a hawk or an ostrich feather is seen sitting on top of the
standard. This hieroglyph was used in words such as 'west' and words relating
to the west such as, 'western' as well as 'right' and 'right hand'. Occasionally,
she is shown wearing just the hawk on her head. She was believed to live in
a tree at the edge of the desert, a place where she could watch the gates to
the
underworld. She was often shown not only in tombs, but on coffins, being a goddess
of the dead.
This feather, the normal ornament of Libyans, who wore it fixed in their hair,
was also the sign for the word 'Western' and was naturally suitable to Amentet,
who was originally the goddess of the Libyan province to the west of Lower Egypt.
The word 'Amentet', as used by the Egyptians, was applied to the west bank of
the Nile - Egyptian cemeteries and funerary places were all on the west. To
the
Egyptians, west was a direction linked to death. Amentet was also the name of
the underworld - the place where Ra travelled during the night. The place where
the sun set was also called by this name, being the entrance to the land of
the dead according to Egyptian belief. Amentet - 'She of the West' - was therefor
the goddess of not only the land of the dead, but also of the entry to the underworld,
and of the west itself.
Amenti or Amentet was originally the place where the sun set, but subsequently
the name was applied to the cemeteries and tombs which were usually built or
hewn in the stony plateaus and mountains on the western bank of the Nile. Some
believe that Amenti was, at first, the name of a small district, without either
funereal or mythological signification. The Christian Egyptians or Copts used
the word Amend to translate the Greek word Hades, to which they attributed all
the ideas which their heathen ancestors had associated with the Amenti of The
Book of the Dead.
Standing at the entry to the land of the dead, Amentet offers food and drink
to the deceased, regenerating them. This is connected to regeneration of the
dead -
the rebirth of the souls in the afterlife. Thus she is also a fertility goddess,
who was often represented by other fertility-related goddesses such as Hathor,
Isis and Nit, Mut, and Nut. She was also connected with Nephthys and Ma'at.
As the goddess Hathor-Amentet, she was a solar goddess of the west, paired with
Ra-Horakhty, who was believed to regenerate and welcome the newly deceased.
She was sometimes depicted with Iabet, the goddess of the east.
At the gates of the Other World, at the entrance of the desert, one often sees
the dead being welcomed by a goddess who half-emerges from the foliage of the
tree she has chosen to live in to offer him bread and water. If he drinks and
eats he becomes the 'friend of the gods' and follows after them, and can never
return.
There may have been a male version of Amentet. In The Book of the Earth, there
are two male deities who are shown to welcome the sun - iabtht and amntht.
Amenteth may have been the male personification of the west, and maybe a husband
or companion of Amentet.
Amentet was worshiped in the western areas of the Delta, and
at Mennefer (Hikuptah, Memphis), Abtu (Abydos) and in the Ipet-Resyt (Luxor)/Ipet-Isut
(Karnak) region of Egypt.
Ammut (Ammit, Ahemait, Ammemet)
Ammut, Great of Death, Eater of Hearts, The Devourer...
Ammut was an Egyptian demoness. She was known as the 'Eater of Hearts', 'The
Devourer' and 'Great of Death' because she was a
demoness of punishment. She was a netherworld dweller who waited by the scales
of judgement to consume the heads of those who did evil during their lives.
She
was not worshiped, and was never regarded as a goddess. Instead she embodied
creatures that the Egyptians feared, threatening to eat them if they did not
follow the principals of Ma'at.
She had the head of a crocodile, the body of a leopard and the backside of a
hippopotamus - all fierce creatures to the Egyptians. All man-eaters. It's no
wonder that she was depicted as one who consumed the unworthy dead!
Of Ammut, an Egyptian papyrus (No. 9901) states: hat en emsuh;
pehu-s em tebt her-ab-set em ma. the fore-part of a crocodile; her hind-quarters
are those of a hippopotamus; her middle part [is that] of a lion.
In The Book of the Dead, Ammut sat at the judgement of the dead in The Hall
of Double Ma'at (when the deceased's heart was weighed on the scales against
Ma'at), ready to devour the souls of the unworthy - the final death for an Egyptian!
It has even been suggested that she was also a protector of Osiris,
because of her position at the Judgement.
She was also known as the 'Dweller in Amenty' or the 'Devourer of Amenty', the
place where the sun sets. Amenty, as used by the Egyptians, was applied to the
west bank of the Nile - Egyptian cemeteries and funerary places were all on
the west. To the Egyptians, west was a direction linked to death. Amenty was
also
the name of the underworld - the place where Ra travelled during the night.
Ammut, therefore, was not only a demoness of death, but a demoness of the
underworld. In at least one papyrus, Ammut was depicted as crouching beside
the lake of fire in the infernal regions of the underworld!
The Book of the Dead is a selection of spells, designed to assist the deceased
through the trials of the underworld. This also, of course, assists the dead
to
not get eaten by Ammut. The papyrus of Ani, in a speech made by the gods to
Thoth, says: The Osiris [the scribe Ani], whose word is true, is holy and righteous.
He has not committed any sin, and he has done no evil against us. The devourer
Ammut shall not be permitted to prevail over him.
In the form of Egyptian's fiercest man-eaters, Ammut was a terrifying demon
who was to eat those wrongdoers who had not followed ma'at. She stayed by the
judgement scales in the underworld, the one who lived in Amenty - the Land of
the West. She might have be fooled by spells, but what the Egyptians really
wanted was to be judged as worthy and holy, as one who was fit to stay with
the gods in the Field of Reeds.
A bearded Man wearing a cap surmounted by two tall plumes. A ram, a ram headed man, or a ram headed Sphinx.
Self created at the beginning of time - linked to the Zep Tepi - believed to be the physical father of all Pharaohs.
Some assume that Amun (Amen, Amon) was a relatively modern god within the context of ancient Egyptian religion. His worship at Thebes, where the earliest known Temple dedicated to him was located, is only documented from the 11th Dynasty onward.
He gained most of his prestige after replacing the war god Montu as the principle god of Thebes - now Luzor - during Egypt's New Kingdom, when he was recognized as the King of Gods.
At that time, because of Egypt's influence in the world, he actually became a universal god. In fact, by the 25th Dynasty, Amun-Re was even the chief god of the Nubian Kingdom of Napata and by the Ptolemic, or Greek period, he was regarded as the Egyptian equivalent of Zeus.
However, he is actually mentioned in the pyramid text from the Old Kingdom - 5th Dynasty, Unas - line 558), which show him to be a primeval deity and a symbol of creative force. This text seems to assign great antiquity to his existence.
Amun-Re grew so important spiritually and politically by the time of the New Kingdom that Egypt became something of a Theocracy. At the apex of his worship, Egyptian religion approached monotheism. The other gods became mere symbols of his power, or manifestations of Amun-Re. In essence, he became the one and only supreme deity.
He was one of the eight Heh gods of the Ogdoad of Hermopolis, where his original consort was Amaunet (Ament). His worship may have originated at Hermopolis, but another possibility was that he functioned early on as a less prominent god at Thebes, where he eventually flourished. The Nubians, however, believed that he originated at Gebel Barkal, located in the modern north of the Sudan.
In the middle of the 16th Dynasty, with the expulsion of the Hyksos rulers of Egypt, Amun's growth was accelerated due to the vindication of both Egyptian power and Amun-Re as a protector of both the Egyptian state and the Monarchy.
At that time, temples were built and dedicated to Amun throughout Egypt, including the Luxor Temple and the Great Temple at Karnak. His importance during this and later periods is evidenced by the grander and extravagance of these temples. They were enlarged and enriched over the centuries by rulers of Egypt who were eager to express their devotion to Amun-Re.
In fact, his growth to that of a national god mirrored the growth of Thebes in importance. This growth was accelerated when Amenemhet I took control of the thrown at Thebes, and founded the 12th Dynasty.
However, the apex of his worship probably occurred during the New Kingdom onward at Thebes, where the important Opet festival was dedicated to Amun. During the Opet festival, the statue of Amun was conveyed by boat from the temple of Karnak to Luxor in order to celebrate Amun's marriage to Mut in his aspect of Ka-mut-ef (literally, "bull of his mother"). In this capacity, Amun was recognized for his procreative function. Together, Amun and Mut conceived their son, Khonsu, a moon god, to make of the Thebes Triad.
The sacred animal of Amun was originally the Goose, and like Geb, he was sometimes known as the "Great Cackler". Later, Amun was more closely associated with the Ram, a symbol of fertility. The sacred animal of Amun was originally the Goose.
At various times he also sometimes appears as a man with the head of a frog, the head of a uraeus, the head of a crocodile, or as an ape. However, when depicted as a king, he wears the crown of two plumes, a symbol borrowed from Min, and often sits on a throne. In this form, he is one of nine deities who compose the company of gods of Amen-Ra.
In the Greek period (and somewhat earlier, in order to ascribe many attributes to Amun-Re, he was sometimes depicted in bronze with the bearded head of a man, the body of a beetle with the wings of a hawk, the legs of a man and the toes and claws of a lion. He was further provided with four hands and arms and four wings.
The worship surrounding Amun, and later, Amun-Re represented one of ancient Egypt's most complex theologies. In his most mature form, Amun-Re became a hidden, secret god. In fact, his name (Imn), or at lest the name by which the ancient Egyptians called him, means "the hidden one" or "the secret one" (though there has been speculation that his name is derived from the Libyan word for water, aman. However, modern context seems to negate this possibility). In reality, however, and according to mythology, both his name and physical appearance were unknown, thus indicating his unknowable essence.
Stated differently, Amun was unknown because he represented absolute holiness, and in this regard, he was different then any other Egyptian deity. So holy was he that he remained independent of the created universe. He was associated with the air as an invisible force, which facilitated his growth as a supreme deity. He was the Egyptian creator deity par excellence, and according to Egyptian myth, was self-created. It was believed that he could regenerate himself by becoming a snake and shedding his skin. At the same time, he remained apart from creation, totally different from it, and fully independent from it.
However, while hidden, the addition to his name of "Re" revealed the god to humanity. Re was the common Egyptian term for the sun, thus making him visible. Hence, Amun-Re combined within himself the two opposites of divinity, the hidden and the revealed. As Amun, he was secret, hidden and mysterious, but as Re, he was visible and revealed. In some respects, this even relates to his association with Ma'at, the Egyptian concept of order and balance, and reflects back upon the ancient Egyptian's concepts of duality.
The secret, or hidden attribute of Amun enabled him to be easily synchronized and associated with other deities. At Thebes, Amun was first identified with Montu, but soon replaced him as the city's protector. His association with Re grew in importance when Amenemhet I moved the capital of Egypt to Itjtawy at the apex of the Nile Delta, where the relationship was probably expedient both theologically and politically. However, this association with Re actually grew as Thebes itself gained importance. Soon, Amun was identified with other gods as well, taking on the names (among others) Amun-Re-Atum, Amun-Re-Montu, Amun-Re-Horakhty and Min-Amun. However, it should be noted that with all of this synchronization, Amun was not absorbed to create a a new god. Instead, there was a unity of divine power with these other gods.
Amun-Re was associated with the Egyptian monarchy, and theoretically, rather than threatening the pharaoh's power, the throne was supported by Amun-Re. The ancient theology made Amun-Re the physical father of the king. Hence, the Pharaoh and Amun-Re enjoyed a symbiotic relationship, with the king deriving power from Amun-Re. In return, the king supported the temples and the worship of Amun. In theory, Amun-Re could even take the form of the king in order to impregnate the chief royal wife with the successor to the throne (first documented during the reign of Hatshepsut during the New Kingdom). Furthermore, according to official state theology during the New Kingdom, Egypt was actually ruled by Amun-Re through the pharaohs, with the god revealing his will through oracles.
In reality, the god did in fact threaten the monarchy, for the cult of Amun-Re became so powerful that its priesthood grew very large and influential, and at one point, priests of the deity actually came to rule Egypt during the 21st Dynasty. At other times, Amun-Re created difficulties for the king, such as in the case of Akhenaten, who sought to change the basic structure of Egyptian religion. In this instance, Amun-Re eventually proved more powerful then the king, for though Akhenaten desperately tried to change the nature of Egyptian religion, for such efforts he himself became the scorn of later pharaohs. After Akhenaten's reign, Egyptian religion almost immediately reverted back to its prior form and to the worship of Amun-Re.
Anat Anit, Anti, and, Antit Anatu, Anath, Anata
Anat, was one of a number of deities imported into Egypt from the Syrian region.
The name Anat occurs in several forms in Ugaritic, Hebrew, Akkadian, and Egyptian, and as in such cases, the forms may vary widely. For example, in the Ugarit V Deity List it is spelled da-na-tu to be pronounced 'Anatu'. Otherwise in Phoenician it is `nt and is pronounced 'Anat', 'Anatu', 'Anath' or 'Anata'. The name is usually translated from Hebrew as 'Anath', but it could also be 'Anat'. The Akkadian form is usually written as 'Anta' or 'Antu'. The Egyptian forms are 'Anant', 'Anit', 'Anti', and 'Antit'. We may also find variations of her name in reference books such as Anthat.
A major goddess of fertility, sexual love, hunting and war, the Goddess Anat was known among the Canaanites in prehistoric times, and was doubtless of considerable importance in that region. From the fertile agricultural area along the eastern Mediterranean coast, her cult spread throughout the Levant by the middle of the third millennium BC. Around the beginning of the Phoenician period (circa 1200 BC) Anat enjoyed a significant cult following. She was very prominent at Ugarit, a major religious center, and appears frequently in Ugaritic literary works incorporating mythical elements, in deity and offering lists, and in votive inscriptions.
Her cult became established in Egypt by the end of the Middle Kingdom, even before the Hyksos (Asiatics probably from Syria) invasion of Egypt, so her presence certainly attests to the slow immigration (or perhaps more often, enslavement as the spoils of war) of the Hyksos prior to their ultimate rule of Egypt. However, she attained prominence, particularly in the north (the Delta) during the Second Intermediate Period rule of the Hyksos, who appear to have promoted her cult in Egypt. She was represented at Memphis like all but the most local of deities, and sanctuaries were dedicated to her at the Hyksos capital of Tanis (Egypt) and Beth-Shan (Palistine).
Yet, while the rulers of Egypt's New Kingdom took every step to denounce the Hyksos dynasty, her prestige reached its height in Egypt under Ramesses II who adopted Anat as his personal guardian in battle. Even Ramesses II's dog, shown rushing onto a vanquished Libyan in a carving in Beit el Wali temple, has the name "Anat in vigor". He also named his daughter (whom he later married) Bint-Anat , which means Daughter of Anat. He rebuilt Tanis and enlarged the sanctuary of Anat there. The Elephantine papyri dating from the late sixth century BC indicate that Anat was one of the two goddesses worshiped at the Temple of Yahu (Yahweh) by the Jews on the island of Elephantine in the Nile.
In Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine the worship of Anat persisted into Christian times (c. 200 AD), and perhaps much longer in popular religion. In Egypt traditional religion was practiced until the end of the Egyptian period (c. 400 AD). Anat may have been worshiped in one or more of the few Egyptian temples that remained open into the early 6th century AD. In contemporary times the worship of Anat has been revived in neo-pagan religion.
In Ugaritic texts she is the daughter of El, sister (though perhaps not literally) and consort of Baal . As Ba`al's companion and help-mate, She is goddess of dew and the fertility that it brings. Apparently, through the union of Anat and Baal, an offspring was born in the form of a wild bull. She may be Rachmay, one of the two nursemaids of the Gracious Gods mentioned in the eponymous ritual text. She is also the twin sister of Myrrh. At Tanis in Egypt she was regarded as the daughter of Re . In the Egyptian myth of the Contest between Horus and Seth , Anat and Astarte appear as daughters of Re and consorts of Seth (whom the Egyptians themselves identified with Baal).
From cuneiform text, Anat appears much the ruthless goddess. In her martial aspect she confines herself to slaying the enemies of Baal. She participates in the confrontation between Baal and Yam-Nahar. In a missing portion of the text she slays Yam and other enemies of Baal. During a victory celebration she departs to slaughter the warriors of two local towns. She joyfully wades in their blood, pours a peace offering and cleans up. She intercedes with El on Baal's behalf to obtain the necessary permission for a palace to be built for Baal. Later, when Baal is killed by Mot ( Death ) in an archetypal battle, she buries him, hunts down Mot, and takes revenge by cutting, winnowing, grinding, and burning Mot like grain. In another myth she coveted the splendid bow belonging to a youth called Aqhat. When he refuses to part with this bow, Ana sends an eagle to slay him.
Although terrible as a war deity she was regarded as a just and benevolent goddess of beauty, sexuality , and of the fertility of crops, animals, and men. Her grace and beauty were considered among the acme of perfection. Anat is a complex and somewhat paradoxical goddess as can be seen from the epithets applied to her. Although she is regarded as the mother of gods, the most common epithet at Ugarit is batulat, Virgin or Maiden . She is sometimes called Wanton, in reference to her putative lust for sexual intercourse and the bloodshed of war. Other common epithets include: Adolescent Anat, Fairest daughter-sister of Baal, Lady, Strength of Life, Anat the Destroyer, and Lady of the Mountain.
`Anat was considered by the Egyptians to be similar to Neith/Net , an ancient goddess from the Nile delta, with whom they identified Her. Neith is a skilled weaver and guardian of domestic life, as well as a goddess of war, whose symbols include crossed arrows on an animal skin or shield and a weaver's shuttle. `Anat is interpreted as being depicted with a spindle as well as Her spear, and as the Canaanites/ Phoenicians were famed for their weaving, She may well have been a patroness of that skill, perhaps also of the famed dye, later known as Tyrian purple, which could also be a blood red color. In some descriptions, `Anat adorns Herself with something translated by some as murex, the snail from which the purple dye comes.
Several epithets are known from Egyptian inscriptions. From Aramaic inscriptions of the Hyksos period (c.1700 BC): "Anat-her", Anat agrees or Agreeable Anat , and "Herit-Anta", Terror of Anat . From inscriptions at Memphis dating to the 15th to the 12th centuries BC, we find her referred to as "Bin-Ptah", Daughter of Ptah . And from Elephantine "Beth-El", House of El or House of God .
In Phoenician iconography Anat is usually depicted nude with exaggerated sexual organs and a coiffure similar to Hathor . She is sometimes depicted with bow and arrow, and with the lion, her sacred animal. Otherwise she may be armed with a spear and shield, or a spear and a spindle.
An Egyptian inscription from Beth-Shan shows "Antit" with a plumed crown (very similar to the White Crown of Egypt). In her left hand is the "Scepter of Happiness", and in her right the "Ankh of Life". Iconography at Tanis from the time of Ramesses II shows Anat on a throne with lance, battle ax, and shield above an inscription reading, " To Antit that she may give life, prosperity, and health to the Ka of Hesi-Nekht ".
Andjety
Andjety in his anthropomorphic form was originally worshipped
in the mid-Delta in the Lower ninth nome. Andjety (meaning 'he of Andjet', i.e.
the town of Busiris) was the precursor of Osiris at the cult center of Busiris.
The iconography of this god persuasively argues for his being the forerunner
of Osiris. Andjety holds the two scepters in the shape of a ' crook' and a 'flail'
, insignia which are Osiris' symbols of dominion. Also his high conical crown
decorated with two feathers is clearly related to the 'atef' crown of Osiris.
As early as the beginning of 4th Dynasty King Sneferu, the builder of the first
true pyramid tomb, is carved wearing this crown of Andjety.
The close relationship of the god to the monarch is is also
evident from the earliest references in the Pyramid Texts , where the king's
power as a universal ruler is enhanced by his being equated to Andjety 'presiding
over the eastern districts'. Perhaps Andjety is an embodiment of sovereignty
and its attendant regalia. As such he would readily be absorbed into the nature
of Osiris and by extension into the pharaoh himself. The most likely explanation
of his epithet, 'bull of vultures', found in the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts
, is that it emphasizes his role as a procreative consort of major goddesses.
Andjety figures in a funerary context as well. The notion that he is responsible
for rebirth in the Afterlife is probably the reason for the substitution for
the two feathers of a bicornate uterus in early writings of his name in the
Pyramid Texts. In the Underworld too there is an obvious identification between
Andjety and Osiris, as ruler. Hence in the Temple of Seti I at Abydos , the
king is depicted burning incense to the god Osiris-Andjety who holds a 'crook'
scepter, wears two feathers in his headband and is accompanied by Isis .
Anqet (Anket, Anuket, Anjet, Anukis)
Anqet, The Embracer, Goddess of Fertility and the Nile at
Aswan...
Anqet was an Old Kingdom goddess related to the Nile in the Aswan area. She
was 'She Who Embraces', a name indicating that she
was probably thought to hold the Nile in her arms, and thus was related to the
banks of the Nile as well. Originally a daughter of the sun god Ra, she became
either the wife or the daughter of Khnum. She was also a goddess of the hunt
whose sacred animal was the gazelle.
Anqet was generally depicted as a woman wearing a tall headdress made either
of reeds or of ostrich feathers, often holding a sceptre and the ankh symbol.
The
headdress was probably of Nubian origin. She was, very occasionally, shown in
the form of a gazelle. The water goddess' link to the gazelle was probably
because the Egyptians saw these animals always around water. As a huntress,
she was probably thought to be fleet of foot and agile like the gazelle.
There is an ostracon on which she is depicted in the form of a gazelle and called
'Lady of Heaven' and 'Mistress of the Gods'.
-- Anukis/Anuket, Nebet Mirjam
As 'She Who Embraces' she represented the banks of the Nile and the islands
in the Aswan area. Her specific islands were Setet Island (Sehel Island) and
Abu
(Elephantine) island. It is probable that she was of Nubian origin and that
she was a goddess of everything south of the Egyptian border, but she had been
worshiped by the First Cataract since the Old Kingdom. It is to be noted that
she was also worshiped throughout northern Nubia, and was not a goddess confined
to Egypt itself. Because of this, she was given the title of "Mistress of Nubia".
Despite being the daughter of Ra, during the New Kingdom she was placed in the
Abu triad with Khnum and Satet, as either the daughter or wife of the god. It
is
probable that she was already linked with the goddess Satet - inscriptions from
earlier times had her name along side that of Satet - and when Satet was paired
with Khnum, naturally Anqet went with her. Together the three water-related
deities were thought to protect the Nile's cataracts, especially near the First
Cataract and the islands in the Aswan area. This was the area that the Egyptians
believed was the source of the Nile, where it flowed up from the underworld
and
into the land of Egypt.
Anqet's temple on Setet Island was called as "Amen-Hery-Ab" ('Amen's Heart is
Content') where she was known as the 'Lady of Setet Island'. Her temple on
Iat-Rek (Philae) island was called "Per-Mer" ('House of Love'). At "Per-Mer"
she was identified with Nephthys due to Satet's links with the goddess Isis
and
Khnum's link with Osiris. However both goddesses were connected with Isis, taking
on the attributes of fertile waters as well as being a form of the star
Sirius (the goddess Sopdet).
Dr Brugsh considered her a personification of the waters of the Nile, and thought
that her name signified 'to surround', 'to embrace' and that it had
reference to the embracing and nourishing of the fields by the river.
The yearly inundation of the Nile could also be linked to her name - the water
of the Nile could be seen as 'embracing' the fields it floods. She was linked
to
nourishment and fertility, offering life-giving waters to the land.
She was also a nourisher not only of the land, but of the pharaoh as well. She
has been shown suckling a young Ramses, while being described as the 'Giver
of
Live, and of All Power, and of All Health, and of All Joy of the Heart'. Probably
because of her status as a fertility goddess, she became a goddess of
lust by the Greek and Roman periods, and was related to things of a very sexual
nature.
Anqet was a goddess of the whole Aswan area - of the islands in the Nile and
of the First Cataract - and also a goddess of Nubia - the land to the south
of
Egypt. She was a goddess of the waters of the Nile, a goddess of fertility,
who was thought to embrace the river. Linked to both Ra and Khnum, she was a
huntress and a water goddess. She was a protective deity, one who gave life
to the pharaoh and the whole land of Egypt itself.
Anti
Hawk God of particular importance in Nomes 12 and 18 of upper Egypt.
Anti is represented standing on a cresent shaped boat and in middle Kingdowm coffin texts is described as supervising the sailing of the "Henu" boat of another falcon deity Sokar.
A natural assimilation is made as early as Dynasty VI between Anti and Horus in his form of a falcon of gold. Both are called Lords of the East protecting the region where the Sun God rises and soaring with him at dawn into the firmament. In the pyramid texts the are two hawk Gods who equate with Anti:
Dunawy: 'He who extends the arms'(Wings)
Dunanwy: 'He who extends the claws'
Anubis (Inpew, Yinepu, Anpu, Anpua)
Anubis, God of Embalming and Guide and Friend of the Dead...
Anubis, God of Embalming and Guide and Friend of the Dead... Anubis (Inpew, Yinepu, Anpu) was an ancient Egyptian god of the underworld who guided and protected the spirits of the dead.
He was known as the 'Lord of the Hallowed Land' - the necropolis - and Khentamentiu, 'Foremost of the Westerners' - the Land of the Dead was thought to be to the west, where the Egyptians buried their dead. (Khentamentiu was the name of a previous canine deity who was superseded by Anubis.)
The worship of Anubis was an ancient one - it was probably even older than the worship of Osiris. In the pyramid texts of Unas, his role was already very clear - he was associated with the Eye of Horus and he was already thought to be the guide of the dead in the afterlife, showing them the way to Osiris.
In the text, it was written that "Unas standeth with the Spirits, get thee onwards, Anubis, into Amenti, onwards, onwards to Osiris."
He was generally depicted as a black jackal-headed man, or as a black jackal. The Egyptians would have noticed the jackals prowling around the graveyards, and so the link between the animal and the dead was formed in their minds. (It has been noticed by Flinders Petrie that the best guides to Egyptian tombs are the jackal-trails.) Anubis was painted black to further link him with the deceased - a body that has been embalmed became a pitch black colour. Black was also the colour of fertility, and thus linked to death and rebirth in the afterlife.
Anubis was also seen as the deity of embalming, as well as a god of the dead. To the Egyptians, Anubis was the protector of embalming and guardian of both the mummy and the necropolis. Anubis was often identified by the word sab, 'jackal' rather than 'dog' (iwiw). Though to the Egyptians there was not a great deal of difference between the two canines, so there is some confusion over which animal Anubis actually was. The animal is sometimes referred to as the 'Anubis animal' as it is unknown which exact species of canine that Anubis actually was based on.
When the Osiris worship came to power, Osiris took over many of Anubis' jobs as caretaker and protector of the dead. As this happened, Anubis became 'He Who is Before the Divine Booth', the god of embalming who presided over the funerary rituals. The funerary sem priests would wear a mask of the jackal god during the mummification process, symbolically becoming the god for the rituals. The preliminary stages of mummification involved the opening - the violation - of the body, an action that only Anubis himself would have been allowed to perform. The priest who took on this role was called the 'Overseer of the Mysteries' (hery seshta). It was thought that he would be magically become the funerary god himself and so be able to legitimately cut open the corpse for the mummification process.
He is sometimes called the son of Nephthys and Set or of Nephthys and Osiris. In one train of thought, it was believed that Isis raised him, as Set might murder his wife's illegitimate son, and so he grew up a friend and follower of Osiris. He was thought to have a daughter known as Kebechet (Kabechet, Kebechet, Kebehut, Kebhut), who was depicted as a snake or ostrich carrying water. She was the goddess of freshness and purification through water who washed the entrails of the deceased and brought the sacred water to Anubis for his tasks. She was thought to give water to the spirits of the dead while they waited for the mummification process to be complete. She was probably related to mummification where she would fortify the body against corruption, so it would stay fresh for reanimation by the deceased's ka.
The Goddess Kebechet, the daughter of Anubis, finds Pepi, and she goes to meet him with the four nemset vases. She refreshes the breast of the Great God on the day of his watch, and she refreshes the breast of Pepi with life. She washes Pepi, she censes Pepi. At temples throughout Egypt, some of the priests had a special job as part of the daily ritual - that of purifying the temple deity. Using incense to purify the air, the deity was lifted out of his or her shrine, was washed, anointed with oils, dressed in white, green, red and blue cloths and fed. Kebechet washing of Pepi seems to relate to the priestly ritual of serving the gods.
The goddess Anput (Input, Inpewt, Yineput) - inpwt - was the goddess of the 17th Nome of Upper Egypt, who was depicted as a woman wearing the jackal standard of her nome or a woman with the head of a jackal. She was believed to have been the wife of Anubis, and possibly the mother of Kebechet.
It was believed that Anubis was the one who invented the process of mummification. Anubis helped Isis bring her husband back to life again after Set had killed him. He embalmed the body of the god, swathed it in the linen cloths that had been woven by the twin goddesses, Isis and Nephthys, making sure that the body would never decay or rot. The wakening of the dead was also thought to be a function of Anubis. He would appear by the mummy, and awaken the soul.
The mummy was removed from the sarcophagus when it arrived at the door of the tomb and was placed upright against the wall by a priest wearing the mask of Anubis, thought to have become the god himself. The 'Opening of the Mouth' ceremony was then performed. It consisted of a number of rituals that would turn the mummy (or a statue of the dead) into an inhabitable vessel for the deceased's ka. The ceremonies involved purification, censing and anointing of the mummy along with incantations. The mummy was touched by ritual objects on various body parts to restore the senses - the spirit would then be able to see, hear, speak and eat as a living being. Some of the tools for this ritual have been found in predynastic Amratian graves, so it is probable that at least some of the rituals involved in the 'Opening of the Mouth' had evolved from this early time.
After the the deceased had been placed into the tomb and sealed up, it was thought that Anubis would lead the deceased to the afterlife, along with another god, Wepwawet (Upuaut). The two are very similar, though Wepwawet was also another ancient jackal or wolf god, appearing on the Narmer palette. He was not just a god of the dead, but he was a warrior god who opened the way to victory for the pharaoh. The 'Opener of the Ways' helped Anubis to guide the dead to the Halls of Ma'at. It was here that Anubis, as 'He Who Counts the Hearts', watched over of the weighing of the heart and the judging of the deceased.
Here it was his duty to see that the beam of the scales was in its proper place, and that the weighing was done correctly. He would then pass judgement on the deceased and Thoth would record the pronouncement. Anubis would protect the innocent from the jaws of Ammut, but would give the guilty to her to meet the final death.
Anubis shared the duty of guiding the dead through the afterlife with another jackal-headed god ... "Opener of the Ways"). These two gods both "opened the ways", although Anubis was the opener of the roads of the North and Wapwawet the opener of the roads to the South.
Anubis was the personification of the summer solstice, and Wapwawet of the winter solstice. A strange fetish, known as the imiut fetish, was linked to Anubis. It was a headless stuffed skin (usually of a great feline), tied by its tail to a pole which was planted in a pot. Known as the 'Son of the hesat-Cow' (the cow that produced the Mnevis bull was linked to the cow goddess Hesat), another title of Anubis, there is evidence of this fetish as early as the 1st Dynasty. They were linked to the funerary cult, depicted in the Chapel of Anubis at Hatshepsut's mortuary temple and actual golden fetishes being left in the tomb of Tutankhamen. These emblems of Anubis were placed at the western ends of the corridors, one on each side of the outermost shrine at Tutankhamen's tomb. The pots were made of calcite and the poles represented the water lily (lotus) stem and bud while the tip of the skin's tail had a papyrus flower attached and the pole and fetish itself were gilded. Other fetishes have been found made of real animal skin that have been wrapped in bandages.
In early times there was a god, Imiut, who was known as 'He Who is in His Wrappings' who became a form of Anubis. The fetish was probably linked with mummy wrappings though it also appears to have been related to the royal jubilee festival. Anubis the Dweller in the Mummy Chamber, Governor of the Divine House ... saith:- Homage to thee, thou happy one, lord! Thou seest the Wedjat (Eye of Horus or Ra). Ptah-Sokar hath bound thee up. Anubis hath exalted thee. Shu hath raised thee up, O Beautiful Face, thou governor of eternity. Thou hast thine eye, O scribe Nebseni, lord of fealty, and it is beautiful. Thy right eye is like the Sektet Boat, thy left eye is like the Atet Boat. Thine eyebrows are fair to see in the presence of the Company of the Gods. Thy brow is under the protection of Anubis, and thy head and face, O beautiful one, are before the holy Hawk. Thy fingers have been stablished by thy scribe's craft in the presence of the Lord of Khemenu, Thoth, who hath bestowed upon thee the knowledge of the speech of the holy books. Thy beard is beautiful in the sight of Ptah-Sokar, and thou, O scribe Nebseni, thou lord of fealty, art beautiful before the Great Company of the Gods. The Great God looketh upon thee, and he leadeth thee along the path of happiness. Sepulchral meals are bestowed upon thee, and he overthroweth for thee thine enemies, setting them under thy feet in the presence of the Great Company of the Gods who dwell in the House of the Great Aged One which is in Anu. -- The Speech of Anubis (from the Papyrus of Nebseni)
To the east of Saqqara there was a place known as Anubeion, one of Anubis' cult centres. The burials of mummified dogs and jackals took place there. Although he was worshiped all over Egypt, he had other cult centres at Abt, the 12th Nome of Upper Egypt, Zawty (Asyut) and the city of Hardai (Cynopolis) in the 17th Nome of Upper Egypt where a vast number of dog mummies were buried at dog cemeteries.
As protector of the necropolis, Anubis was known as 'He Who is Upon the Mountain'. The Egyptians believed that the god would keep watch over the tombs and graves from a high vantage point in the desert, ready to rush down to protect the deceased from desecration. Images of Anubis as a seated jackal above nine prisoners were stamped on many of the seals to tombs in the Valley of the Kings. They symbolise Anubis' protection against thieves and evil doers who entered the necropolis. He protected not only the souls of the dead, but their eternal resting place, too.
Anuke
Anuke is considered the Patron of war
She appears as a woman in armor carrying a bow and arrows.
Anuke is a very ancient goddess of war, she may originally have been the consort of Anhur .
Anuket (Anket, Anqet, Anukis)
Patron of: the Nile and its inundation.
Anuket Appears as a woman wearing a crown of reeds and ostrich feathers, often accompanied by a gazelle.
Anuket was most likely an imported goddess from Nubia, and was worshipped as the "nourisher of the fields," referring to the annual inundation of the Nile that deposited a layer of rich silt on the agricultural areas. She formed a triad with Khenmu and Satis , and in later times was identified with Nephthys . Her name means "embrace" and may refer to the banks of the Nile which yearly would embrace the fields to bring fertility to the land.
Anuket was worshipped throughout Nubia, her Egyptian cult center was at Elephantine
Apep Apophis, the Destroyer.
Patron of: evil and darkness.
Apep appears as a great serpent or crocodile.
Apep was the ancient spirit of evil and destruction who dwelled in eternal darkness. Every day he would attempt to devour the Sun Boat of Ra as it sailed the heavens. Set's original role was to battle Apep and keep him from destroying the boat. Occasionally, Apep would succeed, and the world would be plunged into darkness (a solar eclipse?). But Set and his companion Mehen would cut a hole in Apep's belly to allow the Sun Boat to escape.
Apep commanded an army of demons that plagued mankind. Only by putting faith in the gods of light could people defeat the demons.
Every year, a ritual called the "Banishing of Apep" would be held by the priests of Ra . They would take an effigy of Apep and in the center of the temple they would pray that all the wickedness in Egypt would go into the effigy. Then they would trample the effigy, crush it, beat it with sticks, pour mud on it, and eventually burn and destroy it. In this way, the power of Apep would be curtailed for another year.
Apep was never worshipped. Ever.
Arensnuphis
Arensnuphis was an anthropomorphic Nubian deity wearing a plumed crown who occurred in southern temples during the Graeco - Roman period, coeval with the Meroitic civilization based around the mid fifth to sixth cataract region of the Nile river. Sometimes he was also represented as a lion.
The Egyptian rendering of his name, which is 'Ari-hes-nefer' gives us little indication to his nature, other than being a benign deity. A small kiosk style temple was built in his honor on the island of Philae during the reign of Ptolemy IV Philopator in about 2250 BC. The blocks from the southern enclosure wall show that it was a joint project with the Meroitic King Arqamani (Ergamenes II). However, only the fact that he is a "companion" of the goddess Isis, pre-eminent deity of Philae, can be elucidated from the inscriptions. He is also represented on a wall at the Dendur temple (originally sited above the first cataract of the Nile, now re-erected at the Metropolitan Museum of Att in New York. There, he accompanies the local deified heroes Peteese and Pihor being worshiped by the Roman emperor Augustus
As (Ash)
Patron of the desert.
As appears as a man with the head of a hawk.
As was the "Lord of Libya" and the god of the Sahara Desert.
Although sometimes depicted as a companion of Set (who had the duties of the god of desert storms),
As was a benign god who caused the oases to made.
He also looked after those who had to travel through the desert, ensuring that they did not die of its cruel heat.
Astarte
Astarte was actually a warrior goddess of Canaan and Syria who is a Western Semitic counterpart of the Akkadian Ishtar worshipped in Mesopotamia.
In the Egyptian pantheon to which she was officially admitted during the 18th Dynasty , her prime association is with horses and chariots. On the stela set up near the sphinx by Amenhotep II celebrating his prowess, Astarte is described as delighting in the impressive equestrian skill of the monarch when he was still only crown prince. In her iconography her aggression can be seen in the bull horns she sometimes wears as a symbol of domination. Similarly, in her Levantine homelands, Astarte is a battlefield goddess. For example, when the Peleset (Philistines) killed Saul and his three sons on Mount Gilboa, they deposited the enemy armor as spoils in the temple of "Ashtoreth"
Like Anat, she is the daughter of Re and the wife of the god Seth , but also has a relationship with the god of the sea. From the woefully fragmentary papyrus giving the legend of Astarte and the sea we learn that Yamm , the sea god, demanded tribute from the gods, particularly Renenutet . Her place is then taken by Astarte called, in this aspect, "daughter of Ptah ". The story is lost from that point on but one assumes this liaison resulted in the goddess tempering the arrogance of Yamm.
It should also be noted that outside of Egypt, as well as being a warlike goddess, Astarte seems to have had sexual and motherhood attributes.
Aten
The mythology of the Aten, the radiant disk of the sun, is not only unique in Egyptian history, but is also one of the most complex and controversial aspects of Ancient Egypt.
The ancient Egyptian term for the disk of the sun was Aten, which is first evidenced during the Middle Kingdom , though of course solar worship begins much earlier in Egyptian history. It should be noted however that this term initially could be applied to any disk, including even the surface of a mirror or the moon. The term was used in the Coffin Texts to denote the sun disk, but in the ' Story of Sinuhe ' dating from the Middle Kingdom, the word is used with the determinative for god (Papyrus Berlin 10499). In that story, Amenemhat I is described as soaring into the sky and uniting with Aten his creator.
Text written during the New Kingdom 's 18th Dynasty frequently use the term to mean "throne" or "place" of the sun god. The word Aten was written using the hieroglyphic sign for "god" because the Egyptians tended to personify certain expressions. Eventually, the Aten was conceived as a direct manifestation of the sun god.
Though the Aten became particularly important during the New Kingdom reigns of Tuthmosis IV and Amenhotep III , mostly sole credit for the actual origin of the deity Aten must be credited to Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten) . Even at the beginning of the New Kingdom, it's founder, Ahmose , is flattered on a stela by being likened to "Aten when he shines". His successor, Amenhotep I , becomes in death "united with Aten, coalescing with the one from whom he had come". Tuthmosis I was portrayed in his temple at Tombos in Nubia wearing the sun disk and followed by the hieroglyphic sign for 'god'. Hatshepsut used the term on her standing obelisk in the temple of Karnak to denote the astronomical concept of the disk, though it was actually during the reign of Amenhotep II that the earliest iconography of Aten appears on a monument at Giza as a winged sun disk (though this was a manifestation of Re ) with outstretched arms grasping the cartouche of the pharaoh.
Later, Tuthmosis IV issues a commemorative scarab on which the Aten functions as a god of war (a role usually reserved for Amun ) protecting the pharaoh. Amenhotep III seems to have actively encouraged the worship of Aten, stressing solar worship in many of his extensive building works. In fact, one of that king's epithets was Tjekhen-Aten, or 'radiance of Aten', a term which was also used in several other contexts during his reign. During the reign of Amenhotep III, there is evidence for a priesthood of Aten at Heliopolis , which was the traditional center for the worship of the sun god Re , and he also incorporated references to the Aten in the names he gave to his palace at Malkata (known as 'splendor of Aten'), a division of his army and even to a pleasure boat called 'Aten glitters'. Also, several officials of his reign bore titles connecting them with the Aten cult , such as Hatiay, who was 'scribe of the two granaries of the Temple of Aten in Memphis. and a certain Ramose (not the vizier ) who was 'steward of the mansion of the Aten'. The latter was even depicted with his wife going to view the sun disk.
Prior to Amenhotep IV , the sun disk could be a symbol in which major gods appear and so we find such phrases as "Atum who is in his disk ('aten'). However, from there it is only a small leap for the disk itself to become a god.
It was Amenhotep IV who first initiated the appearance of the true god, Aten, by formulating a didactic name for him. Hence, in the early years of Amenhotep IV's reign, the sun god Re-Horakhty , traditionally depicted with a hawk's head, became identical to Aten, who was now worshipped as a god, rather than as an object associated with the sun god. Hence, prior to Akhenaten, we speak of The Aten, while afterwards it is the god Aten. Initially, Aten's relationship with other gods was very complex and it should even be mentioned that some Egyptologists have suggested that Amenhotep IV may have equated Aten to his own father, Amenhotep III . Others have suggested that, rather than true monotheism, the cult of Aten was a form of henotheism, in which one god was effectively elevated above many others, though this certainly does not seem to be the case later during the Amarna period .
To honor his new god, Amenhotep IV constructed an enormous temple east of the Great Temple of Amun at Karnak during the third year of his reign. The temple included pillared courts with striking colossal statues of the king and at least three sanctuaries, one of which was called the Hwt-benben ('mansion of the Benben'). This emphasized the relationship between Aten and the sun cult of Heliopolis . The Benben symbolized the primeval mound on which the sun god emerged from Nun to create the universe . One section of the temple appears to have been the domain of Nefertiti , Amenhotep IV's principal wife and in one scene, she is pictured together with two daughters, but excluding her husband, worshipping below the sun disk.
Artistically, this temple at Karnak was even decorated in a novel "expressionistic" style that broke with previous tradition and would soon influence the representation of all figures. Perhaps nowhere is this artistic style more evident then in the tomb Amenhotep IV 's vizier , Ramose. Most of the tomb's decoration consists of fine low reliefs carved during the last years of Amenhotep III reign in a congenital Theban style, but on the rear wall of the pillared tomb is a mixture of traditional design and the startling developments in art made by Akhenaten. This new artistic style was to usher in to Egypt considerable religious upheaval.
Amenhotep IV , who would change his name to Akhenaten to reflect Aten's importance, first replaced the state god Amun with his newly interpreted god. The hawk-headed figure of Re-Horakhty-Aten was then abandoned in favor of the iconography of the solar disk, which was now depicted as an orb with a uraeus at its base emitting rays that ended in human hands either left open or holding ankh signs that gave "life" to the nose of both the king and the Great Royal Wife, Nefertiti . It should however be noted that this iconography actually predates Amenhotep IV with some examples from the reign of Amenhotep II , though now it became the sole manner in which Aten was depicted.
Aten was now considered the sole, ruling deity and thus received a royal titulary , inscribed like royal names in two oval cartouches. As such, Aten now celebrated its own royal jubilees (Sed-festivals) . Thus, the ideology of kingship and the realm of religious cult were blurred.
The Aten's didactic name became "the living One, Re-Harakhty who rejoices on the horizon, in his name (identity) which is Illumination ('Shu, god of the space between earth and sky and of the light that fills that space') which is from the solar orb."
This designation changes everything theologically in Egypt. The traditions Egyptians had adopted since the earliest times no longer applied. According to Akhenaten , Re and the sun gods Khepri , Horakhty and Atum could no longer be accepted as manifestations of the sun. The concept of the new god was not so much the sun disk, but rather the life giving illumination of the sun. To make this distinction, his name would be more correctly pronounced, "Yati(n)".
Aten was now the king of kings, needing no goddess as a companion and having no enemies who could threaten him. In effect, this worship of Aten was not a sudden innovation on the part of one king, but the climax of a religious quest among Egyptians for a benign god limitless in power and manifest in all countries and natural phenomena.
After Aten ascended to the top of the pantheon, most of the old gods retained their positions at first, though that would soon change as well. Gods of the dead such as Osiris and Soker were several of the first to vanish from the Egyptian religious front.
In fact, step by step, Amenhotep IV perused his new found religious reformation in what Egyptologists have more and more seen as a rational plan. In year six of his reign, Amenhotep IV became weary of Thebes and the old powerful Amun priesthood, and thus founded a new capital city in the desert valley area we now call el-Amarna (ancient Akhetaten) somewhat north of the old capital in Middle Egypt. Amenhotep IV mentions on two stelae that the priests were saying more evil things about him than they did about his father and grandfather, so from this we learn that there must have been a conflict that dated back at least to the reign of Tuthmosis IV . Luckily for the king, however, the priesthood was apparently not strong enough to curb a pharaoh's inclinations at this point in time.
There, in his new capital of Akhetaten ('horizon of Aten'), Aten could be worshipped without any consideration of other deities. Thus he built both a Great Aten temple in the city as well as a smaller royal temple that could have likely also been his mortuary temple. Both were unique, having a novel architectural plan emphasizing open access to the sun rather than the traditional darkness of Egyptian shrines. Outside of Akhetaten, there appears to have also been temples dedicated to Aten at Memphis , at Sesebi in Nubia , and perhaps elsewhere during at least part of Akhenaten 's reign.
Around the time Akhetaten was founded, Amenhotep IV changed his own royal titulary to reflect the Aten's reign, but perhaps more remarkably, he actually changed his own birth name from Amenhotep, which may be translated as "Amun is content", to Akhenaten, meaning "he who is beneficial to the Aten" or "illuminated manifestation of Aten". Afterwards, the king proceeded to emphasize Aten's singular nature above all other gods through excessively preferential treatment. Ultimately, he suppressed all other deities . However, it is interesting that Akhenaten retained in his new titulary all references to the sun god Re . In his prenomen there is 'Neferkheprure' (Beautiful are the manifestations of Re) and 'Waenre' (Sole one of Re). George Hart in his Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddess tells us that Aten was:
"..really the god Re absorbed under the iconography of the sun disk. The eminence of Aten is a renewal of the kingship of Re as it had been during its apogee over a thousand years earlier under the monarchs of the 5th Dynasty."
However, it is really doubtful that such a simple statement can be made, for in reality, Aten took on many characteristics alien to Re . Re did not function in a vacuum of gods and goddesses . Yet there remained cloudy associations with Re even as Akhenaten moved into his new capital. There, accommodations were made for the burial of a Mnevisl, which was the sacred bull of Re. Furthermore, the king's last two daughters were named Nefernefrure and Setepenre, both incorporating Re into their names.
But indeed, Akhenaten 's new creed could be summed up by the formula, "There is no god but Aten, and Akhenaten is his prophet". The hymn known as the " Sun Hymn of Akhetaten " offers some theological insight into this newly evolved god. We find this hymn, which may have been composed by the king himself, in the tomb of the courtier Ay , who later succeeded King Tutankhamun . Scholars have noted a similarity between the hymn and Biblical Psalm 104, although the distinct parallels between the two are usually interpreted simply as indications of the common literary heritage of Egypt and Israel.
Inscribed in thirteen long lines, the essential part of the poem is a hymn of praise for Aten as the creator and preserver of the world. Within it, there are no allusions to traditional mythical concepts, since the names of other gods are absent. In this hymn, no longer are night and death the realm of gods such as Osiris and various other deities, as in traditional Egyptian religion , but are rather briefly dealt with as the absence of Aten. Hence, it should be noted that, unlike other supreme gods of Egypt, Aten did not always absorb the attributes of other gods. His nature was entirely different.
The hymn abounds with descriptions of nature and with the position of the king in the new religion. Irregardless of the existence of a priesthood devoted to Aten, only to Akhenaten had the god revealed itself, and only the king could know the demands and commandments of Aten, a god who remained distant and incomprehensible to the general populace. In fact, the priesthood may not have served so much Aten as they did Akhenaten. The high priest of the Aten was actually called the priest of Akhenaten, indicating not only the elevated position of the king in this theology, but also the effective barrier that he formed between even his priests and the god Aten.
However, while the hymn seems to provide exclusive rights to the Aten only to the king, his family appears to have been included within this inner circle. The new myths of the religion were filled with the ruler's family history and it is not surprising that the faithful of the Amarna period prayed in front of private cult stelae that depicted the royal "holy" family.
Yet, Aten was not a god of the people during the reign of Akhenaten . Far from it, in fact, considering that Egyptian religion had become more democratized around the god, Osiris . Aten had to be forced on the Egyptian people, and outside of Akhetaten (and really even there) and the official state religion, Aten never replaced all the traditional Egyptian gods. In effect, among the common Egyptians, if anything, the situation created a religious vacuum which was unstable from the beginning. And while it is clear that the elite of Akhetaten certainly paid respect to Aten, there is no real evidence for personal individual worship of the god on the part of the ordinary Egyptians whose only access to the god was through the medium of the king. On the contrary, at even the workers village in eastern Amarna, there has been unearthed numerous amulets of traditional gods, as well as some small private chapels probably dedicated to ancestor worship but showing no traces of the official religion.
Around the ninth year of of Akhenaten 's reign, the name of the god Aten was once more changed. Now, all mention of Horakhty and Shu disappeared. Horakhty was replaced by the phrase, "Ruler of the Horizon". No longer was the hawk form of the god acceptable and this image was definitively replaced with new iconography and a purer form of monotheism was introduced. Now, Aten became "the Living One, Sun, Ruler of the Horizon, who rejoices on the horizon in his name, which is Sunlight, which comes from the disk".
Akhenaten 's new religion, which inaugurated theocracy and systematic monotheism, manifest itself with two central themes surrounding light and the king. It was probably after the god's final name change that Akhenaten ordered the closure of the temples dedicated to all other gods in Egypt. Not only were these temples closed, but in order to extinguish the memory of these gods as much as possible, a veritable persecution took place. Literal armies of stonemasons were sent out all over the land and even into Nubia , above all else, to hack away the image and name of the god Amun .
However, even the plural form of the word god was avoided, and so other gods were persecuted as well. Yet by this time, the Amarna period had already reached the beginning of its end. Soon after the death of Akhenaten , his capital was dismantled, as was his religion. Aten was removed from the Egyptian pantheon, and Akhenaten as well as his family and religion, were now the focus of prosecution. Their monuments were destroyed, together with related inscriptions and images. While the Aten did continue to be worshipped for some period after Akhenaten's death, the god soon fell into obscurity.
Atum (Temu, Tem.)
Atum is the Patron of the sun, creation, rulership of the gods.
Atum Appears rarely as a human,he is usually depicted as a crown or as one of his many totem animals. He is sometimes depicted as a black bull carrying the sun disk between his horns.
In the creation myths, Atum is the primal creator. He created himself (or arose out of nothing) and created the first gods, Shu and Tefnut , from his spittle. The Memphite creation myth puts him as the first creation of Ptah , who simply said his name and he came into being.
Atum was revered not only as the father of the gods but also as the father of the pharaohs. The title "Son of Atum" was included in the many titles of the king, even after the pharaohs styled themselves "Sons of Ra ."
Atum was worshipped widely throughout Egypt, with his cult center at Heliopolis.
Variants:
Ra-Atum/Atum-Ra
A composite deity with Ra . The primordial creative force combined with the
ruler of the gods. In this form, Atum also symbolized the setting sun and its
journey through the underworld to its rising in the east.
Auf (Efu Ra)
An aspect of the sun god Re Auf was a ram -headed god who wore the solar disc and traveled at night through the Underworld waterways in order to reach the east in time for the new day; however, he still had to fight off the creatures of the Underworld. Demons and gods towed his boat along while Auf stood in a deck-house, over which was coiled the serpent Mehen who warded off the dangerous Apep . The boat of night was crewed by the gods Hu , Saa and Wepwawet .