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Transcript
Patron of: knowledge, secrets, writing, and scribes
Appearance: A man with the head of an ibis holding a
scribe's palette and stylus. He was also shown as a full
ibis (a large turkey-like bird with a long snout, or
sometimes as a baboon.)
Description: Thoth is an unusual god. Though some
stories place him as a son of Ra, others say that Thoth
created himself through the power of language. He is the
creator of magic, the inventor of writing, teacher of man,
the messenger of the gods and was extremely important because he was
the divine record-keeper and mediator.
Thoth's role as a scribe is well-documented. He was VERY important in
the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony. He is the god
who questions the souls of the dead about their deeds
in life before their heart is weighed against the feather
of Maat. He is also the great counselor and the other
gods who frequently went to him for advice.
Thoth became credited by the ancient Egyptians as the
inventor of writing, and was also considered to have
been the scribe of the underworld. For this reason
Thoth was universally worshipped by ancient Egyptian
scribes or writers. Many scribes had a painting or a picture of Thoth in
their "office". Likewise, one of the symbols for scribes was that of the
ibis.
Tawaret
'The Great One'
Appearance:

Head of a hippopotamus with the arms and legs of
a lion, the back and tail of a crocodile, and an
enlarged stomach.
Tawaret was a goddess who protected women during pregnancy and
childbirth.
Taweret (can be spelled Tawaret) was a patron of childbirth and a protector of
women and children. She was considered to be a ferocious goddess as well as a
protective and nurturing goddess. She was associated with the lion, the crocodile,
and the hippo; all animals which were feared by the Egyptians but also highly
respected.
Initially she was viewed as a dangerous and potentially
deadly force. However, by the later times she was seen as
a protective rather than an aggressive force (just as female
hippos came to be seen as aggressive largely in defense of
their young).
As a result, Taweret became a mother goddess and a
patron of childbirth who was often described as the
caregiver of the pharaoh. As time passed she soon became
a household goddess, helping rich and poor alike.
She was thought to help women in labor and to ward off
evil spirits who intended harm to mother or baby. She was associated with so
called "magic wand" or "magic knives" used to ward off evil. These magical tools
were usually made of hippopotamus ivory, and included depictions of her.
Sobek
Appearance:

Man with the head of a crocodile and a headdress
of feathers and a sun-disk
Sobek was a Nile River god.
Sobek was the ancient god of crocodiles. Some Egyptians believed that Sobek was
the creator of the world who arose from the "Dark Water" and created the order in
the universe. Sobek was a god of the Nile who brought fertility to the land. As the
"Lord of the Waters" he was thought to have risen from the sacred waters and
made the Nile from his sweat.
One creation myth stated that Sobek laid eggs on the bank of the sacred
waters creating the world. However, as well as being a force for creation,
he was seen as an unpredictable god who sometimes allied himself with
the forces of Chaos.
In some areas, a tame crocodile was worshiped as the earthly
embodiment of Sobek himself, while in other places crocodiles
were reviled, hunted and killed. It seems likely that Sobek began
as a dark, evil god who had to been changed, but that his
protective qualities and his strength were valued when they were
used in defense of the Pharaoh and the people. He could protect
the justified dead in the netherworld, restoring their sight and
reviving their senses. Because of his ferocity, he was considered
to be the patron of the army.
.
Appearance:

Man with the head of a 'Seth animal' (unidentifiable)
Seth was the god of chaos.
Seth represented everything that threatened harmony in Egypt.
He was a storm god associated with strange and frightening events such as
eclipses, thunderstorms and earthquakes. He also represented the desert and the
foreign lands beyond the desert. He was considered to be very strong but
dangerous, and strange. However, he was not always considered to be an evil
being. He was a friend to the dead, helping them to ascend to heaven on his ladder,
and he protected the life giving oases of the desert, and was at times a powerful
ally to the pharaoh and even the sun god Ra.
Set was the black boar who was thought to have
swallowed the moon each month, obscuring its light. He
was also identified with the hippopotamus, crocodiles,
scorpions, turtles, pigs and donkeys - all animals which
were considered to be dangerous.
According to one myth he lived in the Great Bear (the
Big Dipper), a constellation in the northern sky - an area
which symbolized darkness, and death. He was restrained
with chains and guarded by his wife Taweret, the hippo
goddess of childbirth.
Even as an young god he was dangerous and
unpredictable. Set was jealous of his brother Osiris. Set
was the god of the desert. Set was viewed as immensely
powerful, and was regarded consequently as the chief
god. He was the brother of Osiris and Isis. He murdered
his brother Osiris, then battled with his nephew Horus to
be the ruler of the living. At certain times in the history of ancient Egypt, Seth was
associated with royalty.
Appearance:
Woman wearing a panther skin dress and a star headdress
Seshat was the goddess of writing and measurement.
She was the wife of Thoth.
She was the scribe of the pharaoh, recording all of his achievements
and triumphs including recording both the money and the captives taken in
battle. She was also thought to record the actions of all people on the leaves of
the sacred persea tree.
It is interesting to note that she is the only female character who was actually
depicted in the act of writing. A number of other women were depicted holding the
scribes palette and brush, indicating that they could write, but not actually engaged
in writing.
Usually, she is also shown holding a palm stem, carrying
notches to denote the recording of the passage of time. She is
frequently dressed in a leopard-skin, a symbol of funerary priests,
because the pattern of the skin represents the stars, both a symbol
of eternity, and associated with the moon.
Seshat assisted the pharaoh in the stretching the cord ritual. This
ritual is related to laying out the foundations of temples and other
important structures in order to determine and assure
measurement were correct. Her skills were necessary for
surveying the land after the annual floods to reestablish boundary
lines. The priestess who officiated at these functions in her name
also oversaw the staff of others who performed similar duties and
were trained in mathematics and the related store of knowledge.
Sekhmet
'The Powerful One'
Appearance:

Woman with the head of a lioness
Sekhmet was the goddess of war.
Sekhmet is one of the oldest known Egyptian goddesses. Her name is derived
from the Egyptian word "Sekhem" (which means "power" or "might") and is
often translated as the "Powerful One". She is depicted as a lion-headed woman,
sometimes with the addition of a sun disc on her head.
Sekhemet was a sun goddess. She represented the scorching, burning,
destructive heat of the sun. She was a fierce goddess of war, the
destroyer of the enemies of Ra and Osiris. Her temper was
uncontrollable. Sekhmet was the wife of the creator-god Ptah.
Having once unleashed her powers for the destruction of
mankind through a power drought, killing all the crops, the
Egyptians feared a repeat performance by Sekhmet. The
Egyptian people developed an elaborate ritual in hopes she could
be pleased.
This ritual revolved around more than 700 statues of the goddess
(such as the one to the left). The ancient Egyptian priests were
required to perform a ritual before a different one of these statues
each morning and each afternoon of every single day of every
single year.
Ra
'Sun'
Appearance:

Man with hawk head and headdress with a sun disk
Ra was the sun god. He was the most important god of the ancient Egyptians.
The ancient Egyptians believed that Ra was swallowed every night by the sky
goddess Nut, and was reborn every morning. Ra was the primary name
of the sun god. He was often considered to be the King of the Gods
and thus the patron of the pharaoh and one of the central gods of the
Egyptian.
Ra was often described as the father of the gods. He was
sometimes thought to be married to Hesat and Hathor was his
daughter.
He was also described as the creator of everything. Ra was very
powerful and a popular god. The Egyptians also built solar temples
in honor of Ra.
It was thought that Ra "died" or was swallowed by Nut
(pronounced Nuit), the goddess of the Sky, every evening as the
sun dipped below the horizon. He travelled through the world of the
dead by night and was then reborn in the morning.
Ra primarily is depicted as a man wearing a pharaoh's crown (a
sign of his leadership of the gods) and the sun disk above his head.
Often he had a falcon's head, as does Horus.
For the Egyptians, the sun represented light, warmth, and growth. This made sun
gods very important to Egyptians, and it is no coincidence that the sun came to be
the ruler of all. In his myths, the sun was either seen as the body or eye of Ra
Appearance:

Man wrapped in a tight white cloak carrying a staff
Ptah was the god of craftsmen.
Ptah was the great protector of Egypt. According to myth, he
saved the town of Pelusium from the Assyrian invaders. He ordered all of the
vermin (rodents) in the fields to chew through the bowstrings
and shield handles of the enemy, destroying their weapons
and sending them home in a panic.
Ptah was also the patron god of skilled craftsmen and
architects. This may be due to the excellent sources of
limestone near his temple in Memphis. Pharaohs worshiped
Ptah because they wanted to have a safe place built for them
when their life on the Earth was over.
Ptah was depicted as a bearded mummified man with
unbound arms holding a staff which allowed him to perform
duties other would find as dangerous. Because of this power
he was also considered the god of rebirth.
He was the god of sculptors, painters, builders and carpenters,
and other craftsmen and was thought to have invented
masonry (brick laying).
The Egyptians believed that Ptah was a god who created everything from artifacts
to the world egg to the other gods themselves. The Opening of the Mouth
ceremony was believed to have been created by Ptah. This ceremony allowed the
spirit of the dead person to eat, breathe, see, hear and enjoy the offerings and
provisions performed by the priests, thus to sustain the ka or spirit.
Appearance: A male pharaoh with a white headdress with feathers
on both sides.
Osiris was the god of the dead and ruler of the underworld. In
Egyptian mythology the underworld was referred to like a heaven.
It was a place everyone wanted to go after their life on earth was
over. It was not consider a bad place, but one where there would be
no pain or suffering.
As well as being a god of the dead, Osiris was a god of
resurrection and fertility. In fact, the ancient Egyptians believed
that Osiris gave them the gift of barley, one of their most
important crops.
A large temple was built to honor Osiris at Abydos. Osiris is one of
the oldest gods for whom records have been found. He was widely
worshiped for thousands of years.
Osiris was usually depicted as a green-skinned (green was the color of
rebirth) pharaoh wearing the Atef crown, a form of the white crown of
upper Egypt with a plume of feathers to either side. Typically he was
also depicted holding the crook and flail (which are in his hands) which
signified high authority in Egyptian pharaohs.
Throughout the height of Egyptian civilization, Osiris was the primary
god. In power, he was second only his father, Ra, and was the leader of the gods on
earth. He was the husband of Isis and the father of Horus (and a number of other
gods in some stories). Osiris resided in the underworld as the lord of the dead, after
being killed by Set. Even though he was a god, he could no longer dwell in the
land of the living.
In the underworld, Osiris sits on a great throne, where he is praised by the souls of
the worthy. All those who pass the tests of the underworld become worthy to enter
The Blessed Land, that part of the underworld that is like the land of the living, but
without sorrow or pain. In some texts, in addition to the Judging of the Heart,
Osiris passes final judgment over the dead.
Pronounced: Newt or Nuit
Appearance:

Represented by a woman whose body arches
across the sky, wearing a dress decorated
with stars.
Nut was the sky-goddess, whose body created a
vault or canopy over the earth. Her name means Night.
Nut was the wife of Ra, the god of the sun. She was also the mother of Isis, Osiris,
Nepthys and Seth. Nut (was the personification of the sky and the heavens)
She was pictured as a woman arched on her toes and fingertips over the earth—her
body, a star-filled sky. Nut’s fingers and toes were believed to touch the four
cardinal points or directions (North, South, East, and West).
The ancient Egyptians believed that at the end of the day, Nut swallowed the sungod, Ra, and gave birth to him again the next morning. Nut was the goddess of the
daytime sky, but in later times she was known simply as the sky goddess.
Nut possessed many of the attributes of the Egyptian Gods including superhuman
strength, longevity (ability to live long) and resistance to injury. As a SkyGoddess, she was thought to have the ability to manipulate and command certain
sky phenomenon such as wind and rain.
She was seen as a friend to the dead, as a mother-like protector to those who
journeyed through the land of the dead. She was often painted on the inside lid of
the sarcophagus, protecting the dead until he or she, like Ra, could be reborn in
their new life.
She is also represented like this:
Appearance:

Woman with headdress showing her name in hieroglyphs
Nephthys was a protective goddess of the dead. She is often shown on coffins,
or in funerary scenes.
Nephthys was an ancient goddess of the dead. She was extremely
important to ancient Egyptians. She was the counterpart or twin of Isis.
Nephthys was usually depicted as a woman with the hieroglyphs of
her name (a basket on top of the glyph) on her head. She could also
be depicted as a mourning woman, and her hair was compared to the
strips of cloth used in mummification. She also occasionally appears
as a hawk, a kite, or a winged goddess in her role as a protector of the
dead.
She is also considered as the head of the household of the gods, and
her protection is given to the head woman of any house. In fact her
name is given as a title to such women (literally translated it means
"head of the house").
Ammet was known as the “devourer” of the dead. She
would eat any soles that were not worth of making it to the
afterlife.
Ammit was not worshipped, and she was never regarded as a goddess. Instead, she
embodied all that the Egyptians feared, threatening to curse them to eternal
darkness if they did not follow the principles of eternal life.
Ammit was depicted with the head of a crocodile, the front part of her body as a
lion, and her hind quarters in the form of a hippopotamus. This combination of
animals was considered as the most dangerous to the ancient Egyptians.
Although often referred to as a demon, technically, however, in destroying evil she
acted as a force for good.
Ammit was said to live near the scales of justice, in the underworld, where the
hearts of the dead were weighed by Anubis against the feather. The hearts of those
who failed the test were given to Ammit for her to devour (eat), and their souls
were not permitted to enter the afterlife. These spirits would be restless forever.
Not making it to the afterlife was consider the worst of all fates. If the heart was
lighter then a feather then it was then judged by the god of the underworld, Osiris.
Appearance:

Man with the head of a curly-horned ram
Khnum was a creator god, and a god of the inundation (Flooding of the Nile
River).
Khnum was a creator-god, molding people on a potter's wheel. Since potters used
Nile mud, Khnum was also connected with the innundation.
Khnum was originally a water god who was thought to rule
over all water, including the rivers and lakes of the
underworld. He was associated with the source of the Nile, and
ensured that the inundation deposited enough precious black
silt onto the river banks to make them fertile.
The silt also formed the clay, the raw material required to
make pottery. As a result he was closely associated with the
art of pottery.
According to one creation myth, Khnum molded everything
on his potters wheel, including both the people and the
other gods. He was one of the gods who was thought to have
helped Ra on his perilous nocturnal journey through the
underworld. It is also thought that he created the boat which
carried Ra and helped defend the sun god against the serpent
Apep.
He was usually depicted as a Ram-headed man at a potter's
wheel, with recently created children standing on the wheel.
In earlier stories, he also appeared in his earlier guise as a
water-god, holding a jar from which flowed a stream of water.
Know as the Queen of the Gods
Appearance:

A beautiful woman in magnificent clothing with headdress in the shape of a
throne. Sometimes the headdress contains the sun disc between two horns.
Isis was a protective goddess. She used powerful magic spells to help people in
need.
Isis was the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus.
Since each pharaoh was considered the 'living Horus', Isis was very
important. Unlike the other Egyptian goddesses, the goddess Isis spent
time among her people, teaching women how to grind corn and make
bread, spin flax and weave cloth.
Isis became the most powerful of the gods and goddesses in the
ancient world. Ra, the God of the Sun, originally had the greatest
power. But Ra was uncaring, and the people of the world suffered
greatly during his reign.
The goddess Isis tricked him by mixing some of his saliva with mud to
create a poisonous snake that bit him, causing him great suffering
which she then offered to cure. He eventually agreed, however, he had
to tell her the secret powers of life and death. She quickly became the
most powerful of the Egyptian gods and goddesses, using her great powers
to the benefit of the people.
Many of the common people came to Isis to get advice and seek answers.
Isis was a caring woman and willing to help all the people. Isis enjoyed the royal
life by attending the parties and socializing with the pharaohs.
Horus was usually depicted as a falcon, or a falcon-headed man. He
often wore the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Horus was an ancient and important god and the Eye of Horus became an
important Egyptian symbol of power. Horus had a man's body and a falcon's head.
Horus fought with Set for the throne of Egypt. In this battle one of
his eyes was injured and later it was healed by Isis. This healing of
the eye became a symbol of renewal. Horus united Egypt (Upper and
Lower) and bestowed divinity upon the pharaohs.
Horus was among the most important gods of Egypt,
particularly because the Pharaoh was supposed to be his
earthly body. Kings would eventually take the name of
Horus as one of their own.
Horus was thought the be the god of the sun and god of the
moon. He was extremely powerful and well liked among
the humans.
Horus was mentioned many times in the Book of the Dead.
He was to have led people to the Weighing of Heart
Ceremony. He often wears a costume that includes the hats
of upper and lower Egypt signifying the unification of the
two Egypts.
The Eye of Horus was used in many
tombs to represent rebirth
Lady of heaven
She was known as "the Great One of Many Names" and her titles and attributes are
so numerous that she was important in every area of the life and death of the
ancient Egyptians. She was married to Horus and had a son Ihy.
The horned cow-goddess of love, Hathor was also the god of happiness, dance and
music, and a protector of women. She is depicted as a cow, as a woman with the
head of a cow, or as a woman with who wears the stylized cow-horns which hold
in them the solar disk.
Hathor was the goddess of joy, motherhood, and love. She was the god
for all women, no matter their station in life. As the goddess of music
and dancing her symbol was a drum. Hathor was also associated with
the inundation (flooding) of the Nile.
Hathor was also represented in the form of a cow. Cows were
considered sacred animals because they provided many of the
necessities to the people. Cows produced milk and meat for the
Egyptians. They also provided skin for clothing and other
means. If Hathor was not resented by a cow, then she was seen
as having horns on her head with the sun disks resting between
them.
Hathor was a caring and hard working woman. Many of the
worshipers were artists, musicians, and dancers who turned their
talents into creating rituals that were nothing short of works of
art. Music and dance were part of the worship of Hathor like no
other goddess in Egypt. Hathor herself loved to dance, and
stories were told of she danced before Ra to cheer him up.
His father was Shu (the god of air) and his mother was Tefnut
Geb was the god of the earth. Even so, Geb guided the dead to
heaven and he gave them meat and drink.
Geb is usually represented in the form of a man who wears either the white crown
to which is added the Atef crown, or a goose. The Goose was his sacred animal
and symbol. As the God of earth, the earth formed his body and was called the
"house of Geb. He was also often portrayed laying on his side on the earth, and
was sometimes even painted green, with plants
springing from his body. Earthquakes were believed to
be the laughter of Geb.
Geb plays a very important part in the Book of the
Dead. Therefore he is one of the gods who watches the
weighing of the heart of the deceased in the
Judgement Hall of Osiris. If the heart of the dead
person was heavier then the feather, there life was
considered wicked and they would not be allowed to
enter the Valley of the Dead. Geb helped to make this
decision.
The righteous who were provided with the necessary
words of power were able to make their escape from
the earth but the wicked were held fast by Geb, their
spirit trapped on the earth to suffer.
Bes was a funny looking god whose job was to protect
children. It was believed that he was present at the birth of the child, where he
would dance around the room and shake a rattle to scare away any demons that
threatened the new baby. When a baby laughed for no apparent reason, it was
thought that Bes was there, making funny faces that only the child could see.
Statues of Bes were commonly kept in homes with children and pregnant women.
They figured that he was so ugly that even a statue would scare away any evil
spirits!
Bes also had a reputation as a prankster. Mischievous Bes was blamed when food
went bad or when a person stumbled. A fat bearded dwarf, ugly to the point of
being comical. He is often shown sticking out his tongue and holding a rattle.
When carved or painted on a wall, he is never shown in profile, but always fullface, almost unique in Egyptian art.
When a baby laughed or smiled for no apparent
reason, it was believed that Bes was somewhere in
the room making funny faces.
Bes' role as demon-queller also extended to driving
off mischievous beings that were believed to cause
minor misfortune, like tripping people and souring
food. Bes was so ugly that even a statue of him would frighten away wicked
creatures. Thus, many houses would keep a statue of Bes near the door to guard it.
As the daughter of Ra the sun god, Bastet is affiliated with the
warmth and power of the sun. She was a protector of women and the home. Bastet
also was the patron god of cats, and to hurt one of these sacred animals was a huge
no-no! Cats were treated with the same care and respect that many pet lovers do
today... sometimes even more so: they wore jewelry
and were allowed to eat from the same plate as their
owners! Even stray cats were fed milk-soaked bread
and fish. Their love for cats was so deep that the
Egyptians would save the cats from a burning building
before even attempting to put the fire out. And when a
pet cat died, ancient Egyptians would shave off their
eyebrows as a gesture of grief.
Bastet was considered a very important goddess
because she held the traits of a sacred cat. As
described upon, cats were also extremely important to
the crops of ancient Egypt. This goddess was to look
over the crops of Egypt to protect them from rodents
that would destroy the crops such as mice, rats, and
snakes.
Many important people considered their cats prized
possessions. They took them with them to the afterlife
and had them mummified and buried with them in the
tombs. If a person did not own a cat then a statue of
Bastet was placed in the tomb or coffin.
Atum (also known as Tem or Temu) was the first and most
important god to be worshiped in Lower Egypt.
In the creation myths, Atum is the major creator. He created
himself (or arose out of the land) and created the first gods, Shu
and Tefnut, from his spit. Shu became the god of the sky and
air and Tefnut was the god of the water.
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
pharaohs.
Atum is one of the most important and frequently mentioned gods
from earliest times, as seen in hieroglyphic writings. He is
portrayed as both creator god and father to the king. He is usually
depicted as a man wearing either the royal head-cloth or the dual
white and red crown of Upper Egypt, and Lower Egypt,
reinforcing his connection with kingship.
In his depiction, he carries a staff for protection and the Ankh, a
jewel that is in the shape of a cross which symbolized the Rebirth
of life.
Hapy was the Egyptian god of inundation. He was known as the
father of the Nile River. Hapy was especially important to the
ancient Egyptians because he brought the flood every year.
This flood deposited rich silt on the banks of the Nile, allowing
the Egyptians to grow crops. Hapy is portrayed as a man with a
pot of water plants on his head. This symbolize the need for the
Nile and the production of food for the Egyptian people.
Just as Egypt was divided into two parts (the north and the
south) so was Hapi's domain, the Nile. As a god of the northern
Nile, Hapi was depicted wearing papyrus plants, a symbol of Lower Egypt, on his
head. In this form, he was called "Hap-Meht". The Nile-god of Upper Egypt was
"Hap-Reset" and wore lotus plants (a symbol of the south) on his head.
Osiris was originally a water or river god and eventually Hapi was identified with
him. However Hapi was recognized as one of the greatest Egyptian gods and he
was declared not only the maker of the universe, but the creator of everything
from which it and all things sprang. Hapi was also associated with Nun, as the
Nile's source of water.
Hapi had a certain mysteriousness about him. The Egyptians believed that the
Nile rose out of the ground between two mountains. Hapi was in charge of the
waters that flowed during the floods. The flood was commonly known as the
"arrival of Hapi". The Egyptians would toss sacrifices, amulets and other
offerings into the Nile at special places to appease Hapi and to ensure that he
would provide an adequate inundation to water their fields.
Khepri was a god of creation, the movement of the sun,
and rebirth. He is portrayed as a man with the head of a
beetle. In some Egyptian drawings, he had the wings of a
falcon to help him raise the sun each morning. As for
beetles, they were considered magical creatures to the
Egyptians.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the beetles just
appeared from nowhere- as they believed that their creator
god had appeared from nowhere. Thus, they thought that
the scarab beetle was special.
Khepri is a form of the sun-god Re. Khepri was
specifically the god of the rising sun. He was selfproduced and usually depicted as a human with a beetle
on his head, or sometimes with the beetle as his head. His
name comes from the Egyptian word, kheprer or "to
become".
It was Khepri job to ensure that each day started at the exact same time. He was
in charge of making sure that Re or Ra, the sun god, was born each morning and
traveled across the sky throughout the day. The ancient Egyptians believed that
Khepri, rolled the sun like a huge ball through the sky, then rolled it through the
underworld to the eastern horizon. Each morning Khepri would renew the sun so
that it could give life to all the world.
According to an ancient Egyptian creation myth, Nun was the waters of chaos
.Nun was the only thing that existed on Earth before there was land. Then, the first
land (in the form of a mound) rose out of Nun.
Nun is portrayed as man carrying a bark. A bark is a canoe like boat that was
meant for only one person. Nun is also portrayed as a bearded man with a blue or
green body, symbolizing water and soil fertility. He is the oldest of the ancient
Egyptian gods and father of Re, the sun god.
Nun was more than an ocean, he was a limitless expanse of motionless water. Even
after the world was created, Nun continued to exist and it was believed that he
would one day return to destroy the evils on the Earth and begin the cycle again.
In ancient Egypt there were no temples devoted specifically to Nun, but he was
represented by the a lake that was at the foot of each god’s temple. These lakes
were frequently referred to in religious prayers or ceremonies. It was believed that
Nun existed in every particle of water and formed the source of the river Nile and
the yearly innundation.