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| Hu "ḥw" in hieroglyphs |
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In Egyptian mythology, Hu (ḥw) is the deification of the first word, the word of creation, that Atum was said to have exclaimed uponejaculating or, alternatively, his self-castration, in his masturbatory act of creating the Ennead.
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Hu is mentioned already in the Old Kingdom Pyramid texts (PT 251, PT 697) as companion of the deceased pharaoh. Together with Sia, he was depicted in the retinue of Thoth, with whom he was also occasionally identified.
In the Middle Kingdom, all gods participated in Hu and Sia, and were associated with Ptah who created the universe by uttering the word of creation. Hu was depicted in human shape, as a falcon, or as a man with a ram's head.
In the New Kingdom, both Hu and Sia together with Heke, Irer and Sedjem were members of the fourteen creative powers of Amun-Ra. By the time of Ptolemaic Egypt, Hu had merged with Shu (air).
References[edit]
- Wilkinson, R. H., Die Welt der Götter im Alten Ägypten. Glaube - Macht - Mythologie, Stuttgart 2003
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| Saa in hieroglyphs |
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In Egyptian mythology, Sia or Saa was the deification of perception in the Heliopolitan Ennead cosmogony and is probably equivalent to the intellectual energies of the heart of Ptah in the Memphite cosmogeny.[1] He also had a connection with writing and was often shown in anthropomorphic form [2] holding a papyrus scroll. This papyrus was thought to embody intellectual achievements.[3]
It was said that Atum created the two gods Sia and Hu from his blood spilled while cutting his own penis, a possible reference to circumcision.[4]
Sia appeared standing on the Solar barge during its journey through the night in New Kingdom underworld texts and tomb decorations,[5] together withHu, "creative utterance" and Heka (god) the god of magic. These gods were seen as special powers helping the creator, and although Heka had his own cult Sia did not.[6]
Hieroglyph: Sia[edit]
The Sia (hieroglyph) was also used to represent "to perceive", "to know" or "to be cognizant".
encyclopedia
(Redirected from Shu (Egyptian deity))
| Shu | |||||
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| God of the wind and air | |||||
The ancient Egyptian god Shu is represented as a human with feathers on his head, as he is associated with light and air. This feather serves as the hieroglyphic sign for his name. Shu could also be represented as a lion, or with a more elaborate feathered headdress.[1]
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| Name inhieroglyphs |
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| Major cult center | Heliopolis, Leontopolis | ||||
| Symbol | the ostrich feather | ||||
| Consort | Tefnut | ||||
| Parents | Ra or Atum andIusaaset | ||||
| Siblings | Tefnut Hathor Sekhmet | ||||
| Offspring | Nut and Geb | ||||
Shu (/ʃuː/; meaning "emptiness" and "he who rises up") was one of the primordial gods in Egyptian mythology, a personification of air, one of the Ennead of Heliopolis.
Contents
[hide]Family[edit]
He was created by Atum, his father and Iusaaset, his mother in the city of Heliopolis. With his twin sister Tefnut (moisture), he was the father of Nut and Geb. His daughter, Nut, was the sky goddess whom he held over the Earth (Geb), separating the two. The Egyptians believed that if Shu didn't hold his son and daughter (the god of the earth and the goddess of the sky) apart there would be no way life could be created.
Myths[edit]
As the air, Shu was considered to be cooling, and thus calming, influence, and pacifier. Due to the association with air, calm, and thus Ma'at (truth, justice and order), Shu was portrayed in art as wearing an ostrich feather. Shu was seen with between one and four feathers. The ostrich feather was symbolic of light and emptiness. Fog and clouds were also Shu's elements and they were often called his bones. Because of his position between the sky and earth, he was also known as the wind.[2]
In a much later myth, representing the terrible weather disaster at the end of the Old Kingdom, it was said that Tefnut and Shu once argued, and Tefnut left Egypt for Nubia (which was always more temperate). It was said that Shu quickly decided that he missed her, but she changed into a cat that destroyed any man or god that approached. Thoth, disguised, eventually succeeded in convincing her to return.
The Greeks associated Shu with Atlas, the primordial Titan who held up the celestial spheres,as they are both depicted holding the sky.[3]
The air god Shu separated the sky goddess Nut from the earth god, Geb. This treatment symbolized duality, the separation of the world into opposites: above and below, light and dark, good and evil. Shu is mostly represented by a man. Only in his function as a fighter and defender as the sun god does he sometimes receive a lion's head. In Egyptian mythology, Shu arrived as breath from the nose of the original god, Atum-Ra, together with his sister and wife, Tefnut, the moist air. The first pair of cosmic elements then created thesky goddess, Nut, and the earth god, Geb, who in turn created the deities Isis, Osiris, Nephthys and Set.[2]
Heka or He- KA (/ˈhɛkə/; Egyptian: Ḥkȝ; also spelt Hike) was the deification of magic in Egyptian mythology, his name being the Egyptian word for "magic". According to Egyptian writing (Coffin text, spell 261), Heka existed "before duality had yet come into being." The term "Heka" was also used for the practice of magical ritual. The Coptic word "hik" is derived from the Ancient Egyptian.
Heka literally means activating the Ka, the aspect of the soul which embodied personality. Egyptians thought activating the power of the soul was how magic worked. "Heka" also implied great power and influence, particularly in the case of drawing upon the Ka of the gods. Heka acted together with Hu, the principle of divine utterance, and Sia, the concept of divine omniscience, to create the basis of creative power both in the mortal world and the world of the gods.
As the one who activates Ka, Heka was also said to be the son of Atum, the creator of things in general, or occasionally the son of Khnum, who created specific individual Ba (another aspect of the soul). As the son of Khnum, his mother was said to be Menhit.
The hieroglyph for his name featured a twist of flax within a pair of raised arms; however, it also vaguely resembles a pair of entwined snakes within someone's arms. Consequently, Heka was said to have battled and conquered two serpents, and was usually depicted as a man choking two giant entwined serpents. Medicine and doctors were thought to be a form of magic, and so Heka's priesthood performed these activities.
Egyptians believed that with Heka, the activation of the Ka, an aspect of the soul of both gods and humans, (and divine personification of magic), they could influence the gods and gain protection, healing and transformation. Health and wholeness of being were sacred to Heka. There is no word for religion in the ancient Egyptian language, mundane and religious world views were not distinct; thus Heka was not a secular practice but rather a religious observance. Every aspect of life, every word, plant, animal and ritual was connected to the power and authority of the gods.[1]
In ancient Egypt, medicine consisted of four components; the primeval potency that empowered the creator-god was identified with Heka, who was accompanied by magical rituals known asSeshaw, held within sacred texts called Rw. In addition Pekhret, medicinal prescriptions, were given to patients to bring relief. This magic was used in temple rituals as well as informal situations by priests. These rituals, along with medical practices, formed an integrated therapy for both physical and spiritual health. Magic was also used for protection against the angry deities, jealous ghosts, foreign demons and sorcerers who were thought to cause illness, accidents, poverty and infertility.[2]