mirrored file at http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== [1]Front page - [2]Gods - [3]Cult Temple - [4]History of Religion - [5]More articles The Egyptian Gods their main centers of worship and some festival days Please note - Festival days are not historically correct but an estimation compiled from several sources. _On this page: [6]Satis, [7]Sekhmet, [8]Selket, [9]Serapis, [10]Seshat, [11]Seth, [12]Shu, [13]Sia, [14]Sobek, [15]Sokar, [16]Sopdet_ Satis/Satis satis Satis, "The Lady of Elephantine" and "She of Sehel (the island)" the giver of water for purification of the deceased, and associated with the inundation. Together with [17]Anuket she was the protectress of the waters of the Nile in the cataract area. Satis, [18]Anukis and [19]Khnum formed in later days the Triad of Abu (Elephantine) and the neighboring islands. She was depicted in human form, wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt, with two curved antelope horns on the side. When Khnum later was identified with [20]Re, Satis became the "Eye of Re" and assuming some of [21]Hathor´s aspects, she was seen as a goddess of women and love. _Main center of worship:_ _Abu/_Elephantine, 1st Nome, Upper Egypt [22]Top of Page Sekhmet/Sekhmet Sekhmet, her consort [23]Ptah and their son [24]Nefertem made up the Memphite Triad. Her name meant "the mighty one" and she was associated with war and appropriate retaliation and was said to have an awesome appeareance, her weapons being arrows 'with which she pierces heats', her body was said to spread a fiery glow. She was depicted with a lioness´ head and her breath was associated with the hot winds of the desert. Another name for her was 'The Eye of Re' showing her solar association and thereby also her association with the king. She was often called his mother and followed him in battle. Apart from her protective side she also represented the destructive side of the sun and was therefore sometimes called the daughter of Re. When Thebes was the seat of royal residence,(11th Dyn.) the local goddess [25]Mut was merged with her. She was also called "Great of Magic" and was a goddess of healing and surgery. _Main center of worship:_ _Mennefer/_Memphis, 1st Nome, Lower Egypt _Other sites:_ at _Imu_/Kom-el-Hisn, 3rd N, Lower Egypt to Sekhmet-Hathor _For a virtual page: [26]Go Here_ _Festivals:_ (exact dates not historically verified) 12 August - _25th Thuti_ - _Day of Sekhmet's repulsion of Set_ 17th Ocotber - _1st Koiak_ - _Month of Koiak Begins; The feast of Sekhmet_ 31st October - _15th Koiak_ - _Feast of Sekhmet, Bast and Ra_ 20th November - _5th Tybi_ - _Day of Sekhmet and the Purifying Flame_ 24th November - _9th Tybi_ - _Day of Offerings to Sekhmet_ 28th November - _13th Tybi_ - _Feast of Het-Hert (Hathor) and Sekhmet_ 14th December - _29th Tybi_ - _Tehuti (Thoth) sends Bast and Sekhmet to guide Egypt_ 28th December - _13th Mechir_ - _Day of Sekhmet Going forth to Letopolis_ 31st December - _16th Mechir_ - _Feast of Sekhmet_ 12th March - _27th Parmutit_ -_ End of the World by Sekhmet_ [27]Top of Page Selket/Serqet Her name means 'She who causes to breathe' and refers to her power of protecting from, or curing poisonous stings of scorpions and serpents. The reason for this might lie in the fact that those who have been bitten tend to breathe too fast and too shallow because of the poison. She is depicted with a scorpion ready to strike above her head or as a woman with a sorption's head. In ancient Egypt her priesthood was connected to the healing of poisonous bites and she was frequently appealed to for protection from venomous bites. She is mentioned already in the Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts as one of the four goddesses [28](Aset (Isis), [29]Nit, (Neith) [30]Nebt-Het (Nephtys) and [31]Serket who protects the canopic jars. Sometimes she is thought to be an aspect of Aset (Isis) as a protector of the child [32]Heru (Horus) and thereby also to all children and even the king. She is also sometimes associated with the sun´s scorching heat. Together with Neith she watched the sky so that noone would disturb [33]Amon and his wife, thus becoming a protector of the marriage union. She helped the deceased orient themselves in the Underworld, and she was said to bind the Apophis snake. She was also a patron to healers and magicians, and a protectress against venomous bites and poison. There was a priesthood to Serket in the ancient days but if there were temples and shrines built especially for her they seem to have gone without leaving traces. _Festivals:_ (exact dates not historically verified) 23th October - _7th Koiak_ - _Festival for Serqet (Selket)_ [34]Top of Page Serapis The cult of Serapis rose during the early Ptolemeian period. This was an anthropomorphic deity, most likely of Egyptian origin but with Hellenistic attributes like those of Zeus, Helios, Hades, Asclepios and Dionysos added. The basic model for Serapis could be said to be Osiris combined with the Apis bull which made up _Osirapis_, which in Greek became Serapis. On his head could be seen a corn measure, indicating him as the protector of the corn supply, and therefore pointing at his fertility function. His main cult centre was, though linked to the Apis bull, not at Saqqara, but at the Serapion at Alexandria. The Roman influenced Isis was seen as his consort and these two formed a pair which embodied the natural forces of male and female fertility. The Romans brought this cult all over their empire, even to Britain. > _Main cult center:_ The Serapion at Alexandria. [35]Top of Page Seshat/Seshat Goddess of writing and measurer of time, referred to as "she who is foremost in the house of books". She measured time and helped Pharaoh with laying out the ground plan of a new temple with a measuring cord, therefore she was also the "Lady of builders". Her most important function was to keep track of Pharaoh´s regnal years and jubilees. She also supervised the booty and tributes from foreign lands and military expeditions. She was shown as a woman wearing a panther skin robe, holding a pen, a palette and a tally-stick and on her head she wore a seven-pointed star surmounted by either a bow or a crescent moon with two falcons feathers. Often she held a palm leaf in her hand. Considered to be the consort of [36]Thoth (Djehuty) No historical temples or priesthood is known for Seshat. [37]Top of Page Seth/Seth Set, Seth, Sutek, the second son of [38]Geb and [39]Nut, depicted as either an animal with four legs, a curving snout, long ears and an erect tail, or as a human with an animal´s head. Which kind of animal this was has been subject to much debate. His skin was white and his hair red, he was called the god of chaos, of thunder and storms, of destruction and of the desert. He travelled with [40]Ra in the sun-boat, standing in the prow, spearing the attacking Apophis serpent of chaos. According to myth he was jealous of his brother Osiris and betrayed and killed him, taking his throne. Through this action the deceased received a ruler in the Underworld and Seth was later beaten by [41]Horus, the son of [42]Osiris. _Main center of worship:_ _Nebyet/_Ombos/Tukh, 5 th Nome, Upper Egypt. _Festivals:_ (exact dates not historically verified) _16th of July, the 3rd Epagomenal Day is the Birthday of Seth_ 30th August - _13th Paopi_ - _Day of Satisfying the Hearts of the Ennead_ 29th October - _13th Koiak_ - _Day of Going Forth of Het-Hert and the Ennead_ 15th November - _30th Koiak_ - _The Ennead feast in the House of Ra, Heru and Wasir_ 18th December - _3rd Mechir_ - _Seth Goes Forth_ 2nd March - _17th Parmutit_ - _Going forth of Seth, Son of Nut_ [43]Top of Page Shu/Shu Shu is one of the Heliopolitan Ennead. He is the god of sunlight and air, first recorded in the Old Kingdom, where he was responsible for bringing Ra and the king to life every day. Over a millenium later, Akenaten was to continue this tradition, by commemorating Shu as dwelling in the suns disk. Shu is one of the first two deities created by [44]Atum, the sun-god of Heliopolis. The semen (or in an alternative tradition, the mucus sneezed by Atum from his nostrils) of Atum gave birth to Shu. His wife, and also his twin sister, is [45]Tefnut, the goddess of moisture. Shu holds aloft the sky, and keeps separate his two children [46]Geb the earth god, and [47]Nut, the goddess of the sky. In sacred art, Shu is shown in human form with an ostrich feather on his head, the hieroglyph of his name. In the Underworld, Shu is dangerous, leading a band of torturers and executioners, whose slaughtering-block represents a great peril for the deceased. On the other hand, he is also a protection against the snake-god Apophis, and Shus spells can ward off the poisons of Apophis. Shu belongs to the cosmic deities and as such no temples were dedicated to him. There seems to have been no priesthood serving solely Shu either. A _Chapel_ was built to Shu, Atum, Tefnut, Re-Harakhte and the Theban triad at _Tjeku/Pithom, 8th N, Lower Egypt, by Osorkon II (22nd Dyn.) Festivals: (not historically verified) _ 30th August _13th Paopi_ - _Day of Satisfying the Hearts of the Ennead_ 14th May _30th Payni_ - _Tehuti (Thoth) appears with Shu to bring back Tefnut_ 2nd April _18th Pachons_ - _Day of Joy of the Ennead and crew of Ra_ 15th November _30th Koiak_ - _Ennead Feast in the House of Ra_ 2nd October _16th Hethara_ - _Day of the appearance of the eight Great Netjers (Primordials)_ [48]Top of Page Sia Personification of Divine Knowledge or Omniscience, which together with [49]Heka (divine power) and [50]Hu, personification of Divine Utterance, were neccessary for the King´s creative powers during the Old Kingdom. They are seen together with the falcon-headed sungod standing in the Sunboat as it travels across the sky; "_in order to sustain the life of men, and all the cattle, and all the worms, [everything] he has created"_. This points to the mythical concept that every sunrise is equal to the world being created anew, after having fought back all dangers on its way through the Underworld. Sia is a deity without a special worship, belonging to the Heliopolitan Creation myth and its´ early sun cult. [51]Top of Page Sobek/Sebek Sobek, Sebek, or (Gr:)Suchos, meaning crocodile. Lord of stretches of water and of fishes. There are several deities for water, Sobek being the most important. Son of [52]Neith and [53]Osiris or of Neith and Seth. His cult rose in the Twelfth Dynasty in the Fayum area. He is depicted either as a human with a crocodile's head, wearing an atef crown and carrying a was scepter and an ankh or in animal form as a crocodile, wearing the sun disc on his head, which shows his connection to Re. He is also seen with a falcon's head and this form shows him connected to Horus. His consort was said to be [54]Hathor and [55]Khonsu was their child. As he is a god of water, the Nile is said to issue from his sweat and "he made the herbage green". _Main centers of worship are two different ones:_ _Nebet/_Ombi/Kom Ombo, 1 st Nome, Upper Egypt _AND:_ _Faiyum/_Krokodilopolis/Medinet el-Faiyum, 20 th Nome, Lower Egypt _Festivals:_ (exact dates not historically verified) 9th october - _23 Hethara_ - _Ra judges the dispute of Set and Heru (Horus)._ 12th October - 26th _Hethara_ - _The Black Land is given to Horus, The Red Land is given to Set_ 20th October - _4th Koiak_ - _Festivals for Sebek (Sobek)_ 26th December - _11th Mechir_ - _Birth of Sebek (Sobek)_ 25th March - _14th Pachons_ - _Day of cutting out of the tongue of Sobek_ [56]Top of Page Sokar/Sokher Sokar, probably an earth and fertility god in early times. Later he developed into a mortuary deity, his cult center being near the necropolis of Mennefer (Memphis). He was depicted as a falcon headed human, showing his association to the king, and in the Pyramid Text he was mentioned in relation to [57]Osiris. In the Late period he became merged with [58]Ptah and Osiris and known as Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. _Main center of worship:_ _Mennefer_/Memphis, 1st N, Lower Egypt. _Festivals:_ (date unknown) In earlier times a stone was dragged across fields followed by people wearing onion garlands, probably a ritual for enhancing cultivation. The stone might have been his cultic image. [59]Top of Page Sopdet/Sothis Sothis was the goddess personifying the dog-star Sirius, the bright appearance of which in the July dawn sky announced the annual flooding of the Nile. The Egyptian name of the goddess was "Sopdet", from which came the Greek Sothis, normally used in Ancient Egyptian studies. She is portrayed as a lady with a star on her head. As early as the First Dynasty, Sothis was called bringer of the New Year and the Nile Flood. The agricultural calendar started with the rise of the Nile. Gradually Sothis became linked with the constellation Orion, because of the prosperity which resulted from the fertile silt left by the receding waters of the river. In the Pyramid texts, there is clear evidence that the king unites with his sister Sothis who gives birth to the morning star. She is also the kings guide to the heavenly Field of Rushes. In the Lamentations of [60]Isis and [61]Nepthys (a fourth century BC papyrus), Isis states that she is Sothis, who will without fail follow [62]Osiris in his manifestation as Orion in heaven. In the Late Period, the cult of Isis-Sothis resulted in less individuality for Sothis, and Greek versions of this double deity caused Sothis to be even further separated from her Pharaonic origins. P>Both Sothis and Orion are astral symbols for abundant crops. _Main center of worship:_ Per-sopdu/_Soped_/Saft el-Hinna, 20th Nome, Lower Egypt _Festivals:_ (exact dates not historically verified) 25th July _7th Thuthi_ - _Annual flooding of the Nile._ [63]Top of Page _ [64]A [65]B [66]G [67]H [68]I [69]K [70]M [71]N [72]O [73]P [74]R [75]S [76]T [77]U [78]W _ [79]Front page - [80]Gods - [81]Cult Temple - [82]History of Religion - [83]More articles [84]Contact me [mailme.gif] References 1. http://aker.virtualave.net/ 2. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruA.html" 3. http://aker.virtualave.net/temples1.html 4. http://aker.virtualave.net/history1.html 5. http://aker.virtualave.net/sitemap.html 6. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Satis 7. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Sekhmet 8. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Selket 9. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Serapis 10. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Seshat 11. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Seth 12. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Shu 13. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Sia 14. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Sobek 15. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Sokar 16. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Sothis 17. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruA.html 18. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruA.html 19. http://aker.virtualave.net/Netjeruk.html 20. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruR.html 21. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruH.html 22. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 23. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruP.html 24. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruN.html 25. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruM.html 26. http://www.netins.net/showcase/ankh/index.html 27. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 28. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruI.html 29. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruN.html 30. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruN.html 31. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruS.html 32. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruH.html 33. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruA.html 34. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 35. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 36. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruT.html 37. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 38. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruG.html 39. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruN.html 40. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruR.html 41. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruA.html 42. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruO.html 43. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 44. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruA.html 45. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruT.html 46. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruG.html 47. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruN.html 48. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 49. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruH.html 50. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruH.html 51. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 52. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruA.html 53. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruO.html 54. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruH.html 55. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruK.html 56. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 57. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruO.html 58. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruP.html 59. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 60. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruI.html 61. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruN.html 62. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruO.html 63. file://localhost/www/sat/files/netje%7Esd.htm#Top of page 64. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruA.html 65. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruB.html 66. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruG.html 67. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruH.html 68. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruI.html 69. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruK.html 70. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruM.html 71. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruN.html 72. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruO.html 73. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruP.html 74. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruR.html 75. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruS.html 76. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruT.html 77. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruW.html 78. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruW.html 79. http://aker.virtualave.net/ 80. http://aker.virtualave.net/NetjeruA.html" 81. http://aker.virtualave.net/temples1.html 82. http://aker.virtualave.net/history1.html 83. http://aker.virtualave.net/sitemap.html 84. mailto:keions at telia.com