Gods of Egypt - Khepri, Khnum, Khonsu, Kuk

Written by Felgr Pavel on .

A B E G H I K M N O P R S T W

Khepri

God Khepri (literally "The one, who come into being") was the creator and sun god. Khepri was depicted as an scarab - dung beetle - or man with a head of dung beetle. Dung beetle was chosen for god creator and sunrise depiction because of its activity. It lays its eggs in a ball of dung and rolls it to a ball - it represented the sun. Egyptians observed emerged beetles coming out of the dung ball and it reminded them life birth from the primordial ground clod. Scarabs was considered to be able to create new life.

Scarab amulet was very popular since Middle Kingdom period and it was worn on bracelets and necklaces. Scarab was used as funerary talisman as well, it was placed on heart of deads and should protect them from sins confession during the interrogation.

Khnum

God Khnum was an ancient god, who was depicted as ram head man or as a ram. The ram used for his depiction was an early type of domesticated ram (Ovis longipes) with long corkscrew horns growing horizontally outwards from his head. The ancient Egypt's expression for a "ram" was ba, Which also was expression for the principle related with human's "personality" (apparently with non-physical attributes, which make human being unique or perhaps with ethical spirit of human's motives and manners). Khnum was considered as ba of sun god Ra, perhaps thanks to ancient Egypt's enthusiasm for puns. Therefore Ra was depicted with ram head, floating through the Underworld on a sun barge. Ba of a dead humans was surely more moveable than their ka (spirit).

God Khnum as a god creator was connected with potters protection, fertile land, yearly Nile floods and Nile's cataracts. Khnum's main cult centre was situates on Elephantine island near the first cataract in southern Egypt boundary. Another significant temple sacred to Khnum was in Esna. Lion goddess Menhet was his wife in this temple and it was right there, where annual "Pottery wheel festival" took place.

Khonsu

God Khonsu was son of Amun and Mut and he was a Moon god. His name means "The one, who travel", what is probably derived from moon's sky movement. He was also god of healing in Late period. His main cult centre was Thebes (Waset).

Kuk

This god with frog's head was darkness personification. His wife was serpent's head goddess Kauket.

Khepri   Khnum   Khonsu   Khonsu
Khepri   Khnum   Khonsu   Khonsu

Message from the Nile

  • History of Czech institution of egyptology

    The Czech egyptology founder is Frantisek Lexa, the author of up to now evaluated work about ancient Egypt magic and Demotic grammar. Seminar for egyptology started thanks to him in Faculty of Philosophy and Arts of Charles University in Prague in 1925. Two years later Lexa became the first regular professor of egyptology in then Czechoslovakia.

  • Abusir - outstation of Czech egyptology expedition

    Abusir is an archaeological locality in Egypt named after nearby recent village Abusir. It is situated on western Nile bank on the edge of Libyan tableland approximately 20 kilometers to the south-west of Cairo. The name of this locality is derived from ancient Egypt god Osiris, from Per Usir (Busiris), "(cult) place of Osiris" (Busiris in Greek).

  • Researches in Western desert

    Czech egyptology is successful in researching not only on pyramidal fields in Abusir recently, but also in supporting and organizing smaller expeditions into egyptian Western desert. Czech expedition has been working even in slowly evanescent oasis El-Hajez since 2003, which is situated about 400 km to the south-west from Cairo.

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