Shemanefer

Shemanefer (also represented in Greek as Samanouphis) was a crocodile god worshipped in Esna in the Greco-Roman period of Ancient Egypt. He had an ambiguous identity, being identified with, or sometimes considered the brother of, Sobek or Tutu. Furthermore, Thomas Gamelin observes that the exact nature of his identification was often based on the crown he was wearing: he functioned similarly to Sobek-Heru with the hemhem crown, Sobek-Geb with the tjeni crown, and Sobek-Ra with the solar disc.In his solar form, he also took on aspects of Osiris.

There is one story connected with him. "A long time ago a little girl lost her beloved pet dog in the swamps near her village. Her parents had warned her not to go near the reeds, but she and her puppy had been lost in their game of chase, and had not noticed how they had come so close to the swamps. When the girl looked back, she realized where they had wandered off to, but it was all too late. The sound of a flock of birds leaving in a panic startled her dog, and before she knew it, it had run off into the swamp.

She called its name, waited patiently, and called it again, but the dog did not return. She repeated her call, but the puppy remained missing. 

Distraught, not knowing what else to do, she went to the village and gathered her friends to help her find her puppy. Her friends saw her cry, and decided to help her. The boys and girls entered the swamps bravely, ignoring their parents’ warning, and disappeared out of sight.

Hours passed, and the day was nearing its end as Ra began to descend into the underworld.

The parents, tired from a long day working in the fields and seeing to the business of the village, returned home and noticed that their children were gone.

Their calls went unanswered, and their search of the village remained fruitless until a small boy who had been too scared to go with his friends into the swamp and had stayed behind told the adults what had happened.

Quickly, the parents gathered a search party as worry began to set in.

The swamp was a dangerous place for anyone, and they feared the worst. 

They entered the swamp one by one, pushing through the reeds, and stalking through the water, calling their children's names but with every passing moment their hope began to sink and was shattered the moment they encountered a crocodile. A wild and massive beast like no other, guarded the way forward, opening its maw dangerously wide and threatening anyone trying to get through. It seemed that all hope of finding the children was lost.

In their desperation the parents called out to the Gods for help, calling to the heavens, praying, and desperately pleading for any divine intervention when as if their prayers had been answered, a man stepped from the reeds.

A tall and handsome crocodile hunter appeared before them and asked them what they were doing in such a dangerous area. The parents told the stranger of what had happened and how they were desperate to find their children.

The man listened attentively and told them to go home. He promised them that he would find the children and return them unharmed.

Unsure, the parents did not know what else to do, but the man kept on insisting, and so they went home and waited, hoping the crocodile hunter would keep his promise.

As soon as the parents were gone the man turned himself into a magnificent falcon and soared into the skies above the swamp in search of the children. 

His eyes looked far and wide, and soon he discovered the boys and girls hovering with a puppy upon a small island among the reeds. Their adventure had taken them far and deep into the swamp. Impossible to find and harder yet to rescue.

The falcon landed beside the children and turned back into a man. So exhausted were the little ones that they did not flinch at the strange sight before them.

The man introduced himself as the God Shemanefer and told them that their parents were looking for them and were very worried. The children began to cry and said that they could not find their way back home and begged the God to help them. 

Moved by their tears, and true to his promise, he assured the children that he would take them home. 

He turned himself into a massive crocodile and ordered the children to climb upon his back.

One by one they did as they were told and made it off the island before they knew it.

Exhausted, they clung to each other, only comforted by the whimpers of the dog and the calm voice of the God, as they made their way through the swamp, encountering crocodiles and beautiful birds stalking the waters. The song of creation sounded all around them, and they began to calm down, even laughing on occasion, until finally they arrived upon a familiar shore with the lights of a distant village.

Shemanefer ordered them off his back and gave them one last warning never to go into the swamps again before he disappeared in his crocodile form behind the reeds.

Harsomtus, also known as Harsomptus or Somtus, is an ancient Egyptian deity who represents the powerful concept of creation, unity, and rebirth. His name originates from the Egyptian Her-Sema-Tawy, meaning “Horus who unites the Two Lands,” symbolizing both the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt and the cosmic harmony of the universe. Though less prominent than gods like Ra or Horus, Harsomtus held deep significance in temple rituals, particularly at Dendera and Edfu, where his worship flourished during the Greco-Roman era. He was considered a manifestation of both Horus and Ra, embodying their attributes of kingship, solar energy, and renewal. Through his role as a divine child, Harsomtus personified the perpetual rebirth of the sun and the eternal cycle of creation that sustained life in ancient Egyptian cosmology.

Harsomtus’s imagery is among the most visually intriguing in Egyptian art. He is most often depicted as a serpent emerging from a lotus flower—a vivid symbol of life arising from the primordial waters of Nun. This image, carved prominently in the crypts of the Temple of Hathor at Dendera, became known as the famous “Dendera Light,” representing divine energy and creation. In other portrayals, he appears as a young, naked child seated upon a lotus, embodying innocence and the dawn of existence, much like the god Harpocrates. His association with both serpent and lotus imagery emphasizes his dual nature: the serpent symbolizes wisdom, transformation, and primordial force, while the lotus signifies purity, rebirth, and the daily rising of the sun. Occasionally, Harsomtus is shown with a falcon’s head, linking him directly to Horus and the divine kingship of Egypt. This combination of serpent, lotus, and falcon iconography unites the elements of the sky, earth, and underworld, reinforcing his cosmic role as a unifier of all realms.

Harsomtus’s divine lineage reflects the interconnectedness of Egyptian mythology. He is traditionally recognized as the son of Horus—particularly in his form as Heru-Behdeti, the falcon god of Edfu—and Hathor, the goddess of love, fertility, and motherhood. Together, they formed the sacred Triad of Edfu, a familial grouping similar to other divine triads across Egypt, such as Osiris, Isis, and Horus in Abydos. This structure symbolized the cyclical nature of life: father as the sustaining force, mother as the nurturer, and child as the embodiment of renewal. In certain Theban traditions during the late New Kingdom, Harsomtus was described as the son of Amun and a local manifestation of Hathor known as Hathor-Chief-of-Thebes. These variations highlight how Egyptian mythology adapted to regional worship while maintaining consistent theological themes. Harsomtus also shared strong parallels with other divine children such as Ihy, the music-playing son of Hathor, and Harpocrates, the youthful Horus, both of whom expressed the joy and vitality of rebirth.

The name Harsomtus derives from the phrase Her-Sema-Tawy, “Horus who unites the Two Lands,” a title steeped in both political and spiritual symbolism. The “Two Lands” referred to Upper and Lower Egypt, whose unification represented the harmony of opposites—order over chaos, balance over division. The Greek transliteration “Somtus” or “Harsomptus” became common during the Ptolemaic period, reflecting the blending of Egyptian and Greek religious traditions. In temple inscriptions, Harsomtus was occasionally identified with Ihy (Ahy), emphasizing his musical and celebratory aspects, particularly in Dendera where both deities were venerated. He was also called “Son of the Ground,” referencing his serpent form’s connection to the earth and fertility. At times, he appeared under the epithet Harsomtus-em-hat, a name that later inspired noble titles, such as those of priests and royal scribes, indicating the enduring reverence of his divine identity.

Harsomtus embodied an extraordinary combination of solar, creative, and regenerative powers. In Egyptian theology, he was the divine force that emerged from the lotus at the dawn of creation, echoing the cosmic moment when light first broke through the primeval waters. This daily rebirth of the sun mirrored the god’s continual renewal and his role in maintaining Ma’at, the principle of universal balance and order. His serpent form symbolized the circulation of life energy and the cyclical rhythm of time, while his connection to Horus reinforced his attributes of kingship and protection.

Светоч

Gabriel Escudero (Crisol: Theater of Idols)

Torghun Khan.

Renenutet

Although serpentine in form, Renenutet (Egyptian for ‘snake who nourishes’) was a popular and beneficent deity. Protective in nature and of a nurturing rather than venomous disposition, she was a goddess of the harvest and a divine nurse. In the Old Kingdom Renenutet was venerated as a guardian of the king in this life and in the beyond, being identified, like Wadjet, with the flame-breathing royal uraeus and also the king’s robe ‘of which the gods are afraid’. In the latter aspect she came to be sometimes associated with the bandages of the mummy. Her aspect as a goddess of fertility and harvest is clearly denoted in her epithets ‘lady of the fertile land’, ‘lady of the threshing floor’ and ‘lady of the granaries’, and her role in this area may have originated in the imagery of the serpent who protects the crops and store grain alike. Renenutet was also identified with the household and family life in her role as provider, nourisher and as a nurse of infants. The interrelationships of the goddess with other deities were extensive. In the Fayum Renenutet came to be linked with Sobek and Horus as a member of a triad named by the Greeks Hermouthis, Sekonopos and Ankhoes. As a grain goddess she was identified as the mother of Osiris in his form of the child Nepri, and in the Book of the Dead Renenutet is said to be the mother of Horus by Atum and thus came to be identified with Isis, with whom she shared the trait of divine nurse. Her associations with children also identified her with Meskhenet as a birth goddess and with Hathor whose headdress she wore. In the New Kingdom Litany of Re she appears in the underworld as the ‘Lady of Justification’ and in this form she may be associated with the goddess Maat. Finally, in the Late Period, like the god Shay, Renenutet was associated with the idea of fate and destiny, deciding not only the length of an individual’s life but also many of its events.

The iconography of Renenutet is most frequently that of an erect cobra with a sun disk and horns atop its head, often with two tall plumes surmounting the solar disk. The goddess may also be depicted anthropomorphically as a woman or a woman with a snake’s head, standing or enthroned and sometimes holding or nursing a child which may be her son Nepri or a more generalized infant. In vignettes of the Litany of Re Renenutet is depicted as a mummiform being with the head of a cobra, through this is a specialized iconography not usually applied to the goddess. Sometimes she is the object of veneration of minor gods as in a granary at Karnak where the god Hapy was shown presenting offerings to her. Terracotta figures of the Ptolemaic Period depict the goddess as a form of Isis with a snake’s head rising from a woman’s body or with a woman’s head atop a snake.

Onuris (also known as Onouris, Anhur, Anhuret, Han-Her, Inhert) Greek name for the Egyptian war god Anhur, whom the Greeks identified with their god Ares. He was believed to be the personification of the warlike nature of the sun god Ra, and he was often coupled with the god Shu, who held up the heavens, and invoked under the composite god Onouris-Shu. In Egyptian art Onouris is portrayed in a headdress adorned with four straight plumes, wearing a long embroidered robe. He is often holding a lance. He is sometimes seen holding a cord by which he leads the sun. "...A long time ago, a young girl was walking in the fields that stood close by her village, singing to herself, when a lion appeared out nowhere and spotted her. The beast licked its maw and roared. Here, he had a meal ready to be devoured. The girl screamed in fear, but the lion’s terrible cry startled her, and she froze in place. The lion roared again and pounced upon the girl when a second beast appeared, four plumes in its mane, and ripped the lion away from the girl before it could hurt her. The appearance of the second lion startled the beast, but it threw itself into a fight immediately. Roars and screams were heard all across the fields and reached the village. Alarmed, the people came running to see what was happening, just to witness a magnificent lion triumph over one of its brethren as it protected a girl. The people watched as the victorious lion stood protectively over the girl, before it raised its head, roared, and with a jump, dissipated into the air, leaving four plumes behind..."

Akhty

Akhty (also read Netjer-akhty) was an ancient Egyptian deity. He was rarely mentioned. Akhty was depicted as a northern bald ibis. The bird depiction was often guided by the hieroglyphic sign for "god", Netjer. The earliest mention of this deity appears on stone vessel inscriptions from the reign of the 2nd dynasty Pharaoh Hotepsekhemwy. Egyptologists such as Wolfgang Helck believe that Akhty was a dynasty deity and ancestor god. Akhty was also depicted (and thus worshipped) under Hotepsekhemwy's successors, Raneb and Nynetjer. During the Old Kingdom period, Akhty's name only appears in connection with private names (like Akhetaa) and priest titles such as Hem-netjer-Akhty ("god's servant of Akhty"). In even later times, Akhty's names appears more and more rarely. According to ancient Egyptian mythology, the Akh-bird was believed to be the representation of the human spirit (Egyptian: Akh). Most possibly this idea was inspired by the attractive shimmering and glittering of the bird's feathers, which was compared by the Ancient Egyptians to the glittering of the stars in the night sky. A similar belief is known from Persian Bedouins, who worship the northern bald ibis as a bearer of the deceased's soul. As Akhty's name suggests, he was believed to reside at the evening horizon, guiding the setting sun and carrying the spirit of the deceased safely into the night sky.

Beautiful Ahti, Your hands are full of stars, Which You pour upon our bodies, At dawn, Planting tiny flames of souls within, So that later, at sunset, They may break free, As a flock of shimmering birds.

Ахти (также читалось как Нетер-Ахти) был древнеегипетским божеством. Он редко упоминался. Ахти изображался в виде северного лысого ибиса. Изображение птицы часто сопровождалось иероглифическим знаком, обозначающим «бога», Нетджер. Самое раннее упоминание об этом божестве встречается в надписях на каменных сосудах времён правления 2-й династии фараона Хотепсехемуи. Такие египтологи, как Вольфганг Хельк, считают, что Ахти был божеством династии и богом-прародителем. Ахти также изображался (и, следовательно, ему поклонялись) при преемниках Хотепсехемуи, Ранебе и Нинетджере. В период Старого царства имя Ахти встречается только в связи с личными именами (например, Ахета) и титулами священников, такими как Хем-нетьер-Ахти ("слуга Бога Ахти"). В более поздние времена имена Ахти появляются все реже. Поклонение Согласно древнеегипетской мифологии, считалось, что птица Ах олицетворяет человеческий дух. Скорее всего, эта идея была навеяна привлекательным мерцанием и блеском перьев птицы, которое древние египтяне сравнивали с сиянием звёзд на ночном небе. Похожее поверье известно у персидских бедуинов,которые почитают северного лысого ибиса как носителя души умершего. Как следует из имени Ахти, считалось, что он обитает на вечернем горизонте, направляя заходящее солнце и благополучно перенося дух умершего в ночное небо.

Прекрасный Ахти, Длани твои полны звезд, Которые Ты проливаешь На наши тела, На рассвете, Вселяя в них душ огоньки, Что бы потом, на закате, Вырвались они на свободу, Стаей мерцающих птиц.

Bata

Bata from Saka is an Egyptian bull-god of the New Kingdom, who represents together with his brother Anubis the 17th Upper Egyptian Nome. Until the middle of the Eighteenth Dynasty Bata was represented as a ram and later as a bull. Bata is probably identical with the death god Bt of the Egyptian Old Kingdom, known from the Saqqara necropolis, for instance from the Mastaba of Ti. Bata is not mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts. Bata is the name of the protagonist in the Tale of Two Brothers, a copy of which survives on the New Kingdom Papyrus D’Orbiney, where he is the brother of Anubis. He is also mentioned in the Ptolemaic Papyrus Jumilhac.

NU (NUN)

Male and female primeval dieties who the priesthood of Hermopolis included in the Ogdoad, which consisted of the eight gods who created the world. Nun was called the "father of the gods" and was basically an abstract concept: he had neither temples nor worshippers. There is a myth that Tem created Nun as his home and sailed over him each day in two magical boats, one called Mantchet, "becoming strong", the other Semket, "becoming weak". In Egyptian art Nun was portrayed as a frog-headed man and Naunet, his female counterpart, as a snake. He was sometimes shown plunged up to his waist in water, with his arms supporting the gods who issued from his body. He was also depicted wearing a solar disk with plumes on his head. A variant spelling is Nu. Nu ("Watery One") or Nun ("The Inert One"), in ancient Egyptian religion, is the personification of the primordial watery abyss which existed at the time of creation and from which the creator sun god Ra arose.

Nu is one of the eight deities of the Ogdoad representing ancient Egyptian primordial Chaos from which the primordial mound arose. Nun can be seen as the first of all the gods and the creator of reality and personification of the cosmos. Nun is also considered the god that will destroy existence and return everything to the Nun whence it came. No cult was addressed to Nun. The name on Nu is paralleled with nen "inactivity" in a play of words in, "I raised them up from out of the watery mass [nu], out of inactivity [nen]". The name has also been compared to the Coptic noun "abyss; deep". The ancient Egyptians envisaged the oceanic abyss of the Nun as surrounding a bubble in which the sphere of life is encapsulated, representing the deepest mystery of their cosmogony.In ancient Egyptian creation accounts, the original mound of land comes forth from the waters of the Nun.The Nun is the source of all that appears in a differentiated world, encompassing all aspects of divine and earthly existence. In the Ennead cosmogony, Nun is perceived as transcendent at the point of creation alongside Atum the creator god. In the beginning the universe only consisted of a great chaotic cosmic ocean, and the ocean itself was referred to as Nu. In some versions of this myth, at the beginning of time Mehet-Weret, portrayed as a cow with a sun disk between her horns, gives birth to the sun, said to have risen from the waters of creation and to have given birth to the sun god Ra in some myths.The universe was enrapt by a vast mass of primordial waters, and the Benben, a pyramid mound, emerged amid this primal chaos. There was a lotus flower with Benben,and from this when it blossomed emerged Ra.There were many versions of the sun's emergence, and it was said to have emerged directly from the mound or from a lotus flower that grew from the mound, in the form of a heron, falcon, scarab beetle, or human child.In Heliopolis, the creation was attributed to Atum, a deity closely associated with Ra, who was said to have existed in the waters of Nu as an inert potential being. Beginning with the Middle Kingdom, Nun is described as "the father of the gods" and he is depicted on temple walls throughout the rest of ancient Egyptian religious history.

The Ogdoad includes along with Naunet and Nun, Amaunet and Amun; Hauhet and Heh; and Kauket and Kek. Like the other Ogdoad deities, Nu did not have temples or any center of worship. Even so, Nu was sometimes represented by a sacred lake, or, as at Abydos, by an underground stream. Nun was depicted as an anthropomorphic large figure and a personification of the primordial waters,with water ripples filling the body, holding a notched palm branch. Nun was also depicted in anthropomorphic form but with the head of a frog, and he was typically depicted in ancient Egyptian art holding aloft the solar barque or the sun disc. He may appear greeting the rising sun in the guise of a baboon. Nun is otherwise symbolized by the presence of a sacred cistern or lake as in the sanctuaries of Karnak and Dendara.

Nu was shown usually as male but also had aspects that could be represented as female or male. Naunet (also spelt Nunet) is the female aspect, which is the name Nu with a female gender ending. The male aspect, Nun, is written with a male gender ending. As with the primordial concepts of the Ogdoad, Nu's male aspect was depicted as a frog, or a frog-headed man. In Ancient Egyptian art, Nun also appears as a bearded man, with blue-green skin, representing water. Naunet is represented as a snake or snake-headed woman.

In the 12th Hour of the Book of Gates, Nu is depicted with upraised arms holding a solar bark (or barque, a boat). The boat is occupied by eight deities with Khepri, Ra's morning aspect, standing in the middle and being surrounded by the seven other deities.