What is ptah the god of

However, he was also described as the husband of Wadjet and numerous smaller local deities. He was the father of Nefertum and Maahes by either Bast or Sekhmet. In this form he was sometimes associated with Nepthys in representing Lower Egypt. He merged with Sokar a god of the necropolis as Ptah-Sokar, the personification of the sun during the night. He was also linked to Min , the fertility god. He was depicted as a mummified man with unbound arms holding a staff incorporating the ankh representing life , the was representing power and the djed representing stability.

Statues of him in this form often included a copy of spells from The Book of the Dead. This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. According to some theologies, Ptah was the creator god who spoke the primordial mound from which all other life rose into existence. Ptah served as the patron god of Memphis, the capital of Egypt at different points in its ancient history.

He also acted as a god of craftsmen and skilled laborers. In fact, many kings were crowned in his Memphite temple. Allen, James, San Antonio: Yale Egyptological Studies. Velde, Herman te, What follows are 9 amazing facts about this fascinating ancient Egyptian god. The Ancient Egyptians used the word k-m-t or kemet to refer to their own land, but outsiders had other names.

However, this referred not to Egypt but a temple dedicated to Ptah at Memphis, or to the city itself. The fact that the Greeks chose to use this name to refer to all of Egypt shows that Ptah and Memphis were extremely important even at this late stage. This is remarkable, because his worship extends back to the predynastic period, taking a leading role during the Old Kingdom when Memphis was the capital of Egypt.

As a result, Ptah is seldom mentioned in writing until much later. The vast majority of early texts stem from Heliopolis, where Ra and the closely associated Atum were worshipped. Nevertheless, the people of Memphis and the surrounding area had the utmost regard for the ancient god.

The temple bearing his name, mentioned above, was one of the most distinguished features of the city. From the time of its founding c. Memphite theology focused on the triad of Ptah, his wife Sekhmet, and their son Nefertem. Ptah was considered patron and protector of the city.

Fitting for such an important god worshipped over thousands of years, Ptah possessed numerous epithets, titles, and names that described his roles and characteristics. So high were the praises of this ancient Egyptian god that 19th-century historians were tempted to liken him to the Christian God. A closer look at his many epithets reveals a more intriguing picture. Unlike most Egyptian creator gods, Ptah himself is uncreated, having existed before anyone or anything. He willed the world into existence with the power of his mind, like a great conjuror of celestial proportions.

In Memphite texts, the present tense is used, indicating the ongoing act of sustaining life. Outside of his home city of Memphis, creation was attributed to other gods. Yet Ptah was seen as the ultimate source of the world — and the gods — in Heliopolis. Here Atum, after being thought into being by Ptah, used other components left by his creator to fashion the world and everything in it. Thus, much of Lower Egypt recognized Ptah as the great origin of all things.