Ancient Psychedelia: Alien Gods & Mushroom Goddesses
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| Ptah was a widely regarded and popular therapeutic divinity with a great temple at Memphis where people would sleep in hopes of receiving revelations of cures and remedies in their dreams, inspired by the great healer. (42) When Memphis rose to become the capital of Egypt, Ptah was elevated to the position of the creator god of Egypt. Ptah’s spouse was Sekhmet and Bast and their son Nefertum and Maahes. Two of his epithets were “He who set all the gods in their places” and “He who gives all things the breath of life.” He is also called “The Self-Created One” who created the universe from his thought or his word. He was a craftsman said to have invented masonry, as his skills included carpentry, sculpting, painting and building and he was likely the first to be attributed the title of the architect of the universe. Ptah was said to be the creator of the heavens and the earth and the father or creator of Khnum. (43) He is usually depicted holding the was scepter (33d, f). Khnum was another ram-headed god like Amun. Khnum is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and is considered one of the ancient deities of the pre-Dynastic period. The Pharaoh of the Old Kingdom, thought to have built the Great Pyramid was titled “Khnum-Khufu,” designating Khnum as his protector deity. He was a water god associated with the Nile River, and the molding of clay. He was said to have created mankind as well as the other gods on a potter’s wheel (33e). One of his epithets was the “Divine Potter.” He was considered a protective deity of the dead and his assistance was called upon in prayers so that the dead would receive favorable judgment in the Halls of Ma’at. The word for ram in Egyptian was “ba” and Khnum was called “the ba of Ra.” During the New Kingdom he was united with Satet (Satis) and his daughter was Anuket. Both the ankh and the was scepter were part of his iconography. (44) Khnum had temples at both Elephantine dating back at least to the Middle Kingdom while his temple at Esna dates at least to the Ptolemaic Kingdom. (45) At Esna, he was paired with the goddess Neith and called the “father of the fathers,” while Neith was called “the mother of the mothers” and their son Ra was titled, Khnum-Ra. (46) In some versions of the story, Khnum is sometimes depicted as a crocodile-headed god while Nebt-uu and Menhit are Khnum's principal consorts and Heka is his eldest son and successor. (47) |
  R: (33f) Valley of the Kings. Ptah within a shrine receiving offerings from Ramesses III  (33e) Khnum and Goddess Heqet, Moulds Ihy in a Relief from the Mammisi (Birth Temple) at Dendera Temple (42) Healing Gods, p. 75 (43) https://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/ptah.html (44)https://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/khnum.html (45) Wilkinson, Richard H., The Complete Temples of Ancient Egypt, Thames and Hudson, 2000 (46) Kathryn Bard, Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt, Psychology Press, 1999 (47) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khnum |
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