In Egyptian mythology there are several demiurg gov, which created life, the whole world and even themselves. One of these belongs to Atum, which is considered to be the deity of the first. The ancient Egyptians called him the embodiment of the RA God, the Supreme Patron of our world.
Atuum himself, as the myths tell, appeared from the pristine ocean, sowing in the chaos of the Universe to create a life and an ordered system. It differs markedly from the usual Egyptian deities. Atumu on the right can be called eternal and omnipotent. What can the legends tell about this God? What was the atum himself and how did it manage to create peace?
Atum - Born Ocean
In ancient Egypt, each of the cities had his patron, and major centers sometimes united the triads or family of the gods. The cult of Atuma was especially common in Heliopole, where most of the information about God was preserved. Myths tell that Atum was not born by other deities.
This God managed to create himself, appearing in the primary chaos. In some legends, the original Ocean NUN was originally the essence of AUM, from which this God arose. It is not excluded that that is why some sources call Nuna by the father of Atuma, but this is not entirely true.
NUN was an abstract element, without being a personalized deity, and he could not "give birth to" another creature due to its own energy. Therefore, I tend to the most common version that Atum himself was a demiurge, that is, the God-Creator, who created the world and himself.
"Lord of both lands", - exactly so called Atum, implying that he was the patron saint of the Upper and Lower Egypt. If you are interested in the history of ancient Egypt, probably met a similar definition used in relation to the pharaohs. Atum was their defender and patron.
In addition, the Egyptian rulers sincerely believed that they were a terrestrial embodiment of God, and sometimes they argued that they combine the features of various powerful deities.
Appeam
The legends describe that atum appeared in the form of a snake, however, at the form of a snake, however, it appears in the images. Often his head is crowned with a double crown (there are the same on images of famous pharaohs).
Sometimes Atuma ancient artists represented in the appearance of the old man. In my opinion, so they wanted to show the significance and limitation of the reverence of this God. He was really one of the oldest gods. "The texts of the pyramids" say that Atum appeared from the ocean as a pristine mountain.
Sometimes the cult of God is associated with the veneration of the scarab, since Atum himself took the case of the sacred beetle. On the lake in Karnak in honor of Atuma, an image of a giant scarab was created, which appears from the water. This almost exactly reflects the plot of legends, according to which God in the appearance of the beetle came out of the primary waters of Nune.
No less interesting, I seemed information about God from the "Book of Dead". There ATUM declares Osiris that at the end of the life of our world he will destroy him to create a new one. Myth says that with the end of our universe will return to the original order. When it comes it, Atum will appear again from a chaotic element to build a new world and a completely new life.
God Atum - he and she
But if the images of Atuma can not surprise a modern man, then its entity seems more than strange. However, everything is an explanation. Since Atum appears with a demiurge, it is combined in it both men's and women's features. Hand of God is the goddess of Jusat.
When swallowing his own seed, ATUM was replenished two divine twins - Tefnut and Shu, personifying moisture and wind. It was these gods that gave rise to heba and nut who became land and sky. After the Light, Atuum's great-hearteds appeared - the famous four of the Gods, Osiris, Isis, Oil and Seth.
Identification with other gods
It is no coincidence that the name of Atum is often mentioned with the name of another Great Divine, RA. Like the Supreme God, Atum was the progenitor of all immortal patrons of humanity, the creator of the world, the guardian of world laws, the keeper of harmony. In some legends, God is referred to as ATUM-RA, associated with a sunset evening sun.
Interestingly, in various cities of ancient Egypt, Atuma was identified with different deities. For example, the people of Memphis believed that Atum is one of their embodiments of Ptah.
Sometimes they compared him from Hepry, which was known as the "Creator of Osiris". In ledge about God, ATUM is shown the chief judge on the Board of the Gods. It was he who sentenced to people who thought to overthrow the God of RA. The artist Will Atuma became the goddess-Lioness Sehmet, which went down to the ground and began to destroy the enemies of God.
In the pubs on a par with Atum, Amon was honored, which later became the most important gods of the Egyptian Pantheon. In Hermopleopield, Atum was identified with the one that was a powerful patron saint of an ancient city. Heliopol was considered the center of Atuum's cult, however, and there, with time, the reverence of RA gradually pushed her demiurge god.
Why did the reading of Atuma moved to the background, and his cult eclipsed the worship of other deities? It seems to me that the reason for this lies in ancient times and some uncertainty of the image of God-Creator. Egyptians saw Atuum not a specific personality of mythology, but by the power of light, the sun, the primary ocean, which gave life. Later, these functions took on other deities. However, at the ATUM himself, and he lost the primacy to the other immortal, but did not remain forgotten or abandoned.
On the cover: Atum - God Demiurg ancient Egypt / © Gukkhwa /gukkhwa.artStation.com