Aquatic deities?

[thalassa]

I'm randomly wondering, what water-related deities are there in the ancient Egyptian pantheon?

[Aeran]

Re: Aquatic deities?

Sobek comes to mind, though I'm not sure if he's strictly 'aquatic.'

[monsno_leedra]

Re: Aquatic deities?

I wish you luck. I've seen so many listed in one place but not another that it's hard to tell. Then factor in that a god / goddess might be associated with water at the head waters of the Nile yet have nothing to do with it closer to the Med or in the desert regions.

It's like I've seen Bastet associated with waters and the fertility of the waters. Even her temple was surrounded by a moat that was drawn from the Nile which some have suggested a connection to the water. But nothing formally stating she is identified or associated with water from her mythology or archaeology.

[Corvus]

Re: Aquatic deities?

Nu is the one that immediately springs to mind since he and his counterpart Nunet are representative of the primordial waters. As part of the Ogdoad they are two of the primordial deities of Kemet. Nu and Nunet are sometimes seen as the same entity with Nunet being Nu's name with a feminine ending. The Ogdoad includes Naunet and Nun (water) , Amaunet and Amun (hidden things), Hauhet and Heh (infinity), and Kauket and Kuk (darkness). They precede creation and from them comes the creator god Atum (though he is generally seen as self created). Nu was depicted as having a frog head while Nunet has a snake head. The Ogdoad were not known to be widely worshiped. Nu and Nunet would eventually be associated with the chaos that existed before creation.

Tefnut is the goddess of moisture is Kemet. She is born when the god Atum (or Re) spits, and her brother Shu (air) when he sneezes. Other texts have them being born by Atum's masturbation. With Shu she gives birth to Nut (the Sky) and Geb (the Earth). She is depicted with a lioness head, many times topped with a uraeus serpent or solar disc. Fresh water is produced from her and she has the ability to purify dirty waters. She, like many other goddesses, is one of the Eyes of Re and as such is a protective and healing goddess. In one myth she becomes very angry with Re and in a lion form flees to Nubia where she kills anyone who comes near her. Only when Thoth comes and calms her with reason does she return. She is goddess of all moisture including mists, rain and dew.

Sobek is a god of crocodiles and is associated with the Nile. He is a fierce military god with the head of a crocodile. He is a god of military power, sexuality and fertility and was heavily associated with the power of the Pharaoh. He is commonly known for defending the innocent and being a hero. However, he is a god of intense sexuality where he sometimes rapes and abducts. Some epitaphs of his reflect this such as "he who eats while he mates" and "he who is of pointed teeth". He is a violent and fierce god that was invoked to protect against drownings and in battle to obtain victory over the enemy. The ferocity of the Crocodile is invoked through this god as a protective figure. Mummified crocodile corpses have been tied to his worship. In later times he would become a solar deity by combining with Ra or Heru as Sobek-Ra and Sobek-Horus.

In a desert culture such as Kemet water was extremely important so there's numerous gods of water and rain. In addition most important or widely worshiped gods are in some way connected to water. Gods of agriculture especially are associated with rain and the Nile. There are dozens of references to such deities.

[Gleb]

Re: Aquatic deities?

There's also Hapi, the God-Lord of the Nile. The citizens that were visiting the Nile for various purposes were praying to him for achieving success in their work.

[Satu]

Re: Aquatic deities?

The ancient Egyptians were mainly concerned with the Nile and the oases. They weren't too fond the ocean or other large bodies of water like that. Many Netjeru are associated with water in one way or another. Many of Them have already been mentioned.

Ausir (Gr: Osiris) is associated with the Nile inundation, and the inundation is also said to be the tears of Aset (Gr: Isis). In Greco-Roman times, Bast was said to be the ba (ie: the effective manifestation) of the Nile inundation. In fact, the Eyes of Ra in general are associated with the Nile inundation.

I believe Amun or Aset would be called upon during long sea voyages. The ocean itself is a very Setian domain, according to ancient Egyptian thought.

Let's not forget Khnum, Satet (Gr: Satis), and Anuket (Gr: Anukis) at Elephantine. Khnum especially was in charge of opening the gates that allowed the Nile to flood at its season.

Atum is sort of an aquatic deity. He came from the waters of Nun and, after He destroys what He's created, He will return to those waters as a serpent.

[Satu]

Re: Aquatic deities?

Ack, I forgot Hatmehit! She's the foremost of the fishes, for goodness sake. I think She got overshadowed by either Heryshef or Banebdjedet. I think it was Banebdjedet.

[thalassa]

Re: Aquatic deities?

Hey guys, thanks! I don't know all that much about Egyptian deities, much less really where to start looking when it comes to less well-known ones!

[InspiringRaine]

Re: Aquatic deities?

Satu, Corvus, and Gleb pretty much covered all of the ones I know. I even took a few notes on unfamiliar names.

What I can say, is a lot of deities are pretty closely related to each other. Since the Nile was so important to the Egyptians, there are a lot of gods that have some form of relation to the Nile in general, if it isn't the nile they're related to, it's the cosmic waters of Nun (Nu).