Tatenen
Tatenen | ||||||
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Name in hieroglyphs |
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Major cult center | Memphis | |||||
Offspring | the Ogdoad (some accounts) |
Tatenen (also Ta-tenen, Tatjenen, Tathenen, Tanen, Tenen, Tanenu, and Tanuu) was the
Tatenen represented the
He is first attested in the inscriptions that mostly appear on coffins during the First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom. In those inscriptions his name appears as Tanenu or Tanuu, 'the inert land', a name which characterizes him as a deity of the primeval condition of the earth. Middle Kingdom texts provide the first examples of the form Tatenen.[3]
With a staff, Tatenen repelled the evil serpent Apep from the Primeval Mound. He also had a magical mace dedicated to the falcon, venerated as "The Great White of the Earth Creator".[9] In one interpretation, Tatenen brought the Djed-pillars of stability to the country,[9] although this is more commonly attributed to Ptah.
Ptah-Tatenen
Both Tatenen and Ptah were Memphite deities. Tatenen was the more ancient, combined in the
Portrayal
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Tatenen's ambiguous portrayal may be a result of his being merged with Ptah. He was most commonly depicted in human form, sometimes with green skin,[10] usually seated with a pharaonic beard, wearing either an Atef-crown (as Ptah-Sokar) or, more commonly, a pair of ram's horns surmounted by a sun disk and two tall feathers.[3] As Tanenu or Tanuu, obviously a chthonic deity, he carried two snakes on his head.[3] He was both feminine and masculine because of his status as a primeval, creator deity.[1] Some depictions show Tatenen with a green complexion (face and arms), as he had connections to fertility and a chthonic association with plants.[2]
References
- ^ a b c d Tatenen. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
- ^ a b c The Egyptian Gods Archived 2009-05-03 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2008-10-21.
- ^ a b c d e f Tatenen Retrieved 2009-10-21.
- ^ C. J. Bleeker. Historia Religionum I: Religions of the Past, p.68
- ^ M. Lichtheim: Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol.3, p.113
- ^ J. H. Breasted: Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Three, § 411
- ^ J. H. Breasted: Ancient Records of Egypt, Part Two, § 91
- ^ Carol Andrews: The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead, spell 180
- ^ a b Intersexed and Androgynous Deities in Religion or Mythology. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
- ^ Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. p. 130