Banebdjedet
Encyclopedia
Banebdjedet was an Ancient Egyptian ram god with a cult centre at Mendes
. Khnum was the equivalent god in Upper Egypt
. His wife was the goddess Hatmehyt ("Foremost of the Fishes") who was perhaps the original deity of Mendes. Their offspring was "Horus the Child
" and they formed the so called "Mendesian Triad". The words for "ram" and "soul" sounded the same in Egyptian so ram deities were at times regarded as appearances of other gods.
Typically Banebdjedet was depicted with four rams' heads to represent the four Ba's of the sun god. He may also be linked to the first four gods to rule over Egypt (Osiris, Geb, Shu and Ra-Atum), with large granite shrines to each in the Mendes sanctuary.
The Book of the Heavenly Cow
describes the "Ram of Mendes" as being the Ba of Osiris but this was not an exclusive association. A story dated to the New Kingdom
describes him as being consulted by the "Divine Tribunal" to judge between Horus and Seth
but he proposes that Neith
do it instead as an act of diplomacy. As the dispute continues it is Banebdjedet who suggests that Seth be given the throne as he is the elder brother.
In a chapel in the Ramesseum
, a stela records how the god Ptah
took the form of Banebdjedet, in view of his virility, in order to have union with the woman who would conceive Rameses II. It was the sexual connotations associated with his cult that led early Christians to demonise Banebdjedet.
Mendes
Mendes , the Greek name of the Ancient Egyptian city of Djedet, also known in Ancient Egypt as Per-Banebdjedet and Anpet, is known today as Tell El-Ruba ....
. Khnum was the equivalent god in Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt
Upper Egypt is the strip of land, on both sides of the Nile valley, that extends from the cataract boundaries of modern-day Aswan north to the area between El-Ayait and Zawyet Dahshur . The northern section of Upper Egypt, between El-Ayait and Sohag is sometimes known as Middle Egypt...
. His wife was the goddess Hatmehyt ("Foremost of the Fishes") who was perhaps the original deity of Mendes. Their offspring was "Horus the Child
Harpocrates
In late Greek mythology as developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria, Harpocrates is the god of silence. Harpocrates was adapted by the Greeks from the Egyptian child god Horus. To the ancient Egyptians, Horus represented the new-born Sun, rising each day at dawn...
" and they formed the so called "Mendesian Triad". The words for "ram" and "soul" sounded the same in Egyptian so ram deities were at times regarded as appearances of other gods.
Typically Banebdjedet was depicted with four rams' heads to represent the four Ba's of the sun god. He may also be linked to the first four gods to rule over Egypt (Osiris, Geb, Shu and Ra-Atum), with large granite shrines to each in the Mendes sanctuary.
The Book of the Heavenly Cow
Book of the Heavenly Cow
The Book of the Heavenly Cow, or The Book of the Cow of Heaven, is an Ancient Egyptian text thought to have originated during the Amarna Period and, in part, describes the reasons for the imperfect state of the world in terms of humankind's rebellion against the supreme sun god Ra...
describes the "Ram of Mendes" as being the Ba of Osiris but this was not an exclusive association. A story dated to the New Kingdom
New Kingdom
The New Kingdom of Egypt, also referred to as the Egyptian Empire is the period in ancient Egyptian history between the 16th century BC and the 11th century BC, covering the Eighteenth, Nineteenth, and Twentieth Dynasties of Egypt....
describes him as being consulted by the "Divine Tribunal" to judge between Horus and Seth
Seth
Seth , in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, is the third listed son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel, who are the only other of their children mentioned by name...
but he proposes that Neith
Neith
In Egyptian mythology, Neith was an early goddess in the Egyptian pantheon. She was the patron deity of Sais, where her cult was centered in the Western Nile Delta of Egypt and attested as early as the First Dynasty...
do it instead as an act of diplomacy. As the dispute continues it is Banebdjedet who suggests that Seth be given the throne as he is the elder brother.
In a chapel in the Ramesseum
Ramesseum
The Ramesseum is the memorial temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II . It is located in the Theban necropolis in Upper Egypt, across the River Nile from the modern city of Luxor...
, a stela records how the god Ptah
Ptah
In Ancient Egyptian Religion, Ptah was the deification of the primordial mound in the Ennead cosmogony, which was more literally referred to as Ta-tenen , meaning risen land, or as Tanen, meaning submerged land, though Tatenen was a god in his...
took the form of Banebdjedet, in view of his virility, in order to have union with the woman who would conceive Rameses II. It was the sexual connotations associated with his cult that led early Christians to demonise Banebdjedet.