Mehen
Encyclopedia
In Ancient Egypt
the name Mehen meaning 'coiled one' refers to a mythological snake-god and to a game.
. Mehen is a protective deity who is depicted as a snake which coils around the sun god Ra
during his journey through the night, for instance in the Amduat
.
In the German-Egyptian dictionary by R. Hannig it is said that the Mehen (mḥn) or the Mehenet (mḥnt) snake is equivalent to the Ouroboros
.
is unknown. For instance it is not known whether the game derives from the mythological character, or the character derives from the game.
It is known that the object known as mehen depicts a game
rather than a religious fetish
as studies of paintings in tombs and game boards and equipment demonstrate this. The rules and method of playing the game are unknown, although rules have been created in modern times based on assessments of how it may have been played.
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
the name Mehen meaning 'coiled one' refers to a mythological snake-god and to a game.
Snake god
The earliest references to Mehen occur in the Coffin TextsCoffin Texts
The Coffin Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. The texts are derived in part from the earlier pyramid texts, reserved for royal use only, but they contain substantial new material related to everyday desires that...
. Mehen is a protective deity who is depicted as a snake which coils around the sun god Ra
Ra
Ra is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun...
during his journey through the night, for instance in the Amduat
Amduat
The Amduat is an important Ancient Egyptian funerary text of the New Kingdom. Like many funerary texts, it was found written on the inside of the pharaoh's tomb for reference...
.
In the German-Egyptian dictionary by R. Hannig it is said that the Mehen (mḥn) or the Mehenet (mḥnt) snake is equivalent to the Ouroboros
Ouroboros
The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The name originates from within Greek language; οὐρά meaning "tail" and βόρος meaning "eating", thus "he who eats the tail"....
.
Relationship between snake-god and Mehen game
The precise relationship between the deity and the Mehen gameMehen (game)
Mehen is a board game that was played in ancient Egypt. The game was named in reference to Mehen, a serpent god protecting Ra during his night-time underworld journey. Nothing else is known about it than that paintings and equipment found suggest that it is a game.-History of the game:Evidence of...
is unknown. For instance it is not known whether the game derives from the mythological character, or the character derives from the game.
It is known that the object known as mehen depicts a game
Game
A game is structured playing, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from work, which is usually carried out for remuneration, and from art, which is more often an expression of aesthetic or ideological elements...
rather than a religious fetish
Fetishism
A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others...
as studies of paintings in tombs and game boards and equipment demonstrate this. The rules and method of playing the game are unknown, although rules have been created in modern times based on assessments of how it may have been played.