Sopdu
Encyclopedia
In Egyptian mythology
, Sopdu (also rendered Septu or Sopedu) was originally the scorching heat of the summer sun. The effects of the scorching of the sun led many ancient cultures to see it as war
-like, and the Egyptians
were no different in this respect, with Sopdu consequently being seen as a war god.
has its heliacal rising
, and thus being seen as coming with Sopdet, Sopdet
being the deification of Sirius (Sopd is the masculine form
of Sopdet, t
being the feminine determinant
). Indeed, it was said that Sopdet gave birth to this heat, and so Sopdu was seen as her child. The Greeks made a similar conclusion; the Greek name Sirius essentially means scorcher.
Because heliacal rising occurs in the east, and the sun's heat begins there daily, Sopdu was referred to as Lord of the East, and had his greatest cult centre at the easternmost nome
of Lower Egypt
, which was named Per-Sopdu, meaning place of Sopdu. The combination of being a war-god, and being associated with the easternmost edge, lead to Sopdu being depicted as an Asia
tic warrior, with a shemset girdle and long axe, and more generally being said to guard Egypt's borders. When the Egyptians conquered Sinai
, he was also thought to guard the turquoise
mines, which predominantly lay within Sinai.
His name is composed of the hieroglyph
for sharp, a pointed triangle
, and the 3rd person plural
suffix
(a Quail
); thus a literal translation of his name is sharp ones. However, the triangle glyph was really a representation of a plant thorn, which the Egyptians referred to as a tooth
, and so his name could be seen as the plural of tooth, i.e. teeth. Consequently, war-gods also being associated with death, he was said, in the Pyramid Texts
, to protect the teeth of the deceased.
By the Middle Kingdom
, as a war-deity, he became strongly associated with the pharaoh, which, together with his being god of the sky, lead to an association with Horus, the sky god, who was said to be the pharaoh's patron. Consequently, Sopdu started being depicted as wearing the two falcon
feather
s as a headdress, that represented Horus, who was seen as a falcon. He also started being identified as the standard bearer of Horus - gaining the glyph of a falcon on a standard in his name. By this time, the plural suffix of his name, previously a hieroglyph of a quail
, was shown with the hieratic
abbreviation - a swirl
, which often leads to misinterpretations of the standard depicting the quail, which appears to have otherwise vanished. Eventually, the association with Horus lead to his identity gradually merging to Horus, and in the New Kingdom
, he was referred to as Har-Septu, an aspect of Horus rather than an individual.
Egyptian mythology
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...
, Sopdu (also rendered Septu or Sopedu) was originally the scorching heat of the summer sun. The effects of the scorching of the sun led many ancient cultures to see it as war
War
War is a state of organized, armed, and often prolonged conflict carried on between states, nations, or other parties typified by extreme aggression, social disruption, and usually high mortality. War should be understood as an actual, intentional and widespread armed conflict between political...
-like, and the Egyptians
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...
were no different in this respect, with Sopdu consequently being seen as a war god.
In myth
Sopdu's name, meaning with Sopd, derives from this heat arriving shortly after the star SiriusSirius
Sirius is the brightest star in the night sky. With a visual apparent magnitude of −1.46, it is almost twice as bright as Canopus, the next brightest star. The name "Sirius" is derived from the Ancient Greek: Seirios . The star has the Bayer designation Alpha Canis Majoris...
has its heliacal rising
Heliacal rising
The heliacal rising of a star occurs when it first becomes visible above the eastern horizon for a brief moment just before sunrise, after a period of time when it had not been visible....
, and thus being seen as coming with Sopdet, Sopdet
Sopdet
In Egyptian mythology, Sopdet was the deification of Sothis, a star considered by almost all Egyptologists to be Sirius. The name Sopdet means sharp in Egyptian, a reference to the brightness of Sirius, which is the brightest star in the night sky...
being the deification of Sirius (Sopd is the masculine form
Grammatical gender
Grammatical gender is defined linguistically as a system of classes of nouns which trigger specific types of inflections in associated words, such as adjectives, verbs and others. For a system of noun classes to be a gender system, every noun must belong to one of the classes and there should be...
of Sopdet, t
Bread bun (hieroglyph)
The Ancient Egyptian Bread bun hieroglyph is Gardiner sign listed no. X1 for the side view of a bread bun. It is also the simple shape of a semicircle....
being the feminine determinant
Determinant
In linear algebra, the determinant is a value associated with a square matrix. It can be computed from the entries of the matrix by a specific arithmetic expression, while other ways to determine its value exist as well...
). Indeed, it was said that Sopdet gave birth to this heat, and so Sopdu was seen as her child. The Greeks made a similar conclusion; the Greek name Sirius essentially means scorcher.
Because heliacal rising occurs in the east, and the sun's heat begins there daily, Sopdu was referred to as Lord of the East, and had his greatest cult centre at the easternmost nome
Nome (Egypt)
A nome was a subnational administrative division of ancient Egypt. Today's use of the Greek nome rather than the Egyptian term sepat came about during the Ptolemaic period. Fascinated with Egypt, Greeks created many historical records about the country...
of Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt
Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between El-Aiyat and Zawyet Dahshur, south of modern-day Cairo, and the Mediterranean Sea....
, which was named Per-Sopdu, meaning place of Sopdu. The combination of being a war-god, and being associated with the easternmost edge, lead to Sopdu being depicted as an Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
tic warrior, with a shemset girdle and long axe, and more generally being said to guard Egypt's borders. When the Egyptians conquered Sinai
Sinai Peninsula
The Sinai Peninsula or Sinai is a triangular peninsula in Egypt about in area. It is situated between the Mediterranean Sea to the north, and the Red Sea to the south, and is the only part of Egyptian territory located in Asia as opposed to Africa, effectively serving as a land bridge between two...
, he was also thought to guard the turquoise
Turquoise
Turquoise is an opaque, blue-to-green mineral that is a hydrous phosphate of copper and aluminium, with the chemical formula CuAl648·4. It is rare and valuable in finer grades and has been prized as a gem and ornamental stone for thousands of years owing to its unique hue...
mines, which predominantly lay within Sinai.
His name is composed of the hieroglyph
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs were a formal writing system used by the ancient Egyptians that combined logographic and alphabetic elements. Egyptians used cursive hieroglyphs for religious literature on papyrus and wood...
for sharp, a pointed triangle
Triangle
A triangle is one of the basic shapes of geometry: a polygon with three corners or vertices and three sides or edges which are line segments. A triangle with vertices A, B, and C is denoted ....
, and the 3rd person plural
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
suffix
Suffix
In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word. Common examples are case endings, which indicate the grammatical case of nouns or adjectives, and verb endings, which form the conjugation of verbs...
(a Quail
Quail
Quail is a collective name for several genera of mid-sized birds generally considered in the order Galliformes. Old World quail are found in the family Phasianidae, while New World quail are found in the family Odontophoridae...
); thus a literal translation of his name is sharp ones. However, the triangle glyph was really a representation of a plant thorn, which the Egyptians referred to as a tooth
Tooth
Teeth are small, calcified, whitish structures found in the jaws of many vertebrates that are used to break down food. Some animals, particularly carnivores, also use teeth for hunting or for defensive purposes. The roots of teeth are embedded in the Mandible bone or the Maxillary bone and are...
, and so his name could be seen as the plural of tooth, i.e. teeth. Consequently, war-gods also being associated with death, he was said, in the Pyramid Texts
Pyramid Texts
The Pyramid Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian religious texts from the time of the Old Kingdom. The pyramid texts are possibly the oldest known religious texts in the world. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved on the walls and sarcophagi of the pyramids at Saqqara during...
, to protect the teeth of the deceased.
By the Middle Kingdom
Middle Kingdom of Egypt
The Middle Kingdom of Egypt is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, between 2055 BC and 1650 BC, although some writers include the Thirteenth and Fourteenth dynasties in the Second Intermediate...
, as a war-deity, he became strongly associated with the pharaoh, which, together with his being god of the sky, lead to an association with Horus, the sky god, who was said to be the pharaoh's patron. Consequently, Sopdu started being depicted as wearing the two falcon
Falcon
A falcon is any species of raptor in the genus Falco. The genus contains 37 species, widely distributed throughout Europe, Asia, and North America....
feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s as a headdress, that represented Horus, who was seen as a falcon. He also started being identified as the standard bearer of Horus - gaining the glyph of a falcon on a standard in his name. By this time, the plural suffix of his name, previously a hieroglyph of a quail
Quail chick (hieroglyph)
The Ancient Egyptian Quail chick hieroglyph is Gardiner sign listed no. G43 for the quail chick.The quail chick hieroglyph is used in the Ancient Egyptian language hieroglyphs for the alphabetic vowel letter w,...
, was shown with the hieratic
Hieratic
Hieratic refers to a cursive writing system that was used in the provenance of the pharaohs in Egypt and Nubia that developed alongside the hieroglyphic system, to which it is intimately related...
abbreviation - a swirl
Coil (hieroglyph)
The coil hieroglyph is used in the Ancient Egyptian language hieroglyphs as an equivalent for the Quail chick , but is also used in other word constructions, probably for the balance of the hieroglyph composition block. The coil as well as the quail chick are used for the alphabetic vowel letter w,...
, which often leads to misinterpretations of the standard depicting the quail, which appears to have otherwise vanished. Eventually, the association with Horus lead to his identity gradually merging to Horus, and in 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....
, he was referred to as Har-Septu, an aspect of Horus rather than an individual.