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| God Khnum |
God Khnum was the ancient Egyptian God worshipped at
Elephantine Island at
Aswan, he was a creator deity feared as a ram. Khnum formed a triad with Satet and Anukis on Elephantine Island. His name meant the Molder, and he used a monkeys wheel to fashion the essential big egg and then all living tools.
Thoth aided him in this constructive shape by seeing the number of years assigned to each. Khnum's rage dates to
Predynastic Period (earlier 3,000 B.C.E.), and the centers of his revere were on the Elephantine (Abu), at Biga, and at Esna (see
Temple of Khnum at Esna). Khnum was the deity of the first Cataract of the Nile and the deity of the deluges, associated with the goddesses Mert and Heket. He was named the Prince of the 2 Lands and the Prince of the House of Life. Khnum brought the Nile to Egypt finished two caverns out in Aswan, where he was connected with Anukis and Satet.
Named too the Soul of
Ra, Khnum wore the horns of the oldest species of rams in Egypt (Ovis longipes). At Esna, he had two different divine checks, Menhet and Neith. The backups at the Esna temple portray Khnums formative powers. The Famine Stella at Sehel Island named prayers to Khnum in times of low Nile floods.
Djoser (2630-2611 B.C.E.) was honored by later contemporaries for visiting the shrine of Khnum and finish a shortage in his reign. The people of Nubia incorporated Khnum into their cultic services and linked him with their God Dedun. Khnum was described as a robust man with a rams head, hard ivory horns, dresses, the solar disk, and the Uraeus.
