Egyptian Mythology

The Egyptian Pantheons

What was the pantheon of Heliopolis?

In Greek, the pantheon of Heliopolis was named the Ennead (the Group of Nine). Unlike some other Egyptian pantheons, the Heliopolis pantheon is a family with a specific biography, much as is the case with the Olympian Greek pantheon. The creator god was Atum, who was associated with the great sun god Ra (Re) as Atum-Ra. The offspring of Atum were Shu (Air) and Tefnut (Moisture). Shu and Tefnut produced the earth god Geb and his sister-wife, the sky goddess Nut, who was often depicted as a nude woman whose body arched over the reclining and sometimes sexually aroused Geb. Geb and Nut were the parents of arguably the most important family in Egyptian mythology: Osiris and his sister-wife Isis (the parents of the child Horus) and Seth and his sister-wife Nephtys. Osiris is depicted as a mummy wearing a kind of crown and carrying a crook; Isis wears a throne symbol on her head. Seth’s head is often that of a mysterious ferocious animal.



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