The English name
The English name Egypt Egypt derives from an ancient Egyptian derives from an ancient Egyptian name for
name for MemphisMemphis,, HikuptahHikuptah, which means "Home of the Soul, which means "Home of the Soul of Ptah". This entered
of Ptah". This entered Ancient ree! Ancient ree! as #$%&'() * as #$%&'() * Aiguptos Aiguptos+,+, which entered
which entered atinatin as as Aegyptus Aegyptus, which developed into, which developed into English as
English as Egypt Egypt .. -n
-n Egyptian mythologyEgyptian mythology,, PtahPtah * *p/0t12p/0t1233456456 EgyptianEgyptian77 ptḥ ptḥ,, pro8a8ly vocali9ed as
pro8a8ly vocali9ed as PitaḥPitaḥ in ancient Egyptian+ in ancient Egyptian+4:64:6 is the is the demiurge
demiurge of Memphis, god of craftsmen and architects. -n the of Memphis, god of craftsmen and architects. -n the triad of
triad of MemphisMemphis, he is the spouse of, he is the spouse of Se!hmetSe!hmet and the father and the father of
of ;efertum;efertum. He was also regarded as the father of the sage. He was also regarded as the father of the sage -mhotep
-mhotep.. Ptah is the
Ptah is the <reator god<reator god par e=cellence7 He is considered the par e=cellence7 He is considered the demiurge
demiurge who e=isted 8efore all other things, and 8y his who e=isted 8efore all other things, and 8y his willfulness,
willfulness, thought thought the world. -t was first conceived 8y the world. -t was first conceived 8y Thought, and reali9ed 8y
Thought, and reali9ed 8y the >ord7the >ord7 Ptah conceives the worldPtah conceives the world by the thought of his heart and
by the thought of his heart and gives life through the magic ofgives life through the magic of his Word
his Word . That which Ptah commanded was c. That which Ptah commanded was created, withreated, with which the constituents of nature, fauna, and flora, are
which the constituents of nature, fauna, and flora, are
contained. He also plays a role in the preservation of the world contained. He also plays a role in the preservation of the world and the permanence of the royal function.
i!e many deities of ancient Egypt he ta!es many forms,
through one of his particular aspects or through syncretism of ancient deities of the Memphite region. He is sometimes
represented as a dwarf, na!ed and deformed, whose
popularity would continue to grow during the ate Period. ?re@uently associated with the god es, his worship then e=ceeded the 8orders of the country and was e=ported throughout the eastern Mediterranean. Than!s to the Phoenicians, we find figures of Ptah in <arthage.
Ptah is generally represented in the guise of a man with green s!in, contained in a shroud stic!ing to the s!in, wearing the divine 8eard, and holding a sceptre com8ining three powerful sym8ols of ancient Egyptian religion7
The Was sceptre
The sign of life, Ankh The Djed pillar
These three com8ined sym8ols indicate the three creative
powers of the god7 power *was+, life *an!h+ and sta8ility *dBed+.
So!ar and Tatenen, ancient deities of the Memphite region. His form of So!ar is found contained in its white shroud
wearing the Atef crown, an attri8ute of Csiris. -n this capacity, he represents the god of the necropolis of Sa@@ara and other famous sites where the royal pyramids were 8uilt. radually he formed with Csiris a new deity called PtahSo!arCsiris. Statuettes representing the human form, halfhuman, half
haw!, or simply in its falcon form will 8e systematically placed in tom8s to accompany and protect the dead on their Bourney to the >est.
His Tatenen form is represented 8y a young and vigorous man wearing a crown with two tall plumes that surround the solar dis!. He thus em8odies the underground fire that rum8les and raises the earth. As such, he was particularly revered 8y
metalwor!ers and 8lac!smiths, 8ut he was e@ually feared 8ecause it was he who caused earth@ua!es and tremors of the earthFs crust. -n this form also, Ptah is the master of
ceremonies for He8 Sed, a ceremony traditionally attesting to the first thirty years of the PharaohFs reign.
The god Ptah could 8e corresponding with the sun god Ge, or Aten during the Amarna period, where he em8odied the divine
essence with which the sun god was fed to come into
e=istence, that is to say to 8e 8orn, according to the Memphite mythologicaltheological te=ts. -n the holy of holies of his
temple in Memphis, as well as in his great sacred 8oat, he drove in procession to regularly visit the region during maBor holidays. Ptah was also sym8oli9ed 8y two 8irds with human heads adorned with solar dis!s, sym8ols of the souls of the god Ge7 the a. The two a are also identified as the twin
gods Shu and Tefnut and are associated with the dBed pillar of Memphis.46
?inally, Ptah is em8odied in the sacred 8ull, Apis. ?re@uently referred to as a herald of e, the sacred animal is the lin! with the god Ge from the ;ew Dingdom. He even received worship in Memphis, pro8a8ly at the heart of the great temple of Ptah, and its death was 8uried with all the honours due to a living god in the Serapeum of Sa@@ara.
As god of craftsmen, the cult of the god Ptah @uic!ly spread throughout Egypt. >ith the maBor royal proBects of the Cld Dingdom, the High Priests of Ptah were particularly sought
role of chief architect and master craftsman, responsi8le for the decoration of the royal funerary comple=es.
-n the ;ew Dingdom, the cult of the god would develop in
different ways, especially in Memphis, his homeland, 8ut also in The8es, where the wor!ers of the royal tom8 honoured him as patron of craftsmen. ?or this reason, the oratory of Ptah who listens to prayers was 8uilt near the site of Jeir el
Medina, the village where the wor!ers and craftsmen were confined. At Memphis, the role of intercessor with men was particularly visi8le in the appearance of the enclosure that
protected the sanctuary of the god. arge ears were carved on the walls, sym8oli9ing his role as god who listens to prayers. >ith the ;ineteenth Jynasty, his cult grew and he 8ecame one of the four great gods of the empire of Gamses. He was worshipped at PiGamesses as master of ceremonies and coronations.
>ith the Third -ntermediate Period, Ptah returned to the centre of the monarchy where the coronation of the Pharaoh was
held again in his temple. The Ptolemies continued this
tradition, and the high priests of Ptah were then increasingly associated with the royal family, with some even marrying
princesses of 8lood, clearly indicating the prominent role they played in the Ptolemaic court.
Ptah or Phtha w-n the Twenty?ifth Jynasty, the ;u8ian
pharaoh Sha8a!a would transcri8e on a stela !nown as the Sha8a!a Stone, an old theological document found in the archives of the li8rary of the temple of the god at Memphis. This document has 8een !nown as the !emphite "heology , and shows the god Ptah, the god responsi8le for the creation of the universe 8y thought and 8y the word.as the chief deity of the city of Memphis. Ptah was the master artist and
craftsman. As the "ma!er of su8stance," he 8ecame !nown as the ultimate source of all things and even "the creator of
gods."
Apis the sacred 8ull was an em8odiment of Ptah.
Tatenen *also Ta-tenen, Tatjenen, Tathenen, Tanen, Tenen,
Tanenu, and Tanuu+ was the god of the primordial mound in ancient Egyptian religion. His name means risen land 456 or
primeval chthonic deity,46 Tatenen was identified with
creation. He was an androgynous protector of nature from the Memphis area *then !nown as !en$nefer +, the ancient capital of the Ane8Hetch nome in ower Egypt.
>ith a staff Tatenen repelled the evil serpent Apep from the Primeval Mound. He also had a magical mace dedicated to the falcon, venerated as "The reat >hite of the Earth
<reator".4K6 -n one interpretation, Tatenen 8rought the JBed pillars of sta8ility to the country,4K6 although this is more
commonly attri8uted to Ptah. PtahTatenen
oth Tatenen and Ptah were Memphite gods. Tatenen was the more ancient god, com8ined in the Cld Dingdom with Ptah as PtahTatenen, in their capacity as creator gods.4:6 y the
;ineteenth dynasty PtahTatenen is his sole form, and he is worshiped as royal creator god. PtahTatenen can 8e seen as father of the Cgdoad of Hermopolis, the eight gods who
themselves em8ody the primeval elements from 8efore creation.4
TatenenFs am8iguous portrayal may 8e a result of his 8eing merged with Ptah. He was always in human form, usually seated with a pharaonic 8eard, wearing either an Atef crown *as PtahSo!ar+ or, more commonly, a pair of ramFs horns
surmounted 8y a sun dis! and two tall feathers.46 As Tanenu or Tanuu, o8viously a chthonic deity, he carried two sna!es on his head.46 He was 8oth feminine and masculine, a
conse@uence of his status as a primeval, creator deity.456
Some depictions show Tatenen with a green comple=ion *face and arms+, as he had connections to fertility and a chthonic association with plants
Memphis 8ecame the capital of Ancient Egypt for over eight consecutive dynasties during the Cld Dingdom. The city
reached a pea! of prestige under the Lth dynasty as a centre for the worship of Ptah, the god of creation and artwor!s. The ala8aster sphin= that guards the Temple of Ptah serves as a memorial of the cityFs former power and prestige.45L6456 The Memphis triad, consisting of the creator god Ptah, his consort Se!hmet, and their son ;efertem, formed the main focus of worship in the city.
The golden age 8egan with the Nth dynasty, which seems to have furthered the primary role of Memphis as a royal
residence where rulers received the dou8le crown, the divine manifestation of the unification of the Two ands. <oronations and Bu8ilees such as the Sed festival were cele8rated in the temple of Ptah. The earliest signs of such ceremonies were found in the cham8ers of JBoser.
MEMPH-S
The Shabaka Stone28 contains the famous Memphite Theology. Carved onto a
black granite slab by order of king Shabaka (7167!" #C$29 of the "%th &ynasty'
this stone as to preserve the riting of a ormeaten document.30 Sadly' the
stone later su)ered severe damage. The names of Shabaka and of the god Set ere intentionally chiseled out' and the stone as used to grind grain.31 The
Memphite theologians borroed the *reat +nnead of ,eliopolis.32 -tah replaced
tum as the creator god' but tum did not disappear from the ne theology.
ccording to Mercer' ,e /became the heart (understanding$ and tongue (ord$ of 0-tah the *reat' and in turn' -tah as the heart and tongue of the +nnead
2sic3...-tah (that is' tum$ as the ennead in emanation and manifestation. Thus' the other eight deities of the Memphite ennead ere merely -tah himself in
manifestation.433 5ine %% of the Shabaka Stone supports Mercers assertion' and
reveals that -tah creates by divine ord. t says' /,is (-tahs$ +nnead is before him as teeth and lips. They are the semen and the hands of tum. or the
+nnead of tum came into being through his semen and his 8ngers. #ut the +nnead is the teeth and lips in this mouth hich pronounced the name of every thing' from hich Shu and Tefnut came forth' and hich gave birth to the
+nnead.434 n this te9t' -tahs creation by ord is contrasted ith tums
creation by masturbation' and -tahs method is shon to be the real cause
behind tums method of creation. The Memphite Theology does not portray -tah as using magic to call the orld into being. /The divine creator is not imagined as
a magician reciting his spells: he is seen as one ho 8rst conceived in his mind that hich should be created to form the orld' and then brought it into being by pronouncing the necessary command for it to be.435
The +gyptian god -tah is given the title ḏū gitti ;5ord of *ath; in a prism from 5achish hich has on its opposite face the name of menhotep (c. 1<=%>1<"! #C+$ The title ḏū gitti is also found in Ser?bit@ te9t =%=. Cross (1A7=' p. 1A$ points out that -tah is often called the Lord (or one) of eternity and thinks it may be this identi8cation of Bl ith -tah that lead to the epithet Oolam ;eternal; being applied to Bl so early and so consistently.[11](,oever in the
Dgaritic te9ts' -tah is seemingly identi8ed rather ith the craftsman god EotharaEhasis.$
[12]
The +gyptian god -tah is given the title ḏū gitti ;5ord of *ath; in a prism from 5achish hich has on its opposite face the name of menhotep (c. 1<=%>1<"! #C+$ The title ḏū gitti is also found in Ser?bit@ te9t =%=. Cross (1A7=' p. 1A$ points out that -tah is often called the Lord (or one) of eternity and thinks it may be this identi8cation of Bl ith -tah that lead to the epithet Oolam ;eternal; being applied to Bl so early and so consistently.[11] (,oever in the
Dgaritic te9ts' -tah is seemingly identi8ed rather ith the craftsman god EotharaEhasis.$[12
l is called again and again Tôru ‘Ēl (F#ull lF or Fthe bull godF$. ,e is bātnyu binwāti (FCreator of creaturesF$' abū banī ’ili (Ffather of the godsF$' and 0abū ‘adami (Ffather of manF$. ,e
is qāniyunu ‘ôlam (Fcreator eternalF$' the epithet 0ôlam appearing in ,ebre form in the
,ebre name of *od l ‘ôlam F*od +ternalF in Genesis "1.==. ,e is !āti"u"a (Fyour patriarchF$. l is the greybearded ancient one' full of isdom' mal"u (FEingF$' abū #amīma (Father of yearsF$' $l gibb%r (Fl the arriorF$. ,e is also named l&'n of unknon meaning' variously rendered as 5atpan' 5atipan' or 5utpani (FshroudfaceF by trong* +ebrew ,on-ordan-e$. F+lF (ather of ,eaven G Saturn$ and his maHor sonI F,adadF (ather of +arth G Jupiter$' are symboliKed both by the bull' and both ear bull horns on their headdresses.[20][21][22] [23]
The etymological source of the name of +gypt is important since three 1L=% prepublication manuscripts of the 5&S Book of Abraham read .e'tah instead of +gyptus as the name of the
elder +gyptus (1I"%$.[4] [5] [6] This variant name could very ell reect the +gyptian name SNt
-tO' F&aughterof-tahF (the t in SNt is silent$ hich is knon from the Middle Eingdom into the late period.[7] Moreover' This recalls the syncretic mythology in the 5ate +gyptian ,ieratic
story of Fstarte and the Sea'F herein Semitic Astarte is also called F&aughterof-tah.F[8] She
is' therefore' the ePuivalent of Hathor (+.g. QtQr F,ouseofHorus 2Sky3F$' ho is also the
daughter of -tah'[9] and ho is the same constellation as ir!o' and hich is the 8rst month of the nundation season (on the "a#ermo $tone' each king is accompanied by his mother;s name and by the measured height of the inundation in September[10]$. or' after all' Fhen this
oman discovered the land it as under aterF (br 1I"<$. Moreover' ,athor is the +ye and Mother of %e' the 8rst king of +gypt (/oo" of the 0i1ine ,ow$.
The FMother of the Eing of Dpper R 5oer +gyptF (mwt ni*wt2biti or mwt ni*wt $' i.e.' of the living king' as addressed as F*od;s daughterF sNt nr'[11] namely the daughter of -tah' as is
the apparent case here ith eptahG+gyptus' ho is both mother of the king of +gypt and the granddaughter of Uoah. This is signi8cant since -tah is a parallel for Uoah in that' as the #lacksmith*od of &hebes (He'haistosu#(an$' he is the ePuivalent of the -hoenician Craftsman *od Ehousor' hich is Dgaritic Er' Eothar' EotharaEhasis' FTheVerySkillfulandntelligent Wne'F hich is the same character as the Sumerokkadian UoahsI )tna'ishtim (in the Gi#!amesh *'i($' traXasYs' and+iusu,ra (Ehousor Z -tah at )!arit$.[12]
Theology of Memphis. This is one version of the Egyptian cosmogony. The political
unification of Egypt precedes the creation of the world. Similarly to the Enuma Elish, the most important realities were created before the beginning of normal time (everyday reality is
placed within ultimate reality). Geb (god of earth) has two grandsons: Seth and orus. e first divides Egypt between them, then unites it under orus, the !ing of lower Egypt, with its capital at "emphis. #tah is the god of "emphis, who represents speech, thought, intelligence. Through rational speech, he first creates the $tum, the Totality (this is the g%d of Thebes, incidentally) who creates all the g%ds, then humans and animals.
Ptah is in everyone as thought and speech, and unites the world 8ecause he is in all gds, humans, and creatures.
