THE ANCIENT MYTH OF ATUM
THE LONGEST LIST OF THE LONGEST STUFF AT THE LONGEST DOMAIN NAME AT LONG LAST

Atum – Egyptian Mythology

Atum in Egyptian mythology is considered to be the first god. It is believed that he with his own power arose out from the primordial waters or Nu and sat on a mound or Benben. In the earliest recordings of Atum he was said to have impregnated himself and gave birth to the god Shu and goddess Tefnut.

Later recordings explain that Atum had sex with his own shadow known as Iusaaset and gave birth to Shu and Tefnut. From this account Iusaaset is seen as the mother and grandmother. The birthplace of the gods was Heliopolis. Just a bit north of Helipolis was an acacia tree that became known as the tree life and was believed that Iusaaset owned this tree.

Other spellings for Atum include Tem, Temu, Tum, and Atem. In the beginning, Atum was considered the earth, and then he became to be known as the sun and the sun as it passes the horizon. Some say he was the rising sun but he was also considered to be the setting sun.

Throughout history, Atum merged by different beliefs. The Ennead mythos had Ogdoad as the creator. From here two identities merges into Atum-Ra. Ra was considered the entire sun and Atum was the sun as it sets. When Atum subsumed to Ra, his shadow Iusasset became known as Rat, the feminine form of Ra. This is where you will see Atum-Ra and Atum-Rat.

Atum was in works of art depicted as a man wearing the crown of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. In some cases he was seen as an elderly man.

Atum

 

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