| Banebdjedet | |||||||
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 Banebdjedet wielding a combined scepter of the Was-sceptre, Djed, and Ankh. From the Tomb of Mentuherkhepeshef in the Valley of the Kings | |||||||
| Name in hieroglyphs |
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| Major cult center | Mendes | ||||||
| Consort | Hatmehit | ||||||
| Offspring | Horus the Child | ||||||
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Banebdjedet (Banebdjed) is an ancient Egyptian ram god with a cult centre at Mendes. Khnum was the equivalent god in Upper Egypt. [1]
His wife was the goddess Hatmehit ("Foremost of the Fishes"), who was perhaps the original deity of Mendes. [1] Their offspring was "Horus the Child" and they formed the so-called "Mendesian Triad". [2]
The words for "ram" and "soul" sounded the same in Egyptian, so ram deities were at times regarded as appearances of other gods. [1]
Typically, the horned god Banebdjedet was depicted with four rams' heads to represent the four Bas of the sun god. He may also be linked to the first four gods to rule over Egypt (Osiris, Geb, Shu and Ra-Atum), with large granite shrines to each in the Mendes sanctuary. [1]
The Book of the Heavenly Cow describes the "Ram of Mendes" as being the Ba of Osiris, but this was not an exclusive association. A story dated to the New Kingdom describes him as being consulted by the "Divine Tribunal" to judge between Horus and Seth, but he proposes that Neith do it instead as an act of diplomacy. As the dispute continues, it is Banebdjedet who suggests that Seth be given the throne as he is the elder brother. [1]
In a chapel in the Ramesseum, a stela records how the god Ptah took the form of Banebdjedet, in view of gaining his virility, in order to have union with the woman who would conceive Rameses II.[ citation needed ]
Media related to Banebdjedet at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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Khnum, also romanised Khnemu, was one of the earliest-known Egyptian deities, originally the god of the source of the Nile. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt and clay, and its water brought life to its surroundings, he was thought to be the creator of the bodies of human children, which he made at a potter's wheel, from clay, and placed in their mothers' wombs. He was later described as having moulded the other deities, and he had the titles "Divine Potter" and "Lord of created things from himself".
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The Master of Animals, Lord of Animals, or Mistress of the Animals is a motif in ancient art showing a human between and grasping two confronted animals. The motif is very widespread in the art of the Ancient Near East and Egypt. The figure may be female or male, it may be a column or a symbol, the animals may be realistic or fantastical, and the human figure may have animal elements such as horns, an animal upper body, an animal lower body, legs, or cloven feet. Although what the motif represented to the cultures that created the works probably varies greatly, unless shown with specific divine attributes, when male the figure is typically described as a hero by interpreters.
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Deities depicted with horns or antlers are found in many religions across the world. In religions that venerate animal deities, horned bulls, goats, and rams may be worshiped as deities or serve as the inspiration for a deity's appearance. Many pagan religions include horned gods in their pantheons, such as Pan in Greek mythology and Ikenga in Odinala. Some neopagan religions have constructed these deities as the Horned God, representing the male part of their duotheistic theological system.
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