THE ABSTRACT GODS
Besides the classes of gods already described there are others who
stand apart in their character, as embodying abstract ideas. Of these
some are probably tribal gods; but the principle of each is so clearly
marked that they must have been idealised by people who were at a
relatively high level of mind. Others are frankly abstractions of
artificial ideas devised in a civilised state, much like the deities
Flora or the Genius of the Roman Emperor. The general inference is
that these gods all belong to the latest of the peoples who contributed
to the mythology, the dynastic rulers of the land.
+Ptah+ the creator was especially worshipped at Memphis. He is figured
as a mummy; and we know that full length burial and mummifying begin
with the dynastic race. He was identified with the earlier
animal-worship of the bull Apis; {59} but it is not likely that this
originated his creative aspect, as he creates by moulding clay, or by
word and will, and not by natural means. He became united with the old
Memphite god of the dead, Seker, and with Osiris, as Ptah-Seker-Osiris.
Thus we learn that he belonged neither to the animal worshippers, the
believers in Seker, nor to the Osiride race, but to a fourth people.
The compound god Ptah-Seker is shown as a bandy-legged dwarf, with wide
flat head, a known aberration of growth. It seems as if we should
connect this with the _pataikoi_ who were worshipped by Phoenician
sailors as dwarf figures, the name being similar. This points to a
connection of the Phoenician race with the dynastic Egyptians. Ptah
was worshipped in all ages down to Greek times.
+Min+ was the male principle. He was worshipped mainly at Ekhmim and
Koptos, and was there identified with Pan by the Greeks. He also was
the god of the desert, out to the Red Sea. The oldest statues of gods
are three gigantic limestone figures of Min found at Koptos; these bear
relief designs of Red Sea shells and sword fish. It seems, then, that
he was introduced by a people coming across from the east. His worship
continued till Roman times.
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+Hat-hor+ was the female principle whose animal was the cow; and she is
identified with the mother Isis. She was also identified with other
earlier deities; and her forms are very numerous in different
localities. There were also seven Hathors who appear as Fates,
presiding over birth. Thus this goddess has a position different from
any other, more generalised, more widely spread, and identified with
many places and ideas. The similarity of such a position, with that of
the Madonna in Italy in relation to earlier worships, suggests that the
widespread devotion to her was of later introduction and superimposed
on varied beliefs. The figure of Hathor sometimes has the cow's head,
and often has cow's ears. The myth of Horus striking off the head of
his mother Isis and replacing it by a cow's head, points to the Horus
worshippers uniting Hathor with Isis. Statuettes of Hathor are not
common; the head was used for an architectural capital and in the form
of the sistrum, a rattle which was employed in her worship.
+Maat+ was the goddess of truth. She is always of human form, and
shown as seated holding the _ankh_, emblem of life, in her hands. She
was never worshipped, and had no temples or shrines, but was
represented as being offered by the kings {61} to the gods. She also
occurs in the names of several kings, and appears in the judgment scene
of the weighing of the heart. She was the only idea of the older
religion which was preserved by Akhenaten in his reformation; he always
names himself as 'living in truth,' but as an abstraction and without
the notion of any actual goddess. She is linked with Ptah, Th[=o]th,
and Ra, on different occasions.
+Nefertum+ is a god of late times, in human form, as a youth with a
lotus flower on his head. He appears to have represented growth and
vegetation; and is systematised as a son of Ptah and Sekhet. No temple
of his remains; but his figures, usually of bronze, are common.
+Safekh+ was the goddess of writing. She is named in the pyramid
times, and appears in scenes of the eighteenth and nineteenth
dynasties. Four pairs of elemental gods were worshipped at Hermopolis,
each pair male and female; _Heh_, Eternity; _Kek_, Darkness; _Nu_, the
heavenly ocean; _Nenu_, the Inundation. They are shown as human
figures with the heads of frogs and serpents. There were also
personifications of Seeing, Hearing, Taste, Perception, Strength, and
the 'true voice' necessary to intone the magic formulae.
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