Memphis
Lower Egypt Cult Center of the Egyptian Gods
The Apis Bull and the Memphis Triad
Ptah, Sekhmet and Nefertem
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The Apis Bull
"The Apis Bull", wrote Herodotus, "is the calf of a cow which is never able after to have another. The Egyptians believe that a flash of lightning strikes the cow from heaven, and thus causes her to conceive the Apis. It has distinctive marks. It is black, with a white diamond on its forehead, the image of an eagle on its back, two white hairs on its tail and a scarab-beetle mark under its tongue".
As early as the First Dynasty bull cults were important to the Egyptian religious life. The priest of the bull cults identified a sacred bull by its markings. It then became the embodiment of the God and the center of all the cult religious activities. The Apis Bull was the embodiment of Osiris.
The Serapeum, a vast tomb for many of the Apis Bulls was found at Saqqara. When it is open, you can walk through the large cavern looking into the side rooms that each hold a huge stone sarchophagus that once contained the mummified body of an Apis Bull.
The Memphis Triad
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Ptah - The chief diety of Memphis. Patron diety of craftsmen. Ptah's chief priest was called "Great Over-seer of Craftsmen" Ptah is portrayed carrying a staff that is a combination of the dijed-pillar of stability, the was-sceptre of power, and the ankh-sign for life. In the Old Kingdom Ptah was merged with the hawk-headed funerary diety Sokar then in the Late Period Osiris was added to form a single god to look over funerary rituals. |
Sekhmet - The consort of Ptah, she is the giver of devine retribution, vengeance, and conquest. She meted out devine punishment to the enemies of Ra and the Pharaoh and was called the "Eye of Ra." Her personification is a lion-headed woman. Sekhmet is the polar opposite of Hathor as explained in the legend of Sekhmet and Hathor. |
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Nefertem - Symbolized as a man with a blue lotus flower. He was closely linked to the sun god through the story of the Creation Myth of Hermopolis Magna. Pyramid Texts refer to "the lotus blossom which is before the nose of Re". He is called the Protector of the Two Lands. At Memphis he was worshiped as the son of Ptah and Sekhmet. |
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