Kherty is attested from early dynastic inscriptions (early 2nd Dynasty, appearing on stone bowls of kings such as Sneferka) and becomes prominent in mythic and funerary literature of the Old Kingdom (notably the Pyramid Texts). In those texts he is portrayed functionally as an underworld escort or ferryman for the deceased king and is integrated into solar-barque and funerary traditions involving Ra and Osiris. He is absent from the Middle Kingdom Coffin Texts, where a ferryman role is carried by Aker in those corpuses, and later reappears in Book of the Dead contexts as a guide or guard linked with Ra and Osiris.
Kherty is normally depicted in Egyptian sources as a recumbent, often mummified ram or as a ram-headed man; some later or rare representations describe him as a lion or bull. The ram-form is the primary attested iconography in the cited sources, with occasional variant portrayals recorded in later sources.
Pyramid Text passages portray Kherty primarily as an escort or ferryman who brings the deceased king safely to the afterlife and as a guide of the solar bark in certain funeral contexts. Those same texts also depict him ambivalently as a personification of death who 'lives on the heart of men' and who attacks the physical heart (khatjw), causing the cessation of its beating. Kherty is described as protecting the deceased against hostile beings (named in the sources as inmetjw) in some passages; he is linked mythologically with Ra (who brings the king to his destination) and with Osiris in later funerary literature.
Weaknesses
- otherNo specific weakness attested in provided sources; ritual appeasement and petition to other deities (notably Ra) are the documented responses to his dangerous aspect
Wards
- ritualPyramid Text spells and prayers addressed to Kherty
- ritualPetitioning Ra for removal
Aani
Aani (ancient Egyptian jꜥnr) is the lexical term for the baboon in ancient Egyptian language and functions in religious contexts as an animal icon and theophoric epithet. Attested repeatedly in Egyptian texts and images, the baboon image is used to represent or denote aspects of gods such as Thoth, Hapy, Khonsu, and Osiris rather than implying the animal itself is an independent deity.
Aati
Aati (also rendered Ati) is one of the 42 judges of the dead in ancient Egyptian funerary literature, attested in the Book of the Dead tradition (notably the Papyrus of Nebsemy). Described as originating 'from Heliopolis', Aati's documented function is to question the deceased about a specific moral accusation during the Duat judgment; the funerary texts supply a formulaic denial the soul must recite.
Abadiu of Antinoe
Abadiu of Antinoe was a fourth‑century bishop of Antinoe (Antinoopolis, in Roman Egypt) commemorated as a martyr and saint in the Coptic Orthodox Church, with a feast day on 26 December. Sources record that he was killed during a theological dispute with Arian opponents and reference him in collections of Egyptian martyrs.
Abaset
Abaset is a localized ancient Egyptian goddess attested in tomb decoration at El‑Bawiti in the Bahariya Oasis during the 26th Dynasty. She is depicted anthropomorphically with a hedgehog motif incorporated into her headdress and appears on the walls of Qarat Qasr Salim, including twice in the Tomb of Bannentiu. No cult texts, myth narratives, or ritual prescriptions for her are recorded in the cited corpus.
Abib and Apollo
Abib and Apollo are Christian ascetics and hagiographic saints of Akhmim (Upper Egypt) attested in Coptic sources and the Historia Monachorum. Remembered for extreme asceticism, monastic leadership, angelic encounters, and inclusion in the Coptic Synaxarion (feast day November 4).
Abyzou
Abyzou is a female malignant supernatural figure in Near Eastern and medieval European magico-medical and demonological traditions, blamed especially for miscarriages, stillbirths, and infant mortality. She appears in literary sources (notably the Testament of Solomon) and on Byzantine and medieval amulets where her flight or subjugation is commanded by names, images, and saints/archangels.
Abāmūn of Tarnūt
A fourth‑century Coptic Christian presented in later hagiography as a martyr from the city of Tarnūt (Therenuti). Known primarily from a single late medieval Synaxarion notice, he is commemorated liturgically for his voluntary confession and violent martyrdom.
Adder Stone (Egyptian Tradition)
A type of stone with specific physical characteristics, typically glassy and containing a naturally occurring hole, primarily made of flint. Not considered supernatural in Egyptian tradition. (Note: - Remove "primarily made of flint" from Appearance section, as it is not a characteristic unique to Adder stones. - Power tier should be "None" based on the source material, but clarify that this refe)
Adim (Egyptian Mythology)
In Egyptian mythology, Adim is a king and son of Budasheer who appears after the Great Flood. He has problem-solving skills and consults with his father's ghost for guidance. (Note: 1. The power tier should be Lesser (local spirit) as Adim is described as a king of Egypt, but not as having deity-level abilities. 2. Add sensory cues such as "consulting his father's ghost" and poss)
Agathos Daimon (Agathodaemon)
A beneficent household and civic daemon attested in classical Greek and Graeco‑Egyptian religion. In domestic Greece it is a household spirit honored with post‑meal libations; in Ptolemaic Alexandria it appears prominently in serpentine civic and household forms and is syncretised with various Egyptian protective and fate deities in late antiquity.
Ahmed al-Badawī
Ahmed al-Badawī (Aḥmad al-Badawī, al-Sayyid al-Badawī) was a 13th-century Arab Sufi mystic and founder of the Badawiyyah order. Born in Fes to a Bedouin tribe and later settled in Tanta, Egypt, his tomb remains a major site of visitation and he is regarded as one of the most popular Sufi saints in Egypt (sources emphasize his historical sainthood and pilgrimage cult rather than detailed folkloric attributes).
Ahmose‑Nefertari
Ahmose‑Nefertari was an 18th‑Dynasty Egyptian queen who, after her death, received institutionalized cult worship and was venerated in the Theban necropolis and Deir el‑Medina. Sources present her both as a historically attested royal (great royal wife and king's mother) and as a deified figure given epithets such as 'Goddess of Resurrection', 'Mistress of the Sky', and 'Lady of the West'.
Community Record
- [1]Kherty - Wikipedia. Wikipedia article 'Kherty'wiki
- [2]Kherty | Henadology. Henadology: Khertyother
- [3]Kherty | Ancient Egypt Online. Ancient Egypt Online: Khertyother
- [4]Sepa (priest) - Wikipedia. Wikipedia entry noting a historical priest titled 'Priest of the god Kherty' (Sepa)wiki