Ptah
| Ptah in hieroglyphics | ||||||
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| Ideograms |
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| mostly |
Ptḥ |
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| or with determinative |
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| transcription | Ptḥ | |||||
| Greek |
Φθα ( Phtha ) |
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| Sahidic Coptic | ⲡⲧⲁ ϩ | |||||
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Ptah ("the sculptor") is one of the gods of the ancient Egyptian religion . His main place of worship was Memphis , a city just south of present-day Cairo , which was the royal residence for long periods of pharaonic history. Despite this central position in the most important royal residence of ancient Egypt, Ptah never made it to the highest imperial god and was therefore usually in the second row behind the important gods Re , Osiris and Amun . However, this did not prevent the priests in Memphis from devising their own theological structure of ideas in which Ptah was declared the supreme god of creation and lord of all gods. The memphite theology memorial is still one of the most important theological texts of ancient Egypt on the subjects of cosmogony and theogony , i.e. the creation of the world and the gods.
presentation
Mostly he is represented as a human-shaped mummy in a tight-fitting robe, with a shaved head, a yellow or green complexion and a tight-fitting blue hood. In his hands, which protrude from the mummy bandages, he holds a staff that is a combination of the Ankh symbol (“life”), the what scepter (“power”) and the Djed pillar (“duration”, “constancy “) Is - a symbol of power and strength. Sometimes it also stands on a pedestal or pedestal (throne pedestal) that has the shape of the hieroglyph
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meaning
According to Memphite theology, Ptah was considered to be the main creator god. In principle, he was a chthonic deity, i.e. an earth god, whatever the aspect of the death and fertility deity contained in it. As an earth deity, he formed man out of clay with the help of the potter's wheel , which also made him the patron god of the craftsmen.
As chief god of Memphis , a city that served as a royal residence in much of the ancient Egyptian history, he formed the lion goddess Sekhmet and his son, the Lotus God Nefertem , the trinity ( triad ) of Memphis. Here the Apis , the sacred bull of Memphis, was worshiped as the incarnation of God. Ptah was also considered to be the "ancient one" in which the essence of Nun and Naunet united. Imhotep , architect of Djoser and builder of the step pyramid in Saqqara, was often regarded as the son of Ptah . In the 18th, 19th and 20th dynasties, Ptah formed the "Imperial Triad" with Amun and Re .
Creator God
Ptah was considered one of the most powerful creator gods. He created himself out of himself and was nicknamed "Father of the Gods, from whom all life proceeds". The creator organs assigned to him are the heart and tongue. According to the "Creation Myth of Memphis," he said the thoughts formed with the heart aloud, creating the universe, the cosmos, the world. He cited a ninth in Memphis, which incidentally consisted of the ninth of Heliopolis : Shu , Tefnut , Geb , Nut , Osiris , Isis , Seth, and Nephthys . However, this Ninth was not created by Atum, but like the universe, solely by his thoughts and his word, with its creative organs heart and tongue. Then he created places, images of gods and places of worship as well as the legal system in the same way. He therefore emerged as a “spiritual” creator among all the other creator gods. For the main aspect of the Memphis creation myth was that Ptah created the world by the power of words alone, by saying the names of humans and animals out loud.
Patron god of craftsmen
As the patron god of craftsmen, Ptah was of particular importance in Karnak and Deir el-Medina , the craftsmen's village in the Valley of the Kings , which made him known and worshiped throughout the country. In Memphis, the high priest of Ptah held the title of "chief master craftsman".
Religious advancement
A merger during the Old Kingdom with the falcon-shaped Sokar , another deity from Memphis, is known as Ptah-Sokar . The far more profound merger with the god of the dead Osiris developed in the Middle Kingdom to the deity Ptah-Sokar-Osiris , who then stood for creation, death and resurrection, and whose image was often found on grave goods from private individuals. In the New Kingdom , at the time of Ramses II , there was a further fusion with the god Tatenen to form Ptah-Tatenen .
In his capacity as an artist or “sculptor”, Ptah was equated with the Greek god Hephaestus in Hellenism , under the rule of the Ptolemies of Greek and Macedonian descent .
In modern literature
In modern literature Ptah plays a central role under the name Petach in the fantastic novel Die Prophezeiung by Wolfgang and Heike Hohlbein : as God in human form. In addition, the character Robert Wells in Tad Williams ' novel Otherland represents the god Ptah.
Opera
At the end of the first act of Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida , Ptah is invoked in the "volcanic temple of Memphis" as the creator god under the name "Phtà".
literature
- Mary Barnett, Michael Dixon: Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt. Gondrom, Bindlach u. a. 1998, ISBN 3-8112-1646-5 .
- Hans Bonnet : Ptah. In: Lexicon of Egyptian Religious History. Nikol, Hamburg 2000, ISBN 3-937872-08-6 , pp. 614-619.
- Rolf Felde: Egyptian deities . 2nd expanded and improved edition, R. Felde Eigenverlag, Wiesbaden 1995.
- Lucia Gahlin, Katharina Lisson: Egypt. Gods, myths, religions. A fascinating guide through the mythology and religion of ancient Egypt to the great temples, tombs and treasures of the first high culture of mankind. Edition XXL, Reichelsheim 2001, ISBN 3-89736-312-7 .
- Wolfgang Helck , Eberhard Otto : Ptah. In: Small Lexicon of Egyptology. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1999, ISBN 3-447-04027-0 , p. 227f.
- Veronica Ions: The Gods and Myths of Egypt. (= The great religions of the world - gods, myths and legends. ) Neuer Kaiser Verlag - Book and World, Klagenfurt 1988.
- Manfred Lurker : Lexicon of the gods and symbols of the ancient Egyptians. Handbook of the mystical and magical world of Egypt. Special edition, 1st edition, Scherz, Bern / Munich / Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-502-16430-4 .
- Benedikt Rothöhler: New Thoughts on the Monument to Memphite Theology. University of Heidelberg - Philosophical Faculty, Heidelberg 2006; also: Dissertation, Heidelberg University 2005 ( full text online ).
- Maj Sandman-Holmberg: The God Ptah. Gleerup, Lund 1946.
- Richard H. Wilkinson : The world of the gods in ancient Egypt. Faith, power, mythology (= The complete gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt ). Theiss, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-8062-1819-6 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Rolf Felde: Egyptian gods. Wiesbaden 1995, pp. 47-48.
- ↑ a b Lucia Gahlin, Katharina Lisson: Egypt. Gods, myths, religions. Reichelsheim 2001.
- ^ Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto, Wolfhart Westendorf: Small Lexicon of Egyptology. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 2000, ISBN 3-447-04468-3 , pp. 227-228.
- ^ Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto, Wolfhart Westendorf: Small Lexicon of Egyptology. Wiesbaden 2000, p. 228.