Sia (Egyptian mythology)

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Sia in hieroglyphics
Old empire
S29 M17 S32 G1 G7

New kingdom
S32 G1 A40

Gr.-Roman. time
S32 G1 C3

S32
I15

Sia
Sj3
The insight

In Egyptian mythology, the deity Sia embodies as the "General of Lower Egypt " the essential components of understanding , insight and wisdom . According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, the seat of these character traits was in the heart, which in turn belonged to the deity Nehebkau .

presentation

They were portrayed in human or animal form. In the Temple of Amun in Hibis there is an image of the goddess with a ram's head. In the Old Kingdom , Sia was seen as a divine functionary , who stood to the right of Re and held the consecrated papyrus scroll of this god. In the New Kingdom , Sia appears as a crouching ibis-headed deity.

meaning

Since the Pyramid Texts, Sia has been associated with Hu , “General of Upper Egypt ” and embodiment of the word . Together with Nehebkau, both represent the most important creative power of the sun god in Heliopolis . Siegfried Schott calls Sia and Hu auxiliary gods of will formation . At the time of the Middle Kingdom , all gods and kings had Sia and Hu, who knotted the heraldic plants papyrus and lily together for the kings of Egypt . Since the New Kingdom with Heka , both magic , Irer , seeing and Sedjem, hearing , belong to the circle of the fourteen creative powers of the sun god Amun-Re.

Since the 19th dynasty at the latest , these creative forces have belonged to the environment of the god Thoth , as whose assistant they are seen. They do not have their own cults, but Sia often appears with other gods and bears witness to their wisdom.

In Greco-Roman times, Sia and Hu are shown accompanied by Thoth. Similar to Chons , Thoth unites both gods in himself.

See also

literature