The Great Ennead was only one of several such groupings of nine deities in ancient Egypt. Claims to preeminence made by its Heliopolitan priests were not respected throughout Egypt, as each
nome typically had its own local deities, whose priests insisted stood above all others;[3] even in the nearby city of
Memphis , which along with Heliopolis is contained within the limits of modern
Cairo, the priests of
Ptah celebrated him as singularly superior to the Nine — In addition to Memphis having its own creation myth, the contemporaneous city of
Hermopolis had another creation story, the Ogdoad, that accounted for the physical creation of the universe by eight (different) primordial gods.[3]
Name in Egyptian, Greek, and Latin
The English name ennead is a borrowing via
Latin of the
Greek name enneás (ἐννεάς), meaning "the nine".[4] The term was a
calque of the Egyptian name, written psḏt and also meaning "the Nine". Its original pronunciation is uncertain, since hieroglyphs do not record vowels, but may have been /piˈsiːcʼat/ in
Old Egyptian, /piˈsiːtʼaʔ/ in
Middle Egyptian, and /pəˈsiːtʼə/ in
Late Egyptian.
Egyptologists conventionally transcribe it as Pesedjet.
Its development remains uncertain, although it appears to have first appeared when
Ra's cult – supreme under Dynasty V – declined in importance under Dynasty VI.
Egyptologists have traditionally theorized that the Heliopolitan priesthood established it to establish the preeminence of Atum over the others, incorporating some major gods in lesser positions and omitting others entirely. The most prominent of such deities was
Osiris,
god of vegetation and the
afterlife, who was incorporated into the ennead as Atum's great-grandson. However, in the 20th century, some Egyptologists[who?] question the whole scenario. After the Great Ennead was well established, the cult of Ra –
identified with Atum – recovered much of its importance until superseded by the cult of
Horus. The two were then combined as Ra-Horus of the Horizons.
According to the
creation story of the Heliopolitan priests, the world originally consisted of the primordial waters of precreation personified as
Nun.[2] From it arose a mound on the First Occasion.[2] Upon the mound sat the self-begotten god
Atum, who was equated with the
sun godRa. Atum evolved from Nun through self-creation.[2] Atum either spat or masturbated, producing
air personified as
Shu and
moisture personified as
Tefnut. The siblings Shu and Tefnut mated to produce the earth personified as
Geb and the nighttime sky personified as
Nut.
Geb and Nut were the parents of
Osiris and
Isis and of
Set and
Nephthys, who became respective couples in turn. Osiris and Isis represent fertility and order, while Set and Nephthys represent chaos to balance out Osiris and Isis.[3]Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, is often included in this creation tradition.[2] Due to the duality of Ancient Egyptian myths, this is only one of
many creation stories.[3] The Egyptians believed no specific myth was more correct than the other, rather that some combination of these myths was correct.[2] This creation story, the Heliopolitan tradition, is one of physiological creation.[3] The other major creation traditions are the
Memphite Theology and
HermopolitianOgdoad creation myth.[3]
Most of the Ennead are portrayed in Gods of Egypt (2016 movie); the main focus of the movie is the conflict between the protagonist god Horus versus the antagonist god Set.
In the first episode of the 2022
Marvel Cinematic Universe television miniseries
Moon Knight,
Steven Grant points out a problem with some of the museum's marketing material that seems to refer to the Ennead as a pantheon consisting of seven, rather than nine, gods.
In the
BLmanhwaENNEAD, written and illustrated by Mojito, Set (using the name Seth) is the main character. It draws heavily upon classic Egyptian mythology and centers on the conflict between Horus and Seth.
The Great Ennead was only one of several such groupings of nine deities in ancient Egypt. Claims to preeminence made by its Heliopolitan priests were not respected throughout Egypt, as each
nome typically had its own local deities, whose priests insisted stood above all others;[3] even in the nearby city of
Memphis , which along with Heliopolis is contained within the limits of modern
Cairo, the priests of
Ptah celebrated him as singularly superior to the Nine — In addition to Memphis having its own creation myth, the contemporaneous city of
Hermopolis had another creation story, the Ogdoad, that accounted for the physical creation of the universe by eight (different) primordial gods.[3]
Name in Egyptian, Greek, and Latin
The English name ennead is a borrowing via
Latin of the
Greek name enneás (ἐννεάς), meaning "the nine".[4] The term was a
calque of the Egyptian name, written psḏt and also meaning "the Nine". Its original pronunciation is uncertain, since hieroglyphs do not record vowels, but may have been /piˈsiːcʼat/ in
Old Egyptian, /piˈsiːtʼaʔ/ in
Middle Egyptian, and /pəˈsiːtʼə/ in
Late Egyptian.
Egyptologists conventionally transcribe it as Pesedjet.
Its development remains uncertain, although it appears to have first appeared when
Ra's cult – supreme under Dynasty V – declined in importance under Dynasty VI.
Egyptologists have traditionally theorized that the Heliopolitan priesthood established it to establish the preeminence of Atum over the others, incorporating some major gods in lesser positions and omitting others entirely. The most prominent of such deities was
Osiris,
god of vegetation and the
afterlife, who was incorporated into the ennead as Atum's great-grandson. However, in the 20th century, some Egyptologists[who?] question the whole scenario. After the Great Ennead was well established, the cult of Ra –
identified with Atum – recovered much of its importance until superseded by the cult of
Horus. The two were then combined as Ra-Horus of the Horizons.
According to the
creation story of the Heliopolitan priests, the world originally consisted of the primordial waters of precreation personified as
Nun.[2] From it arose a mound on the First Occasion.[2] Upon the mound sat the self-begotten god
Atum, who was equated with the
sun godRa. Atum evolved from Nun through self-creation.[2] Atum either spat or masturbated, producing
air personified as
Shu and
moisture personified as
Tefnut. The siblings Shu and Tefnut mated to produce the earth personified as
Geb and the nighttime sky personified as
Nut.
Geb and Nut were the parents of
Osiris and
Isis and of
Set and
Nephthys, who became respective couples in turn. Osiris and Isis represent fertility and order, while Set and Nephthys represent chaos to balance out Osiris and Isis.[3]Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, is often included in this creation tradition.[2] Due to the duality of Ancient Egyptian myths, this is only one of
many creation stories.[3] The Egyptians believed no specific myth was more correct than the other, rather that some combination of these myths was correct.[2] This creation story, the Heliopolitan tradition, is one of physiological creation.[3] The other major creation traditions are the
Memphite Theology and
HermopolitianOgdoad creation myth.[3]
Most of the Ennead are portrayed in Gods of Egypt (2016 movie); the main focus of the movie is the conflict between the protagonist god Horus versus the antagonist god Set.
In the first episode of the 2022
Marvel Cinematic Universe television miniseries
Moon Knight,
Steven Grant points out a problem with some of the museum's marketing material that seems to refer to the Ennead as a pantheon consisting of seven, rather than nine, gods.
In the
BLmanhwaENNEAD, written and illustrated by Mojito, Set (using the name Seth) is the main character. It draws heavily upon classic Egyptian mythology and centers on the conflict between Horus and Seth.