Ptah

ptah.jpg Ptah was the creator god of Memphis and patron of all craftsmen, such as the artisans and tomb builders in Deir el-Medina and elsewhere. The high priest of Memphis was called "Leader of Craftsmen".

As a creator, Ptah devised everything in his heart and then created it by speaking; this tradition is passed on to us by texts in several manuscripts, such as the Coffin Texts and the Shabaka stone. Ptah also created the ritual known as "Opening of the Mouth", which was performed on statues as well as mummies.

Ptah was associated with several other gods, among them Tatenen and Sokar, the god of Saqqara, the necropolis of Memphis. With the latter the identification was so strong that it resulted in the god Ptah-Sokar, and later, adding Osiris, in the funerary god Ptah-Sokar-Osiris.

The ba (which translates rather incorrectly as "soul") of Ptah was believed to manifest itself in the Apis bull.

Ptah was the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem in the triad of Memphis. In another context Imhotep, the deified architect of the step pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, was also called his son.

Ptah is always portrayed as a mummy whose head and hands are still visible. He wears a blue skull cap on his head. His hands hold several attributes, usually a sign of life (ankh), a sceptre of power (was) and a pillar of stability (djed). Usually he stands on a podium in the shape of the hieroglyph Maat (truth and order).

 

 

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