A goddess of Heliopolis whose name 'mistress of the offerings' conceals a more intellectual concept. Like Iusaas she is a feminine counterpart to the male creative principle embodied in the sun-god Atum. She is therefore transformed from merely a manifestation of Hathor at Heliopolis into an integral element of the creator-god, namely the hand with which he grips his phallus prior to bringing the Egyptian cosmos into being.
Patron of: the rising of the sun.
Appearance: a man with a crown of lotus blossoms
Description: Nefertem was the god of the sunrise who helped to bring the sun into the sky where Ra was. According to myth, he had no father and no mother, instead being born from a lotus blossom.
Worship: Nefertem had no formal cult or temple. His primary devotion seems to have been in the form of small statues of him carried by people, similar to modern saints medals.
A snake-god, 'He who harnesses the spirits', whose invincibility is a source of protection both in Egypt and in the Underworld.
Looking like a serpent but with human arms and legs, Nehebkau lurked in the Underworld as a constant menace to gods and men. He was however a subject of Ra and would often give food to the dead. He is sometimes shown with two heads at one end of his body and another head at the other end.
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