Andjety
Mythology of
Andjety
The god Andjety
(Egyptian "he of Andjet") was the local god of the 19th
Lower Egyptian nome (see Nome Deities) centered at Busiris,
the ancient Andjet or Djedu in the Delta. The deity seems
to have been one of the precursors of Osiris in the sense
that he was eventually absorbed by that god who took over
his attributes and characteristics (see Osiris). In the
Pyramid Texts he is one of the Egyptian gods with whom the
deceased king is identified, and juxtaposed with Anubis,
ruler of the west as "Andjety who presides over the eastern
nomes" (PT 220, 1834). Judging by his insignia and the
earliest textual evidence, it is possible that Andjety may
have originally been a locally deified dead king of Busiris
or somehow personified the concept of rulership. Andjety
also had clear fertility aspects. Even in the Pyramid Texts
we find the substitution of a stylized uterus for the two
feathers in the writing of the name of Andjety which
probaby reflects these aspects in some way, nd in the
Coffin Texts in the Middle Kingdom Andjety is also given
the epithet "bull of vultures", doubtless based on a
mythological role as the consort of seven early
goddesses.
Iconography of
Andjety
Andjety was worshipped in
anthropomorphic form, apparently as a deified ruler, and
his iconography clearly demonstrates his influence on
Osiris. From the beginning of the 4th Dynasty he was
depicted wearing a high conical crown decorated with two
feathers very similar to the Atef Crown later worn by
Osiris. Andjety also held two sceptres - a crook and flail
- which likewise became Osirian insignia.
Worship of
Andjety
The assimilation of Andjety by Osiris at
an early date precludes a clear picture of the worship of
the former god, but Andjety's position in the Pyramid Texts
indicates a wide-ranging influence and worship of the deity
in Lower Egypt in early times. He did continue as an
independent deity after the rise of Osiris, but the two
gods are seldom far removed in later times and from New
Kingdom times may be combined, as in the funerary temple of
Sethos I at Abydos where the king is depicted presenting
incense to Osiris-Andjety - a clear fusion of Osiris with
the deity who was perhaps his most important
forerunner.
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