Egyptian Gods
Ancient Egyptian Gods, Goddesses and Religion
AshMythology of Ash
The name
Ash cannot be analyzed as Egyptian and the god is often
thought to be of foreign origin. New ertheless, Ash appears
to have been an ancient god and is first attested on seals
and inscriptions of the Early Dynastic Period. He was
venerated as the god of Egypt's western desert region,
including the outlying oases and the area of Libya or
"Tehenu", and this gave the god a somewht dual nature as he
was associated both with the barre desert regions and at the
same time, with the fertile oases. Because he was venerated
as god of the desert, a close association between Ash and
the god Seth occurred from quite early times. This
connection was enhanced by the fact that Ash appears to have
been the original deity of Ombos (with the epithet 'nebuty'
or 'he of Nebut" (Ombos)), the Upper Egyptian town which
also became a cult center of Seth. Iconography of Ash
Ash is
normally depicted in fully anthropomorphic form, but the god
may also be depicted with the head of a hawk, or because of
his association with Seth, the appearance of that god. It is
possible that he is represented as a lion, vulture and
serpent-headed being on a late coffin, though this is
uncertain and the god is seldom depicted in the later
dynastic period. Worship of AshThe god was without an established cult but he was depicted in certain temple scenes, as in the 5th Dynasty pyramid temple of Sahure at Abusir. | ||||||||||
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