Egyptian Child
Gods
Neferhotep
Not as well known as the
child god Ihy, Neferhotep was also portrayed as an infant
deity, the son of Hathor, in the town of Hiw near Nag
Hammadi. The young god's name means 'perfect in
conciliation', probably reflecting the mythological fact
that the raging goddess Hathor was transformed into a gentle
and loving mother. Neferhotep was also viewed as a divine
ram and symbol of male potency. He was said to be loved by
'wives at the site of his beauty' in which beauty is a
circumlocution for the god's phallus. The god thus
functioned in two complementary aspects - as both a child
and the power behind the child's conception.
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