Khonsu

EGYPT 243 - MIN & KHONSU *Egyptian Gods III* (by Egyptahotep)

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• published: 30 Jul 2012
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MIN was an ancient Egyptian god whose worship dates back to the predynastic times. His early images are the oldest examples of large scale statuary found in Egypt so far. His cult may have developed from the worship of his fetish, he had a human form and represented by the Min standard which resembles a double-headed arrow on a hook. Alternatively, Min initially represented the constelation Orion and was thought to control thunder and rain (linking him to Set). and later provided a connection with Osiris. In early times Min was a sky-god whose symbol was a thunderbolt. His title was Chief of Heaven. Above all, Min was worshipped by men as a FERTILITY GOD, a bestower of sexual powers. He was also seen as a rain god that promoted the fertility of nature, especially in the growing of grain. KHONSU was an ancient Egyptian God of the Moon since the earliest times in Egyptian Mythology. His name Khonsu also spelled as Chonsu, Khensu, Khons, Chons or Khonshu that means The Traveller, reflects to the moon wandering across the night sky. He is also revered as the god of time. Khonsu also had given titles such as Embracer, Pathfinder, and Defender as he was thought to watch over night travelers. Khonsu was invoked to protect against wild animals, increase male virility, and to aid with healing. It was believed that Khonsu cause the crescent moon to shine, cattle to become fertile, women to conceive and every throat of the people were filled with fresh air. His appearance portrayed as a young man wrapped in white mummy wrapping with the royal sidelock and punt beard hair (worn by Egyptian children), wearing MOON headdress that shows the disk of a full moon cradled in a crescent new moon. He holds the crook and flail with only his hands that free from the mummy wrapping. OCCASIONALLY, Khonsu was also REPRESENTED AS A FALCON headed also with the crescent MOON on his head. In early times, in part of the Pyramid Texts Khonsu is a bloodthirsty deity, who helps the deceased king to slay deity enemies in the Underworld which describe him as "Khonsu who lives on hearts". He appears to be a violent and dangerous god but he went through a complete transformation of character during time. Khonsu was associated with a number of other gods such as Thoth, Ra, Shu, Min, Horus and Osiris. He also appears in several different aspects as Khonsu the Child (Khonsu pa-khered) or Khonsu the Provider (Khonsu pa-ir-sekher) or Khonsu, decider of the life span (Khonsu heseb-ahau). Khonsu was the son of Amun and Mut, together constituting the Theban Triad. Nevertheless, he is also considered to be the son of Sobek and Hathor (associate him to Horus) and son of Osiris in Edfu.Khonsu was related with god Aah, depicted as an ibis with the crescent moon