| Tatenen | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ptah-Tatenen, the androgynous personification of the primordial mound of Benben (a modern rendition based on depictions from antiquity). | ||||||
| Name inhieroglyphs |
| |||||
| Major cult center | Memphis | |||||
| Offspring | theOgdoad (some accounts) | |||||
Tatenen (alsoTa-tenen,Tatjenen,Tathenen,Tanen,Tenen,Tanenu, andTanuu) was thedeity of the primordial mound inancient Egyptian religion. His name means "risen land"[1] or "exalted earth",[2] as well as referring to thesilt of theNile. As a primevalchthonic deity,[3] Tatenen was identified withcreation. Both feminine and masculine, he was anandrogynous protector ofnature from theMemphis area (then known asMen-nefer), the ancient capital of theInebu-hedj nome inLower Egypt.
Tatenen represented theEarth and was born in the moment it rose from the watery chaos,[1] analogous to the primeval mound of thebenben andmastaba and the laterpyramids. He was seen as the source of "food and viands, divine offers, all good things",[4] as his realms were the deep regions beneath the earth "from which everything emerges", specifically including plants, vegetables, and minerals.[3] In theThird Intermediate Period hymn, The Great Hymn of Khnum, he is identified with the creator godKhnum, who created "all that is" on his potter's wheel.[5] This fortuity granted him the titles of both "creator and mother who gave birth to all gods" and "father of all the gods".[1][6] He also personifiedEgypt (due to his associations with rebirth and the Nile) and was an aspect of the earth-godGeb, as a source ofartistic inspiration,[7] as well as assisting the dead in their journey to theafterlife.[8]
He is first attested in theinscriptions that mostly appear on coffins during theFirst Intermediate Period andMiddle Kingdom. In those inscriptions his name appears as Tanenu or Tanuu, 'the inert land', a name which characterizes him as a deity of the primeval condition of the earth. Middle Kingdom texts provide the first examples of the form Tatenen.[3]
With a staff, Tatenen repelled the evil serpentApep from the Primeval Mound. He also had a magical mace dedicated to thefalcon, venerated as "The Great White of the Earth Creator".[9] In one interpretation, Tatenen brought theDjed-pillars of stability to the country,[9] although this is more commonly attributed toPtah.
Both Tatenen and Ptah were Memphite deities. Tatenen was the more ancient, combined in theOld Kingdom with Ptah as Ptah-Tatenen, in their capacity as creator deities.[2] By theNineteenth Dynasty Ptah-Tatenen is his sole form, and he is worshiped as royal creator god. Ptah-Tatenen can be seen as father of theOgdoad ofHermopolis, the eight deities who themselves embody the primeval elements from before creation.[3]
Tatenen's ambiguous portrayal may be a result of his being merged withPtah. He was most commonly depicted in human form, sometimes with green skin,[10] usually seated with a pharaonic beard, wearing either anAtef-crown (as Ptah-Sokar) or, more commonly, a pair of ram's horns surmounted by a sun disk and two tall feathers.[3] As Tanenu or Tanuu, obviously a chthonic deity, he carried two snakes on his head.[3] He was both feminine and masculine because of his status as a primeval, creator deity.[1] Some depictions show Tatenen with a green complexion (face and arms), as he had connections tofertility and a chthonic association with plants.[2]
