Atum (/ɑ.tum/,Egyptian:jtm(w) ortm(w),reconstructed[jaˈtaːmuw];CopticⲁⲧⲟⲩⲙAtoum),[3][4] sometimes rendered asAtem,Temu, orTem, is the primordial God inEgyptian mythology from whom all else arose. He created himself and is the father ofShu andTefnut, the divine couple, who are the ancestors of the other Egyptian deities. Atum is also closely associated with the evening sun. As a primordial god and as the evening sun, Atum haschthonic andunderworld connections.[5] Atum was relevant to the ancient Egyptians throughout most of Egypt's history. He is believed to have been present in ideology as early aspredynastic times, becoming even more prevalent during theOld Kingdom and continuing to be worshiped through theMiddle andNew Kingdom, though he becomes overshadowed byRa around this time.
Atum's name is thought to be derived from the verbtm which means 'to complete' or 'to finish'. Thus, he has been interpreted as being the "complete one" and also the finisher of the world, which he returns to watery chaos at the end of the creative cycle. As creator, he was seen as the progenitor of the world, the deities and universe having received his vital force orka.[6]
Atum is one of the most important and frequently mentioned deities from earliest times, as evidenced by his prominence in thePyramid Texts, where he is sometimes syncretized withRa to form Ra-Atum, and is portrayed as both a creator and father to the king throughout the collection of spells.[6] Several writings contradict how Atum was brought into existence. According to theHeliopolitan view, Atum originally existed in hisegg within the primeval waters, being born during the primordial flood, becoming the source of everything that was created after him. The Memphites (priests of Memphis), on the other hand, believed thatPtah created Atum in a more intellectual way, using his speech and thought, as told on theShabaka Stone.[7]
In theHeliopolitan creation myth, Atum was considered to be thefirst god, havingcreated himself, sitting on a mound (benben) (or identified with the mound itself), and rose from theprimordial waters (Nu).[8] Early myths state that Atum created the godShu and goddessTefnut by spitting them out of his mouth.[9][10] One text debates that Atum did not create Shu and Tefnut by spitting them out of his mouth by means of saliva and semen, but rather by Atum's lips.[11] Another writing describes Shu and Tefnut being birthed by Atum's hand. That same writing states that Atum's hand is the title of the god's wife based on her Heliopolitan beginning.[12] Other myths state Atum created bymasturbation, with the hand he used in this act that may be interpreted as the female principle inherent within him because the word for hand in Egyptian is feminine (ḏr.t)[13] and identified with goddesses such asHathor orIusaaset. Yet other interpretations state that he made union with his shadow.[14]
In theOld Kingdom, the Egyptians believed that Atum lifted the dead king's soul from his pyramid to the starry heavens.[10] He was also asolar deity, associated with the primary sun godRa. Atum was linked specifically with the evening sun, while Ra or the closely linked godKhepri were connected with the sun at morning and midday.[15]
In theCoffin Texts, Atum has a vital conversation withOsiris in which he describes the end of the universe as a time in which everything will cease to exist with the exception of the elements of the primordial waters, stating that after millions of years he and Osiris would be the only ones to survive the end of time as serpents.[16] He claims that he will destroy everything he created in the beginning of existence and bring it back to Nu, the primeval waters,[17] thus describing the belief that the gods and goddesses would one day cease to exist outside of the primeval waters.[16]
In theBook of the Dead, which was still current in the Graeco-Roman period, the sun god Atum is said to have ascended fromchaos-waters with the appearance of asnake, the animal renewing itself every morning.[18][19][20]
Atum is the god ofpre-existence andpost-existence. In the binarysolar cycle, the serpentine Atum is contrasted with the scarab-headed godKhepri—the young sun god, whose name is derived from the Egyptianḫpr "to come into existence". Khepri-Atum encompassed sunrise and sunset, thus reflecting the entire cycle of morning and evening.[21]
Atum was aself-created deity, the first being to emerge from the darkness and endlesswatery abyss that existed before creation. A product of the energy and matter contained in this chaos, he created his children—the first deities, out of loneliness. He produced from his own sneeze, or in some accounts, semen,Shu, the god of air, andTefnut, the goddess of moisture. The brother and sister, curious about the primeval waters that surrounded them, went to explore the waters and disappeared into the darkness. Unable to bear his loss, Atum sent a fiery messenger, theEye of Ra, to find his children. The tears of joy he shed upon their return were the first human beings.[22]
Atum on right side facingApep with a spear,tomb of Ramesses I, 19th Dynasty (c. 1292–1290 BC)
Atum is usually depicted in anthropomorphic form, wearing either the divine Tripartite wig or the dualwhite andred crown ofUpper andLower Egypt, known as the Double Crown, reinforcing his connection with kingship. In the Netherworld Books, he is sometimes depicted as an old man leaning on a stick, a reference to his role as the aging evening sun. Sometimes he is also shown as aserpent, the form he returns to at the end of the creative cycle, and also occasionally as amongoose,lion,bull,lizard, orape.[6] When he is represented as a solar deity, he can also be depicted as ascarab and when in reference to his primeval origins he is also seen depicted as the primeval mound.[23] In the Greco-Roman period, he was sometimes shown as a standing ape holding a bow and arrow.
Last surviving remnant of the Temple of Ra-Atum at Heliopolis, the obelisk, erected by Senusret I of the Twelfth Dynasty
Atum was worshiped throughout Egypt's history; the center of his worship centered on the city ofHeliopolis (Egyptian:Annu orIunu).[6] The only surviving remnant of Heliopolis is the Temple of Ra-Atumobelisk located in Al-Masalla ofAl-Matariyyah, Cairo. It was erected bySenusret I of theTwelfth Dynasty, and still stands in its original position.[24] In the Old Kingdom Atum was at the center of the Egyptian belief system, being partly responsible for the origins of existence, having created himself and everything else out of the primordial waters. He is believed to have been present in ideology as early as predynastic times, becoming even more prevalent during theOld Kingdom as indicated by the pyramid texts in which he appears frequently. He continues to be found in theMiddle Kingdom, during which he is depicted in theBook of the Dead in which he appears in spells to help with the journey to the Afterlife. Later, in theNew Kingdom, there cults attributed to Atum, such as the Theban royal high priestesses known as theDivine Adoratrices of Amun who acted as the Hand of Atum in temple rituals at the time.[25]Ra would take center stage later on but as Atum was overshadowed, the people of ancient Egypt would continue to worship him through cultic rituals in which he is depicted as having close relationships with the king, as well as being represented through lizards on smallreliquaries andamulets closer to theLate Period.[23]
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