Heryshef
Heryshef (Herishef, Heryshaf, Hershef) was an ancient creator, fertility god, and god of the riverbanks.
His name translates as “he who is on his lake”. His cult was located at Hwt-nen-nesu (Hnes, Herakleopolis Magna) but he was also referred to as the ruler of Iunu (Heliopolis).
ThePalermo Stone records that his cult dated back to the first dynasty of Ancient Egypt (theEarly Period) but the earliest known temple dedicated to him at Hwt-nen-nesu is dated to theMiddle Kingdom. However, we know that he was fairly powerful during theFirst intermediate Period when Hwt-nen-nesu briefly became the capital ofLower Egypt.
The Temple of Heryshef was expanded during theNew Kingdom by Ramesses II who added a number of huge granite columns with palm leaf capitals and remained active until well into thePtolemaic Period.
In Ancient Egypt he was associated withRa andOsiris and was sometimes described as the “Ba” (soul) of these gods. He was also associated withAtum because of his connections with the sacred naret tree of Hwt-nen-nesu. However, the Greeks called him Harsaphes or Arsaphes (which means “manliness”) and identified him with Heracles, perhaps in part because his name could also mean “He who is over strength”.
He appears on a stele found in the Temple ofIsis in Pompeii (but originally from his temple in Hwt-nen-nesu) in which Heryshef assures Somtutefnakht (a priest during theLate Period) that he will not be harmed and advises him to return to his home town of Hwt-nen-nesu to serve in the temple. In this stele Heryshef is described as “king of the Two Lands” and “ruler of the riverbanks”. He is also referred to in the “Tale of the Eloquent Peasant” in which the peasant goes to register his complaint in the Temple of Heryshef. Heryshef was often depicted on ivory wands from theMiddle Kingdom and amulets from later periods.
He took the form of a king with the head of a long-horned ram. He wore the Atef when associated with Osiris and the sun disc when associated with Ra.
Bibliography
Copyright J Hill 2010
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