| Ash | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ash as depicted in seals ofPeribsen | ||||
| Name inhieroglyphs |
| |||
| Major cult center | Memphis (presumably) | |||
| Symbol | Wine, Vineyards | |||
Ash orYuc (Tamazight: ⵢⵓⵛ,romanized:Yuc, IPA:[jʊʃ]) was anAmazigh sky god worshipped by theLibyan andTehenu tribes of theWestern Desert, an area of desert that lies west of the Nile River.[1][2][3] He was regarded as the "Lord of the Tehenu" by theAncient Egyptians.[4]
In particular, he was identified by the ancient Egyptians as the god of the vineyards of the westernNile Delta[4] and thus was viewed as a benigndeity.Flinders Petrie in his 1923 expedition to the Saqqara (also spelt Sakkara) found several references to Ash inOld Kingdom wine jar seals: "I am refreshed by this Ash" was a common inscription.
InEgyptian mythology, as god of the oases, Ash was associated withSet, who was originally a god of the desert. The first known reference to Ash dates to theProtodynastic Period, and he continued to be mentioned as late as the26th Dynasty.
Ash was usually depicted as ahuman,[4] whose head was one of the desert creatures, variously being shown as alion,vulture,hawk,[4]snake, or the unidentifiedSet animal.[5]
Some depictions of Ash show him as having multiple heads, unlike other Egyptian deities, although some compound depictions were occasionally shown connecting gods toMin. In an article in thejournalAncient Egypt (in 1923), and again in an appendix to her book,The Splendor that was Egypt,Margaret Murray expands on such depictions, and draws a parallel to aScythian deity, who is referenced inSebastian Münster'sCosmographia universalis.
The idea of Ash as an import god is contested, as he may have been the god of the city of Nebut, now known asNaqada, beforeSet's introduction there. One of his titles is "Nebuty" or "He of Nebut", indicating this position.[4]
Ash is sometimes seen as another name for Set.
