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Tefnut

File:Tefnut.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

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Tefnut ( ; ) is a deity in Ancient Egyptian religion, the feminine counterpart of the air god Shu. Her mythological function is less clear than that of Shu, but Egyptologists have suggested she is connected with moisture, based on a passage in the Pyramid Texts in which she produces water, and on parallelism with Shu's connection with dry air. She was also one of the goddesses who could function as the fiery Eye of Ra.

AI overview

Tefnut was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion, paired with the air god Shu, and is believed to have been associated with moisture based on ancient texts describing her producing water. She was also among the goddesses who could take on the role of the fierce Eye of Ra, though her exact religious significance remains less well understood than that of her counterpart Shu.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Deity.type
Egyptian
Deity.name
Tefnut
Deity.image
Tefnut.svg
Deity.image_upright
.7
Deity.caption
The goddess Tefnut portrayed as a woman with the head of a lioness and a sun disc resting on her head.
Deity.hiero
t:f-n:t-I13 or D26
Deity.cult_center
Heliopolis, Leontopolis
Deity.symbol
Lioness, Sun Disk
Deity.parents
Ra or Atum
Deity.siblings
Shu, Hathor, Maat, Anhur, Sekhmet, Bastet, Mafdet, Satet
Deity.consort
Shu, Geb
Deity.offspring
Geb and Nut

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Image
Tefnut.svg
Show 2 more facts
Commons category
Tefnut
name in hiero markup
t:f-W24:t-I12
Sources (1)

via Wikidata · CC0

~6 min read

Article

8 sections
Contents
  • Etymology
  • Mythological origins
  • Iconography
  • Cult centres
  • Mythology
  • Gallery
  • References
  • External links

Tefnut ( ; ) is a deity in Ancient Egyptian religion, the feminine counterpart of the air god Shu. Her mythological function is less clear than that of Shu, but Egyptologists have suggested she is connected with moisture, based on a passage in the Pyramid Texts in which she produces water, and on parallelism with Shu's connection with dry air. She was also one of the goddesses who could function as the fiery Eye of Ra.

==Etymology== The name Tefnut has no certain etymology but it may be an onomatopoeia of the sound of spitting, as Atum spits her out in some versions of the creation myth. Additionally, her name was written as a mouth spitting in late texts. Other interpretations include a link to the moon or the passage of time as related to the dead. It is also possible that she is linked to Tefen, a deity of which there is little evidence of, but may share etymology as meaning "orphan and orphaness."

Gallery (9)

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