In ancient Egypt, Khnum is the god of fertility and potters, the lord and guardian of the stormy Nile rapids and the creator of man and animals. According to legend, Khnum created them from clay using a potter's wheel.
What functions did Khnum perform
It is known that in ancient Egyptian Khnum means "creator". It was believed that he created the gods, people and animals. In one of the tombs, hieroglyphic writing tells how Khnum took clay and fashioned the first people using a potter’s wheel.
Some scholars see a parallel with the Bible, according to which Adam was created by the god of red clay. Despite the honorary functions of the demiurge, Khnum was not widely revered. The spread of his cult was limited to the provincial cities of Elephantine and Letopol, where the central sanctuaries were located.
Elephantine - the main place of veneration of Khnum - is a city in the Aswan Depression, near the first rapids of the Nile. The city was near Nubia, inhabited by black people. From here, probably, the tradition of portraying a black god comes.
God entered the so-called Elephant Triad of Nile deities - Khnum, Satis and Anuket. Khnum was portrayed in the form of a man with a ram's head with spiral-twisted horns. Another description of Khnum was preserved by Plutarch: God was dark-skinned, humanlike, had a scepter in his hand, and a royal feather on his head. In later times, God became sunny and was identified with Amon, Ra and Osiris.
The father of Khnum was considered the first-born god Nun, symbolizing the pristine ocean of chaos, from which Ra and the creator of the world Atum came.
