Egyptian religious poetry

GLOSSARY 15

Atef-crown. The tall crown of Upper Egypt adorned with ostrich feathers and ram’s horns, worn by Osiris and in late times by the King.

Aten. The actual Sun-disc, as distinct from the more abstract idea of the: god (Ré) immanent in the Sun.

Atum. The early name of the Sun-god, displaced later by Ré.

Bakhu. The mountain of the sunrise. When the Boat of the Morning sailed between the sycamores of turquoise, with the Abd-fish and the Ynt-fish playing in the water before it, it woke the serpent of the mountain, and the morning light glittered on his scales.

Bast (Gr. Bubastis). The cat-headed goddess of Bubastis in the Delta. Though originally an independent deity, she was fused with the lioness-goddess Sekhmet; the combination shows the two aspects of Deity. Herodotus describes her temple and her festival.

Bennu-bird. A bird associated both with the Sun-god and with Osiris. It was a species of heron. The name is possibly the origin of the word phoenix.

Boat of the Sun. The Sun sailed on the celestial Nile in a boat which had several names; he rose in the Boat of the Morning and set in the Boat of the Evening. The boat was also called the Boat of Millions of Years, and the Neshemt-boat, or simply the Boat. At the prow were stationed the various deities who protected the sun against his enemies.

Busiris (Eg. Dedu ; mod. Abusir). The sacred city of Osiris in the North. Herodotus mentions that human sacrifice was practised there.

Buto (Eg. Pé-Dep). The city of the cobra-goddess Wazt.

Duat. In the Pyramid Texts this place was in the sky ; but in