Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptian religion. Myths a...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Min (Menew, Menu, Amsu) was an ancient Egyptian god whose worship dates back to the predynastic times. His early images are the oldest examples of large scale statuary found in Egypt so far. He was worshipped by King Scorpion of the Early Dynastic Period and his symbol appears on the El Amrah palette (which is also known as the min palette). His cult may have developed from the worship of his fetish, which was thought to be a barbed arrow, a thunderbolt or a fossililised belemnite (an ancient relative of the cuttlefish).
As time progressed, he was given a human form and represented by the Min standard which resembles a double-headed arrow on a hook. Alternatively, Min initially represented the constelation Orion and was thought to control thunder and rain (linking him to Set). This connection with Orion also liked Min with Horus because the three were depicted with their arms raised above their head (a pose linked to the "smiting" pose of the pharaoh) and later provided a connection with Osiris.
Min continued to be associated with Horus until the Middle Kingdom when Min became more closely associated with fertility and the solar aspects of Horus became more emphasised. Min was associated with Amun during the New Kingdom, partly because both were linked to the ram and the bull, both of which were seen as a symbols of virility. The composite god Amun-Min was known as Kamutef ("Bull of his mother").
In later periods he was linked to Reshep, the Semitic god of war and thunder. Both gods were thought to be married to Qadesh the Semitic love goddess, although Min was often considered to be the child of Reshep and Qadesh. It is perhaps unsurprising that the Greeks linked Min to their fertility god, Pan. Because of this association, they renamed named Akhmim, Panopolis (city of Pan).
He was a god of the Eastern Desert, and a god and patron of traveling caravans. A reference in the Pyramid Texts to "the one who raises his arm in the east" is thought to relate to Min. He offered protection to travellers and traders and was also worshiped by the miners and masons who worked around the Wadi Hammamat. In this area, he was known as "Min, the (foremost) Man of the Mountain". His association with the desert led to an association with foreign lands and with the god Set.
Although he was associated with the desert, he was a god of fertility and sexuality. He was associated with the Egyptian long-leaf lettuce (also a favourite food of Set) which was considered to be an aphrodisiac as it secreted a milky substance which was likened to semen. Min was often shown standing before offering tables, covered with heads of lettuce. At the beginning of the harvest season, Min statue was carried through the fields in a festival known as "the departure of Min". Min blessed the harvest and the people held games in his honour, the most of which involved the menfolk climbing a huge pole (which had a connection with fertility not unlike the maypole). It is thought that this related to the construction of a huge festival pavillion where the festivities were held.
