All Topics  
Mehen

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Mehen
 
 
  Topics Mehen Topic Home

In Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
, Mehen is both what appears to be a mythological character
Egyptian mythology

Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Egypt over at least 3,000 years, from the Predynastic Egypt until the adoption of Coptic Christianity in the early centuries Common Era....
 snake
Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
-god
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
  and a game.
The character
Texts, which do not currently appear to be descriptions of a game, indicate that Mehen was considered to be a snake-god who either coils around Apep
Apep

In Egyptian mythology, Apep was an evil demon, the deification of darkness and chaos , and thus opponent of light and Ma'at , whose existence was believed from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt onwards....
 to protect Ra
Ra

Ra is an ancient Egyptian Solar deity . By the Fifth dynasty of Egypt he became a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon, with other deities representing other positions of the sun....
 from him, during his journey through the night, or instead coils protectively around Ra and his boat, a form in which he is often depicted.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Mehen'
Start a new discussion about 'Mehen'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


In Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was an Ancient history civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile in what is now the modern nation of Egypt....
, Mehen is both what appears to be a mythological character
Egyptian mythology

Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the various religious beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Egypt over at least 3,000 years, from the Predynastic Egypt until the adoption of Coptic Christianity in the early centuries Common Era....
 snake
Snake

Snakes are elongate legless carnivore reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears....
-god
God

God is a deity in theism and deism religions and other belief systems, representing either the sole deity in monotheism, or a principal deity in polytheism....
  and a game.

The character


Texts, which do not currently appear to be descriptions of a game, indicate that Mehen was considered to be a snake-god who either coils around Apep
Apep

In Egyptian mythology, Apep was an evil demon, the deification of darkness and chaos , and thus opponent of light and Ma'at , whose existence was believed from the Middle Kingdom of Egypt onwards....
 to protect Ra
Ra

Ra is an ancient Egyptian Solar deity . By the Fifth dynasty of Egypt he became a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon, with other deities representing other positions of the sun....
 from him, during his journey through the night, or instead coils protectively around Ra and his boat, a form in which he is often depicted. Mehen was consequently sometimes merged, in depictions, with Set, who also, originally, was considered to protect Ra, and thus was shown as a serpent-headed man with a spear, standing in Ra's boat.

The relationship between snake-god and Mehen game


The precise relationship between character and Mehen game
Mehen (game)

Mehen is a board game played in History of Ancient Egypt known by the name Mehen, a serpent god protecting Ra during his night-time underworld journey]]....
 is unknown. It is not known whether the game derives from the mythological character, or the character derives from the game, nor is it known whether the character was considered to be anything other than the game.

It is known that the board depicts a game
Game

A game is a structured wiktionary:activity, usually undertaken for enjoyment and sometimes used as an educational tool. Games are distinct from Manual labour, which is usually carried out for wiktionary:remuneration, and from art, which is more concerned with the expression of ideas....
 rather than acts as a religious fetish
Fetishism

A fetish is an object believed to have supernatural powers, or in particular, a man-made object that has power over others. Essentially, fetishism is the attribution of inherent value or powers to an object....
 due to studies of paintings in tombs and game boards and equipment found. Currently, the rules and methods for playing are completely unknown, although a program available contains a guess at how it may have been played. Also none of the associated objects fit neatly within the segments of the snake.

See also

  • Mehen (game)
    Mehen (game)

    Mehen is a board game played in History of Ancient Egypt known by the name Mehen, a serpent god protecting Ra during his night-time underworld journey]]....


External links