Egyptian mythology 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 around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyp ...

, Khenti-kheti (also spelt Chenti-cheti), was a crocodile-

god In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

, though he was later represented as a

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Falcons are widely distributed on all continents of the world except Antarctica, though closely related raptors did occur there in the Eocene. Adult falcons ...

-god. His name means "foremost retreater".

Origin & Evolution

At earlier times, he was the crocodile god of the region called

Athribis Athribis ( ar, أتريب; Greek: , from the original Egyptian ''Hut-heryib'', cop, Ⲁⲑⲣⲏⲃⲓ) was an ancient city in Lower Egypt. It is located in present-day Tell Atrib, just northeast of Benha on the hill of Kom Sidi Yusuf. The to ...

in Lower Egypt. This is why, in

Egyptian history The history of Egypt has been long and wealthy, due to the flow of the Nile River with its fertile banks and delta, as well as the accomplishments of Egypt's native inhabitants and outside influence. Much of Egypt's ancient history was a myste ...

, he has often been associated with Sebek and is said to be ''The'' ''Owner of Athribis''. However, during the New Kingdom, he was shown to be related to Horus and was shaped like a hawk. At that time his name was ''Horas Khenti-Kheti.''

Legend

He could take the form of a giant black bull, named Kemwer. He was later replaced by

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He wa ...

, also known as "Osiris, who lived in Athribis".

References

Egyptian gods Falcon deities Animal gods Mythological birds of prey {{Egyptian-myth-stub ca:Llista de personatges de la mitologia egípcia#C