Aker was an

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ian personification of the

horizon The horizon is the apparent curve that separates the surface of a celestial body from its sky when viewed from the perspective of an observer on or near the surface of the relevant body. This curve divides all viewing directions based on whethe ...

, and an earth and underworld god, believed to guard the eastern (Bakhu) and western (

Manu Manu may refer to: Religion Proto Indo European Mythology * Manu (Indo European Mythology) one of the mythical duo Manu and Yemo Ancient Mesopotamia * Manu the Great, a Chaldean god of fate Hinduism *Manu (Hinduism), Hindu progenitor of mank ...

) horizons.

Description

Aker was first depicted as the torso of a recumbent lion with a widely opened mouth. Later, he was depicted as two recumbent lion torsos merged with each other and still looking away from each other.Christian Leitz: ''Lexikon der ägyptischen Götter und Götterbezeichnungen (LGG)'' (= ''Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta'', vol. 6). Peeters Publishers, Leuven 2002, , pp. 83 - 85. From Middle Kingdom onwards Aker appears as a pair of twin lions, one named ''Duaj'' (meaning "tomorrow") and the other ''Sefe'' (meaning "yesterday"). Aker was thus often titled "He who's looking forward and behind". When depicted as a lion pair, a

hieroglyph Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct characters. ...

ic sign for "

" (two merged mountains) and a sun disc was put between the lions; the lions were sitting back-on-back.Pat Remler: ''Egyptian Mythology, A to Z''. Infobase Publishing, 2010, , pp. 4 & 5. In later times, Aker can also appear as two merged torsos of recumbent

sphinx A sphinx ( ; , ; or sphinges ) is a mythical creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. In Culture of Greece, Greek tradition, the sphinx is a treacherous and merciless being with the head of a woman, th ...

es with human heads.

Cult

Aker appears for the first time during the 1st Dynasty with the kings (

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

Hor Aha Hor-Aha (or Aha or Horus Aha; ) is considered the second pharaoh of the First Dynasty of Egypt by some Egyptologists, while others consider him the first one and corresponding to Menes. He lived around the 31st century BC and is thought to have h ...

and

Djer Djer (or Zer or Sekhty; ) is considered the third pharaoh of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt in current Egyptology. He lived around the mid 31st century BC and reigned for c. 40 years. A mummified forearm of Djer or his wife was discovered by ...

. An unfinished decorative palette from the tomb of Djer at Abydos shows Aker devouring three hearts.Peter Kaplony: ''Die Inschriften der ägyptischen Frühzeit'', 3rd edition. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1963, pp. 65. The location of Aker's main cult center is unknown, though. His mythological role was fully described for the first time in the famous

Pyramid Texts The Pyramid Texts are the oldest ancient Egyptian funerary texts, dating to the late Old Kingdom. They are the earliest known corpus of ancient Egyptian religious texts. Written in Old Egyptian, the pyramid texts were carved onto the subterranea ...

of king

Teti Teti, less commonly known as Othoes, sometimes also Tata, Atat, or Athath in outdated sources (died 2333 BC), was the first pharaoh, king of the Sixth Dynasty of Egypt. He was buried at Saqqara. The exact length of his reign has been destroye ...

Mythology

Aker was first described as one of the earth gods guarding the "gate to the yonder site". He protected the deceased king against the three demonic snakes ''Hemtet'', ''Iqeru'' and ''Jagw''. By "encircling" (i.e. interring) the deceased king, Aker sealed the deceased away from the poisonous breath of the snake demons. Another earth deity, who joined and promoted Aker's work, was

Geb Geb (, Egyptological pronunciation: ''Gebeb''), also known as Ceb (, ), was the Egyptian god of the Earth and a mythological member of the Ennead of Heliopolis. He could also be considered a father of snakes. It was believed in ancient Egypt ...

. Thus, Aker was connected with Geb. In other spells and prayers, Aker is connected with

Seth Seth, in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. The Hebrew Bible names two of his siblings (although it also states that he had others): his brothers Cain and Abel. According to , Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, ...

and even determined with the

Set animal In ancient Egyptian art, the Set animal, or ''sha'', is the affiliated animal of the god Set. Because Set was identified with the Greek monster Typhon, the animal is also commonly known as the Typhonian animal or Typhonic beast. Unlike other t ...

. This is interesting, because Seth is described as a wind deity, not as an earth deity.Georg Meurer: ''Die Feinde des Königs in den Pyramidentexten'' (= ''Orbis biblicus et orientalis'', vol. 189). Saint-Paul, 2002, , pp. 295, 296 & 311. In the famous

Coffin Texts The Coffin Texts are a collection of ancient Egyptian funerary spells written on coffins beginning in the First Intermediate Period. They are partially derived from the earlier Pyramid Texts, reserved for royal use only, but contain substantial n ...

of Middle Kingdom period, Aker replaces the god

Kherty Kherty is an ancient Egyptian deity. Despite being archaeologically attested since the early 2nd Dynasty, his original mythological role during this era is unclear. Kherty was an Egyptian god of the Duat.Georg Meurer: ''Die Feinde des Königs in ...

, becoming now the "ferryman of Ra in his nocturnal barque". Aker protects the sun god during his nocturnal travelling through the underworld caverns. In the famous ''

Book of the Dead The ''Book of the Dead'' is the name given to an Ancient Egyptian funerary texts, ancient Egyptian funerary text generally written on papyrus and used from the beginning of the New Kingdom of Egypt, New Kingdom (around 1550 BC) to around 50 BC ...

'', Aker also "gives birth" to the god

Khepri Khepri (Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''ḫprj,'' also transliterated Khepera, Kheper, Khepra, Chepri) is a scarab-faced Egyptian pantheon, god in ancient Egyptian religion who represents the rising or morning sun. By extension, he can also repres ...

, the young, rising sun in the shape of a

scarab beetle The family Scarabaeidae, as currently defined, consists of over 35,000 species of beetles worldwide; they are often called scarabs or scarab beetles. The classification of this family has undergone significant change. Several groups formerly tre ...

, after Aker has carried Khepri's sarcophagus safely through the underworld caverns. In other underworld scenes, Aker carries the nocturnal barque of Ra. During his journey, in which Aker is asked to hide the body of the dead

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

beneath his womb, Aker is protected by the god Geb.Friedrich Abitz: ''Pharao als Gott in den Unterweltsbüchern des Neuen Reiches'' (= ''Orbis biblicus et orientalis'', vol. 146). Saint-Paul, 1995, , pp. 119, 158 & 159. In several inscriptions, wall paintings and reliefs, Aker was connected to the horizon of the North and the West, forming a mythological bridge between the two horizons with his body. Certain sarcophagus texts from the tombs of

Ramesses IV Usermaatre Heqamaatre Setepenamun Ramesses IV (also written Ramses or Rameses) was the third pharaoh of the Twentieth Dynasty of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. He was the second son of Ramesses III and became crown prince when his elder br ...

, Djedkhonsuiusankh and

Pediamenopet Padiamenope (also known by the hellenised form Petamenophis) was an ancient Egyptian royal scribe and chief lector priest between the late 25th Dynasty and the early 26th Dynasty, known mainly for TT33 (tomb), his immense tomb, one of the largest ...

describe how the sun god Ra travels through the underworld "like

Apophis Apophis (; ), also known as Apep () or Aphoph (, ) Erman, Adolf, and Hermann Grapow, eds. 1926–1953. ''Wörterbuch der aegyptischen Sprache im Auftrage der deutschen Akademien''. 6 vols. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs'schen Buchhandlungen. (Re ...

going through the belly of Aker after Apophis was cut by Seth". In this case, Aker seems to be some kind of representation of the underworld itself.Geraldine Pinch: ''Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt''. Oxford University Press, Oxford (UK) 2004, , page 99.

References

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer, collapsed Egyptian death gods Egyptian underworld Underworld gods Lion gods

Description

Cult

Mythology

See also

References