Akhty (also read Netjer-akhty) 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

deity A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

. He was rarely mentioned.

Depiction

Akhty was depicted as a

northern bald ibis The northern bald ibis, hermit ibis, or Waldrapp (''Geronticus eremita'') is a migratory Old World ibis found in open areas such as grasslands, rocky mountains, and semi-deserts, often close to running water. This glossy black ibis, which, unl ...

. The bird depiction was often guided by the hieroglyphic sign for "god", ''Netjer''.Eberhard Otto: ''Ach''. In: Wolfgang Helck (Hrsg.): ''Lexikon der Ägyptologie (LÄ)'', vol. 1. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1975, , p. 49-52.Jan Assmann: ''Tod und Jenseits im Alten Ägypten, Sonderausgabe''. C. H. Beck, München 2003, , p. 116-118. See a picture on the statue of the priest .

Attestations

The earliest mention of this deity appears on stone vessel inscriptions from the reign of the

2nd dynasty The Second Dynasty of ancient Egypt (or Dynasty II, – ) is the latter of the two dynasties of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt, Egyptian Archaic Period, when the seat of government was centred at Thinis. It is most known for its last rule ...

Pharaoh

Hotepsekhemwy Hotepsekhemwy is the Horus name of an early Egyptian king who was the founder of the Second Dynasty of Egypt. The exact length of his reign is not known; the Turin canon suggests an improbable 95 years Alan H. Gardiner: ''The royal canon of T ...

. Egyptologists such as

Wolfgang Helck Hans Wolfgang Helck (16 September 1914 – 27 August 1993) was a German Egyptologist, considered one of the most important Egyptologists of the 20th century. From 1956 until his retirement in 1979 he was a professor at the University of Hamburg. ...

believe that Akhty was a dynasty deity and ancestor god. Akhty was also depicted (and thus worshipped) under Hotepsekhemwy's successors,

Raneb Nebra or Raneb is the Horus name of the second early Egyptian king of the 2nd Dynasty. The exact length of his reign is unknown since the Turin canon is damaged and the year accounts are lost.Alan H. Gardiner: ''The royal canon of Turin''. ...

and

Nynetjer Nynetjer (also known as Ninetjer and Banetjer) is the Horus name of the third pharaoh of the Second Dynasty of Egypt during the Early Dynastic Period. Archaeologically, Nynetjer is the best attested king of the entire dynasty. Direct evidence ...

. During the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynast ...

period, Akhty's name only appears in connection with private names (like '' Akhetaa'') and priest titles such as ''Hem-netjer-Akhty'' ("god's servant of Akhty"). In even later times, Akhty's names appears more and more rarely.Wolfgang Helck, Eberhard Otto, Wolfhart Westendorf: ''Lexikon der Ägyptologie'', vol. 2. Harrassowitz, Wiesbaden 1977, , p. 430.

Worship

According to

ancient 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 Egyptia ...

, the Akh-bird was believed to be the representation of the human spirit (Egyptian: ''Akh''). Most possibly this idea was inspired by the attractive shimmering and glittering of the bird's feathers, which was compared by the Ancient Egyptians to the glittering of the stars in the night sky. A similar belief is known from

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

s, who worship the northern bald ibis as a bearer of the deceased's soul. As Akhty's name suggests, he was believed to reside at the evening horizon, guiding the setting sun and carrying the spirit of the deceased safely into the night sky.

References

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer Egyptian gods Bird deities Animal gods Psychopomps