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Heka (; ; Coptic:
hik
'; also transliterated Hekau) was the deification of magic and medicine in
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 ...
. The name is the Egyptian word for "magic". According to Egyptian literature (Coffin text, spell 261), Heka existed "before duality had yet come into being''.''" The term ''ḥk3'' was also used to refer to the practice of magical rituals.


Name

The name Heka is identical with the Egyptian word ''ḥkꜣ(w)'' "magic". This hieroglyphic spelling includes the symbol for the word ''ka'' (''kꜣ''), the ancient Egyptian concept of the vital force. Due to the importance placed onto names in ancient Egypt Heka was often incorporated into personal names. Some examples include: Hekawy, Hekaf, or simply Heka. The goddess
Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...
is also sometimes affiliated with Heka being titled Weret Hekau, Great Lady of magic.


Beliefs

The Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts depict ''Heka'' as a supernatural energy that the gods possess. The "cannibal pharaoh" must devour other gods to gain this magical power. Eventually, Heka was elevated to a deity in his own right, and a cult devoted to him developed.


Creation myths

By the time of the Coffin Texts, Heka is said to have been created at the beginning of time by the creator Atum. Sometimes also being personified as the creator god, presented as a man or child and in some imagery holding two snakes. Heka is also said to be one of the three facets of the creator along with sia and hu.


General myths

Heka is later depicted as part of the tableau of the divine solar barque and as a protector of
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 ...
in Duat capable of blinding crocodiles. Then, during the Ptolemaic dynasty, Heka's role was to proclaim the pharaoh's enthronement as a son of Isis, holding him in his arms. Heka also appears as part of a divine triad in Esna, Ptolemaic and Roman capital of the Third Nome of the
Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais (, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nome (Egypt), nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos, Egypt, Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximit ...
of
Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...
, where he is the son of ram-headed Khnum and a succession of goddesses. His mother was alternately said to be Nebetu'u (a form of Hathor), lion-headed Menhit, and the cow goddess Mehet-Weret, before settling on Neith, a war and mother goddess. Werethekau whose name means "she who has great magic" is also sometimes connected with the force of Heka. As Egyptologist Ogden Goelet (1994) explains, magic in the '' Book of the Dead'' is problematic: The text uses various words corresponding to 'magic', for the Egyptians thought magic was a legitimate belief. As Goelet explains:


Gallery

Esna Tempel 13 Heka.jpg, Relief of Heka at the Temple of Esna Heka.jpg, Heka (ḥkꜣ) Heka (magical form).png, Heka, holding two serpents crossing each other with the hind of a lion on nome standard represent his name on his head in the magical form


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heka (God) Egyptian gods Health gods Magic gods Nubian gods ca:Llista de personatges de la mitologia egípcia#H