Heryshaf

Harsaphes
Hr
Z1
S
Z1 N21
f
Heryshaf
in hieroglyphs
Silver statue of Heryshaf in the Louvre

In Egyptian mythology, Heryshaf, or Hershef, (Egyptian Ḥry-š=f "He who is on his lake"),[1] transcribed in Greek as Arsaphes or Harsaphes (Ἁρσαφής) was an ancient ram-god whose cult was centered in Heracleopolis Magna (now Ihnasiyyah al-Madinah). He was identified with Ra and Osiris in Egyptian mythology,[1] as well as Dionysus [2] or Heracles in Greek mythology. The identification with Heracles may be related to the fact that in later times his name was sometimes reanalysed as Ḥry-šf.t "He who is over strength". One of his titles was "Ruler of the Riverbanks". Heryshaf was a creator and fertility god who was born from the primordial waters. He was pictured as a man with the head of a ram, or as a ram.

References

  1. 1 2 Forty, Jo. Mythology: A Visual Encyclopedia, Sterling Publishing Co., 2001, p. 84.
  2. Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 28 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer 2nd century AD)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.