Shu

From ArchaeoWiki

Head-rest depicting Shu and the lions of yesterday and tomorrow. The deity thus supported the head of the king and therefore—symbolically—the sun. Ivory. Late Eighteenth Dynasty. Tomb of Tutankhamun KV 62, Valley of the Kings. Cairo Museum

Shu was the ancient Egyptian god of the air, the atmosphere and of sunlight.

Forms and Iconography

Shu was most commonly depicted in anthropomorphic form as a male divine figure wearing a feather upon his head, the feather representing the hieroglyphic symbol for the name of the god. The god was frequently shown with arms raised in order to support the sky goddess Nut and to separate her from her brother and husband, the earth deity Geb. In this role, Shu is often assisted by magical Heh deities.

An alternative representation for the god Shu was in the form of a lion.

Cult and Worship

Early references are discovered to Shu in both the Pyramid and the Coffin Texts. It is not until the New Kingdom period, however, that attestations to a cult of the god of the air are first encountered, appearing in texts of different kinds.

The primary cult centre for Shu—shared with his consort Tefnut—was the ancient Naytahut, later known as Leontopolis by the Greeks and currently as Tell el-Muqdam.

Bibliography

• Cruz-Uribe, Eugene [1998], "Atum, Shu, and the Gods during the Amarna Period", JSSEA 25 (1998), pp.15-22.