Looks: Atum was shown wearing a large white hat, with a little round ball on the top. He had a young face, very strong and fresh. His jaw was outlined by his sideburns, they continued down into his beard. His beard was about eight to ten inches long. At the start of his bear it was full and thick, after about the first 3 inches it thinned out and began to curl upwards. His nose was extremely pointed, and had an upward turn to it. Atum’s eyes were sharp and round, he had thick bushy eyebrows. He wore a lot of jewelry, as well as bands on his arms, wrists, and ankles. He wore earthly tones, like brown, dark yellow, and greens. He was also shown wearing a type of head cloth, it was usually a dark color.
Significance: He was the god of Totality. Atum was considered totally self contained. He was the protector of all gods and kings. Some thought of him as the father of all high class citizens, very similar to Ra. After the kings died, Atum was thought to take their bodies up into the heavens. He was seen on bas-reliefs giving the crown of power to the ruling kings. Egyptians thought of the Atum as the divine creator. He was one of the most popular gods in Lower Egypt, and in the Old Kingdom. In the book of the Dead, he was seen talking to Osiris about destroying the world. Atum thought it would be during the ruling of Anubis that the world would be swallowed up by Nun. Nun is considered water, so Atum thought the world would have a great flood. Our celebration of New Years is the same day Atum would hold his great festival. The festival was like a huge banquet with thousands of people, tons of food, wine, and games. It was in his honor that the people celebrated.
Family: Atum was considered the oldest god of all Egypt. He was thought to have created himself. He was associated with the primordial waters. In these waters was the first time he was seen. He has no parents, but he does have 2 children. It is not clear on how he acquired these children. Some believe that he conceived them with Iusaaset. Some people also think that he adopted the children. She was considered his shadow. Egyptians believe that he was the creator of “The Tree of Life.” It was at this Tree of Life that all other deities were thought to be born. Shu and Tefnut were considered the mother/father combo that created all other beings.
Name In Hieroglyphics:
