THE BENNU BIRD

For Ancient Egyptians, the sun-deity, Atum, was an all powerful entity that created himself through sheer will. They believed he was the creator of mankind and the other gods (including ISET, who is a descendent). Atum, would shift names throughout the day as the sun matures into night. These myths would explain the daily cycle of creation through nature.

Ra-Atum, is the god personifying the sun in its strength. In one of the myths, Ra-Atum is symbolized by the Bennu bird, a huge golden hawk with a heron’s head [pictured above]; which alighted at dawn on the Benben, an obelisk representing a ray of the sun, to disperse the darkness of Nun (‘Infinity, Nothingness, Nowhere, & Darkness’). The deceased would often be greeted by the Bennu bird upon arrival to the afterlife. In Greek mythology, the Phoenix is comparable to the Bennu bird. {photo is from a tomb in Thebes}