Atum

Description of Atum

Atum Egyptian God in Egyptian mythology, is the deity of the dying sun, demiurge, one of the most ancient gods. In many ancient Egyptian texts, Atum is called the evening or setting sun. He was depicted as a man (often an old man) in the clothes of a pharaoh with a double red and white crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. At the end of each cycle of creation, Atum took the form of a serpent, as well as a lizard, lion, bull, monkey or ichneumon (Egyptian mongoose). His title in ancient times was “Lord of both lands”, that is, Upper and Lower Egypt. Having fertilized himself, that is, having swallowed his own seed, Atum gave birth, spitting out from his mouth, the twin gods air – Shu and moisture – Tefnut, from which the earth – Geb and the sky – Nut.

Style Variations

Bold – Light – Solid – Duotone
Each variation is included in the file package.

Egyptian main description

Egyptian Symbols

Egyptian hieroglyphics are arguably one of the most famous examples of symbolism across history. Created by the ancient Egyptians, this served as their formal writing system. Hieroglyphics can be dated back to the 32nd century BC, and perhaps even earlier. Evidence demonstrates that this writing system continued into the Roman period of the 4th century AD. However, much of the knowledge of hieroglyphics and their meanings were lost after the end of pagan temples in the 5th century. There was no existing knowledge of what these symbols meant, how they were meant to be read and their significance. Hieroglyphics were decoded in the 1820s with the aid of the Rosetta Stone by Egyptologist Jean-François Champollion. These symbols are not just phonetic sounds or symbols. In fact, they are a combination of different elements. As Jean-François Champollion discovered, hieroglyphics are a “complex system” that encompasses “figurative, symbolic, and phonetic all at once.” For many Egyptians, this form of writing was seen as the “words of God” and thus used by priests. Generally, hieroglyphics in cursive form were used for religious texts and engraved into wood or written on papyrus. They are written in rows or columns and can be read either left to right or right to left. The direction can be established by seeing which way the human or animal figure faces at the beginning of the line.