“Protector/Enricher” Depicted as a ram-headed man, Khnum is the form of the Self-Created One most venerated in Upper Kemet (as opposed to the Ra/Tem family of Mennefer and the Delta). Khnum is a potter, who molds the souls and bodies of all living things from the clay of the earth, and gives them the breath of life. His island at Abu (modern-day Elephantine, near Aswan) was said to be “the Seat of the First Time” - the place of creation - and kings would make pilgrimages to Khnum’s temple to secure the inundation (and with it, the life of the lands) for another year. Khnum is given two consorts (or alternately, one consort and a daughter): Satet and Anuket. The situation of this island perhaps lent to Khnum’s ability to predict or secure a viable inundation, as witnessed by ancient texts which tell of invocations to Khnum to “make Hapy smile on the land.”
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