HOME | DD

Description
Nut, the starry-bodied sky (firmament) goddess and Geb, the earth god, separated by Shu, the god of atmosphere. A motif from Egyptian (in particular, Heliopolitan) mythology. Beyond the sky the Egyptians believed there stretched the endless dark waters of Nun.

I'm not sure if the Egyptians believed in a flat Earth under a heavenly dome (as this mythological representation seems to indicate), or whether they knew it was round. (There is some evidence, from the dimensions, proportions and placement of the Great Pyramid, that they not only knew it was spherical but were somehow aware of its precise size, encoding this knowledge in the architecture.)

Anyway, Geb and Nut were the children of Shu and Tefnut (air and moisture), and grandchildren of Atum, the primordial creator. They were the parents of Osiris, Isis, Nephthys and Seth. (These nine elder gods comprised the Ennead, as worshipped at Heliopolis since the Predynastic era). Nut is also a goddess of rebirth, both of the sun and stars, and of the dead, since her elongated body was also painted on the inside of coffin lids.

Description
Nut, the starry-bodied sky (firmament) goddess and Geb, the earth god, separated by Shu, the god of atmosphere. A motif from Egyptian (in particular, Heliopolitan) mythology. Beyond the sky the Egyptians believed there stretched the endless dark waters of Nun.

I'm not sure if the Egyptians believed in a flat Earth under a heavenly dome (as this mythological representation seems to indicate), or whether they knew it was round. (There is some evidence, from the dimensions, proportions and placement of the Great Pyramid, that they not only knew it was spherical but were somehow aware of its precise size, encoding this knowledge in the architecture.)

Anyway, Geb and Nut were the children of Shu and Tefnut (air and moisture), and grandchildren of Atum, the primordial creator. They were the parents of Osiris, Isis, Nephthys and Seth. (These nine elder gods comprised the Ennead, as worshipped at Heliopolis since the Predynastic era). Nut is also a goddess of rebirth, both of the sun and stars, and of the dead, since her elongated body was also painted on the inside of coffin lids.