Nefertem
Nefertem | ||||||
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![]() the Memphite god Nefertem with a water-lily headdress as a symbol of fragrance and beauty. | ||||||
Name in hieroglyphs |
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Major cult center | Memphis | |||||
Symbol | the water-lily, lion (occasionally) | |||||
Personal information | ||||||
Parents | Ptah and Sekhmet or Bast | |||||
Siblings | Maahes (either full or half depending on the mother) |
Nefertem (/ˈnɛfərˌtɛm/; possibly "beautiful one who closes" or "one who does not close"; also spelled Nefertum or Nefer-temu) was, in Egyptian mythology, originally a lotus flower at the creation of the world, who had arisen from the primal waters.[2] Nefertem represented both the first sunlight and the delightful smell of the Egyptian blue lotus flower, having arisen from the primal waters within an Egyptian blue water-lily, Nymphaea caerulea. Some of the titles of Nefertem were "He Who is Beautiful" and "Water-Lily of the Sun", and a version of the Book of the Dead says:
Rise like Nefertem from the blue water lily, to the nostrils of Ra (the creator and sungod), and come forth upon the horizon each day.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7f/Nefertem.png/100px-Nefertem.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/88/Nefertum.svg/100px-Nefertum.svg.png)
Nefertem was eventually seen as the son of the creator god Ptah, and the goddesses Sekhmet and Bast were sometimes called his mother. In art, Nefertem is usually depicted as a beautiful young man having blue water-lily flowers around his head. As the son of Bastet, he also sometimes has the head of a lion or is a lion or cat reclining. The ancient Egyptians [specify] often carried small statuettes of him as good-luck charms.
One of the most notable depictions of Nefertem is the Head of Nefertem, a wooden bust depicting a young king Tutankhamun as Nefertem with his head emerging from a lotus flower.
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Gallery
- Nefertem (middle left) depicted with the head of a lion with a falcon and lotus atop his head.
- Nefertem, The Walters Art Museum.
- Closeup of a statuette of Nefertem.
- The Head of Nefertem, found in the Tomb of Tutankhamun.
- The Colossal Triad of Memphis, with Nefertem depicted standing at Ptah's right and Sekhmet at his left.
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References
Further reading
- Morenz, Siegfried; Schubert, Johannes (1954). Der Gott auf der Blume: Eine ägyptische Kosmogonie und ihre weltweite Bildwirkung (in German). Verlag Artibus Asiæ.