through the provision of resources and divine
guidance to the pharaoh in their affairs. It is
believed that the cult of Sopdu originated in the
Sinai Peninsula, an area rich in various minerals,
among them turquoise and copper. Sopdu served
as a protector of the land, its resources, and its
people, warding off evil among the living and the
Dead. He was known as the Horian god of Saft
el-Hinna and one of the guardians of the turquoise
mines. The goddess Hathor was the other. Serabit
el-Khadim, a major site of ancient Egyptian reli-
gious activities and turquoise-mining in the Sinai
Pennisula, became the site of a shrine built for
Sopdu during the 12th dynasty. Many mining
expeditions were launched from the Sopdu nome,
making Serabit el-Khadim a center of commerce
and trade for turquoise and other precious stones.
The mythology of Sopdu presents him as a cos-
mic falcon god or avian deity. It was believed that
the falcon embodied cosmic powers, making the
falcon an important symbol of the king. Falcon
gods were the gods of kingship, and Horus, known
as the sky god or celestial falcon, was the most
highly regarded. Horus was known as the protec-
tor of the kings, and ancient Egyptians believed
that the king was the earthly representation of
Horus. Rulers of early dynasties viewed the fal-
con’s eyes as the sun and the moon, and its speck-
led feathers were considered stars. According to
the Pyramid Texts, the deceased king as Osiris-
Orion impregnated the goddess Isis as the star of
Sothis, resulting in the creation of Horus-Sopdu.
Sopdu has been referred to as the Horian god of
Saft el-Hinna.
BeliefsConsidered one of the gods of the four corners of
the Earth, Sopdu, whose name means “bearded
one,” was often shown as a warrior with a pointed
beard. Sopdu was acknowledged in several forms.
In anthropomorphic form, Sopdu was depicted
wearing a crown of two tall feathers or plumes on
his head and a tasseled or beaded girdle. In some
representations, he carried an ankh, battle-ax, or
tall was-scepter. In zoomorphic form, this falcon
god was shown as a crouching falcon with a ritual
flail over its shoulder while perched on a standard.
Sopdu was characterized as having the “teeth of
the king,” a testament to the invincibility of the
king and possibly the sharp teeth associated with
birds of prey. The hieroglyph for sharp, a pointed
triangle, is part of the composition of Sopdu’s
name and is translated as “sharp ones.” Sopdu
was known as a fierce warrior god; his messengers
were feared by the living, and ancient Egyptians
believed that one wave of his hand would deter
supernatural enemies. As a cosmic or astral deity,
Sopdu, the son of Sopdet and Sah, was associated
with the inundation of the Nile. Sopdet was god-
dess of the dog star, and Sah was also known as
the constellation Orion.
Akhet, the first season of the year in the ancient
Egyptian calendar, started with the appearance of
the star Sirius, known as the dog star, and called
Sopdet by the Egyptians and Sothis by the Greeks.
It was with the appearance of Sirius that the inun-
dation of the Nile would occur. Akhet held
another meaning for the ancient Egyptians.
Referred to as “The Horizon,” Akhet represented
a place of transition for gods and the deceased
where the sun god died at sunset and was reborn
at sunrise. The annual flooding of the Nile repre-
sented renewal for the land facilitated by the
ancient Egyptian celebrations or festivals “The
Night of the Tear,” “The Night of the Dam,” or
“Night of the Cutting of the Dam.” The ancient
Egyptian mythology of Sopdu consists of the
belief that Sopdu originated as the scorching heat
associated with the summer sun and the heliacal
rising of the star Sirius.DeBorah Gilbert WhiteSee alsoHathorFurther Readings
Baines, J., & Malek, J. (2000).Cultural Atlas of Ancient
Egypt. New York: Checkmark Books.
Brewer, D. J., & Teeter, E. (1999).Egypt and the
Egyptians.New York: Cambridge Press.
Brunson, M. (1999).The Encyclopedia of Ancient
Egypt. New York: Gramercy Books.
Pinch, G. (2002).Handbook of Egyptian Mythology.
Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.
Traunecker, C. (2001).The Gods of Egypt. Ithaca, NY:
Cornell University Press.
Wilkerson, R. H. (2003).The Complete Gods and
Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. New York: Thames &
Hudson.624 Sopdu