Life was created through Ptah’s utterance, a
scenario and sequence that would be mimicked
in the later Hebrew creation story. Ptah was
described as a creative source and generator of the
holy Ennead, which was referred to as his “teeth
and lips.” The Ennead was referred to in this way
because the deities of the Ennead were also
responsible for implementing aspects of creation,
but their existence was the result of Ptah’s heart
(the center of thought and conception) and tongue
(the commanding organ of execution). Because
Ptah created the Ennead, the subsequent actions
of Atum, asserted by the priesthood of Iwnw
(calledHeliopolisby the Greeks) as the heart of
life’s creations and Djehuti, asserted as the tongue
of life’s creations, were chronologically dependent
on Ptah as initial creator.
Early on, Ptah was syncretized with the Earth
god, Tatenen. As Ptah-Tatenen, the deity takes on
the characteristic of the primordial mound that
rises out of the watery Nun providing land for the
creatures that depend on it for life. Tatenen, from
this point on, is associated with creation. Depiction
of Ptah-Tatenen shows Ptah in a green flesh tone
reminiscent of vegetation. Ptah kept this flesh tone
as he was later syncretized with Asr (referred to as
Osirisby the Greeks) and Sokr, another caretaking
deity of persons on the journey to the “next life.”
Occasionally, Ptah would be merged into Ptah-
Sokr-Asr depending on the prevailing politics of the
ruling classes and priesthoods.
The vision of Ptah as the patron deity of the
medical profession also seems to have remained
constant throughout the history of Kmt, and that
vision may have been shared by the masses as
indicated by the popular appeals to his support
when desiring good health. In this role, Ptah’s
image was transformed into a naked dwarf that
had the ability to cure poisonous bites and repel
the creatures that could cause such discomforts.
As indicated previously, the time between the
Old Kingdom and the New Kingdom covered a
diminution in Ptah’s status in relation to other
acclaimed primogenitor deities. The Wst (Thebes
according to the Greeks) priesthood rose to prin-
ciple status during the New Kingdom, but Mn-nfr
was reestablished as a major entrepot and politi-
cal capital for Kmt. During this time, and espe-
cially during the reign of the Rameses dynasty,
Ptah’s was syncretized with Asr and was declared
the father of Rameses II. Ptah was added to a col-
lective god force that included Amen-Ra, the pri-
mogenitor according to the Wst priesthood. The
rule of Akh-n-atn brought all of this to an abrupt
halt for an interlude as he chose to break with tra-
dition and form a priesthood and capitol around
Atn, the solar disk.
The Shabaka stone, commissioned nearly 500
years after the Rameses dynasty, provides evidence
that Ptah arose as the primogenitor deity at least
once more in Kmt’s long history. The reunification
of Kmt after its Third Immediate period, which
came again from the south of the country, brought
an end to a blasphemous era in which Kmtic tra-
ditions were being abandoned by foreign interlop-
ers. In an effort to reinstall a way of life rooted in
the traditional heyday of Kmt, the leaders of the
Kushitic dynasty ushered in the Late Kingdom.
This leadership returned to the source of Kmt’s
unity and resurrected the recognition of Ptah as
the creator god. During the Kushitic reign, Mn-nfr
was reestablished as the capital of Kmt and the
priesthood of Ptah was restored to its primary
position.
Ptah, as described on the Shabaka stone, would
later be resurrected in part by the Hebrew tradi-
tion in which Yhu (Yahweh according to linguists
and Jehovah according to clergy) conceives of the
world first and then brings those concepts to life
by uttering their names. This process is a replica
of Ptah’s creative acts, which began in the heart as
the seat of conception and intention and became
material reality through the utterance of Ptah’s
tongue. Hebrew tradition pulled heavily on Kmt
tradition and within that borrowing only Ptah
shares this begetting process with the God of
Jews. Ptah also shares with the Hebrew god, Yhu,
the need for order and establishment. Here it is
important to remember Ptah’s role as a patron to
the craft guilds and his declaration as the supreme
artificer according to his priesthood.D. Zizwe PoeSeealsoPriestsFurther Readings
Hamlyn, P. (1965).Egyptian Mythology. New York:
Tudor.Ptah 545