From Nun to the Ennead: How the World Began
Egyptian creation mythology is not a single narrative but multiple accounts from different theological centers, each emphasizing different aspects of how order emerged from chaos. These myths share common themes: the primordial waters, self-creation, divine speech/thought, and the establishment of Ma'at (cosmic order).
The Primordial State
Nun - The Waters of Chaos
Before creation, there was only Nun (nwn) - the infinite, dark, formless waters of chaos. Nun was not emptiness or nothingness but rather undifferentiated potential, containing all possibilities but no actualities. It was:
- Boundless: Without limits, extending infinitely in all directions
- Dark: Light had not yet been separated from darkness
- Inert: Motion existed but without direction or purpose
- Undifferentiated: No separation of elements, no solid from liquid, no up from down
- Timeless: No cycle of day and night, no progression of events
Nun was personified as a bearded man holding up the solar barque, but was more properly understood as a state of being rather than a conscious deity. Importantly, Nun was not destroyed by creation—it continues to exist at the edges of the cosmos, constantly threatening to reclaim creation into chaos. The annual Nile flood was seen as a controlled manifestation of Nun's creative power.
The Heliopolitan Creation (Ennead of Heliopolis)
Source: Pyramid Texts (Old Kingdom, ~2400 BCE), Temple of Ra at Heliopolis
Primary Deity: Atum-Ra (later syncretized as Ra-Atum)
The Act of Self-Creation
From the waters of Nun arose a mound of earth—the benben stone, the first solid matter. Upon this mound, the god Atum ("the Complete One") brought himself into existence through an act of will and consciousness. The texts describe this self-creation variously:
- Self-Generation: "I came into being from primeval matter, I made all my forms alone"
- Masturbation: Atum as a solitary male deity creating through auto-generation (symbolic of self-sufficiency, not requiring a female principle)
- Speech: Atum spoke his own name, bringing himself into existence through the power of the word (linking to Memphite theology)
Atum is identified with Ra, the sun god—hence Atum-Ra or Ra-Atum. The self-created god represents consciousness emerging from unconscious chaos, order from disorder, being from non-being.
The Ennead - Nine Generations
1. Atum-Ra (Self-Created)
The first god, complete and self-sufficient. Represents totality and the potential for all that follows. Atum means "the complete one" or "the all." As the sun, Ra represents light, consciousness, and divine kingship.
2-3. Shu (Air) and Tefnut (Moisture)
Atum's first creations, born from his spit, sneeze, or creative utterance. Shu personifies dry air and light—the breath of life and the space between earth and sky. Tefnut represents moisture, liquid, and order. Together they embody the first differentiation: the separation of elements from Nun's undifferentiated chaos. They are twins, inseparable, representing the duality necessary for existence.
4-5. Geb (Earth) and Nut (Sky)
Children of Shu and Tefnut. Geb is the earth, depicted as a man lying beneath the sky, from whose body plants grow. Nut is the sky goddess, arching over Geb, her body spangled with stars. Originally they lay in eternal embrace, but Shu (air) separated them, creating the space where life could exist. Each dawn, Nut gives birth to the sun; each dusk, she swallows it. The stars on her body are the blessed dead who achieved immortality.
Mythic Conflict: Ra commanded Shu to separate Geb and Nut because Ra had decreed Nut should not give birth on any day of the year (jealous of their fertility). Thoth gambled with the moon and won five extra days (epagomenal days) not belonging to the calendar year, allowing Nut to give birth to her five children outside Ra's prohibition.
6-9. Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys
The children of Geb and Nut, born on the five epagomenal days:
- Osiris (Day 1) - Future king, god of death and resurrection
- Horus the Elder (Day 2) - Sometimes included, sometimes separate from Horus the Younger
- Set (Day 3) - Born by tearing through Nut's side; god of chaos and storms
- Isis (Day 4) - Goddess of magic and motherhood
- Nephthys (Day 5) - Goddess of mourning and night
These deities represent the full complexity of existence: kingship and usurpation (Osiris/Set), order and chaos, life and death, magic and mourning. With them, the mythic pattern for human civilization is established—the drama of Egypt's divine kingship begins.
Humanity's Creation
According to Heliopolitan theology, humans were created from the tears of Ra (remet = tears; remetj = people - a play on words in Egyptian). When Shu and Tefnut once became lost in the waters of Nun, Atum sent his Eye to find them. When they returned, he wept with joy, and from his tears fell humanity—thus humans are intimately connected to the divine but born from a moment of separation and reunion.
The Memphite Theology (Ptah's Creation)
Source: Shabaka Stone (25th Dynasty copy of Old Kingdom text), Memphis temples
Primary Deity: Ptah
Creation Through Thought and Word
The Memphite theology presents the most sophisticated creation account, emphasizing intellectual and verbal creation over physical generation. Ptah, the craftsman god of Memphis, is declared the ultimate creator who brought forth even Atum-Ra:
"The Ennead of Atum came into being through his semen and his fingers; but the Ennead is the teeth and lips in the mouth which pronounced the name of every thing, from which Shu and Tefnut came forth."
The Process:
- Thought (Heart): Ptah conceived creation in his heart (ib), the seat of consciousness and will
- Word (Tongue): Ptah spoke creation into being through his tongue, the organ of command
- Divine Speech: Everything that exists was first thought by Ptah, then spoken: "Thus all the gods were formed, Atum and his Ennead likewise, for every divine word came into being through what the heart thought and the tongue commanded."
This theology presents Ptah as a transcendent, almost abstract creative principle—closer to the concept of Logos (divine reason/word) than to anthropomorphic deities. It influenced later philosophical and theological thought, including Hellenistic philosophy and early Christian theology (the Word/Logos of John's Gospel).
Significance: Memphite theology didn't replace Heliopolitan myths but rather reinterpreted them—Ptah is the source from which even Atum emerged, making him the "god above gods." This reflects Memphis's political power as Egypt's capital during the Old Kingdom.
The Hermopolitan Ogdoad
Source: Hermopolis (Khmun), Middle Kingdom texts
Primary Deities: The Ogdoad (Eight primordial deities)
Eight from Chaos
The Hermopolitan creation myth describes eight primordial deities (the Ogdoad) who existed in Nun before creation. They were four pairs of male and female counterparts, representing the formless qualities of pre-creation chaos:
- Nun and Naunet: Primordial waters, the deep
- Heh and Hauhet: Infinity, endless space
- Kek and Kauket: Darkness, obscurity
- Amun and Amaunet: Hiddenness, invisibility
These eight deities represented abstract qualities of the pre-creation state—what existed before there was light, space, form, or visibility. They were depicted as frog-headed (males) and serpent-headed (females), creatures of the primordial marsh.
The Cosmic Egg
The Ogdoad's interactions produced a cosmic lotus (or egg in some versions) from which the sun god emerged at creation's dawn. This sun god was sometimes identified as Ra, sometimes as Atum, and sometimes as the child form Nefertum. The lotus floating on Nun opened its petals to reveal the divine child, who then spoke the first word, bringing creation into being through sound.
After creation, the Ogdoad died and descended to the underworld, where they continued to support Ma'at and assist Ra in his nightly journey. Their tomb was believed to be in Hermopolis, making it a sacred site.
Common Themes Across Creation Myths
1. Emergence from Chaos
All accounts begin with Nun, the undifferentiated primordial waters. Creation is not creation ex nihilo (from nothing) but rather the organization of pre-existing chaotic matter into ordered cosmos.
2. Self-Generation
The first god is self-created, requiring no prior cause. This solves the infinite regress problem—someone had to start the chain of causation, and that someone brought themselves into being through will, thought, or word.
3. Sexual and Verbal Generation
After self-creation, the gods reproduce both sexually (Shu and Tefnut from Atum) and through speech/thought (Ptah's creation). This combines physical and intellectual models of causation.
4. Separation and Differentiation
Creation proceeds through separation: light from dark (Shu/Tefnut), earth from sky (Geb/Nut), dry from wet, solid from liquid. Order means distinction and hierarchy.
5. Establishment of Ma'at
The ultimate goal of creation is Ma'at—cosmic order, truth, justice. The gods, pharaoh, priests, and all people must maintain Ma'at through proper ritual and ethical behavior, or creation will collapse back into Nun.
6. Continuing Creation
Creation is not a single past event but an ongoing process. Each dawn is a re-creation as Ra emerges from the Duat. Each Nile flood is Nun's creative power manifesting. Each proper ritual maintains creation's structure.
Related Across the Mythos
Ra-Atum
Self-Created God
Emerged from primordial waters
Nun
The chaos before creation
The Ennead
Nine Gods of Creation