Editing Nefertem (section)

{{short description|Ancient Egyptian deity}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Egyptian
| name = Nefertem
| image = Nefertum.svg
| alt = 
| caption = the Memphite god Nefertem with a water-lily headdress as a symbol of fragrance and beauty.
| hiero = <hiero>F35-I9:D21-X1:U15-A40</hiero><ref>Hart, George (2005). ''The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses''. Routledge. p. 99</ref>
| cult_center = [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]]
| symbol = the water-lily, lion (occasionally)
| parents = [[Ptah]] and [[Sekhmet]] or [[Bastet|Bast]]
| siblings = [[Maahes]] (either full or half depending on the mother)
}}
'''Nefertem''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|n|ɛ|f|ər|ˌ|t|ɛ|m}}; 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.<ref>Nefertem page at [http://www.egyptianmyths.net/nefertem.htm Ancient Egypt: the Mythology] retrieved June 21, 2008.</ref> 
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:
{{quote|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.}}
{{multiple image
| image1 = Nefertem lion.svg
| width1 = 106
| image2 = Nefertum.svg
| width2 = 100
| footer = Nefertem or Nefertum was depicted either as a lion-headed man (left), as a beautiful young man (right)
}}
Nefertem was eventually seen as the son of the creator god [[Ptah]], and the goddesses [[Sekhmet]] and [[Bastet|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.