Template:Short description Template:Infobox deity Template:Ancient Egyptian religion
In Egyptian mythology, the name Mehen (Template:Langx), meaning 'coiled one', referred to a mythological snake-god and to a board game.<ref>Discussion of the game by University College London</ref>
Snake godEdit
The earliest known references to Mehen occur in the Coffin Texts.<ref>The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt by R. Wilkinson Template:ISBN</ref> Mehen is a protective deity who is depicted as a snake which coils around the sun god Ra during his journey through the night, for instance in the Amduat.<ref>The Ancient Egyptian Books of the Afterlife by Erik Hornung Template:ISBN</ref>
In the German-Egyptian dictionary by R. Hannig,<ref>Hannig, R. 1995. Die Sprache der Pharaonen: Großes Handwörterbuch Ägyptisch-Deutsch</ref> it is said that the Mehen (mḥn) or the Mehenet (mḥnt) snake is equivalent to the Ouroboros.
Relationship between snake-god and Mehen gameEdit
The precise relationship between the deity and the Mehen game is unknown.Template:Cn For instance, it is unknown whether the game derives from the mythological character or the character derives from the game.Template:Cn
It is known that the object known as mehen depicts a game rather than a religious fetish as demonstrated in tomb paintings, game boards, and equipment.Template:Cn The rules and method of playing the game are unknown, although rules have been created in modern times based on assessments of how it may have been played.Template:Cn
ReferencesEdit
<references/>
External linksEdit
- Template:Bgg
- {{#invoke:URL|url}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:URL with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y | 1 | 2 }} at Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery schools liaison