Abtu ( egy,
ꜣbḏw) is the name of a sacred
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
, according to
Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptia ...
, and of the city of
Abydos Abydos may refer to:
*Abydos, a progressive metal side project of German singer Andy Kuntz
* Abydos (Hellespont), an ancient city in Mysia, Asia Minor
* Abydos (''Stargate''), name of a fictional planet in the '' Stargate'' science fiction universe ...
, the place where
Osiris
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...
and the early rulers of Egypt were buried.
Abtu as word
Abtu was also the ancient word for the western or west of something. This was then understood as the place where the days passage of the sun across the sky finishes so for ancient Egypt where the sun dies each day and passes into the dark underworld.
Abtu as fish
Evidence of Abtu being known as a sacred fish here is taken from “A Hymn Of Praise To Ra When He Riseth In The Eastern Part Of Heaven” as translated by Robert Guisepi (1984):
“Let me behold ''the Abtu Fish'' at his season.”
Furthermore, the goddess
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
is said to have transformed into the Abtu, perhaps therefore lending to the creature its sacred state. Isis, as 'Abtu, Great Fish of the Abyss,' was identified with the penis-swallower within the city of
Oxyrhynchus
Oxyrhynchus (; grc-gre, Ὀξύρρυγχος, Oxýrrhynchos, sharp-nosed; ancient Egyptian ''Pr-Medjed''; cop, or , ''Pemdje''; ar, البهنسا, ''Al-Bahnasa'') is a city in Middle Egypt located about 160 km south-southwest of Cairo ...
. The fish cult spread to many parts of Egypt.
Abtu in myth
The mythological Abtu also was known to accompany the
barque of
Ra across the sky at sunrise.
Ancient Egyptian Legends, by M. A. Murray
retrieved 17/09/2011
References
External links
Godchecker.com
Egyptian mythology
Egyptian legendary creatures
Fish in religion
{{Egyptian-myth-stub