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The precise relationship between the deity and the Mehen game is unknown. For instance, it is unknown whether the game derives from the mythological character or the character derives from the game.
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. 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.
Egyptian mythology
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian pantheon, Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part ...
, the name Mehen (), meaning 'coiled one', referred to a mythological snake-god and to a board game
A board game is a type of tabletop game that involves small objects () that are placed and moved in particular ways on a specially designed patterned game board, potentially including other components, e.g. dice. The earliest known uses of the ...
.Snake god
The earliest known references to Mehen occur in the Coffin Texts. 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. In the German-Egyptian dictionary by R. Hannig,Hannig, R. 1995. Die Sprache der Pharaonen: Großes Handwörterbuch Ägyptisch-Deutsch it is said that the Mehen (mḥn) or the Mehenet (mḥnt) snake is equivalent to theOuroboros
The ouroboros or uroboros (; ) is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent symbolism, snake or European dragon, dragon Autocannibalism, eating its own tail. The ouroboros entered Western tradition via Egyptian mythology, ancient Egyptian iconogra ...
.
Relationship between snake-god and Mehen game
The precise relationship between the deity and the Mehen game is unknown. For instance, it is unknown whether the game derives from the mythological character or the character derives from the game.
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. 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.
References
External links
* * at Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery schools liaison {{Ancient Egyptian religion footer, state=collapsed Egyptian gods Legendary serpents Snake gods