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Underworld
Nehebkau
nḥb-kꜣwProtection in the afterlifeBinding the life-forceImmunity to venom
How it changed
A primeval serpent old enough to be called one of the first things Nun produced, and dangerous in the earliest texts before turning protective. His name, he who yokes the kas, made him the god who joined a person to their life-force in the next world, and he became a guardian invoked against snakebite and at the judgement. That a snake is both the threat and the protection against it is entirely characteristic.
Cult centre
None fixed
Best attested
Old Kingdom onward
Family
- ParentsCalled a son of Renenutet, or of Geb
Called a son of Renenutet, or of Geb, in different texts.
Epithets
- “He who unites the kas”
How to recognise the figure
A serpent, often with human arms and legs, or a snake with a head at each end.
Others in this group