Ogdoad (Egyptian)

In Egyptian mythology, the Ogdoad are a group of eight deities (divine beings) worshipped in Hermopolis. The gods of the Ogdoad were mostly seen as humans with the heads of animals, or just depicted as snakes and frogs. They were arranged in four male-female pairs, with the males associated with frogs, and the females with snakes. Their story is part of the Egyptian creation myth.

The Egyptians believed that before the world was formed, there was a watery mass of dark, directionless chaos. In this chaos lived the Ogdoad of Khmunu (Hermopolis). These were four frog gods and four snake goddesses of chaos. Together they represented balance in infinity.

Their names were Nun and Naunet (water), Amun and Amaunet (invisibility), Heh and Hauhet (infinity) and Kek and Kauket (darkness).

The chaos existed without the light, and thus Kek and Kauket came to represent this darkness. They also symbolized obscurity, the kind of obscurity that went with darkness, and night.

The Ogdoad were the original great gods of Iunu (On, Heliopolis) where they were thought to have helped with creation, then died and retired to the land of the dead where they continued to make the Nile River flow and the sun rise every day.

Ogdoad (Egyptian) Media

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  A depiction of the Ogdoad from a Roman era relief at the Hathor temple in Dendera in which some have frog heads and others have serpent heads

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  The Ogdoad with both their male and female consorts

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  Drawing of a representation of the Ogdoad in the temple of Philae