Nun- Egyptian PrimordialPrimordial"Father of the Gods"

The Water Before Everything

Nun was not created. He simply was. Infinite dark water stretching in every direction before there was light, land, sky, or gods.

From Nun arose the first deity: Atum in Heliopolitan theology, Ptah in Memphite thought, Ra in solar worship. However conceived, this god was self-created, bringing himself forth from the waters. Nun was called "Father of the Gods" not because he created them but because they emerged from him.

But Nun did not vanish when creation began. The Egyptians understood him as still present, surrounding the ordered world on every side. The sky was bounded; beyond it lay Nun's waters. The earth floated on him. Dig deep enough and you reached his waters, which explained wells and groundwater. The underworld bordered him. Creation was an island of order in an infinite sea of chaos, and Nun was the default state. If the gods failed to maintain Ma'at, the island would dissolve back into the water it had come from.

The Waters That Renew

Nun was chaos, but chaos was not purely destructive. The annual Nile flood was Nun reasserting himself, the primordial waters rising through the soil to fertilize the land. Sacred lakes in temple complexes represented his waters and were used for purification rituals. Priests immersed themselves in chaos and emerged cleansed.

When depicted, Nun appeared as a male figure standing waist-deep in water, raising the solar barque above his head: the sun emerging from the primordial depths each dawn. He had no temple, no priesthood, no festival. He could not be worshipped in the usual ways because he was not a being who could be approached. He was the water beneath everything, holding creation up from below.