Mehen

In Ancient Egypt the name Mehen meaning 'coiled one' referred to a mythological snake-god and to a board game.

Snake god

The earliest 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 it is said that the Mehen (mḥn) or the Mehenet (mḥnt) snake is equivalent to the Ouroboros.

Relationship between snake-god and Mehen game

The precise relationship between the deity and the Mehen game is unknown. For instance it is not known 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 studies of paintings in tombs and game boards and equipment demonstrate this. 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.

Mehen (game)

Mehen is a board game that was played in ancient Egypt. The game was named in reference to Mehen, a mythological snake-god.

History

Evidence of the game of Mehen is found dating from approximately 3000 BC and continues until 2300 BC. Some of the best evidence appears during the Old Kingdom, in a picture in the tomb of Hesy-Ra. It is depicted in tombs of about 700 BC, but the board seems to have been misinterpreted as a vase, presumably because an Old Kingdom relief was copied by someone not familiar with the game itself.

It is known that the board depicts a game rather than being a religious object due to studies of paintings in tombs, and game boards and equipment found. None of the associated objects fit neatly within the segments of the snake. The rules and methods of play are completely unknown.

Game board and pieces

The board depicts a coiled snake whose body is divided into rectangular spaces. Several boards have been found with different numbers of segments, without distinguishing marks or ornamentation. The variability suggests that the number of segments was of little importance to the game. Objects associated with the board may or may not be playing pieces. From archaeological evidence, the game seemed to have been played with lion- or lioness-shaped game pieces, in sets of 3 or as many as 6, and a few small spheres (marbles/balls).