The Memphite Theology

The Memphite Theology
illustration from Egyptian Mysteries; p.10 (Thames & Hudson, Art and Imagination
Series)
The Memphis theology is based around Ptah (equivalent to the Greek Hephaistos, the
divine blacksmith), (shown above on the left), who himself becomes the primordial fire
and gives it substance. This cosmological system was developed at Memphis, when it
became the capital city of the kings of Egypt. Ptah is the creator-god of Memphis, and
during the long period the city served as the capital of Egypt it was known as Het-ka-Ptah
or "House of the Soul of Ptah". Ptah is one of several Egyptian deities attributed with a
myth about fashioning creation. Ptah, as the god Ta-tenen (the primordial mound), creates
in the so-called "Memphite Theology" the world, its inhabitants, and the kas of the other
gods. Reference is again made to the Ennead, this time with Ptah at its head.
The whole Memphite theology is preserved on a slab of basalt now exhibited in the
Egyptian Sculpture Gallery. It was composed at a very early date, and committed to stone
during the Twenty-fifth Dynasty by the order of the Nubian king Shabaka. The Shabaka
Text (c. 710 BC) which was intended to preserve "a work of the ancestors," this text is
alternatively known as The Memphite Theology, and based upon the generative power of
God's thought and speech. The Shabaka Text is perhaps the earliest record of theistic
creation in existence.
Unfortunately, this Shabaka Stone was subsequently used as a nether mill-stone and
much of the text has been lost. The document known as the Bremner-Rhind Papyrus
includes, among other religious texts, two monologues of the sun-god describing how he
created all things.
As with all the Egyptian theologies, the Memphite religion was also political, justifying
the primary status of the new capital. Ptah, the principal god of Memphis, had to be
shown to be the great creator-god, and a new legend about creation was coined. But it
was also important to organize the new cosmogony so that a direct breach with the priests
of Heliopolis might be avoided. Ptah was the great creator-god, but eight other gods were
held to be contained within him, including some of the Heliopolitan Ennead and the
Hermopolitan Ogdoad. The Heliopolitan Atum held a central position, and the
Hermopolitan Nun and Naunet were also included.
The Shabaka Text enumerates Ptah's eight hypostases or qualities as "the Neterw who
have come into existence in Ptah". Ptah himself incarnates the primordial Eight, and then
becomes Tatenenn, 'the earth which rises up', an evocation of the primordial hill. "He
who manifested himself as heart, he who manifested himself as tongue, in the likeness of
Atum, is Ptah, the very ancient, who gave life to all the Neterw." Tongue means speech,
or in later philosophical idiom the logos. Ptah conceived the world intellectually before
creating it 'by his own word'. The heart and the tongue 'have power over' all the other
members, since the tongue describes what the heart conceives. Thus Ptah re-creates the
Great Ennead, and gives rise to all the qualities of things, through the Desire of his heart
and the Word of his tongue.
Ptah's name means "Creator". He is depicted as a mummified man with only his hands
free to grasp a sceptre composed of the symbols of life (ankh), power (was), and stability
(djed). He is also typically shown wearing a skullcap and standing on the plinth-shaped
hieroglyph that is part of the name for Ma'at, the goddess of fundamental truth.
The Memphite theology, like the Theban religion, is based on a primordial triad of
deities. In this case we have Ptah who is accompanied by Sekhmet, the great lioness
whose name means 'the powerful', and Nefertum, 'the accomplishment of Atum', thus
making up the first causal triad.
There are also interesting parallels here with the Hindu trinity, viz.
Ptah - creator (Brahman)

Sehkmet - destroyer (Shiva)
Nefertum - preserver (Vishnu)
In another, although related context, Sehkmet has always seemed to me quite a bit like
Kali. Ptah therefore would have a connection with Shiva (as the spouse of Kali).
The monotheistic element is interesting here as well. In the Memphite Theology it is said
of Ptah:
'He who made all and created the gods.' And he is Ta-tenen, who gave birth to the gods,
and from whom every thing came forth, foods, provisions, divine offerings, all good
things. Thus it is recognized and understood that he is the mightiest of the gods. Thus
Ptah was satisfied after he had made all things and all divine words.
(Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdom translated by
Miriam Lichtheim)
We have here a strongly developed theism, which gives the lie to the oft-asserted
statement that Akhenaten was the first monotheist. Ptah constitutes a creator figure, in
contrast to Atum is more of an Emanator. Yet this was still within the same overall
tradition (albeit with a different deity). There was no cultural break such as Akhenaten
attempted. An analogy could be made between, say Kashmir Shaivism (emanationist)
and the Vaishvanite (which is more dualistic and devotional). Or like the difference
between the God of Mystical vs Legalistic Judaism. Emanationism is more prone to a
philosophical based mysticism in which human growth is the key issue, while creation
based is more on a creator who gives laws that you must follow. The Hermopolic creation
story (in which everything emerges from the primordial Eight or the Nun) is more prone
to left-hand path belief systems since there is no pre-existent God, and the Theban seems
like it would be purely mystical, with it's abstract symbolism.
Ptah as the divine craftsman also recalls Judaeo-Christian themes of God fashioning the
world, making Adam out of clay, etc. I leave it to the reader to decide whether this
similarity is due to diffusion (the Memphite ideas filtering through to the rest of the
Mediterranean world) or archetypal convergence (the same symbol or motif reappearing)

The Memphite Theology

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What is the Memphite Theology and how does it describe creation?

What are the key deities in the Memphite Theology and what are their roles?

The Memphite Theology

Ptah - creator (Brahman)

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