Shu
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In Egyptian religion, the god of the air and supporter of the sky, created by the god Atum. Shu and his sister Tefnut (goddess of moisture) were the first couple of the group of nine gods called the Ennead of Heliopolis. Of their union were born Geb and Nut. Shu was portrayed in human form with an ostrich feather on his head. He was often represented supporting with uplifted arms the body of Nut arched above him. Later he was frequently termed the son of Re, and he was also identified with Onuris, a warrior god.
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Egyptian god of the air, son of Atum. He and Tefnut were the first pair of the Heliopolitan Ennead. Shu was represented as a man with arms raised above his head holding up Nut, the sky goddess, and separating her from Geb, the earth god. He was the personification of the ‘breath of life’ which gives life to all creatures.
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Shu (Egyptian deity)
| Shu | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Shu is shown holding the sky above his head. |
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| God of the wind and air | |||||
| Name in hieroglyphs |
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| Major cult center | Heliopolis, Leontopolis | ||||
| Symbol | the ostrich feather | ||||
| Parents | Ra-Atum and Iusaaset | ||||
| Siblings | Tefnut Hathor Sekhmet |
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| Consort | Tefnut | ||||
In Egyptian mythology, Shu[pronunciation?] (meaning emptiness and he who rises up) is one of the primordial gods, a personification of air, one of the Ennead of Heliopolis.
Family
He was created by Atum, his father and Iusaaset, his mother in the city of Heliopolis. With his sister Tefnut (moisture), he was the father of Nut and Geb. His daughter, Nut, was the sky goddess whom he held over the Earth (Geb), separating the two.
Shu's grandchildren are Osiris, Isis, Set and Nephthys. His great-grandsons are Horus and Anubis.
Myths
As the air, Shu was considered to be cooling, and thus calming, influence, and pacifier. Due to the association with air, calm, and thus Ma'at (truth, justice and order), Shu was portrayed in art as wearing an ostrich feather. Shu was seen with between one and four feathers.
In a much later myth, representing the terrible weather disaster at the end of the Old Kingdom, it was said that Tefnut and Shu once argued, and Tefnut left Egypt for Nubia (which was always more temperate). It was said that Shu quickly decided that he missed her, but she changed into a cat that destroyed any man or god that approached. Thoth, disguised, eventually succeeded in convincing her to return.
He carries an ankh, the symbol of life.
Sources
- Hans Bonnet: Lexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte, Berlin 2000, ISBN 3-937872-08-6, S. 685-689 → Shu
- Adolf Erman: Die Aegyptische Religion, Verlag Georg Reimer, Berlin 1909
- Wolfgang Helck: Kleines Lexikon der Ägyptologie, 1999 ISBN 3-447-04027-0, S. 269f. → Shu
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