Khnum and Khonsu
	Homepage  Ammut and Amun  Anubis and Apis  Apophis and Aten  Atum and Bastet  Bes and Geb  Hapy and Hathor  Horus and Imhotep  Isis and Khepry  Khnum and Khonsu  Maat and Montu  Mut and Neith  Nekhbet and Nephthys  Nut and Osiris  Ptah and Re  Sekhmet and Sarapis  Selqet and Seth  Shu and Sobek  Taweret and Tefnut  Thoth and Wadjyt  Wepwawet and The Assessor Gods  Sons of Horus and Underworld Deities  Pharaoh		KHNUM THE CREATOR GOD KHNUM IS USUALLY SHOWN AS A MAN WITH THE HEAD OF A RAM. Khnum creates everything in the universe on his potter's wheel. He shapes all the other gods, the human race (foreigners and Egyptians alike), animals, birds, fish and reptiles - one of his titles is 'Lord of the Crocodiles'. Khnum is closely connected to the River Nile, which was the lifeblood of ancient Egypt. It was at Khnum's command that the god HAPY caused the annual Nile inundation, which brought with it the fertile silt crucial to farmers. Once, Khmun prevented the flood for seven years, causing severe famine in Egypt. He only relented once the pharaoh promised to donate to him gold and luxury goods from Nubia. There was a major temple to Khnum on the island of Elephantine at Aswan and mummified sacred rams were buried there. Khonsu is usually depicted as a child. He wears his hair in a side-lock, a hairstyle only worn by children in ancient Egypt. KHONSU THE MOON-GOD KHONSU WAS WORSHIPPED AT THEBES AS THE CHILD OF AMUN AND MUT. His name means 'wanderer', describing the path of the moon across the sky. He can appear in a number of forms: as a child, as a hawk-headed god or as a baboon, the moon's sacred animal. In all cases he can have the crown combining the crescent and full moon. Khonsu has a temple at Karnak at the beginning of the processional road to the New Year Festival Temple of Luxor. His statues were renowned for their healing powers. A tale invented by his priests describes how one statue of Khonsu was sent on a seventeen-month journey to a remote country called Bakhtan to cure Princess Bentresh, who was possessed by an evil spirit.