You are on page 1of 1

Ancient Egypt: the Mythology - Aker

Page 1 of 1

n n n n

What's New? About the Site FAQ Bookstore

the Gods the Myths the Symbols the Land the Resources
Home :: the Gods :: Aker

Aker (Akeru, Akerui)


Symbols: akhet Aker was an ancient earth-god in Egypt. He was believed to guard the gates of the dawn from which the sun rose each morning. He was portrayed as a double-headed lion, or a two lions sitting back-to-back. In between them is shown the sun with the sky overhead. In this way they form the akhet symbol, which was a symbol of the horizon. Occasionally they were portrayed bearing the akhet on their backs (as in the image to the right). The two lions were called Sef and Duau, which means "Yesterday" and "Today" respectively. As Egyptians believed that the gates of the morning and evening were guarded by Aker, they often placed statues of lions at the doors of their palaces and tombs. This was to guard the households and tombs from evil spirits and other malevolent beings. Sometimes they gave these statues the heads of men and women. The Greeks called this class of statuary, "Sphinxes." It is believed that Aker is probably a more ancient earth god than the Heliopolitan god, Geb.
Digg This! Del.icio.us Stumble Upon

EgyptianMyths.net Web

Google Search

Egyptian Jewellery Egyptian Jewellery Ankh Earrings Cleopatra and Pharaon Jewellery
www.museumjewellery.com

Andalucia Financial Your Gateway to Investing in Egypt And The Egyptian Stock Market
www.andaluciafinancial.com

Aladdin Oil Lamps Aladdin online oil lamps store Genuine Aladdin Lamps & Shades
www.Aladdin-us.com

Proofs of God's Existence Demons, Angels and the truth about what happened to the CatholicChurch
www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com

All content and images April McDevitt, 1997-2007, All Rights Reserved LAST UPDATED: 08/10/2007 04:24:46

RETURN TO TOP

http://www.egyptianmyths.net/aker.htm

01/02/2008

You might also like