Nefertem

Nefertem is the Memphite lotus-god: the blue water-lily that rises from the primeval waters at the first dawn, 'the lotus-bloom which is at the nose of Ra' (Pyramid Texts Utt. 249), and so an emblem of the sun's daily and primordial rebirth and the 'Lord of Perfumes'. As the son of Ptah and the lioness Sekhmet he is the third member of the Memphite Triad, patron of fragrance and of the cosmetic-and-healing arts, and in later periods takes a leonine protective form inherited from his mother. Authored here to materialize the child anchor named inside the existing Ptah entry ('father of Nefertem'); wired parentIds [egyptian_ptah, egyptian_sekhmet], with optional father-of / mother-of back-edges to complete the triad on Ptah and Sekhmet.

Parentage

• father: PtahSon of the Memphite creator Ptah; named inside the existing egyptian_ptah entry ('father of Nefertem'). A father-of back-edge on egyptian_ptah would mirror the explicit child-edges used elsewhere in the corpus.Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (2003), s.v. Nefertem, Ptah; the Memphite Triad (secondary)
• mother: SekhmetSon of the lioness-goddess Sekhmet, from whom he inherits his later leonine protective aspect; third member of the Memphite Triad. A mother-of back-edge on egyptian_sekhmet would complete the triad.Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (2003), s.v. Nefertem, Sekhmet; the Memphite Triad (secondary)

Domains

• lotus and primeval dawn
• perfume and fragrance
• healing and beauty

Powers

• Rise as the blue lotus that bears the new sun from the primeval waters
• Govern fragrance, unguents and the cosmetic-healing arts

Epithets

• sšn ḥr fnd n rꜥ egyptian · seshen her fend en Ra · hymnic'The lotus-bloom which is at the nose of Ra' — his Pyramid-Texts identity as the flower that bears the sun and whose scent the sun-god breathes.Pyramid Texts, Utterance 249 (primary)
• nb sṯj egyptian · neb seti · cult'Lord of Perfumes' — Nefertem as the fragrance of the blue water-lily and patron of unguents.Britannica, s.v. 'Nefertem' (secondary)

Relations

• father: PtahSon of the Memphite creator Ptah; named inside the existing egyptian_ptah entry ('father of Nefertem'). A father-of back-edge on egyptian_ptah would mirror the explicit child-edges used elsewhere in the corpus.Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (2003), s.v. Nefertem, Ptah; the Memphite Triad (secondary)
• mother: SekhmetSon of the lioness-goddess Sekhmet, from whom he inherits his later leonine protective aspect; third member of the Memphite Triad. A mother-of back-edge on egyptian_sekhmet would complete the triad.Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (2003), s.v. Nefertem, Sekhmet; the Memphite Triad (secondary)

Sources

• existence: Pyramid Texts, Utterance 249 (the lotus at the nose of Ra) (primary); Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (2003), s.v. Nefertem (secondary)
• son-of-Ptah-and-Sekhmet-in-the-Memphite-Triad: Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (2003), s.v. Nefertem, Ptah, Sekhmet (secondary); Britannica, s.v. 'Nefertem' (secondary)