Heka"He Who Activates the Ka"
Alternative Names:
Hike
Role & Function: The personification of magic, the power
of word.
Status: Heka was a
member of the Triad of Latopolis, consisting of Neith, Khnum and Heka
Symbols: The
side lock, Hemhem crown, ankh, flail and scepter
Cult Center: Hermopolis
(Khmunu) in the Nile Delta lands of Lower Egypt
Titles:
Heka, the Egyptian god of Magic and Medicine.. Heka, also
known by the name of Hike, the god with magic powers and spells was the
personification of divine magic that the ancient Egyptians believed produced
the magical power of the sun and of life. As the god of magic he was also
associated with medicine and healing and the power of the written and spoken
words. The priests of Heka invoked his magical powers when practicing their arts,
called themselves 'Priests of Heka'. Ancient Egyptian temples included a type
of hospital where the priest practised their form of medicine and magic.
At the beginning of time, the god Atum emerged from the
swirling waters of chaos to stand on the first dry land, the primordial
ben-ben, to begin the act of creation.
The universe was created and given form by magical means,
and magic sustained both the visible and invisible worlds. Heka was thought to
have been present at creation and was the generative power the gods drew upon
in order to create life.
Heka was linked to the creative aspects of the heart and the
tongue. The heart was considered the seat of one's individual personality,
thought, and feeling, while the tongue gave expression to these aspects. Sia
was a personification of the heart, Hu of the tongue, and Heka the power which
infused both.
Heka was depicted as a young, beautiful and healthy child
god. In ancient Egyptian art children were illustrated with a finger pointing
towards their mouth (sucking their thumb) or pointing towards the lips. The
Hieroglyphic Symbol for a child was indicated by a finger inserted in mouth.
Heka was also depicted wearing a side lock, as worn by ancient Egyptian boys
and the style of headdress called a Hemhem crown. He forms a Triad with Khnum
and Neith. Hermopolis (Khmunu) in the Nile Delta lands of Lower Egypt
Magic was considered present at the birth of creation - was,
in fact, the operative force in the creative act - and so Heka is among the
oldest gods of Egypt, recognized as early as the Predynastic Period in Egypt
(c. 6000 - c. 3150 BCE) and appearing in inscriptions in the Early Dynastic
Period (c. 3150 - 2613 BCE).
He is frequently seen in funerary texts and inscriptions
guiding the soul of the deceased to the afterlife and is often mentioned in
medical texts and spells. The Pyramid Texts and the Coffin Texts both claim
Heka as their authority (the god whose power makes the texts true)
Heka was honored throughout Egypt's history from the earliest
times through the Ptolemaic Dynasty (332-30 BCE) and into Roman Egypt. There
was a statue of him in the temple of the city of Esna where his name was
inscribed on the walls. He was regularly invoked for the harvest, and his
statue was taken out and carried through the fields to ensure fertility and a
bountiful crop.
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