Khnum was one of the most ancient gods of Egypt, whose worship is thought to have been popular as early as the Predynastic Period.

References from the Pyramid Texts of Unas confirm that his worship was long established even at that early stage and the Old Kingdom pharaoh Khufu (the builder of the Great Pyramid) was actually called “Khnum-Khufu”.

However, it seems that the cult of Ra rose to dominance at that time and Khnum was pushed to the sidelines as Khufu’s son and grandson both took names honoring Ra.

Khnum was originally a water god who was thought to rule over all water, including the rivers and lakes of the underworld.

He was associated with the source of the Nile, and ensured that the inundation deposited enough precious black silt onto the river banks to make them fertile.

The silt also formed the clay, the raw material required to make pottery. As a result he was closely associated with the art of pottery.

According to one creation myth, Khnum molded everything on his potter’s wheel, including both the people and the other gods.