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The Ennead are the Gods of Egypt, that hail from Celestial Heliopolis, a small pocket-dimension adjacent to Earth. An interdimensional nexus between Heliopolis and Earth is located in Egypt. They have been worshiped by the Humans of Egypt as early as 10,000 BC.[1]

History

Origin[]

Their origins are shrouded in myth, making it difficult to nail down the truth of all of the stories written about them.

At first in the universe there was nothing but the primordial abyss of nothingness.[6] This was known as Nun, the essence of chaos or the Primordial Ocean of Nothingness. Nun, together with the goddess Neith (actually the primordial Earth Mother Gaea), were said to sire Atum, the first physically manifested god among the Heliopolitans, as well as Thoth. Atum later took the aspect and identity of Ammon Ra.[1]

Reign of Ra[]

Following the demise of the Ogdoad, the first generation of Egyptian gods created by Ra, he sired the next generation of gods, the Ennead. The first of the Ennead were Shu and Tefnut. Shu, who became the god of air, took Ra's place when Ra left the Ennead to live in Earth's sun. His twin sister Tefnut ruled at his side as goddess of the rain. Shu and Tefnut begat the fourth generation of gods, Geb and Nut. Geb was a god of the earth, having a natural affinity for mountains and other parts of the earth's crust. Nut was a goddess of the sky, specifically the starry heavens. Geb and Nut succeeded their parents when they too became too infirm to rule.[1]

Hyborian Age[]

Stygia[]

Around 10,000 BC, at the end of the Hyborian Age beings known as the Ennead traveled from the interdimensional realm of Celestial Heliopolis via a nexus located on to Earth. They began interacting with the humans of the region Stygia who began to worship them.[1]

Reign of Osiris[]

Osiris's siblings included Isis, whom he took as a wife, Seth, and Nepthys. Osiris became the head of the pantheon when Geb stepped down, and is credited with the spread of civilization throughout Egypt and beyond. Osiris was the last ruler of Egypt before historical times and the human pharaohs came to rule.[1]

Osiris became the benevolent god of the dead, preparing the afterlife for his loyal worshippers. Osiris' wife Isis was believed to teach humanity, the arts of medicine and the principles of domestication. She was also a powerful sorceress who was able to bring Osiris back to life after he had been murdered and dismembered by his jealous younger brother Seth. Seth was the god of evil and destruction, who sought to rule Heliopolis himself, and murdered Osiris in order to do so.[1]

His wife Nepthys, daughter of Geb and sister of Isis, was also a goddess of the dead but was not evil like her husband. Nepthys had no offspring with Seth, but bore Osiris a son, Anubis. Anubis invented funeral rites and mummy wrappings, and although it was Isis' magic that rose Osiris from the dead, her magic would have been useless had Anubis not specially prepared Osiris' body.[1]

Osiris and Isis had a son, Horus the god of the sun. Horus was also instrumental in helping raise his father from the dead after Seth's treachery. Upon resurrection, Osiris dispatched his son Horus to find Seth to make him pay for his treachery. Eventually, Horus encountered Seth and their cataclysmic clash lasted centuries.[1]

Seth finally got the upper hand over his nephew and Seth used his power to seal Horus, Isis, and Osiris within a pyramid on Earth.[7]

Reign of Thoth[]

While Osiris, Isis, and Horus were imprisoned, the moon god Thoth, who had served as Osiris' grand vizier, became head of the Heliopolitan pantheon. Thoth was believed to be a later son of Nun, the primordial chaos, which would make him a brother to Atum. Still, he came along much later than Atum and appears to be a contemporary of Osiris.[8]

After each generation of Heliopolitan gods retired from earthly rule, they traveled to the dimension of the Celestial Heliopolis to live out eternity. Beginning with the rule of Thoth, however, all of the gods moved to the other dimensional realm, to traffic with the earth no more. When Osiris returned, Thoth gave up the throne to his mentor. The gods of Heliopolis have remained in their extra dimensional realm since, having little traffic with Earth. Like most races of gods, they are believed to be mere figments of myth by most of humanity.[8]

As the pharaoh's took rule over Egypt, many gods moved to Celestial Heliopolis,[1] while Bast adopted a realm bordering Heliopolis and Ala (home of Africa's gods, the Orishas),[9] the Spirit World.[10]

Egypt[]

From 3100 B.C. the humans of ancient Egypt worshiped the Ennead as Gods.[1]

Return to Heliopolis[]

5th Century[]

The worship of the gods ended on in the 5th century.[1]

7th Century[]

Egypt was later conquered by Arabia, resulting in it's transformation into an Islamic nation.[11]

9th Century[]

In the 9th century, Nubian settles from northern Sudan brought their worship of the gods of Egypt to Burunda.[3]

10th century[]

Third Host[]

In 1000 AD, the Third Host of the Celestials occurred, during which the aliens informed they would return 1,000 years later to judge Earth's right to continue existing. Ra attended the Council of Godheads meeting to discuss this threat.[12] While the pantheons prepared for war, Gaea planned a peaceful solution to the problem with many goddesses.

20th Century[]

Ennead from Thor Vol 1 239 001

Osiris, Isis, & Horus

Odin, then lord of the gods of Asgard, assumed the guise of Atum-Re, an aspect of the first of the gods, in order to free Osiris and Isis. Odin's son Thor aided the Heliopolitans in vanquishing Seth.[7]

Modern Age[]

Some Heliopolitans are still worshiped in Wakanda as the Orisha of Wakanda,[13] notably Bast (the Panther God), as the patron deity of the nation, two other deities are part of the Orishas of Wakanda, Thot, the god of light and reason and Ptah, the Shaper. Sekhmet (the Lion God) and Sobek (the Crocodile God) are as well patron of less influential East African cults.[1]

Powers and Abilities

Powers

  • Immortality: The Ennead are functionally immortal in the sense that they cease to age upon reaching adulthood and are immune to the effects of all known Earthly diseases and infections. However, this doesn’t mean that they can’t die. It is possible for them to sustain injuries, such as being incinerated for instance, that can cause their physical deaths. It’s possible, however, for a number of gods working together to resurrect a deceased member if his or her life essence is beyond resurrection.[14]
  • Superhuman Durability: The skin, bone and muscle tissues of the gods are much tougher and more resistant to physical injury than the bodies of humans. The average Heliopolitan god and goddess is capable of withstanding falls from great heights, exposure to temperature extremes and great impacts without sustaining injury.[14]
  • Regenerative Healing Factor: It is possible for the Heliopolitan gods to sustain injury. If injured, their extremely efficient metabolisms enable them to rapidly heal damaged bodily tissue much more extensively than a human is capable of.[14]
  • Superhuman Stamina: The musculature of the Heliopolitan gods is much more efficient than that of a human being. Their muscles produce considerably less fatigue toxins during physical activities than those of humans.[14]
  • Superhuman Reflexes: The reflexes of an Heliopolitan god are also enhanced to superhuman levels.[14]
  • Superhumanly Dense Tissue: The density of an Heliopolitan god’s bodily tissues is about two-and-a-half that of a human being, contributing somewhat to their great strength. As a result, they’re actually much heavier than they appear to be.[14]
  • Superhuman Strength: All members of the Heliopolitan pantheon possess some degree of superhuman strength. The average male Ennead is able to lift about 30 tons while the average goddess is able to lift about 25 tons.[14]
  • Shapeshifting: Most Ennead are skilled therianthropes, able to shift from humanoid form into the animal form that is most sacred to them.[14]

Abilities

  • Allspeak: Thanks to the Allspeak, they can communicate and be understood by or races.

Average Strength Level

The average Heliopolitan male can lift (press) about 30 tons under optimal conditions; the average Heliopolitan female can lift (press) 25 tons under optimal conditions.[14]

Habitat

Habitat

Earth-like

Gravity

Normal

Atmosphere

Normal

Population

125 (estimated)

Miscellaneous

Type of Government

Monarchy (ruled by a pharaoh)

Level of Technology

Magic

Cultural Traits

The Heliopolitans were worshipped as gods by the people of Egypt[1] and regions of Northern Africa in Nubia,[3] northern Sudan[3] and Ethiopia. They are replacements of an earlier generation of Egyptian gods known as the Ogdoad or Hermopolitans.[1]

Representatives

Notes

  • Set and Isuus of the Elder Gods are based on Egyptian mythology, but they are not Ennead. They predate the Ennead, but Set was banished to the Serpent's Sea and Isuus was likely killed by the Demogorge.[15] They do have Ennead equivalents to fulfil their roles in the mythology: Seth and Isis.
    • It is worth noting that the Elder God Set is much closer to Apep than the mythological Set.

Trivia

In Egyptian mythology, the Egyptian gods were either known as the Ogdoad (in referring to their ancestral gods) or Ennead (in referring to the main council). "Heliopolitian" is not an actual mythological name.

See Also

Links and References

References

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