In ancient Egyptian mythology, what is Min the god of?
Min, also known as Menu, Amsu or Menew, is the Egyptian god of the harvest and fertility. He is also the embodiment of masculinity and male virility. Another epithet for Min was "Lord of the Eastern Desert," the region southeast of the Nile River delta. He was also associated with the milk thistle, the bull, the moon, and an erect phallus.
Worship of him dates back to pre-dynastic Egypt or the fourth millennium BCE according to the evidence of the presence of his cult. The symbol of him also appears on the so-called Min Palette, dating from the Early Dynastic Period, when the Scorpion King worshiped Min.
Later, Min became associated with fertility and agriculture through an association with the god Osiris. He is depicted watching over a pharaoh as he prepares a field for planting.
He is often associated with certain symbolism, such as the ram, the bull, the moon, and an erect phallus. Statues of him present the deity with a large erect phallus which the god holds in his left hand, and his right hand is raised and holds a flail. The flail represents fertility and the power of the pharaoh. Sometimes he is depicted as a mummiform human with an ithyphallic or "erect and uncovered" penis.
His cult was strongest in Coptos and Akhmīm (Panopolis), where in his honour great festivals were held celebrating his “coming forth,” with public processions and presentation of offerings. The lettuce was his sacred plant.
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