View source for Abtu

{{for|the town|Abtu, Afghanistan}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Egyptian
| image = Abtu Fish.png
| caption = a digital drawing of abtu
| name = Abtu
| hiero = <hiero>U23-D58-N26:O49</hiero>
}}
'''Abtu''' ({{langx|egy|[[wikt:ꜣbḏw|ꜣbḏw]]}}) is the name of a sacred [[fish]], according to [[Egyptian mythology]], and of the city of [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]],<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5h-xQNZhY9kC&q=Abtu-fish+egyptFeasts&pg=PR37 of Light: Celebrations for the Seasons of Life Based on the Egyptian-Normandi Ellis] retrieved 17/09/2011</ref> the place where [[Osiris]] and the early rulers of Egypt were buried.
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}
==Abtu as word==

Abtu was also the ancient word for the western or west of something. This was then understood as the place where the days passage of the sun across the sky finishes so for ancient Egypt where the sun dies each day and passes into the dark underworld.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ael/ael16.htm Ancient Egyptian Legends, by M. A. Murray] retrieved 17/09/2011</ref>

==Abtu as fish==
Evidence of Abtu being known as a sacred fish here is taken from “A Hymn Of Praise To Ra When He Riseth In The Eastern Part Of Heaven” as translated by Robert Guisepi (1984):<ref>{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20111011153340/http://history-world.org/Book%20of%20the%20Dead.htm (excerpt from) A Hymn Of Praise To Ra When He Riseth In The Eastern Part Of Heaven]}} Robert Guisepi, 1984. retrieved 17/09/2011</ref> 

“Let me behold ''the Abtu Fish'' at his season.”

Furthermore, the goddess [[Isis]] is said to have transformed into the Abtu, perhaps therefore lending to the creature its sacred state.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=5h-xQNZhY9kC&q=Abtu-fish+egyptFeasts&pg=PR37 of Light: Celebrations for the Seasons of Life Based on the Egyptian-Normandi Ellis] retrieved 17/09/2011</ref> Isis, as 'Abtu, Great Fish of the Abyss,'<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=RW3KuMNeHQsC&dq=Abtu,+Great+Fish+of+the+Abyss,'+was+identified+with+the+penis-swallower.&pg=PA82 The First Book of the Black Goddess By Matomah Alesha] retrieved 18/09/2011</ref> was identified with the penis-swallower of the Osiris in the legend of Osiris within the city of [[Oxyrhynchus]], and named the city after the sacred fish ([[medjed (fish)|Oxyrhynchus]] means "sharp nosed fish"). The fish cult spread to many parts of Egypt.<ref>[https://www.jesusneverexisted.com/hypatia/ R. E. Witt, Isis in the Ancient World (Johns Hopkins UP, 1971) ]</ref>

==Abtu in myth==
The mythological Abtu also was known to  accompany the [[Barque#Barques and barque shrines in Ancient Egypt|barque]] of [[Ra]] across the sky at sunrise.<ref>[http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ael/ael16.htm Ancient Egyptian Legends, by M. A. Murray] retrieved 17/09/2011</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.godchecker.com/pantheon/egyptian-mythology.php?deity=ABTU Entry of Abtu at Godchecker.com]
*[http://www.aboutegypt.net/bod97.htm Excerpt of the Book of the Dead]{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer|state=collapsed}}

[[Category:Egyptian mythology]]
[[Category:Legendary creatures in Egyptian mythology]]
[[Category:Fish in religion]]

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