Volume III Gods/Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

From The Alpha and the Omega - Volume III
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © July 20, 2002, all rights reserved "Volume III - Gods/Goddesses of Ancient Egypt"

KHONSU
(Khonsu-Ra, Khons,
Khensew, Khensu,
Chonsu)

To return to the
Cancer Decan (The netjer of the season of Shemu IV),
Gemini Decan (The netjer of the season of Shemu III),
Taurus Decan (The netjer of the season of Shemu II),
Aries Decan (The netjer of the season of Shemu I),
Mars Decan (Coptic Melokh, Egyptian Khons),
Denderah Decan 17 and Grand Temple Decan 4 (Mut was mother of Khonsu),
Montu (later dropped in favor of Khons, the lunar god),
or List of Netjeru.

    Khonsu, "The Traveller," referring to the moon wandering across the sky.    Divine child of Amun and Mut, one of the Theban triad.    He was worshipped in Wast/Diospolis Magna/Thebes/Luxor.
    Depicted as a young boy, in the form of a mummy, wearing the side-lock of youth and with the moon cresent above his head.    Khonsu is also shown with the crook and the flail, a falcon's head and with the moon cresent becoming a sun-disc.
    The title "Khons the Child" refers to his form as a young sun god who invoked as protection against dangerous animals.
    Khons (Khonsu, Khensu) a royal child wearing the side plait and carrying the crook and flail.    Also seen as a falcon-headed youth whose head is surmounted by the lunar disk and cresent combined as god of the moon.

    As seen above on the upper section of the ESNE Plate 87 you can see an image of Khonsu, where I have mistakenly titled two figures as Ptah, the one on the left is Ptah the one on the right is Khonsu.
    Cyril Fagan mentions this about Chonsu, "The Greek words Pa Khons, or the Coptic Pa Chons, literally means 'the traveler of the night skies'.    Chonsu is generally represented on the monuments as a handsome boy (Khensu.p Khard) 'Chonsu the Child,' bearing the symbol of the New Moon on his head, and wearing the lock of hair of youth, and all the apportances of divinity and royalty.    In assigning Chonsu to the month when the sun was in Aries, the Egyptians make this New Moon identical with the Pascal (Easter) or first New moon of the ecclestical lunar New year.    Babylonian Nisannu and the Jewish Nisan."
    One source claims that Khonsu/Khensew changed from a bloodthirsty war god in the Old Kingdom to a divine child healer in the New Kingdom.    In later times both Khonsu and Horus is shown standing on crocodiles.
    The netjer of the seasons of Shemu I-IV (Shomu, Ete) - Harvest, Harvests, the Summer was Khonsu-Ra in the months of Aries through Cancer.
    The netjer of the ninth month (Aries) which is Khonsu, called Pachons, Pachon, Pakhons, Chonsu, whereas the Christian coptes called it Bashans and seen at the Ramesseum and Edfu: Kensu, note Chonsu mentioned above.

Of interest is the image above resembles Amon-Ra more than Khonsu.

This file was created on June 18, 2005 and updated on May 30, 2006.

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