This short article about Ptah is from a large set of encyclopedias
that was published in 1883. Ptah was an Egyptian god who sometimes
appeared having a scarab beetle for a head. He was associated
with craftsmanship, among other things. Ptah can be connected with
the Greek god, Hephaestus, the blacksmith of the gods. Hephaestus
was the least attractive of the Greek gods. He was thrown out of
heaven and so came to be more closely associated with earth than a
god might otherwise be. Vulcan would seem to be more or less a Roman
equivalent. There seems to be in history a trend by which the gods
gradually become more human with the passing of time. —fadedpages.com
Ptah
PTAH, or Phthah, one of the principal divinities of ancient
Egypt. He was believed to be the author of everything visible,
the father of the god of the sun, and the ruler of light and fire.
His seat of adoration was at Memphis, and his temple, said to have
been founded by Menes, was one of the largest and most magnificent
in Lower Egypt. At Hermopolis Magna were worshiped eight children
of Ptah, representing the elements, and the immediate rulers of
the world. Ptah's symbol was the scarabśus sacer, which
insect was supposed to multiply without bearing, and many
monuments depict Ptah with this animal instead of a head upon the
shoulders. He is sometimes represented in the diminutive form of a
child or a dwarf, presumably as suggestive of his being the god of
the beginning, and occasionally also in the swaddlings of a mummy,
which was probably intended to suggest his attribute of
immutability. The Greeks compared him to their god
Hephæstus. (See VULCAN)
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outdated in some cases. It is also possible that errors were made
during the transcription process. This information is being made
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Copyright ©2003 Bob Selfinger. All Rights Reserved.
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