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Khnum, a MythSource painting
Egyptian

Khnum

01Identity

Khnum in Egyptian tradition

A long-horned ram’s head marked Khnum’s usual human form. He was an Egyptian god associated with the Nile inundation and the First Cataract. He was believed to embody the flood’s dangerous yet life-giving power. As a creator deity, he shaped people and animals on a potter’s wheel. He also placed life and health into their bodies. Other traditions described him making royal bodies and their ka, or doubles, before physical birth. He created and animated the forms of divine babies in similar birth scenes. One account said he made a king’s body, joined its parts, and gave him a heart. Heqet was regarded as Khnum’s female counterpart. At Elephantine, he formed a triad with Satet and Anuket. Later tradition said he controlled the Nile’s release and restored its flow when proper worship returned.

  • Khnum was a creator deity who shaped people and animals and gave life and health to their bodies. (Handbook of Egyptian Mythology)
  • He embodied the dangerous but life-giving power of the Nile flood. (Handbook of Egyptian Mythology)
Top questions

The quick answers

02Family

Khnum’s family, at a glance

NunNaunet
Khnum

with Heqet, Menhit, Nebtuwi, Neith, Satis

AnuketHekaRaSerket
03The names

The names Khnum answers to

Khnum

Main name

SourceHandbook of Egyptian Mythology

Chnum

Variant name

SourceHandbook of Egyptian Mythology

Khnemu

Variant name

SourceLEGENDS OF THE GODS

04The myths

The myths of Khnum

2 myths, with sources recorded for each.

The Birth of the Three Kings

The story began when Ra sent a group of deities to help a woman named Ruddedet. She was due to give birth to three children who were destined to become kings. The deities travelled to Egypt in disguise so that they could assist without revealing themselves.

Four goddesses took the forms of dancing girls. They were Isis, Nephthys, Meskhenet, and Heqet. Khnum went with them, but he took a different disguise. He pretended to be their servant.

The group reached Ruddedet’s house. The goddesses then took part in the birth. Heqet had a particular connection with childbirth, as she helped women to give birth. Meskhenet also belonged to the group that assisted the woman. Isis and Nephthys completed the four goddesses who came in disguise.

Khnum carried out his own task during this divine assistance. He made the bodies of the three children healthy. This role matched his wider function as a maker of bodies. In later accounts of royal conception and birth, he shaped the royal body and its ka, or double, on his potter’s wheel. That shaping took place in the celestial realm before the king’s physical birth.

The story therefore joined birth with divine making. Ra arranged the assistance, the four goddesses attended Ruddedet in disguise, and Khnum served them while preparing the children’s bodies. The three children were born as the future kings described in the account. Khnum’s part was to give their bodies health as they entered the world.

The Birth of the Three Kings, a MythSource painting of the scene

2 sources· checked 2026-09-02

  1. 1Handbook of Egyptian MythologyT1
  2. 2Handbook of Egyptian MythologyT1

The Seven Years of Famine

For seven years, Egypt suffered because the Nile did not reach its proper height. Grain became scarce, vegetables disappeared, and food supplies failed. People grew weak, and some took goods from their neighbours. The king sat distressed on his throne and looked for an explanation.

The king was named Neter-Khat in the royal account and Tcheser in the legend. He sent a royal message to Matar, a senior official in the southern land. Matar consulted magicians and searched the sacred books. He reported that the Nile rose near Elephantine. Two caverns released its waters, and Khnum controlled the flow. Matar said that Khnum opened the doors that held back the stream and made the river rush out.

At Elephantine, Khnum was worshipped as the great god of the First Cataract. The king offered a peace offering and prayed. Khnum appeared before him and said that he had made the king’s body and given him his heart. He then rebuked the king. The land held stone and metal, but people had failed to use these materials to repair and rebuild the gods’ shrines.

The king accepted the rebuke. He restored the offerings given to Khnum and gave fresh support to his sanctuary and priesthood. He honoured the god in the manner that the legend required. Khnum then allowed Hapi, the Nile, to flow from the caverns and spread across the land.

The river reached its accustomed height. Water covered the fields, and crops became plentiful again. Green plants, herbs, and trees produced abundantly. The people filled their stores with grain, and their misery ended. Thus the famine stopped when the king renewed the worship and support owed to Khnum.

The Seven Years of Famine, a MythSource painting of the scene

6 sources· checked 2026-09-02

  1. 1Handbook of Egyptian MythologyT1
  2. 2LEGENDS OF THE GODST1
  3. 3LEGENDS OF THE GODST1
  4. 4LEGENDS OF THE GODST1
  5. 5LEGENDS OF THE GODST1
  6. 6LEGENDS OF THE GODST1

Also mentioned in

Stories elsewhere on MythSource that mention Khnum, each on that figure’s page.

05Different accounts

Different accounts

›One account described Khnum broadly as a member of a disguised group of deities and assigned him the task of making the children’s bodies healthy. The other gave fuller details by naming the four goddesses, their disguise as dancing girls, and Khnum’s disguise as their servant.

    The accounts that differ: Handbook of Egyptian Mythology, Khnum (Chnum); Handbook of Egyptian Mythology, Heqet (Heqat, Hekat)

    From “The Birth of the Three Kings”

    ›The accounts gave different names for the king. One identified him as Djoser, while the other called him Tcheser or Neter-Khat.

      The accounts that differ: Handbook of Egyptian Mythology, Khnum (Chnum); LEGENDS OF THE GODS, A Legend Of The God Khnemu And Of A Seven Years' Famine.

      From “The Seven Years of Famine”

      ›One account described the famine as the result of low Nile floods. Another explained the low floods as a consequence of neglected worship and said that renewed offerings, sanctuary support, and priestly support restored the river.

        The accounts that differ: Handbook of Egyptian Mythology, Khnum (Chnum); LEGENDS OF THE GODS, A Legend Of Khnemu And Of A Seven Years' Famine.

        From “The Seven Years of Famine”

        ›The accounts differed in emphasis about Khnum’s role. One presented him as the controller of the inundation, while another added his complaint that people had failed to repair or rebuild the gods’ shrines.

          The accounts that differ: Handbook of Egyptian Mythology, Khnum (Chnum); LEGENDS OF THE GODS, A Legend Of Khnemu And Of A Seven Years' Famine.

          From “The Seven Years of Famine”