Khnum

/khnoohm/, n. Egyptian Relig.

a god in the form of a ram who created human beings from clay on a potter's wheel.

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or Khnemu

Ancient Egyptian god of fertility, associated with water and procreation.

Worshiped as early as 2800 BC, he was represented as a ram with twisting horns or as a man with a ram's head. He was believed to have created humankind from clay like a potter. His main temple was at Elephantine, near present-day Aswan, and he formed a triad of deities with the goddesses Satis and Anukis. Khnum also had an important cult at Esna, south of Thebes.

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▪ Egyptian god

also spelled  Khnemu 

      ancient Egyptian god of fertility, associated with water and with procreation. Khnum was worshipped from the 1st dynasty (c. 2925–2775 BCE) into the early centuries CE. He was represented as a ram with horizontal twisting horns or as a man with a ram's head. Khnum was believed to have created humankind from clay like a potter; this scene, with him using a potter's wheel, was depicted in later times. The god's first main cult centre was Herwer, near Al-Ashmūnayn in Middle Egypt. From the New Kingdom (1539–1075 BCE) on, however, he was the god of the island of Elephantine, near present-day Aswān, and was known as the lord of the surrounding First Cataract of the Nile River. At Elephantine he formed a triad of deities with the goddesses Satis and Anukis. Khnum also had an important cult at Esna, south of Thebes.

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