Ram gods in Ancient Egypt

As for the sacralization of sheep, this was limited exclusively to males, in whose first place appears the god KHNUM, of the ovis longipes species that evolved from a completely theriomorphic representation to that of a man with the head of a ram.

KHNUM, which the Greeks transcribed as CNUFIS or CNUBIS, is the name of a divinity from the region of the falls, represented by a ram-headed man with long, wavy horns. As the god of fertility, he was worshiped as a ram or male goat and symbolized the Nile that descends to fertilize the earth. KHNUM seems to have been a local variant of the god NUU or NUN. His main sanctuary was on the island of ELEPHANTINE and there he was called “KHNUM AA NEB IAB” (“KHNUM Great Lord of ELEPHANTINE”), a title that the Greeks transcribed in a single sentence: “KHNUMONEBIEB”. There, together with his wives SATET and ANUKET, he received the offerings of his faithful. KHNUM was said to mold the child and his Double before birth, on his potter’s wheel. It is likely that it was a misinterpretation by later theologies of the word KHONEM (“To shape like a potter”), which caused KHNUM to lose his original nature as guardian of the waters of the Underworld and become a potter god.

SHEFT-HAT, aspect of KHNUM represented with four ram heads. The four heads symbolized the gods whose souls were embodied in KHNUM: RA, SHU, GEB and WESIR (OSIRIS), representing the four elements or the four mythical sources of the Nile.

BA-NEB-DJEDET, “The Spiritual Lord of DJEDET” or “BA, the Lord of DJEDET”. Another ram of the species ovis longipes. He was the ram-god of the city of DJEDET (gr. MENDES) in the Delta, capital of the XVI° Nome. He was depicted as a ram-headed man or as a ram with a pair of twisted horizontal horns and the URAEUS above his head. God of fertility, he was considered embodiment of the soul of RA or of WESIR (OSIRIS).

HERYSHEF (“He who is over his lake” or “He who is over his dominion”), transliterated by the Greeks as ARSAFES, is the name of a ram-headed god. whose sanctuary was at KHENEN-NSUNT (HERACLEOPOLIS MAGNA) in FAYUM. The Greeks identified him with HERACLES. As a fertility god he was connected with water and it is very likely that he was a Nile deity as were all the ram-headed gods.

KHERTY. A ram-god with a dual nature of hostility and protection. Deity whose head is not that of a ram, but of a male goat with horns similar to the Ovis longipes, however the short beard that it displays places it as a goat. From KHERTY the king has to be protected by no less a deity than RA. However, KHERTY as his name which means ‘Lower One’ indicates is an earth-god and so can act as the guardian of the royal tomb. The king’s power over the winds is likened to the grasp of KHERTY’s hand. In the Old Kingdom KHERTY is eminent enough to figure as a partner of WESIR and his ram form leads naturally to a relationship with KHNUM. KHERTY’s major cult centre appears to have been at Letopolis, north-west of MEN-NEFER (Memphis). KHERTY is not mentioned in the famous Coffin Texts of Middle Kingdom period. Instead, he is replaced by a god AKER, who is now the ferryman. In the prayers of the Book of the Dead, KHERTY is described as a guard who guides the celestial bark of Ra.