Egyptian mythology is one of the most interesting and rich mythologies that could be found.
This is because Egyptians understood that natural sources are vital, and they form the existence of everything known and unknown.
They recognized that these forces are powerful and believed them to be a divine presence that assists in the lives of people.
The ancient pyramid texts describe about a deity associated with astronomy, specifically the moon.
Instead of a wise and elderly figure, this deity is believed to be a young boy who is known by the name “Khonsu”.
According to Egyptian beliefs, Khonsu, the moon god, was the child of Amun and Mut.
It is said because Khonsu is a child, his personification which is the moon is not as bright as the sun, which is in some stories embodied by God Amun, who is Khonsu’s father.
Before becoming a moon god in the New Kingdom, Khonsu is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts as a fierce god.
He is described as a blood-thirsty deity, who helps the deceased pharaohs to catch and eat the other gods.
This way, the deceased pharaohs could gain the divine powers of the gods they eat.
Other stories say that Khonsu ate the hearts of the dead pharaohs, making the god more of a demonic entity.
Because of these aspects, the Coffin Texts describe the god as “Khonsu who lives on hearts”.
During this period, Khonsu is mostly depicted as a god with a falcon head.
The association of the god with Amun and Mut could be mostly seen in the New Kingdom.
Khonsu who was recognized as a terrifying bloodlust deity transformed into a benevolent god in this period.
The depictions also changed to that of a child with a sidelock of hair.
It is an ancient custom for Egyptian youngsters to shave their heads leaving only a sidelock.
Once they reach adulthood the sidelock hair gets shaved off.
So essentially the sidelock symbolizes childhood.
The representation of the god with the sidelock marks Khonsu’s position in the “Theban triad” which he forms with the union of his parents Amun and Mut.
A triad in Egyptian mythology is basically a grouping of three gods.
These three gods are essentially the father, mother, and a male child.
The child god could be easily identified because of his sidelock hair.
This is commonly seen in other triads found in Egyptian mythology.
Khonsu’s depictions did continue to use the falcon form.
Regardless of the human form or the falcon form after the association of the god with the moon Khonsu is always depicted with a crescent moon resting on the top of his head.
There is a lot of contradictions as to what the name Khonsu actually means.
Originally the name “Khonsu” was believed to have the meaning “the royal placenta”.
This was accepted for some time because the god is the child of the two most powerful deities.
But mostly the name is believed to have the meaning “traveler”.
This is widely accepted because the god is associated with the moon and the name gives some sense of connection to the moon as it crosses the night sky just as the name describes.
Moon is one of the sources which could be used to measure time.
Its changing phases were observed by the ancient Egyptians and they came up with calendars to measure time.
Legend has it that Khonsu together with God Thoth created the time and mapped it in the sky.
He has also helped the creator god Ptah in creating seasons.
During the new moon, he was considered a mighty bull but during the full moon, he was considered a neutered bull.
Egyptians believed that during the night hour evil spirits are at their strongest state.
So Khonsu is also credited for defeating these spirits and for protecting humans from harm.
So often Khonsu is viewed as a protector especially from evil spirits and of those who travel at night.
Not only that but the moon is frequently associated with magic and magic is often associated with healing.
Because of this Khonsu is also viewed as a healing god.
It is recorded that the healing abilities of the god are well known even people from a foreign land visited Egypt in search of Khonsu’s healing powers.
Many Egyptian texts mention how the god gained immense recognition because of his healing powers.
It is recorded in one of the sculptures that once a princess of Bekhten was terminally ill and no physician was able to cure her.
But when she was brought into the temple the princess was instantly cured on seeing the image of Khonsu.
King Ptolemy IV who is the fourth pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt also said to be cured of his disease after praying to the god.
Once he was healed the pharaoh declared himself a firm believer of the deity and even called himself "Beloved of Khonsu Who Protects His Majesty and Drives Away Evil Spirits".
Consequently, Khonsu was made the patron deity of the doctors and healers of Egypt.
Later the god was often referred to as the “Greatest God of the Great Gods”.
Khonsu is also associated with fertility and love.
It is believed that a man falls in love with a woman because of the influence of the god.
The god is credited for fertility as well.
That being in all humans animals and plants.
If prayed to the god he will make it easy for women to conceive.
Not only that the god will make the trees bear fruits but for animals to conceive as well.
Just as many mythologies Egyptian mythology also talks about the existence of a cosmic egg from which all things are born.
These legends talk about a serpent who fertilizes this egg until it burst out creating life including that of gods.
Existing records at the temple of Karnak identify this serpent as Khonsu.
Some legends state that the moon is originally associated with Horus.
The sun and the moon are viewed as the eyes of Horus the Sun being the right eye and Moon being the left eye.
In the earlier times, the moon was just as bright as the sun.
So there was no distinct difference between the day and the night.
But later a battle broke out between “Set” the god of deserts and disorder and Horus to determine who will succeed Osiris as king.
In this battle, Set managed to pluck out Horus’s left eye.
Soon after the eye was removed the sky became completely dark and night emerged.
With the healing powers of God Thoth, the eye was restored back.
But the eye lost its original luminance.
When curing the eye absorbed some of the powers of Thoth and gained healing and magical abilities.
In these tales, Khonsu was given the authority over the moon afterward.
Khonsu inherited the powers of the moon once he became the moon god and thus became a god of healing.
Unlike other major gods, Khonsu gained his popularity over time.
First he was viewed as a blood-thirsty vengeful god but later a benevolent youth.
It is not exactly clear why and how the transformation of the god took place.
Many of the stories entwined with the god are lost making it impossible to understand many of the aspects attributed to the god.
Regardless it is clear that Khonsu was an immensely popular deity.
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