From: egylist@deadspamgriffis-consulting.com   
      
   On Thu, 28 Oct 2004 13:07:06 -0400, Jim Lyons   in   
   alt.mythology, wrote the following:   
      
   >Does anyone one know of an Egyptian myth in which Khnum, rather than   
   >Atum or Ra, loses his eye and sends Tefnut to find it?   
      
   Sounds like a confusion of the Demotic myth of the "Wandering of the Eye   
   of Ra," IMO.   
      
   For one, Tefnut (or Sekhmet in some variations - in either case, both   
   considered facets of Hathor) IS the Eye which is "lost," which is a   
   literary means of saying his Eye goddess [protective deity, called an   
   /ir.t/ goddess] abandoned the god when the goddess became jealous of his   
   favour being given to another goddess in her place (likely another "Eye   
   goddess;" there are several).  In all variations of the myth, the /ir.t/   
   goddess goes to Nubia, away from Egypt.   
      
   When the Eye goddess disappears, the floods will not come to Egypt, the   
   legend goes, so Ra sent out Thoth (or Baba, a demigod in the Egyptian   
   pantheon) to cajole the wandering goddess to return to Egypt.  To do   
   this, the god so dispatched has to bring supplications from Ra begging   
   her forgiveness, humour her up into a good mood, and then lead her back   
   to Egypt before Ra.   
      
   In the variations of the myth of which I am aware, I do not recall Khnum   
   as being either the one who lost the Eye goddess (which wouldn't make   
   sense, as "Eye goddesses" represent the burning heat of the Sun, and   
   Khnum is not syncretized with Ra throughout Egyptian pharaonic history   
   O'Rourke 2000: 232), or Khnum being the one who goes to cajole the Eye   
   goddess to return; it's always Thoth or Baba. (Griffiths 2000: 479)   
      
   I suppose it's always possible there was local variation of the myth,   
   but I am not aware of any written version of such.  The known versions   
   of the myth are as outlined above.   
      
   See:   
      
   Griffiths, J. G. 2000. Myths: Solar Cycle. In Redford, D. B., Ed., _The   
   Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, II_:476-480.  Oxford: Oxford   
   University Press.   
      
   O'Rourke, P. F. 2000. Khnum.  In Redford, D. B., Ed., _The Oxford   
   Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, II_:231-232.  Oxford: Oxford University   
   Press.   
      
   HTH.   
      
   Regards --   
      
   --   
   Katherine Griffis-Greenberg, MA (Lon)   
   Member, International Association of Egyptologists   
          American Research Center in Egypt, ASOR, EES, SSEA   
      
   Oriental Institute   
   Oriental Studies Doctoral Program [Egyptology]   
   University of Oxford   
   Oxford, United Kingdom   
      
   http://www.griffis-consulting.com   
      
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