Khonsu (; also transliterated as Chonsu, Khonshu, Khensu, Khons, Chons; ) is an ancient Egyptian god of the Moon. His name means 'traveller', and this may relate to the perceived nightly travel of the Moon across the sky. Along with Thoth, he marked the passage of time and is associated with baboons. Khonsu was instrumental in the creation of new life in all living creatures. At Thebes, he formed part of a family triad (the "Theban Triad") with Mut his mother and Amun his father.
Attributes
In art, Khonsu is typically depicted as a mummy with the symbol of childhood, a sidelock of hair, as well as the menat necklace with crook and flail. He has close links to other divine children such as Horus and Shu. He was also portrayed with the head of a falcon and like Horus, with whom he is associated as a protector and healer, adorned with the moon disk and crescent moon.Khonsu is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts, in which he is depicted in a fierce aspect, but he does not rise to prominence until the New Kingdom, when he is described as the "Greatest God of the Great Gods". Most of the construction of the temple complex at Karnak was centered on Khonsu during the Ramesside period. The Temple of Khonsu at Karnak is in a relatively good state of preservation, and on one of the walls is depicted a creation myth in which Khonsu is described as the great snake who fertilizes the Cosmic Egg in the creation of the world.
Khonsu's reputation as a healer spread outside Egypt; the Bentresh stela records how a princess of Bekhten was instantly cured of an illness upon the arrival of an image of Khonsu.This incident is mentioned in the opening of chapter one of Bolesław Prus' 1895 historical novel Pharaoh. King Ptolemy IV, after he was cured of an illness, called himself "Beloved of Khonsu Who Protects His Majesty and Drives Away Evil Spirits".
Locations of Khonsu's cult were Memphis, Hibis, and Edfu.
Mythology Khonsu's name means 'traveller' and therefore reflects the fact that the Moon (referred to as Iah in Egyptian) travels across the night sky. He was also referred to by the titles Embracer, Pathfinder, Defender, and Healer; and was thought to watch over those who travel at night. As the god of light in the night, Khonsu was invoked to protect against wild animals, and aid with healing. It was said that when Khonsu caused the crescent moon to shine, women conceived, cattle became fertile, and all nostrils and every throat were filled with fresh air.
Role in the underworld The earliest known mention of the god appears in the so-called Cannibal Hymn within the Pyramid Texts. As the butcher of other gods, he is said to extract their entrails and offer them to the deceased king in order to absorb their magical powers. This process was intended to help the deceased king achieve immortality and regain vitality.
In the Cannibal Hymn of the Unas Pyramid, Khonsu is named as a member of a group of demons composed of three unknown deities, whose names can be translated to "The Seizer of Heads," "The One with his head raised," and "The One Above the Redness," as well as the god Shezmu. These five bloodthirsty helpers were placed in the sky, likely based on constellations or other celestial phenomena. Additionally, they are considered messengers of death, sent forth by the deceased.Meurer, Georg (2002). Die Feinde des Königs in den Pyramidentexten. Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Freiburg / Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, pp.47–48.
From the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom, Khonsu is referred to in several tomb inscriptions as a Wepwety (Wpwty), a term often translated as "messenger". This designation refers to underworld deities which were understood as death-bringing spirits and punishers of the deceased.Erman, Adolf/ Grapow, Hermann (1971). Wörterbuch der ägyptischen Sprache. Akademie Verlag, p. 30Nasr (2022), pp. 294–296.
Further connections to Khonsu and the destruction of heart ceremony can be found in Spell 310 of the Coffin Texts, where he is described as the son of the goddess Shezmetet and tasked with burning hearts with his fiery wrath. Spell 311 of the Coffin Texts aims to help the deceased transform into Khonsu to steal the gods' magical powers and defend against hostile forces. In this context, he is referred to as "Khonsu who lives on hearts." During the New Kingdom period, the role of devourer of hearts was taken over by the goddess Ammit.Nasr (2022), pp.300–302.
Role as a moon god Khonsu's connection to the moon traces back to the association of the crescent moon with the ancient Egyptian sickle sword, which Khonsu embodies as an instrument of justice, giving him the epithet "Khonsu the sharp."Nasr (2022), pp. 307–310.Priskin, Gyula/Brandy, Bernadette (2019). The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Moon: Coffin Texts Spells 154–160. Oxford:Archaeopress Publishing, p. 4. The earliest indications of Khonsu's lunar attributes appear in Coffin Texts Spells 197 and 195, where the deceased encounters Khonsu returning from Punt. The land of Punt symbolizes the east and the place of the sun's and moon's rising in ancient Egyptian literature.Gyula, Brandy (2019), p. 7.
In the New Kingdom period, the lunar cycle was associated with the phases of life.Gyula, Brandy (2019), p.16. The crescent moon was also linked to the horns of a bull and became a masculine symbol of fertility. A Ptolemaic inscription from the Khonsu Temple in Thebes describes Khonsu and the sun god as bulls crossing the sky and meeting in the east as "the two illuminators of the heavens". This meeting of the two bulls is theorized to either refer to the arrival of the full moon or the simultaneous presence of the sun and moon in the sky. Here, the crescent moon is portrayed as a young bull; while Khonsu ages into an old, castrated bull during the full before renewing himself at the beginning of the next lunar cycle.Gyula, Brandy (2019), p.74.
Depictions of Khonsu as a child, or young bull, symbolized the beginning of the lunar cycle and the month's renewal. The rarer depiction of Khonsu as a two-faced child represents the time when the moon is not visible at night.Gyula, Brandy (2019), p.87. His development from a child to an old man was also applied to the annual cycle, making Khonsu in his youthful manifestation (Khonsu-pa-khered) the bringer of spring and fertility. Inscriptions in his temple in Karnak refer to him as: "the first great [son] of Amun, the beautiful youth; who maketh himself young in Thebes in the form of Ra, the son of the goddess Nubit. A child in the morning, an old man in the evening, a youth at the beginning of the year; who cometh as a child after he had become infirm, and who reneweth his births like the Disk.”Budge, Ernest Alfred Wallis (1904). The Gods of the Egyptians: Studies in Egyptian Mythology / Volume 2. Chicago: The Open Court Publishing Company. pp.36–37.
In the Temple of Edfu, the "Complex of Khonsu" contains the "Chamber of the Leg," dedicated to Khonsu. His association with the leg originates from the Osiris myth, in which Osiris' leg was found and preserved in Edfu. Thus, Khonsu is referred to in Edfu as the "Son of the Leg."Hart, George (2005). The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses.London:Routledge. ISBN 0-415-34495-6.p.88.
Khonsu and Osiris were also equated in the Temple of the Goddess Ipet, located next to the Khonsu Temple in Karnak. In the Ipet Temple, Amun was worshiped as the sun god and son of the goddess Ipet-Nut. As a part of a mythical journey, the sun was said to die daily and enter the underworld as the god Osiris and become Khonsu when it is reborn at dawn.Loeben, Christian E. (2021). Taweret and Bes: A demonic goddess and a divine demon? Glyptoteket: The Glyptotek's publications.ISBN 978-87-7452-376-5. P. 76.
According to Ptolemaic Egyptian legends, Thebes was the first city in Egypt, founded by Osiris and named after his mother, the sky goddess Nut. This connection is a play on the ancient Egyptian word for city ("niwt"). For this reason, in Ptolemaic inscriptions, Thebes is referred to as the heaven itself that houses both the sun (Amun-wer) and the moon (Khonsu).Klotz, David (2008). Kneph: The Religion of Roman Thebes. Ann Arbor : ProQuest LLC. pp.57‐61.
Role as a creator god During the later period of the New Kingdom, Khonsu was also worshipped as a creator god. As such, he was depicted as a man with two falcon heads, vulture wings, and standing on the back of a crocodile. The two heads represent the sun and the moon, while standing on the crocodile symbolizes triumph over the chaotic, primordial forces.Nasr (2022), pp.316–317.
The Khonsu cosmogony, as described in the Khonsu Temple at Karnak, portrays the god as a central figure in the creation of the world. The narrative explains how the god Amun emerged from the Nun as a serpent and deposited his semen into the primordial waters in the form of a falcon egg. Khonsu, the second primordial snake and son of Amun, devours the semen and becomes pregnant by it. In the form of a crocodile, Khonsu travels to the primordial mount to cleanse his mouth of the waters of Nun. There, he copulates with the goddess Hathor-in-Benenet. Through their union, the city of Thebes is born, and Khonsu gives birth to the eight gods of the Ogdoad. The Ogdoad then ascends to the Island of Flames, where they create the sun god.Cruz-Uribe, Eugene (1994).The Khonsu Cosmogony. In: American Research Center in Egypt, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt Nr 31. pp. 169, 189
In this cosmogony, Amun is given the epithet “Father of the Fathers of the Ogdoad” and is explicitly not considered part of the group of eight gods, emphasizing his status as the supreme deity. Variants of this epithet found in Thebes include: “Father of the Fathers of the Gods of the First Primeval Time,” “Father of the Fathers Who Created the Gods of the Primeval Time,” and “The Father of the Fathers Who Made the One Who Made You.”Sethe, Kurt Heinrich (1929). Amun und die acht Urgötter von Hermopolis eine Untersuchung über Ursprung und Wesen des aegyptischen Götterkönigs. Berlin: Verlag der Akademie der Wissenschaften. p.57. Instead of Amun and Amunet, Niau and Niaut form the final divine pair of the Ogdoad in the Khonsu cosmogony.Sethe (1929), p.68.
Forms of Khonsu Khonsu-Neferhotep The primary cult of Khonsu at the Karnak Temple during the New Kingdom centered on his manifestation as Khonsu-Neferhotep. This form of Khonsu may have emerged through syncretism with the deity Neferhotep, who was worshipped in Diospolis Parva. Alternatively, "Neferhotep" might have been an epithet added to Khonsu’s name as early as the Middle Kingdom. Inscriptions frequently attribute additional epithets to this form, including “Khonsu-Neferhotep, Horus-Lord of Joy in Karnak,” “Khonsu-Neferhotep, Lord of Maat on the Great Throne,” and “Khonsu-Neferhotep-in-Thebes.”Klotz (2008), pp.106–107.
Khonsu-Neferhotep is depicted either as a mummified youth or as a falcon-headed adult, often positioned behind Amun in temple imagery. Other representations of Khonsu, such as his form as a baboon, were deliberately excluded from depictions of Khonsu-Neferhotep. This distinction served to separate Khonsu-Neferhotep, the son of Amun, from the broader cult of the mature Khonsu, which existed independently of Amun’s worship. As the firstborn son of Amun and his rightful heir, Khonsu-Neferhotep ranked directly below Amun in the hierarchy of Theban deities. In Theban creation myths, he is regarded as part of the second divine generation—subordinate to Amun but above other gods—and is revered as a co-creator of deities.Klotz (2008), p.8.