Ichneumon

The Ichneumon in Ancient Egypt


 * Egyptian Name:**

//Ad//, //Hetjez,// or //Xatrw//


 * Hieroglyphics:**



The Egyptian mongoose, the ichneumon was seen as a protective creature, a great killer of snakes and rats and a eater of crocodile eggs. It was cherished for its ability to kill deadly cobras and was often kept in houses as a pet, sometimes shown being led on a leash.

As an amulet the ichneumon was thought to give protection, and many ichneumon figurines have been found, cast in bronze. The ichneumon is shown in a number of tombs and was represented on funeral urns to guard the contents from harm.

The animal was revered at Heliopolis as a form of the god Ra, and was associated with daylight. Ra was sometimes said to have taken the form of an ichneumon in order to slay the evil serpent Apophis. Sacred ichneumons were kept in temples and fed meat, bread, and milk, and mummified when they died. The ichneumon was sometimes considered to be a manifestation of the deities Mafdet, Wadjet, and Horus.

Often shown stalking birds in the marshes in wildlife scenes, the ichneumon was referred to by the Egyptians as the "pharaoh's mouse." The shrew and the ichneumon were often linked - each morning, the blind shrew of darkness metamorphosed into the ichneumon, which represented the rising sun. Conversely, the ichneumon transformed at sunset into a shrew.

The Carnivores of Ancient Egypt