View source for Sopdu

{{short description|Ancient Egyptian god of the sky}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Egyptian
| name = Sopdu
| spouse = [[Khensit]]
| image = Sopdu.svg
| caption = Sopdu as depicted in the [[Pyramid of Sahure|mortuary temple]] of [[Fifth Dynasty of Egypt|Fifth Dynasty]] pharaoh [[Sahure]]
| father = [[Sah (god)|Sah]]
| mother = [[Sopdet]]
| cult_center = [[Saft el-Hinna]]
| hiero = <hiero>M44-G43</hiero>
}}
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}
'''Sopdu''' (also rendered '''Septu''' or '''Sopedu''') was a [[ancient Egyptian deities|god]] of the sky and of eastern border regions in [[ancient Egyptian religion|the religion of Ancient Egypt]].<ref name="Wilkinson 211">Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. p. 211</ref>
He was [[Khensit]]'s husband.

As a sky god, Sopdu was connected with the god [[Sah (god)|Sah]], the personification of the constellation [[Orion (constellation)|Orion]], and the goddess [[Sopdet]], representing the star [[Sirius]]. According to the [[Pyramid Texts]], Horus-Sopdu, a combination of Sopdu and the greater sky god [[Horus]], is the offspring of [[Osiris]]-Sah and [[Isis]]-Sopdet.<ref name="Wilkinson 211" />

As a god of the east, Sopdu was said to protect Egyptian outposts along the frontiers and to help the [[pharaoh]] control those regions' foreign inhabitants. He was referred to as ''Lord of the East'', and had his greatest [[cult (religious practice)|cult]] centre at the easternmost [[nome (Egypt)|nome]] of [[Lower Egypt]], which was named [[Per-Sopdu]], meaning ''place of Sopdu''. He also had shrines at Egyptian settlements in the [[Sinai Peninsula]], such as the turquoise mines at [[Serabit el-Khadim]].<ref name="Wilkinson 211" />

== Name ==
Sopdu's name is composed of the [[Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyph]] for ''sharp'', a pointed [[triangle]], and the [[grammatical person|3rd person plural]] [[suffix]] (a [[quail]]); thus a literal translation of his name is ''sharp ones''.<ref>''Greek and Egyptian Mythologies'' By Yves Bonnefoy and Wendy Doniger, p. 221. University of Chicago Press, 1992
{{ISBN|0-226-06454-9}}</ref> He was said, in the Pyramid Texts, to protect the teeth of the deceased pharaoh.<ref name="Wilkinson 211"/>

Sopdu was depicted as a falcon sitting on a religious standard, often with a two-feathered crown on his head and a [[Flail (tool)|flail]] over his shoulder. In his border-guarding role he was shown as a [[ancient Near East|Near Eastern]] warrior, with a ''[[shemset]]'' girdle and an axe or spear.<ref name="Wilkinson 211"/>
== Gallery ==
<gallery>
File:Sopdu as falcon.svg|drawing of Sopdu as a reclining falcon with a flail and feathered headdress
File:Berlin 122009 018b.jpg| A relief of Sopdu from the mortuary temple of Sahure at Abusir. 
File:Lintel of Raiay, the King's scribe, and the first god's servant of Sopdu Nakht. Both stand before Osiris. 19th Dynasty. From Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London.jpg|Lintel of Raiay, the King's scribe, and the first god's servant of Sopdu Nakht. Both stand before Osiris. 19th Dynasty. From Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, London
</gallery>

== See also ==
*[[Shu (Egyptian god)|Shu]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer|collapsed}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Egyptian gods]]
[[Category:Sky and weather gods]]