MIN

[Egyptian] An ancient Egyptian fertility god, and one of the most popular deities. He is also a god of creating, vegetation, and the patron of travelers and caravans in the eastern desert. Min was preeminently a god of male sexuality, and in the New Kingdom (1567-1085 BCE) he was honored in the coronation rites of the pharaohs to ensure their sexual vigor and the production of a male heir. In addition to his role in coronation rites, Min was honored in harvest festivals during which offerings of lettuce and sheaves of wheat. Lettuce was one of his attributes, as some sort of aphrodisiac. He was originally worshipped at Koptos and Akhmim, but later his cult spread throughout the entire realm. Min was portrayed wearing a feathered crown and holding his erect penis with his left hand. In his raised right hand he holds a flail. He is sometimes given as either the son or the consort of Isis. The Greeks equated him with their god Pan and named the city of Akhmin Panopolis.