OGDOAD

[Egyptian] The name of eight Egyptian deities who were especially worshipped in Hermopolis in Upper Egypt. They form the basis of the creation myth. The Ogdoad consist of four gods and four goddesses who together personify the essence of the primordial chaos before the creation of the world. They are Nun and Naunet (the primordial water), Huh and Hauhet (infinite space), Kuk and Kauket (darkness), and Amun and Amaunet (representing hidden powers). From themselves they created the mound upon which lay the egg from which the sun god emerged. The gods of the Ogdoad are represented as frogs or with the head of a frog; the goddesses in the shape of a snake or as a woman with the head of a snake. Their cult centered on the town of Khemnu (Greek Hermopolis) in Middle Egypt. They also had a sanctuary at Medinet Habu in western Thebes.