Meaning & History
In Egyptian mythology he was the god of the Earth and a member of the Ennead of Heliopolis. He was said to be the father of earthquakes and that it was he who allowed crops to grow. Due to a mistake in translation and a change in how his name was written over the years in Ancient Egypt, his name was sometimes erroneously read as Seb or Keb, though the original Egyptian name for him may have been more similar to Gebeb/Kebeb. He is depicted as a man, and sometimes as a bull, ram, or crocodile. He was sometimes also called the father of snakes, and is said to have fathered the snake god Nehebkau with Renenutet. He is most commonly seen as the husband of Nut and, from her, father of Osiris, Seth, Isis, and Nephthys. He is typically depicted as a man reclining beneath Nut, with his phallus pointed towards her.