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====The Memphite Creation Myth====
[[File: Ptah_votive_stele.jpg|300px200px|thumbnail|left|A Votive Stela Depicting Ptah with a Long Beard, Skull Cap, and “Djed” Staff]]
Memphis (Egyptian “Mennefer”) served as Egypt’s political capital for much of its history, and it was also the primary cult center of the god Ptah. Like Amun, Ptah was depicted in human form, but instead of wearing a feather crown, he was shown wearing a simpler skull cap. In many ways, Ptah was the most logical choice of all creator gods, as he was the god of metal workers and craftsmen. <ref> Wilkinson, p. 18</ref> Although Ptah was known to work with his hands, his act of creation was accomplished through thought and speech. The so-called “Memphite Theology” is articulated fully in a hieroglyphic text known as the <i>Shabaqa Stone</i>. The <i>Shabaqa Stone</i> is named for the Nubian king who ruled over Egypt in the Twenty-Fifth Dynasty (ruled 716-702 BC) and is dated to 710 BC, but is believed by most Egyptologists to be a copy of a Nineteenth Dynasty, or possibly even an Old Kingdom original. <ref> Lesko, p. 95</ref> The creation account of the text reads:
