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===The Heliopolitan Creation Myth===

The third and probably the most important of all the Egyptian cosmogonies was the Heliopolitan creation myth. The Heliopolitan myth was developed at an early time in pharaonic history in the city of Heliopolis (Egyptian “Iunu,” biblical “On”), which was the cult center of the sun-god Atum. There are plenty of references in the <i>Pyramid Texts</i> to Atum and the Heliopolitan version of creation. Theologically speaking, the Heliopolitan myth was the most straightforward and concrete of the cosmogonies, as it involved Atum emerging from a primordial mound and then creating the first four generations of male-female pairs, which became known as the <i>Ennead.</i> Creation in this myth, therefore, was the result of pure will and is a process with a definite beginning and end. The way in which Atum created the Ennead is described in numerous “Utterances” of the <i>Pyramid Texts</i> as both physical and sexual.