Tatenen (also Ta-tenen, Tatjenen, Tathenen, Tanen, Tenen,
Tanenu, and Tanuu) was the god of the primordial mound in
Egyptian Mythology. His name means risen land or exalted earth,
as well as referring to the silt of the Nile. As a primeval
chthonic deity, Tatenen was identified with creation. He was an
androgynous protector of nature from the Memphis area, then
known as "Men-nefer". Tatenen represented the Earth and was born
in the moment it rose from the watery chaos, analogous to the
primeval mound of the benben and mastaba and the later pyramids.
He was seen as the source of "food and viands,divine offers, all
good things", as his realms were the deep regions beneath the
earth "from which everything emerges", specifically including
plants, vegetables, and minerals. His father was the creator god
Khnum, who made him on his potter's wheel of Nile mud at the
moment of creation of Earth. This fortuity granted him the
titles of both "creator and mother who gave birth to all gods"
and "father of all the gods". H