Domains & Iconography
Domains: fertility, desert, agriculture
Iconography: erect phallus, lettuce, hut
Cult and image
UCL's Koptos page calls Min the god of male procreative power and the main deity at Koptos, Upper Egyptian nome 5, and at Akhmim, nome 9. From the late Predynastic period he is shown with an erect phallus. In two-dimensional art he stands before a hut and one or more lettuce plants. UCL notes that the lettuce may have been treated as an aphrodisiac because it was tall and gave a milky sap when pressed.
The same page says he was also a god of the desert. Koptos was a starting point for desert expeditions. Fertility also made him a god of agriculture. At Koptos, Isis took the role of his wife, and the Ptolemaic and Roman temple there was most likely a double temple of Min and Isis.
Later combinations
UCL dates the form Min-Hor-nakht, Min-Horus the strong, especially to the Middle Kingdom, about 2025 to 1700 B.C. In the New Kingdom, about 1550 to 1069 B.C., the combination Amun-Min became common. That joined form has its own page on this site.
In practice
Reflect on how Min's domains (fertility, desert) show up in your own life. What would it mean to honor this deity's pattern through a single honest action today?
Frequently asked questions
- Who is Min in Egyptian mythology?
- God of male procreative power at Koptos and Akhmim. Shown ithyphallic from the late Predynastic period, and later joined with Horus and with Amun.
- What domains is Min associated with?
- Min is associated with fertility, desert, agriculture.
- What symbols represent Min?
- Common iconography for Min includes erect phallus, lettuce, hut.
- What role does Min play in Egyptian religion?
- UCL's Koptos page calls Min the god of male procreative power and the main deity at Koptos, Upper Egyptian nome 5, and at Akhmim, nome 9. From the late Predynastic period he is shown with an erect phallus. In two-dimensional art he stands before a hut and one or more lettuce plants. UCL notes that the lettuce may have been treated as an aphrodisiac because it was tall and gave a milky sap when pressed.