Ptah
| Religion in NetHack |
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In NetHack, Ptah is the lawful god of the Wizard pantheon.
Origin
Ptah (Ancient Egyptian ptḥ, Ancient Greek Φθά) is an ancient Egyptian deity, regarded as the creator god and a patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In ancient Egypt's cosmology, Ptah was the husband of Sekhmet and the father of Nefertem, and together they formed the triad of the city of Memphis, a very important city in ancient Egypt; he was also regarded as the father of the sage Imhotep. He is generally represented in the guise of a man with green skin wearing the 'divine beard', a skull cap and a tightly-fitted white shroud, while holding a sceptre that combines the stylized animal head of the was, the symbol of life known as the ankh, and the pillar of stability known as the djed.
Like many deities of ancient Egypt, Ptah takes many forms, including the appearances of ancient deities of the Memphite region known as Sokar and Tatenen: his form of Sokar has a similar white robe and wears the Atef crown, an attribute of Osiris, and represents the patron deity of the sites where the royal pyramids were built. His Tatenen form is represented by a young and vigorous man wearing a crown with two tall plumes that surround the solar disk; this form embodies the underground fire that rumbles and raises the earth, as well as resembling the bull (which was Ptah's sacred animal). Ptah was particularly revered by metalworkers and blacksmiths, but he was equally feared due to causing earthquakes and tremors of the Earth's crust.
Variants
dNetHack
In dNetHack, notdNetHack and notnotdNetHack, Ptah is a lawful god of holy holiness, and his minions consist of crocodiles, serpent-necked lionesses, and pharaohs. His crowning gift is The Necronomicon, and a hero that is crowned with The Necronomicon already generated will instead receive The Book of Infinite Spells.
Encyclopedia entry
Known under various names (Nu, Neph, Cenubis, Amen-Kneph,
Khery-Bakef), Ptah is the creator god and god of craftsmen.
He is usually depicted as wearing a closely fitting robe
with only his hands free. His most distinctive features are
the invariable skull-cap exposing only his face and ears,
and the _was_ or rod of domination which he holds,
consisting of a staff surmounted by the _ankh_ symbol of
life. He is otherwise symbolized by his sacred animal, the
bull.
