Mehen

In Egyptian mythology, the name Mehen (Coptic: Ⲙⲉϩⲉⲛ), meaning 'coiled one', referred to a mythological snake-god and to a board game.^[1]

Mehen
Mehen surrounding Ra, in the form of a man with a ram head, on his Solar Barque

Snake god

The earliest known references to Mehen occur in the Coffin Texts.^[2] Mehen is a protective deity who is depicted as a snake which coils around the sun god Ra during his journey through the night, for instance in the Amduat.^[3]

In the German-Egyptian dictionary by R. Hannig,^[4] it is said that the Mehen (mḥn) or the Mehenet (mḥnt) snake is equivalent to the Ouroboros.

Relationship between snake-god and Mehen game

Mehen with game stones, from Abydos, Egypt, 3000 BC, Neues Museum

The precise relationship between the deity and the Mehen game is unknown.^{[citation needed]} For instance, it is unknown whether the game derives from the mythological character or the character derives from the game.^{[citation needed]}

It is known that the object known as mehen depicts a game rather than a religious fetish as demonstrated in tomb paintings, game boards, and equipment.^{[citation needed]} The rules and method of playing the game are unknown, although rules have been created in modern times based on assessments of how it may have been played.^{[citation needed]}