Editing Ennead (section)

==History==
The [[ancient Egyptians]] created several enneads as their [[unification of Egypt|unification]] under {{nobr|[[Dynasty I]]}} brought numerous local cults into contact with one another. The ancient Egyptian mythology often had many different explanations for the same phenomenon. This concept is especially unique because no single story was more accurate than another, but rather the truth was a mix of them all.<ref name=Dunand-ZivieCoche-2004/> The [[Pyramid Texts]] of [[Dynasty V|Dynasties&nbsp;V]] and [[Dynasty VI|VI]] mention the "Great Ennead", the "Lesser Ennead", the "Dual Ennead", and the "Seven Enneads". Some [[pharaoh]]s established enneads that [[apotheosis|incorporated themselves as gods]]. The most notable case is {{nobr|[[Seti I]]}} of {{nobr|[[Dynasty XIX]],}} whose [[Mortuary Temple of Seti I|mortuary temple at Redesiyah]] celebrated an ennead of six major gods and three deified forms of himself. The ''ennead'' mentioned in the [[Egyptian calendar of lucky and unlucky days]],<ref>Papyrus Cairo 86637.</ref>{{full citation needed|date=November 2022}} may reference the [[Pleiades]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jetsu |first1=L. |last2=Porceddu |first2=S. |year=2015 |title=Shifting milestones of natural sciences: The ancient Egyptian discovery of Algol's period confirmed |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=10 |issue=12 |page=e0144140 |pmid=26679699 |pmc=4683080 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0144140 |doi-access=free |arxiv=1601.06990|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1044140J }}</ref>

The most important was the "Great" or "Heliopolitan Ennead" of Awanu ({{langx|egy|I͗wnw}}), known under the [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Greeks]] and [[Roman Egypt|Romans]] as [[Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]]. It celebrated the family of the [[sun god]] [[Atum]] (sometimes referred to as [[Atum-re]]<ref name=Clifford-1994/>) and thrived from the [[Old Kingdom]] to the [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Ptolemaic period]].

Its development remains uncertain, although it appears to have first appeared when [[Ra]]'s cult – supreme under {{nobr|[[Dynasty V]]}} – declined in importance under {{nobr|[[Dynasty VI]]}}. [[Egyptologist]]s have traditionally theorized that the Heliopolitan priesthood established it to establish the preeminence of Atum over the others, incorporating some major gods in lesser positions and omitting others entirely. The most prominent of such deities was [[Osiris]], [[god of vegetation]] and the [[Ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs|afterlife]], who was incorporated into the ennead as Atum's great-grandson. However, in the 20th century, some Egyptologists{{Who|date=December 2009}} question the whole scenario. After the Great Ennead was well established, the cult of Ra – [[syncretization|identified with]] Atum – recovered much of its importance until superseded by the cult of [[Horus]]. The two were then combined as ''Ra-Horus of the Horizons''.

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