Editing Sokar (section)

== Roles and cults ==
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}

Sokar, possibly through his association with Ptah, has a connection with [[artisan]]s. In the ''[[Book of the Dead]]'', he is said to fashion [[silver]] bowls<ref name="rout415" /> and at [[Tanis, Egypt|Tanis]] a silver [[coffin]] of [[Sheshonq II]] has been discovered decorated with the iconography of Sokar.<ref name="tcggoae">The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Wilkinson {{ISBN|0-500-05120-8}}</ref>

Sokar's cult centre was in Memphis, and festivals in his honor were held there on the 26th day of the fourth month of the akhet (spring) season. While these festivals took place, devotees would hoe and till the ground, and drive cattle, which suggests that Sokar could have had agricultural aspects about him.<ref name="Sokar"/>

Sokar is mentioned in ''The Journey of Ra'': the myth used to explain what happens during the night when Ra travels through the Underworld. According to the myth, Sokar rules the Fifth Kingdom of Night,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Ancient Egyptian Legends: XI: The Regions of Night and Thick Darkness |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ael/ael14.htm |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref> which is called "Hidden",<ref name=":0" /> and is tasked with punishing the souls of evildoers by throwing them into a boiling lake.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Ancient Egyptian Legends: XI: The Regions of Night and Thick Darkness |url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ael/ael14.htm |access-date=2023-05-25 |website=www.sacred-texts.com}}</ref>

As part of the festivals in akhet, his followers wore strings of onions around their necks, showing the [[Underworld]] aspect of him. Onions were used in embalming people - sometimes the skin, sometimes the entire onion. When just the skin was used, it would be placed on the eyes and inside the ears to mask the smell.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gods & Myths of Ancient Egypt|last=Gahlin|first=Lucia|publisher=Southwater|year=2014|isbn=9781780193328|pages=46}}</ref>

Also, the god was depicted as assisting in various tasks such as digging ditches and canals. From the New Kingdom a similar festival was held in Thebes, which rivaled the  great [[Opet Festival]].<ref name="Sokar"/><ref name="tcggoae" />

Other events during the festival including floating a statue of the god on a Henu barque, which was a boat with a high prow shaped like an oryx.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/sokar.html|title=sokar|website=ancientegyptonline.co.uk|access-date=2016-10-24}}</ref>