Editing Atum (section)

==Worship==
[[File:Obelisk-SesostrisI-Heliopolis.JPG|thumb|Last surviving remnant of the Temple of Ra-Atum at Heliopolis, the obelisk, erected by Senusret I of the Twelfth Dynasty]]
Atum was worshiped throughout Egypt's history; the center of his worship centered on the city of [[Heliopolis (Ancient Egypt)|Heliopolis]] ([[Egyptian language|Egyptian]]: ''Annu'' or ''Iunu'').{{sfn|Wilkinson|2003|p=99–101}} The only surviving remnant of Heliopolis is the Temple of Ra-Atum [[Egyptian obelisk|obelisk]] located in Al-Masalla of [[El Matareya, Cairo|Al-Matariyyah, Cairo]]. It was erected by [[Senusret I]] of the [[Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt|Twelfth Dynasty]], and still stands in its original position.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Butler |first=John Anthony |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SHSFDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA154 |title=John Greaves, Pyramidographia and Other Writings, with Birch's Life of John Greaves |date=2019-01-22 |publisher=Cambridge Scholars Publishing |isbn=978-1-5275-2668-6 |pages=154 |language=en}}</ref> In the Old Kingdom Atum was at the center of the Egyptian belief system, being partly responsible for the origins of existence, having created himself and everything else out of the primordial waters. He is believed to have been present in ideology as early as predynastic times, becoming even more prevalent during the [[Old Kingdom of Egypt|Old Kingdom]] as indicated by the pyramid texts in which he appears frequently. He continues to be found in the [[Middle Kingdom of Egypt|Middle Kingdom]], during which he is depicted in the [[Book of the Dead]] in which he appears in spells to help with the journey to the Afterlife. Later, in the [[New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]], there cults attributed to Atum, such as the Theban royal high priestesses known as the [[Divine Adoratrice of Amun|Divine Adoratrices of Amun]] who acted as the Hand of Atum in temple rituals at the time.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pinch |first=Geraldine |url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/730934370 |title=Handbook of Egyptian mythology |date=2011 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |isbn=978-1-84972-853-9 |pages=31–32 |oclc=730934370}}</ref> [[Ra]] would take center stage later on but as Atum was overshadowed, the people of ancient Egypt would continue to worship him through cultic rituals in which he is depicted as having close relationships with the king, as well as being represented through lizards on small [[Reliquary|reliquaries]] and [[amulet]]s closer to the [[Late Period of ancient Egypt|Late Period]].{{sfn|Wilkinson|2003|pp=100–101}}