Numbers in Egyptian Mythology - Three: Symbol of Plurality

Three: Symbol of Plurality

The basic symbol for plurality among the ancient Egyptians was the number three: even the way they wrote the word for "plurality" in hieroglyphics consisted of three vertical marks ( | | | ). Triads of deities were also used in Egyptian religion to signify a complete system. Examples include references to the god Atum "when he was one and became three" when he gave birth to Shu and Tefnut, and the triad of Horus, Osiris, and Isis.

Examples

• The beer used to trick Sekhmet soaked three hands into the ground.
• The second god, Re, named three times to define the sun: dawn, noon, and evening.
• Thoth is described as the “thrice-great god of wisdom”.
• A doomed prince was doomed to three fates: to die by a crocodile, a serpent, or a dog.
• Three groups of three attempts each (nine attempts) were required for a legendary peasant to recover his stolen goods.
• A boasting mage claimed to be able to cast a great darkness to last three days.
• After asking Thoth for help, a King of Ethiopia was brought to Thebes and publicly beaten three further times.
• An Ethiopian mage tried—and failed—three times to defeat the greatest mage of Egypt.
• An Egyptian mage, in an attempt to enter the land of the dead, threw a certain powder on a fire three times.
• There are twelve (three times four) sections of the Egyptian land of the dead. The dead disembark at the third.
• The Knot of Isis, representing life, has three loops.