Geb

"Behold, I rejoice on my standard, on my seat.
I am the Creator, the Ruler of Infinity.
I am the Great Green, the Great Cackler.
I am the Son of the Earth, sprung from the Egg of the World.
My Nest is unseen; I have broken the Egg.
I am the Lord of Millions of Years.
I have made my Nest in the limits of the sky,
And descended to the earth as the Goose, who drives out all sins." - Hymn of Geb

Geb was the personification of the earth, the god of agriculture. The earth itself was referred to as “The House of Geb.” The Egyptian gods were offered symbols of their power - the king offered Geb flowers, bread, and wine, and he in turn ensured that the crops flourished and the earth was fertile. The laughter of Geb was thought to cause earthquakes, and barley was said to grow from his ribs. Living creatures were said to “crawl on the back of Geb.”

As a god of the earth, Geb also represented the grave and it is stated in the Pyramid Texts, for example, that the deceased king “will not enter unto Geb” or “sleep within his house” – rather, that the pharaoh would enter heaven through the stars. The royal throne was known as the "Throne of Geb," and kingship itself was the "Legacy of Geb."

Geb was called the “Great Cackler” (Gengen Wer) or “Great Honker” and as such, was often represented as a goose. It was in goose form that Geb was said to have laid the egg from which the sun was hatched. Geb was even thought to have made other gods, by breaking the stillness of the universe by uttering a great cosmic honk.

The self-sacrificing nature of the goose was much admired – geese were thought to love their young so much that they readily gave themselves up to hunters, if only their children might be spared. Thought to likewise sacrifice himself for humanity’s sins, Geb was called the “Beautiful Goose, Greatly Beloved.”

A hymn says: “Through the last door of the house comes a goose, waddling, a blue globe between his feet, pushing the blue egg of the world. He says, ‘I am Geb, your gosling son. Enter the egg and live in peace. On the day you were born, the world cracked open. When you die, the fissure heals itself. The egg rocks always back and forth.’ I am the blue egg of the Great Cackler. I guard the fledglings in the nest. I soar like the wing of the goose. I am the egg of the world.”

Geb was thought to be the son of Shu and Tefnut, the brother-husband of Nut, and the father of Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. Sometimes he was considered to be the father of Horus and Sekhmet, and the husband of Renenutet.