page_title: Benben
section_title: Benben stone
hierarchical_section_title: Benben / Benben stone
caption_attribution_description: Español: Dibujo en papiro de Bennu. Euskara: Bennuren marrazkia papiroan. Português: Bennu em afresco.
context_page_description: Benben was the mound that arose from the primordial waters Nu upon which the creator deity Atum settled in the creation myth of the Heliopolitan form of ancient Egyptian religion. The Benben stone is the top stone of the pyramid. It is also related to the obelisk.
context_section_description: The Benben stone, named after the mound, was a sacred stone in the temple of Ra at Heliopolis (Egyptian: Annu or Iunu). It was the location on which the first rays of the sun fell. It is thought to have been the prototype for later obelisks and the capstones of the great pyramids were based on its design. The capstone or the tip of the pyramid is also called a pyramidion. In ancient Egypt, these were probably gilded so they shone in sunlight.
  Many Benben stones, often carved with images and inscriptions, are found in museums around the world.
  The bird deity Bennu, which was probably the inspiration for the phoenix, was venerated at Heliopolis, where it was said to be living on the Benben stone or on the holy willow tree.
  According to Barry Kemp, the connection between the benben, the phoenix, and the sun may well have been based on alliteration: the rising, weben, of the sun sending its rays towards the benben, on which the benu bird lives. Utterance 600, § 1652 of the Pyramid Texts speaks of Atum as you rose up, as the benben, in the Mansion of the Benu in Heliopolis.
caption: Bennu bird from an Egyptian papyrus.
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