Creation of man from clay is a recurring theme in different world religions and traditions. And in ancient Egypt that creator was Khnum the Ram. One of the earliest ancient Egyptian deities and god of the source of the Nile, Khnum used the slit and clay brought by the annual flooding of the river and its water to create people using a potter wheel. He then placed them in their mothers’ wombs. He also molded the other deities, thus becoming “Divine Potter” and “Lord of created things from himself'”. Despite his gigantic mandate, Khnum comes across as an accessible and down to earth deity, quite literally. His symbol is the ram, a domesticated animal, potent and fertile. He uses the same materials and tools that mortal potters use. He is family: people call him the “Father of Fathers and the Mother of Mothers”. Not only he is a creator but also a protector, helping people during their lives as well as in the kingdom of the dead. He also lends a hand to other deities, like Ra – the Sun god – assisting him in his nightly travel through the underworld on the Solar Barque.