Kek (mythology)

{{short description|Ancient Egyptian personification of primordial darkness}}

{{About|a concept in ancient Egyptian mythology|other uses|Kek (disambiguation)}}

{{Infobox deity

| type = Egyptian

| name = Kek

| image = Kuk and Kuket.jpg

| caption = Kauket (left) and Kek (right) sitting on thrones, relief from a temple at Deir el-Medina

| cult_center = Hermopolis (as a member of the Ogdoad)

| spouse = Kauket

| hiero = V31:V31-N2

Kek

V31:V31-y-G43-N2-A40

Kekuit

V31:V31-N2-B1

}}

{{Infobox deity

| type = Egyptian

| name = Kauket

| image = Kauket.svg

| caption = Kauket was often represented with a cobra head like other female members of the Ogdoad

| hiero = V31:V31-y-G43-N2-X1:H8-B1

| cult_center = Hermopolis (as a member of the Ogdoad)

| spouse = Kek

}}

Kek is the deification of the concept of primordial darkness{{cite journal |first=E. |last=Hornung |title=Licht und Finsternis in der Vorstellungswelt Altägyptens |journal=Studium Generale |volume=8 |date=1965 |pages=72–83}} in the ancient Egyptian Ogdoad cosmogony of Hermopolis.

The Ogdoad consisted of four pairs of deities, four male gods paired with their female counterparts. Kek's female counterpart was Kauket.{{cite book|first=E. A. Wallis|last=Budge|author-link=E. A. Wallis Budge|title=The Gods of the Egyptians: Or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology|volume=1|publisher=Methuen & Co. |year=1904a |url=https://archive.org/stream/godsofegyptianso00budg#page/282/mode/2up|pages=241, 283–286}}{{cite book|first=E. A. Wallis|last=Budge|author-link=E. A. Wallis Budge|title=The Gods of the Egyptians: Or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology|volume=2|publisher=Methuen & Co.|year=1904b |url=https://archive.org/stream/godsofegyptianso02budg#page/378/mode/2up|pages=2, 378}}{{Cite book |first=Georg |last=Steindorff |title=The Religion of the Ancient Egyptians |date=1905 |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |url=https://archive.org/stream/religionofancien00stei#page/50/mode/2up |page=50}} Kek and Kauket in some aspects also represent night and day, and were called "raiser up of the light" and the "raiser up of the night", respectively.{{sfnp|Budge|1904a|p=285f|loc=vol. 1}}

The name is written as kk or kkwy with a variant of the sky hieroglyph in ligature with the staff (N2) associated with the word for "darkness" kkw.{{sfnp|Budge|1904a|p=283|loc=vol. 1}}

History

File:L'Ogdoade d'Hermopolis.jpg.]]

In the oldest representations, Kauket is given the head of a serpent, and Kek the head of either a frog or a cat. In one scene, they are identified with Ka and Kait; in this scene, Ka-Kekui has the head of a frog surmounted by a beetle and Kait-Kekuit has the head of a serpent surmounted by a disk.{{sfnp|Budge|1904a|p=286|loc=vol. 1}}

In the Greco-Roman period, Kek's male form was depicted as a frog-headed man, and the female form as a serpent-headed woman, as were all four dualistic concepts in the Ogdoad.

In popular culture

Individuals associated with online message boards, such as 4chan, noted a similarity between Kek and the character Pepe the Frog. This was later paired with images of Pepe,{{cite web|url=https://www.polygon.com/2017/9/14/16310330/destiny-2-armor-white-nationalist-kek-symbol-explanation|title=Bungie explains how Destiny 2 armor resembling hate symbol made it into the game|first=Samit|last=Sarkar|date=September 14, 2017|accessdate=August 4, 2018|work=Polygon|archive-date=May 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520062428/https://www.polygon.com/2017/9/14/16310330/destiny-2-armor-white-nationalist-kek-symbol-explanation|url-status=live}} resulting in a resurgence of interest in the ancient deity.{{cite news|last1=David|first1=Neiwert |title=What the Kek: Explaining the Alt-Right 'Deity' Behind Their 'Meme Magic'|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2017/05/08/what-kek-explaining-alt-right-deity-behind-their-meme-magic|access-date=September 14, 2017|work=Southern Poverty Law Center|date=May 8, 2017}}

Believers in Kek say that repeating integers, called “dubs”, are the prima materia of reality, and that their occurrence invoke the ancient deity.

Elon Musk has made numerous references to Pepe and even to Kek,{{cite web|url= https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1607148387799011328?lang=en|title=Elon tweets Kek |website=Twitter.com|access-date=2023-06-05}}{{cite web|url= https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1628667176902352896?lang=en|title=Elon tweets Kek again|website=Twitter.com|access-date=2023-06-05}} among others within the perceived right wing movement such as Donald Trump, who tweeted himself as a version of the frog.{{cite web|url= https://americasvoice.org/blog/pepe-frog-meme-shared-trump-trump-jr-identified-hate-symbol-anti-defamation-league/|title=Trumps tweet Pepe|website=Americasvoice.com|access-date=2023-06-05}} Believers have cited this as evidence of memetic synchronicity.{{cite web|url= https://pepethefrogfaith.wordpress.com/|title=The Truth About Pepe and the Cult of Kek|website=wordpress.com |access-date=2023-06-05}}