The Ogdoad of Egypt are eight primordial entities, four female and four male, centered in Khemenu (Greek Hermopolis). Gnostics adopt and redefine the concept in detail. Linked to Ogdoad are qualities of creation and infinity. The number 8 is also an infinity symbol.
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A vibrant religious center, Khemenu is the later worship site of Hermes Trismegistus.
In the Ptolemaic dynasty the primordial deities of the Ogdoad enjoy a revival.
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The eight gods and goddesses are:
Nu (Nun) & Naunet (Nut), personification of primordial waters whence arises all life
Hehu (Heh) & Hehut (Hauhet), basis of Heh gods of infinity; may be one or many
Kekui (Kek) & Kekuit (Kauket), primordial darkness, the time before existence
Amun & Amunet (Amaunet), invisibility, unseen forces of nature or divinity
Names of the goddesses are fundamentally the feminine forms of the names of the gods. Various spellings arise from interpretation of Egyptian terms, which don't use vowels, and regional or temporal influences. In a scene at Philae, the Eight appear as two groups of four.
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Top left: Hehu and Hehut; top right: Amun and Amunet; top far right: Ptah, creator God. Bottom left: Kek and Keket; bottom right: Nu and Nut; bottom far right: Thoth.
Kek and Kauket in some aspects represent night and day. Kek is called "raiser up of the light" and Kauket "raiser up of the night". According to a custom of the time, the sculptor depicts the feet of the deities as jackals' heads.
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It supposedly illustrates a metaphor comparing a rapid runner to the jackals of Egypt. In Egyptian myth the jackal-headed god is Anubis, who acts as psychopomp for the recent dead, especially Pharaohs, guiding the soul to the Afterlife.
Jackals are linked to death and the underworld as they're often seen sniffing around tombs. Anubis is depicted in the famous weighing of the heart scene from the Egyptian Book of the Dead. At left he holds the hand of the deceased.
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Middle, he weighs the heart (ib) against a feather of Ma'at, personification of justice. Ammit, the hybrid animal demon, waits to gobble up the heart if it doesn't pass the test. At right, ibis-headed god Thoth records the results.
The first known mention of the Ogdoad is by Pharaoh Queen Hatshepsut (c. 1507–1458 BCE). Most references to the eight deities appear during the Late Period of Egypt (c. 713–332 BCE).
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Goddesses of the Ogdoad have heads of snakes, especially cobras. Male gods are shown with frog heads. Both animals are prominent in Egyptian lore. The Ogdoad appears in reliefs and art up to the end of the final dynasty, the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt (c. 305 - 30 BCE)
The Ptolemaic is established 305 BCE by Macedonian Greek general Ptolemy I Soter. He rules until the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BCE. The longest and last dynasty of ancient Egypt, the Ptolemies last almost three hundred years.
During this time a new world order arises as Greek and Egyptian cultures flow together, mingling like the waters of the Nile delta and Mediterranean Sea. heralding a distinctly new era, as Greek and Egyptian culture, philosophy, science and religion interweave.
In later Greek Gnostic tradition the Ogdoad (Greek: ὀγδοάς) concept appears in Christian writings. It's more fully developed by theologian Valentinus (c. 160 AD). An early Christian, Valentinus attempts to align Christianity with Platonism.
In Gnostic systems the number eight is important. It appears in different forms during development of Gnosticism. Earliest Gnostic systems include a theory of seven heavens and a supercelestial region, the Ogdoad.
Gnostic astronomers initiate the concept of seven planetary spheres with an eighth above them. The eighth is the the sphere of the fixed stars. The number 8 is also a symbol of infinty.
According to Valentinus, the seven heavens and the area above are the lowest and last stage of the exercise of creative power. Further above them is the pleroma, the totality of divine powers.
Gnosticism bases the concept of the ideal realm, or pleroma, on the world view of Plato (c. 428-348 BCE). Plato's entire collection of work survives intact for over 2,400 years. Through Neoplatonism, he has great influence on Christian and Islamic philosophy.