# Ptah

Source: https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/ptah
Language: en

# Ptah

The craftsman god of Memphis, who made the world by thinking it and saying it.

**Also written**: Ptah-Sokar-Osiris · Peteh · بتاح سوكر أوزيريس · فتاح

Useful clues to take into the temple.

## How to recognise them

Ptah commonly appears wrapped in a close-fitting garment, with a skullcap and a staff combining familiar divine symbols. Compare the headgear and staff together, and use the inscription to confirm the name.

## Who they were

Ptah is the god of Memphis and the patron of craftsmen, sculptors, metalworkers and builders — the god whose people made things. One Memphite text has him create the world by conceiving it in his heart and speaking it with his tongue, which is a strikingly abstract account beside the other Egyptian creation stories. The Greek name for Egypt is thought to derive from one of his Memphite temple names. He matters at Thebes for two reasons: the kings kept a temple for him inside the Karnak precinct, and the men who cut and painted the royal tombs at Deir el-Medina were craftsmen, and he was theirs.

## Where you meet them

Ptah’s temple lies near the northern enclosure wall at Karnak, away from the main axis. Confirm whether it can be visited and how to reach it with the site team. At Deir el-Medina, chapels and stelae record the workmen’s devotion to Ptah.

God

## Who they are shown with

[

God

### Sekhmet

A lioness-headed woman with a sun disc is a useful starting clue for Sekhmet, not an exclusive identifier. Other lioness goddesses share features; read the caption where it survives.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/sekhmet)[

God

### Amun

Amun often wears a crown with two tall feathers and may appear as a man or in ram-related forms. These are useful clues, but other gods can share attributes: inscriptions and the surrounding scene help confirm an identification.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/amun)[

God

### Osiris

Osiris often appears wrapped as a mummy, holding a crook and flail. His atef crown has a tall central element flanked by feathers. The djed is a pillar-shaped symbol with stacked crossbars, associated with stability. Use these clues together with the inscription.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/gods/osiris)

Continue reading

## Where to look

1–1 / 2

[Temple complex · East bank

### Karnak Temple Complex

Two thousand years of building, rebuilding and royal ambition, gathered around the temples of Amun.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/karnak)[Village · West bank

### Deir el-Medina

The village of the men who cut the royal tombs. It is the site that makes all the others feel human.

](https://luxor101.com/ancient-luxor/deir-el-medina)

Sources & further reading 3

Tier 2 The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Richard H. Wilkinson 

Thames & Hudson

Tier 2 Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses and Traditions of Ancient Egypt, Geraldine Pinch 

Oxford University Press

Tier 1 [Excavation reports from Deir el-Medina](https://www.ifao.egnet.net/journauxbruyere/index.html) 

Institut français d’archéologie orientale (IFAO)

Official page indexed · checked 2026-09-19

Source review is incomplete. Consultation dates are shown only for checked references.

Published works and institutional references for further reading.

[Sources and review status](mailto:corrections@egyptmore.com?subject=Luxor101%20correction)

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