Egyptian Gods

Aker was an ancient Egyptian Earth God and the deification of the horizon. The name Aker also spelled as Akar or Akeru (plural of Aker), whose name means “he who bends”, and thus Akeru translates as benders.

Aker appearance portrayed as two lion sitting back to back, facing away from one another. One lion faces west while the other faces east. In between them is the sign of the horizon, which shown the sun as if rising between two hills with the sky overhead. Occasionally they were portrayed bearing the akhet on their backs. Aker also often referred to as Ruti, the Egyptian word meaning two lions.

They are representing the concept of ‘Yesterday’ (Sef in Egyptian) and ‘Tomorrow’ (Duau in Egyptian). As one lion faces the east which means the sun rises and the new day begins and the other lion faces the west which means the sun sets and descends into the Underworld.

Aker was believed as the guardian and gatekeeper of the Underworld. He guarded the eastern and western borders of the Underworld and the gates of the dawn from which the sun rose each morning. He also welcomed the dead Pharaoh to pass into the Underworld.

Aker had no temple like other deities, however statues of lions often placed at the doors and their palaces and tombs. As protective gods, Egyptians believed that the gates of the morning and evening were guarded by Aker from evil spirits. Sometimes they gave these statues the heads of men and women. The Greeks called this class of statuary, “Sphinxes”.