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Ptah was also symbolized by two birds with human heads adorned with solar disks, symbols of the souls of the god Re: the Ba. The two Ba are identified as the twin gods Shu and Tefnut and are associated with the djed pillar of Memphis.
The ancient Egyptians believed that a soul (kꜣ and bꜣ; Egypt. pron. ka/ba) was made up of many parts. In addition to these components of the soul, there was the human body (called the ḥꜥ, occasionally a plural ḥꜥw, meaning approximately "sum of bodily parts").
The Ba was another part of the soul that had increased mobility and dwel within the Ka. [21] Offerings that were left for the dead included clothing and valuable ornaments; the most important offering, however, was food, [22] because even though the Ka was separated from the body, it could still starve. [21]
The djed came to be associated with Seker, the falcon god of the Memphite Necropolis, then with Ptah, the Memphite patron god of craftsmen. [7] Ptah was often referred to as "the noble djed", and carried a scepter that was a combination of the djed symbol and the ankh, the symbol of life. [3] Ptah gradually came to be assimilated into Osiris.
The ba was the component of the human or divine soul that affected the world around it. Any visible manifestation of a god's power could be called its ba; thus, the sun was called the ba of Ra. [122] A depiction of a deity was considered a ka, another component of its being, which acted as a vessel for that deity's ba to inhabit.
That symbol always was closely associated with Hathor. Early on, Apis was the herald of Ptah, the chief deity in the area around Memphis. As a manifestation of Ptah, Apis also was considered to be a symbol of the king, embodying the qualities of kingship.
Hail, Nefer-Tem, who comest forth from Het-ka-Ptah, I have wronged none, I have done no evil. Hail, Tem-Sepu, who comest forth from Tetu, I have not worked witchcraft against the king. Hail, Ari-em-ab-f, who comest forth from Tebu, I have never stopped the flow of water of a neighbor. Hail, Ahi, who comest forth from Nu, I have never raised my ...
Each person also had a ba, the set of spiritual characteristics unique to each individual. [30] Unlike the ka, the ba remained attached to the body after death. Egyptian funeral rituals were intended to release the ba from the body so that it could move freely, and to rejoin it with the ka so that it could live on as an akh.