Medjed


Medjed is a god in the religion of ancient Egypt and is mentioned in the Book of the Dead.

Book of the Dead

Spell 17 of the Book of the Dead mentions, amongst many other obscure gods, one Medjed, in the following line:
According to John Taylor of the British Museum, nothing else is known about Medjed.

New Kingdom "Papyri"

Medjed is also mentioned in the New Kingdom Papyri, known as the "Theban Recenscion of the Book of the Dead". It states, "I know the being Mātchet who is among them in the House of Osiris, shooting rays of light from eye, but who himself is unseen. He goeth round about heaven robed in the flame of his mouth, commanding Hāpi, but remaining himself unseen.”

In popular culture

In the illustration to the spell on sheet 76 of the Greenfield papyrus, a figure thought to be Medjed is depicted as a figure in a conical covering, except for the eyes and feet.
After this papyrus illustration was exhibited in 2012 at the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo and the Fukuoka Museum of Art, Medjed became a sensation on Japanese social media. The god was embraced by Japanese popular culture, including as an internet meme and as a character in video games.