We all know that Moon Knight has a plot that focuses on the Egyptian gods, given the fact that this is basically a conflict between Khonshu and Ammit. However, what we do know is that the series also involves other gods that are at the top of the Egyptian pantheon. This is where the term Ennead comes in, as this was used by Steven as early as the first few minutes of episode 1. But what is the Ennead?
The Ennead is composed of the nine principal gods of Egyptian mythology. In Marvel, the Ennead are the principal entities that reside in a pocket dimension that’s adjacent to Earth. Because of their godly powers and due to how the nexus between the worlds is located in Egypt, they are referred to as the gods of Egypt.
It is interesting that Marvel introduced the concept of the Ennead in Moon Knight, considering that there aren’t really supernatural gods in the MCU. This means that Moon Knight is probably going to introduce an entirely new concept of what gods are, especially when you look at how most of the godly entities are cosmic and not supernatural. That said, let’s look at what we know about the Ennead.
What Is The Ennead?
It wasn’t a secret that Moon Knight was going to explore the concept of Egyptian deities as one of the focus points of the series. After all, Steven Grant’s/Marc Spector’s powers come from Khonshu, the Egyptian god of the moon and of vengeance. And it was also hinted early on that the series would explore a conflict involving the different gods of Egypt.
With that said, the term “Ennead” was mentioned by Steven Grant early on in episode 1. Then, in episode 3, the Ennead was finally revealed to us when Steven asked Khonshu if they could seek a meeting with the other Egyptian gods regarding the conflict with Arthur Harrow, who is the avatar of the goddess Ammit. So, what is the Ennead?
The term “Ennead” was taken directly from Egyptian mythology. This term basically refers to the nine principal gods that governed Ancient Egypt. They are basically called the Ennead of Heliopolis. Take note that ennea is the Greek word for nine, and that means that the Ennead is literally composed of nine of the top gods of Ancient Egypt.
Meanwhile, in the Marvel comics, the Ennead are beings that are quite similar to how they are portrayed in Egyptian mythology. Instead of treating them as gods, the comics describe the Ennead as beings from a pocket dimension that’s adjacent to Earth. They have powers that are beyond what humans are capable of, and that’s why they were considered gods. And because the Ennead’s pocket dimension (called Heliopolis) has a nexus point that’s located in Egypt, they were treated as gods only by the Ancient Egyptians.
It seems like the Moon Knight series follows this concept, as the Ennead is described to be the principal gods of Egypt. This was clear in episode 1 when Steven Grant said that the Ennead are the highest gods worshipped by the Ancient Egyptians.
Of course, it didn’t take too long for Moon Knight to introduce some members of the Ennead in episode 3 when Steven asked Khonshu whether or not they could seek help from the other gods of Egypt regarding the matter involving Harrow, who was planning to resurrect the sealed goddess Ammit.
In that scene with the Ennead, a trial was held for Harrow, who was able to properly defend himself by deflecting the matter towards Khonshu, who he described as a rogue god that used people to his benefit. And neither Khonshu nor Steven was able to present evidence that supported their claim that Harrow was looking to resurrect Ammit so that she could release her brand of justice to the world.
This led to the Ennead absolving Harrow of any of the accusations thrown at him. Of course, Harrow’s manner of deflecting the matter towards Khonshu also meant that the Ennead had to keep a close eye on the god of the moon and his avatar, Steven/Marc.
Who Are Part Of The Ennead?
In Egyptian mythology, the Ennead is led by Re-Atum, the sun god. And the Ennead included Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys. There are other versions that include Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, as a member of the Ennead, given that he later killed Seth and assumed the role as the king of Egypt.
Meanwhile, in the Marvel comics, the Ennead is composed of different gods. That means that the Ennead in the comics isn’t necessarily composed of nine Egyptian gods as names such as Anubis, Bast, Bes, Geb, Horus, Isis, Khonshu, Nephthys, Nut, Osiris, Ptah, Seth, Shu, and Tefnut have become members of the Ennead.
On the other hand, the Marvel Studios version of Moon Knight hasn’t completely shown all of the members of the Ennead because, in episode 3, there were only five of the nine Ennead gods that presided over the trial held for Harrow.
Nevertheless, the room in which the trial was held suggests that the series version of the Ennead is also composed of nine Egyptian gods. That’s because there are three seats in front of the center of the room and three more seats on both the left and the right sides of the room.
As you can see in the photo, the seats have statutes in front of them. The seats are meant for the avatars of the gods. Meanwhile, the statues represent the gods and goddesses that the avatars represent.
Episode 3 introduced the three major gods who were seated at the center of the temple. These are Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Meanwhile, only one god sat on each side of the room. On the left side sat Hathor, and Tefnut sat on the right side.
The four other gods who didn’t have avatars present in the Ennead meeting could be presumed based on the statues. On the left side, we could see the statues of Seth and Toth. Meanwhile, on the right side, we could see the statues of Amun and Nephthys.
We don’t know for sure whether or not Ammit used to be a member of the Ennead before she was sealed away. But what we do know is that Khonshu isn’t a member of the Ennead because of his penchant for meddling with human affairs as the god of vengeance and justice.
