Ihy, Divine Musician-Pattern of Child Deities Seen Through Ihy

Usually depicted as a youthful deity wearing the menit around his neck and holding a sistrum in his hand, Ihy is the divine musician par excellence. He personifies the jubilation associated with the use of the sacred instruments. As the son of the versatile goddess Hathor, Ihy also plays the role of child-intermediary for his mother-goddess, mediating the two different spheres – the divine and the mundane – through the medium of music. In his role, Ihy accompanies his mother-goddess Hathor and serves as the divine acolyte and intermediary. This illustrates his strong bond with Hathor, which does not allow the entry of the generational succession that characterizes the pattern of the Horus child. It also explains the relatively late development of the divine triad. After the New Kingdom, Ihy’s role as the divine musician is emphasized and his iconography is fixed as the divine musician playing the sistrum and the menit for deities. In later periods, Ihy also played important roles in the mammisis of the kings. In the mammisi of Nectanebo I at Dendera, his conception and birth, identified with that of the king, was celebrated and the divine play regarding his mysterious birth was performed. Ihy tends to follow the sun-child pattern in consideration of the following factors: (1) the superficial familial relationship with their parent deities; (2) the absence of the dramatic childhood and the conflict with the formidable opponent at the crisis of puberty; and (3) the lack of evidence for the generational transmission from father to son. Other child deities, such as Khonsu and Nefertem, also follow the sun-child pattern because of the dysfunctional familial relationship in their respective triads. The primary role of the three child deities is as divine intermediary between the divine sphere and the human world through the medium of music (Ihy) or fragrance (Nefertem), or through the status as the prominent celestial body that can stand face-to-face with the sun (Khonsu). In addition, their mediating role explains why the king could frequently replace them in their respective familial triads in his role as an intermediary between the divine and human spheres. Their status as divine intermediary also explains why the child deities became so important and popular in the Late and Ptolemaic-Roman Periods. Possessing the charm and spontaneity of a child, they are friendlier and more accessible than other major deities in the Egyptian pantheon in the time of “personal piety.” They are regarded as the “great god” who retains full divine power in the form of a child who hears prayers for help and provides protection to his followers.