Male Anthropomorphic Egyptian Gods: Iah
Iah was lunar god whose name means "Moon" and who is known from relatively early times. Originally an independent deity, he was later largely absorbed by Khonsu and is thus sometimes viewed as an adult form of that god and sometimes independently. Iah appears in the Pyramid Texts where the deceased king announces that the moon (Iah) is his brother (PT 1001) and father (PT 1104), but by New Kingdom times Khonsu and Thoth play more dominant roles as lunar deities. Nevertheless, Iah is found as an amulet and in other representations in later dynasties in which he is depicted as a standing man, often wrapped in the same manner as Khonsu, and wearing the same full and crescent moon symbols, though often these are surmounted by an Atef Crown with yet another disk above it. In addition to the divine beard, the god usually wears a long tripartite wig rather than the sidelock of Khonsu, and he may also carry a tall staff. To a somewhat lesser degree Iah was also fused with Thoth and he may be depicted as ibis-headed like that god. One of Tutankhamun's pectorals has a winged scarab holding up the boat of the lunar eye above which is a crescent moon and disc - imagery which could refer to Iah.
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