Geb, the god of the earth. Its name means “earth” in ancient Egyptian. He was the son of Shu, the god of air, and the goddess of moisture, Tefnut. He was the husband of his sister, the sky goddess, Nout. The union between these two divinities engendered four gods: Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nepthys.
Geb is depicted as a bearded man and usually in a reclining posture holding a goose or snake in his hands.
Because he is the god of the earth he is in charge of growth and more generally of fertility. Its role is extremely terrestrial. In popular culture it was considered that when an earthquake occurred it was none other than the consequence of the laughter of the god Geb. He is also considered a guardian of the dead and is obviously very popular with farmers in ancient Egypt.
His legend
According to legend Geb and Nout fell madly in love. Showing a passion like no other, they wanted to stay together and united for eternity. But Ra the sun god did not approve of this union because it would have led to the end of the world.
But the two lovers did not care much for the orders of the sun god and continually found ways to stay together. Although it displeases Ra, Geb and Nout are gods and do as they please.
Thoth, informed of this unfortunate situation, found a solution. Being the god of wisdom he imagined a compromise. He created five additional days in the Egyptian year, which would not belong to any of the twelve divisions of the calendar. During these five days, Geb and Nout could live their love, but had to accept being separated during the other days of the year.
It is thus and by this separation that heaven and earth are henceforth disunited. From this alteration, life is now allowed on earth.
His story in pictures
Egyptian deities other than Geb