Iah facts for kids

Iah was an ancient Egyptian moon god. His name simply means "moon." He was an important god of time and fertility. Iah is especially known for helping to create the ancient lunar calendar. Over time, Iah became closely linked with another moon god named Khonsu.

The Myth of the Five Extra Days

Ancient Egyptian myths tell a fascinating story about Iah and the creation of extra days in the year. The powerful sun god Ra was upset with the sky goddess Nut. He cursed her so she could not have children on any of the 300 days of the year.

However, the wise god Thoth wanted to help Nut. He came up with a clever plan. Thoth challenged Iah (also called A'ah in this myth) to a game of Senet. Senet was a popular board game in ancient Egypt.

Thoth was very smart and won the game against Iah. As his prize, Thoth won enough moonlight from Iah to create five extra days. These new days were not part of Ra's curse. This meant Nut could finally have her children.

On these five special days, Nut gave birth to five important gods: Isis, Osiris, Nephthys, and Horus. Because Iah lost some of his moonlight, the moon could no longer shine brightly all the time. It had to dim sometimes to get its strength back. This is how the ancient Egyptians explained the different phases of the moon.

Images for kids

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  Osiris-Iah, showing how the god Iah might have looked.

See also

In Spanish: Iah para niños