Geb is the God of the Earth, child of Tefnut and Shu, brother and partner to Nut, the father of Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, and Seth, and grandfather of Horus and Anubis.

Appearance

He typically appears as a topless man with brown skin, wearing a shendyt and a modified pschent or crown that has curved horns on the sides.^[1][2] The crown has a sort of golden deshret, and a pale brown hedjet.^[2] He appears to wear a pale brown usekh or wesekh, with white borders at the top and bottom. The sides curve up off his shoulders.^[3] His white shendyt has a gold belt. He wears golden ankle cuffs and no shoes.^[2] He wears golden cuffs on both wrists.^[2]

Personality

Geb is very quiet and seldom speaks. He is not fond of humans, or most people besides Nut.^[3] He appears to accede to Ra's wishes.

Life

Nut and Geb fall in love, become husband and wife, and want to have children, but Thoth tells Ra a prophecy that their children would change the fate of Egypt.^[3][4] Ra curses Nut to be unable to bear children.^[3][4] They are parted for years, unable to see each other.^[3] Nut asks Thoth for help. Thoth plays senet with Ra and wins, making Ra cover her eyes for four days, wherein Nut bears her four children: Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, and Seth.^[4] Together, Ra, Tefnut, Shu, Nut, Geb, Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, and Seth form the Ennead.

After Osiris takes over the throne of Egypt, "all life throughout the land of Egypt began to slowly diminish", and the desert expands.^[5]

After Seth takes the throne of Egypt from Osiris, Isis goes on the run.^[6] Seth wreaks atrocities searching for her, destroying Egypt, and upsetting Nut. Nut wakes up Geb, and together they search for and eventually find Isis and Horus.

Geb confronts Seth alongside the other gods before the trial between Seth and Horus.^[7] He attends the trial in part as an observer.^[1]

When Isis attempts to flood the Nile and Egypt, Geb pulls the water into the ground.^[3] When Isis confronts him, Geb tells her to stand down, and that Ra wishes to preserve Egypt. When Thoth arrives to explain how he and Maat knew what she was up to and planned for it, and Isis' pleas to Geb fail, she attempts to turn Geb against Thoth by claiming that Thoth was romantically/physically involved with Nut and told Ra the prophecy about Nut and Geb's children to get Geb out of his way. Geb picks Thoth up and demands the truth. Thoth explains that he visited Nut for advice and to practice courting Maat, and that he told Ra the prophecy in exchange for her to stop interfering in his courting Maat. Geb forgives him.

Geb is seemingly distraught to hear about Seth cursing Anubis.^[8]

Powers

Geb can appear in multiple forms: as an army of earth and sand soldiers, or as a giant earth and sand man (or group of these), with great strength perhaps rivaling or even stronger than Seth's.^[7] He can also form weapons and shields from sand.

As Geb is a god, he does not have the power to create children.^[9]

Relationships

Isis

Geb supports Isis in her bid to restore her rights over Egypt, but supports Ra in currently opposing Egypt's destruction.^[3]

Nut

Geb cares for Nut and is territorial over her (he grows annoyed when Isis tells him that Thoth and Nut were lovers in the past, and that Thoth told Ra the prophecy to get Geb out of his way, out of jealousy).^[3] Nut and Geb sometimes work together.^[4]

Ra

Geb is loyal to Ra and obeys her wishes.^[3]

Thoth

Geb is allied with Thoth, but becomes suspicious of him when Isis accuses Thoth of being involved with Nut and even trying to get Geb out of his way.^[3] When Thoth explains, Geb appears to forgive him.

Trivia

• It's unclear when or why Geb falls asleep prior to Nut waking him to ask for help to find Isis.^[6] He possibly fell asleep after Osiris takes over as pharaoh and the life slowly drains from the land, allowing the desert to expand,^[5] or perhaps due to the land going fallow during Seth's reign as Isis was unable to regularly flood the Nile, as the river gods didn't obey her out of fear of Seth.^[10]

Mythology

References