In Egyptian mythology Kneph was originally the breath of life, his name meaning soul-breath. Indeed, according to Plutarch and Diodorus, kneph was identical with the Greek pneuma. Kneph in this context was a spirit that breathed life into things, giving them form. Kneph eventually became considered to be the creator god himself, in Elephantine, although his identity was finally assimilated into the more important god Amun. In art, Kneph was depicted as a ram, the animal symbolic of the ba, a major aspect of the Egyptian notion of the soul; the Egyptian word for "ram" was "ba". He was also depicted wearing a uraeus, symbolic of his authority, as creator. In his hand he always bears the ankh, symbol of life.
