Tatenen is a chthonic deity who in many respects is comparable to the earth god Geb. His realm is the deep regions underneath the earth from which everything emerges, plants and vegetables, but also minerals, all of which belong to Tatenen.
Tatenen is first attested in the Coffin Texts,where his name appears as Tanenu or Tanuu, 'the inert land', a name which characterizes him as a god of the primeval condition of the earth. As such he is shown with two snakes on his head, an indication of the chthonic character of the god. Middle Kingdom texts also provide the first examples of the form Tatenen, 'the rising/risen/exalted land', i.e. the primeval hill on which the creator god appeared at the beginning of creation, and this soon became the usual form of the god's name. From the 19th Dynasty on Tatenen is linked to the Memphite god Ptah as Ptah-Tatenen. This deity is then worshipped as a royal god and as a creator god; as such he can even be called the father of the Ogdoad of Hermopolis, the eight gods who themselves embody the primeval elements from before creation. Ptah-Tatenen is usually depicted in human form wearing a crown consisting of a pair of ram's horns surmounted by a sun disk and two tall feathers.