The creation tradition based in Heliopolis in Lower Egypt became generally accepted, incorporating elements of the other two traditions. The Heliopolitan belief saw the world start from Nun, a watery chaos. The sun-god Atum then emerged on a mound and sired the twin deities Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture). They created Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) who beget Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. These gods formed the divine company of nine, often regarded in later texts as a single entity. Thus was formed the conception of the universe represented by the out-stretched body of Nut the sky goddess, supported by the air god Shu, with Geb the earth god lying at his feet.
