The Ancient Egyptian list of heavenly denizens was quite extensive. It included, besides the personages often encountered, the Ashemu who were, as far as can be made out, something like ethereal creatures. The heavens were also the dwelling-place of the Khenmemet - being who were either destined to become people or had already been through a human incarnation.

Professor Wallis Budge asserted that the word ashem usually denotes a form "in which a god becomes visible", although at the same time the noted scholar expressed the opinion that the term must have a more ancient, long-forgotten meaning. [12].