Which god created himself and other gods in the Heliopolitan creation myth?

The story behind the answer

Atum is correct because, in the Heliopolitan creation myth, he self-generated from the primordial waters of Nun and then produced the first divine pair, Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture). Their descendants formed the Ennead of Heliopolis, including Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys—thus populating the cosmos. While Ra is the major sun god and often merged with Atum as Ra-Atum, it is specifically Atum who is the self-created origin in this tradition.

Remember it this way: “Atum” sounds like “at the beginning” and even like “atom,” the first building block—fitting for the first creator. Osiris rules the afterlife, and Anubis oversees mummification, but Atum stands at the start, emerging on the Benben mound and setting the stage for all other gods.