In Egyptian mythology, the primordial mound that emerged from the waters of chaos was called Benben.
In the Heliopolitan creation tradition, the universe began in the dark, inert waters known as Nu. Benben then rose from those waters as the first solid land. The creator deity Atum settled upon it, beginning the process by which the gods, the world, and living beings came into existence. The mound therefore represents the first emergence of order from chaos.
Benben was both a mythic landscape and a sacred object. At Heliopolis, the Benben stone was associated with the place where the first rays of the sun fell. Its pointed form is thought to have influenced the design of pyramid capstones, known as pyramidia, and may also be related to the symbolism of obelisks.
The details varied across Egypt. At Memphis, Tatenen personified the primeval mound, while other religious centers developed their own creation traditions. Benben should not be confused with an obelisk or pyramid itself: those monuments used related imagery, but the original Benben was the mythological first mound and the sacred stone associated with it. The Bennu bird was also linked with Heliopolis and the Benben.