According to ancient Egyptian mythology Geb and his consort Nut, were inseparable leaving no space between the sky and the earth for Atum Ra to continue creating. On the orders of Atum, the father of Geb and Nut called Shu, forcibly separated the brother and sister, who were also married to each other. Shu raised the goddess Nut up to form the sky. In the following picture Shu is depicted standing over the figure of Geb, struggling to get up to reach Nut. Shu prevents him and raises his arms to hold up the giant symbolic figure of Nut depicted as the sky.