Myths of Ancient Egypt: deification of animals and the dead

A characteristic feature of Egyptian mythologyis the deification of animals, proof of this are extant images of the gods, most of them painted as a man with the head of the beast, less often the birds. This is the proof of the profound archaic nature of the mythology of the Egyptians.

Myths of Ancient Egypt take their roots fromprimitive totemism, which in its original form was not a religion. It was a perfect belief in the identity of the members of the community with individuals of a certain species of animals, which was not in the least doubt. Myths and tales of Ancient Egypt also originally arose without any connection with religion. It was a completely independent line of evolution of one sphere of the spiritual life of primitive people, which already later crossed the line of religious ideas that seriously affected it. Myths of Ancient Egypt changed not only over time, but also with the change of ruling dynasties. It was the supreme rulers who built the deities that patronized them. Thus, the pharaohs of the V dynasty were elevated to the rank of the higher deity Ra - God of the Sun, because they were from Heliopolis - "the city of the Sun". And in the Middle Kingdom, in honor was God Amon, after which from the III millennium BC. e. Osiris, the God of the Dead, began to play a major role.

Creation of the world according to Egyptian mythology

Studying the oldest myths of Ancient Egypt, you canfind out another curious version of the creation of the world. Initially, the world traditionally was a bottomless gloomy watery abyss of Nun. After the primordial chaos came the Gods, who already created heaven and earth, plants and animals, people. This is the special merit of the god Khnum, who, according to legend, created the world from simple clay on a potter's wheel. It is depicted as a man, but with a ram's head. And from the unparalleled beauty of the lotus flower appeared the God of the Sun Ra, who with his face illuminated the whole earth. That is why a significant cycle of legends is devoted to the relentless and unceasing struggle of the forces of Darkness and the Sun. One myth tells of the battle of the God of the Sun of Ra and the cunning serpent Apop who reigned in the underworld until Ra conquered him in a deadly battle.

The Pantheon of the Gods of Ancient Egypt

Amon Ra - the God of the Sun - was portrayed in the humanappearance, in the crown and with a scepter in his hand, and also invariably with two feathers. Anubis - the patron of the dead - was portrayed as a man, but with the jackal's head. Apis - God of fertility - had the appearance of a bull with a solar disk, but the personification of the solar disk was considered Aton. Geb, the son of the god of the air, was the god of the earth, and Horus was the mighty God of heaven and sun. Min is the patron of the crops, the God of fertility. God Nun - the lord of the water element, together with his wife Naunet were the original Gods, who gave life to all others.

Osiris - God of the Underworld, judge of the kingdomdead - at the same time considered the patron of agriculture, grapes and wine, however, as well as absolutely all life-sustaining forces and processes of nature. He was considered "resurrected and dying" by God, thus embodying the change of seasons. God-creator Ptah was the patron of art and crafts. Sebek was depicted as a man with a crocodile head, he was the god of water and the Nile. The personification of the evil beginning, the fratricide, the God of the desert - Set-was insidious and mean. The moon god That was considered the patron of sciences, wisdom, he was considered the creator of the calendar. God Hons was revered as the patron of travelers. A complete list of the gods can be made by spending a dozen years studying various sources containing the myths of Ancient Egypt, an abstract, however, you can write by reading the text of this article.