Ancient Egypt Mythology

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November 2011

Ancient Egypt Mythology

INTRODUCTION

Myths of a certain culture are attempts by people to explain the world or environment

in which they live in. Each culture has its own myths which are considered as universal truths

by the communities. They try to explain their origin and how they came to be. Mythology

refers to a group of myths which form a mythological system. Ancient Egyptian mythology

refers to a collection of myths which were used by the avital Egyptians. More specifically,

Egyptian religious beliefs were a dominating factor in the development of their culture. Their

faith was grounded on a collection of olden myths. These myths unraveled the process of

Earth creation and also formed the basis of antique religious activities.

The Creation Myth. According to the Egyptian account of creation, the only thing that

primarily existed was an ocean. It was called Nun. Then the sun, Ra, was formed from an egg

(some versions say from a flower). Ra was powerful, and he could take many forms. Ra

commanded the sun to rise, pass across the sky and set in the evening. Then Ra named Shu

and the first winds blew. Next he named Tefnut and the first rains fell. He later named Geb

and the Earth came into existence. He then named the goddess Nut and the sky domed over

the Earth. He then named Hapi and the great River Nile flowed through Egypt making it

fruitful. This was a very important river in ancient Egypt as it is today. Ra then named all

things that are on Earth, and they all came into being. Last of all, he named mankind, and

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Egypt was filled with men and women. Ra became the first Pharaoh of Egypt and was

worshiped by all the people in the Earth. Geb and Nut gave birth to four children – two sons,

Set and Osiris and two daughters, Isis and Nephthys. Osiris later came to succeed Ra as the

king of the Earth. Seth hated him and killed him. Isis then preserved Seth’s body with the

help of Anubis, who later became the god of the dead. Isis had very powerful charms. She

resurrected Osiris, who became the king of the land of the dead. Horus, son of Osiris and Isis,

later defeated Seth and became the king of the earth (Pinch, 51-53).

A group of nine divinities arises from this myth. They formed the Ennead, which was

made up of a Triad. The triad consisted of the father, mother and son. Each confined temple

in Egypt had its own Ennead and Triad. The greatest Ennead narrated about Ra and his

children. This group was worshiped at a mighty temple in Heliopolis, the center of sun

veneration. Apart from these gods, there were others, whose origin is unclear. Some were

even taken from foreign religions. They were the gods Amon, Thoth, Ptah, Khnemu, Hapi,

and goddesses Hathor, Mut, Neit and Sekhet. These gods were worshiped depending on the

beliefs of the reigning pharaoh. For example, the Ennead of Memphis was led by a Triad

made up of father Ptah, mother Sekhet and son Imhotep. In this era, Ptah became one of the

greatest gods in Egypt. This myth explains the formation of Earth and the Egyptian people.

The Destruction of Humankind Myth. This myth elucidates the commencement of death along

with its reasons. During the time when Ra was king of the Earth, he started to grow old.

Humans began mocking at him and stopped following his rules. They started to plan against

him, saying he was too weak to rule over them. Finding it out, Ra called secretly all the gods

and told them about the malevolent plot made by humans. They all agreed to send the eye of

Ra, Hathor, to take revenge on the Earth. Hathor turned on her rage and prevented humans

from the realization of their wicked plan slaying them and drinking their blood. She came

back to report to Ra how she had demolished humankind. This continued until Ra began to

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fear that all humankind would be wiped out. He devised a plan to stop the goddess. He

ordered his servants to mix beer with a great amount of red mineral. This mixture was poured

where the goddess was about to continue destroying mankind the following day. When she

arrived, she thought it was blood and thus drank it. The beer took its toll and that day she

returned without killing anyone. Ra then bestowed upon her the nature of love and strength of

desire. Since then, the people celebrated each New Year in her remembrance drinking beer

colored with the red mineral (Pinch, 167). That is how mankind was saved. We learn from

this myth, it is very important for men to honor their creator. No matter the circumstances the

creator may be in, respect should be given to him. His laws should be followed to avoid his

wrath, which may be very disastrous.

The Burying Ritual. Burying the dead in ancient Egypt was a religious concern. They

believed that the energetic life force was composed of numerous elements, the main one

being ka, a duplicate of the body. The ka accompanied the body through life and after death.

However, the ka could only exist together with the body, hence Egyptians made efforts to

preserve it. The ka was judged by Osiris after arriving in the kingdom of the dead. If it turned

out to be a sinner, the ka was condemned to hunger or death, but if it was found to be of

proper conduct, it was sent to the heavenly realm where existence was a glorified version of

Earth.

This myth explains the way the ancient Egyptians respected life. They always ensured

that they gave the dead a proper sending to prepare them for life to come after death.

CONCLUSION

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Myths elucidate the lifestyle of a community. The myths discussed above try to

explain the way the Egyptians used to be, their practices and ways of worship. They also

show what this ancient nation believed in. Mythology tries to explain the main reasons of

certain behavior, principles and customs in the Egyptian society. This is similar to other

myths. They all try to explain the creation of Earth and human beings and the particularity of

old tradition.

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Works Cited

Pinch, Geraldine. Handbook of Egyptian Mythology. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO,

2002. Print. Pp 26 – 183.

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