EGYPTIAN GODS
The timeline of the great gods of Egypt
Chapter 1
Ra the sun god
Ra or Re is the ancient Egyptian deity of the sun, by the Fifth dynasty in the 25th and 24thcenturies BC, he had become the most important gods in the ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the noon sun. Ra was believed to rule in all the parts of the created world: sky, the earth, and the underworld. He was the god of the sun, order, kings and the sky.
Ra was portrayed as a falcon and shared characteristics with the sky god Horus. At times the two deities were merged as Ra-Horakhty,” Ra who is Horus of the two horizons. In the New Kingdom, when the god Amun rose to prominence he was fused with Ra into Amun-Ra.
The cult of the Mnevis bull, an embodiment of Ra, had its centre in the Heliopolis and there was a formal burial ground for the sacrificed bulls north of the city.
All forms of life were believed to be created by Ra. In some accounts, humans were created by Ra’s tears and sweat, hence the Egyptians call themselves the “Cattle of Ra”. In the myth of the Celestial Cow, it is recounted how mankind plotted against Ra and how he sent his eye as the goddess Sekhmet to punish them.
Gods created by Ra
Bastet: (also called Bast) is sometimes also known as the “Cat of Ra” She is also his daughter by Isis and associated with Ra’s instrument of vengeance, the sun god’s eye. Bastet is known for decapitating the serpent Apophis (Ra’s sworn enemy and the “God” of Chaos) to protect Ra.in one myth Ra sent Baset as a lioness to Nubia.
Sekhmet: is another daughter of Ra. Sekhmet was depicted as a lioness or a large cat, and was an “Eye of Ra” or an instrument of the sun god’s vengeance. In one myth Sekhmet was filled with range that Ra was forced to turn her into a cow so that she would not cause any unnecessary harm. In another myth, Ra fears that mankind inn plotting against him and send Hathor (another daughter of Ra) to punish humanity. While slaughtering humans she takes form of Sekhmet. To prevent her from killing all humanity, Ra orders beer to be died red and poured onto the land. Mistaking beer to be blood Sekhmet drank, and upon becoming intoxicated, she reverts into her pacified form Hathor.
Hathor: Hathor is another daughter of Ra. When Ra feared that mankind was plotting against him, he sent Hathor as an “eye of Ra”. When Ra was without Hathor, he fell in a state of deep depression.
