Gods of Ancient Egypt - Familiar Strangers

The religion of Ancient Egypt is characterized by the long existence of primitive ideas. For many centuries the existence of the Egyptian state, the essence and significance of many cults have undergone changes many times. The beliefs of primitive hunters, farmers and pastoralists mixed together, later on they were imprinted with political events, echoes of the times of the rise of the country and its decline.

It should be noted that in Egypt there was no single state religion, with the exception of the reign of Akhenaten. That is why the unification of the pantheon of the gods was not carried out. The gods and myths of Ancient Egypt are a rather complex phenomenon, because they often combine often contradictory, and sometimes completely mutually exclusive beliefs. From time to time in the priestly circles, certain attempts were made to order and consolidate the chaotic conglomeration of historically established beliefs. But they were not crowned with success.

Gods are the ancestors of the world

There was no single concept of the universe in Ancient Egypt. The existing views on the creation of the world were very contradictory, which is explained by the different time of their origin and place of origin. The greatest popularity was enjoyed by Heliopolis legend about the universe, which told that out of primordial chaos, Atum originated as the personification of the sun Atum-Ra. He is the progenitor of all living things. Having fertilized himself, Atum spits out air - Shu and Teftun - moisture, which in turn breed the sky - Nut and earth - Hebe. Nut and Geb were born Osiris, Seth Isis and Neftis. All these gods of Ancient Egypt Constitute the so-called "heliopole nine", which occupied an important place in the pantheon.

Later, the memphis legend that already arose in the epoch of statehood, ascribes the creation of the world to its god Ptahu.

The most revered in Egypt were deities associated with the Nile, for example, Sebek, Hapi, and with the sun - Gore, Atum, Ra, and also the gods who patronize the dead - Anubis, Osiris. The ancient Egyptians deified everything around, believing that in the power of the gods are all spheres of life, from natural forces to cultural development. The phenomena of nature were perceived as the relations between different deities. Social and cultural life had its patrons. So, for example, with the writing associated with the goddess Saf or the Ibishead deity That which personified the whole culture as a whole.

The cult of the sun in Ancient Egypt

Representations about the shape of the solar gods of Ancient Egypt, in different localities were different: whether it's a winged disk, or a huge beetle - Scarab, pushing the disk of the star in the sky, it was also represented as a falcon or a man with a falcon head.

Representatives of the solar cult in different periods and in different centers had their names: Ra, Khepri, Atum, Chorus and others. Sometimes the different gods of Ancient Egypt merged into one, and ideas about them layered. In the Ancient Kingdom, among other things, the Ra's god took a special place , which went beyond the confines of local significance and turned into a general Egyptian cult of the state. Later, if any deity got national importance, it immediately merged with Ra, and a corresponding particle was attached to its estate: Sebek-Ra, Amon-Ra, Mentu-Ra and others.

During the Middle Kingdom after the unification of Egypt under the authority of the Theban house, the cult of God Amon took the leading role . He was considered a great heavenly deity symbolizing the state, as well as the power and authority of the pharaoh.

Other cults

Also, one of the most revered gods of Egypt was Osiris, who personified the waters of the Nile, his sister, and overnight the wife - Isis - the goddess of fertility, the patroness of motherhood, and their joint son Gore, one of the oldest gods of the sun and statehood. Dark forces personified the brother of Osiris Seth - the god of drought, evil and chaos and his wife Neftis. These gods of Ancient Egypt instilled fear and, at the same time, deep respect for the inhabitants of the Nile Valley, who tried to appease them with zealous worship.

Syncretism of the cult of Osiris with the cult of the dead can be traced from a deep antiquity, and to the period of the New Kingdom the idea of the picture of the after-death that Osiris performed was quite clearly outlined. Conductor in the realm of the dead was the god Anubis, who was represented as a jackal or a man with a jackal's head.

When studying the question of the gods and myths of Egypt, one must certainly consider them in specific historical conditions, taking into account the stratification of different periods, as well as the places of distribution. All the gods of Ancient Egypt are a complex syncretic embodiment of archetypes and occupy an important place in the cultural heritage of this mysterious state of the distant past.