Egyptian myths played an important role in the life of the population pyramid.The population sincerely believed that the heroes of the legends vary their fate.Egyptian mythology dates back long before the development of civilization.The first mention of legends and gods date from a period of 5000 years BC.
Egyptian myths have features that distinguish them from the myths of other nations.First of all, it is the cult of the dead and the afterlife, and the deification of animals.Over time, the mythology of Egypt changed depending on the desires of the ruling dynasty.Pharaoh erected in the cult of the god, who is the patron of its kind.
study Egyptian mythology
study of Egyptian mythology is complicated by the fact that the sources that can help in covering this issue are different and incomplete data presentation unsystematic.Periodically found new documents and artifacts, texts and legends are reconstructed on their basis.Basically, the ancient Egyptian myths studied the records on the walls of tombs and temples, in hymns and prayers.
most significant monuments, reflecting the views of the ancient Egyptians:
- «Pyramid Texts" - writings carved on the walls inside the pyramid.They contain the royal funeral rites.Letters dated XXVI-XXIII centuries BC and belong to V and VI dynasty of pharaohs.
- «Lyrics sarcophagi" - writing on the sarcophagi.They date back to the XXI -XVIII centuries BC.
- «Book of the Dead" - a collection of prayers and religious texts, placed in the coffin of every Egyptian.It dates to the XVI century BC, at the end of the history of Egypt.
Egypt, mythology, gods - the concept of mysterious, which is engaged in the study of many scientists.
Gods of Ancient Egypt
Amon - the god most revered in the city of Thebes.On ancient images presented in the form of man.His head is crowned with two long feathers.You can find his image with a ram's head, a sacred animal.In the XVIII century it became the supreme god.Amon patronage of royal power and helped win victories in the wars.
Anubis - the god of the underworld in the III millennium. BC.e.Then he began to read as the lord of the dead.He was depicted as a man with the head of the black jackal.Anubis was worshiped especially in the city of Kinopol.
Apis - a sacred animal, the bull.It was believed that he is the earthly embodiment of the god of fertility.Bull kept his whole life at the temple in Memphis, and after the death was entombed there.
Aton - god, whose cult has appeared during the reign of Akhenaten.He was represented in the image of the sun.It was believed that he embodies the spirit of the deceased pharaoh, Akhenaten's father.
Atum - the god, especially revered in the city of Heliopolis.He personified the eternal unity of all things.It was believed that he is the creator of the world.During the reign of Dynasty V, he came to symbolize the sun-god.
Ba - the deity personifying human feelings and emotions.It had a variable.A man in mythology batter associated with this deity.Character Ba could change depending on the condition of the physical body.After his death, it remained near the heart of the deceased, and then falls into a lethargic sleep.This deity can be compared with the modern concept of "soul."
Geb - the patron god of the earth.It is also believed that it protects the dead.Myths about Egyptian gods say that he - the father of Seth, Osiris, Isis and Nephthys.The figures he portrayed as an old man with a beard.
Ka represents the image of man.It is a spirit that accompanied him during his life and death.It was believed that he gets into everything related to man in all things and beings.Mythology portrayed him as raised up his hands, bent at the elbows.
Min - God, especially revered in the city Coptos.He patronized breeding and provides a rich harvest.Ming also helped the caravans on the road.
Mont - the god depicted with a falcon's head.He is especially esteemed in the city of Thebes and Germont.Montu contributed to the victory of the pharaoh in the wars.
Osiris - the god and ruler of the underworld.The center of his cult was in the city of Abydos.
Ptah - the god who gave names to all things, and created the other gods.Especially revered in Memphis.
Ra - the supreme god of the sun.It was believed that he is the father of all pharaohs.His cult was in the city of Heliopolis.
Sebek - god of host and source of fertility treatment.He is depicted with the head of a crocodile.Especially he was revered in the Fayum oasis.
Network - the patron god of storms and the desert, the defender of the god Ra.It was also believed that he is the personification of evil.
He - the god of the moon and wisdom.The figures portrayed with the head of an ibis.It was believed that he invented the alphabet and calendar.Its particularly revered in the city of Hermopolis.
Hapi - god portrayed as a fat man with a vessel in his hand, from which water pours.He personified the flooding of the Nile.
Khnum - guardian god of the Nile.It was also believed that he created mankind from clay.It depicted with a ram's head.Particularly revered in the town of Esna.
Hounsou - god depicted with the head of a falcon or a man with a crescent moon on his head.He was revered as a healer.
Choir - the god of kingship.It was believed that the ruling Pharaoh is his earthly incarnation.
Shu - god of the air.Also, he was revered as the patron saint of the midday sun.He was the brother and husband of the goddess Tefnut.
Yah - the patron god of the moon.Particularly revered in the city of Hermopolis.
Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
Isis - the goddess and wife of Osiris.It was an ideal of femininity.Isis protected the maternity and children.Her cult was widespread and outside Egypt.
Goddesses of Ancient Egypt is Bastet - the patroness of fun and love.She is depicted with the head of a cat.Bastet was worshiped especially in the city of Bubastis.
Ma'at - goddess symbolizing truth and justice.It depicted a feather stuck in long hair.
Mut - the goddess and queen of heaven.It is depicted with two crowns and stamped on his head.Muth, like some other ancient Egyptian goddess, patron of motherhood.She worshiped the pharaohs, because it was believed that it gives the right to rule Egypt.
Nate - goddess who created the world.In the city of Sens also believed that it helps in the war and hunting.
Nephthys, or Nebethet - the goddess of death.It was believed that she was the author of many mournful hymns and prayers.Despite this, it is also revered as a goddess of sexuality.Figures she is depicted as a woman with an unusual design on the head, consisting of a house, which is crowned by a construction basket.This symbol is part of the hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt.
Nehbet - the goddess to help during childbirth.She is portrayed as a woman with a white crown on his head and a kite.You can find pictures in which it is represented in the shape of a kite.Nehbet especially revered in the city Nekhen, the capital of Upper Egypt.
chickpeas or Well - the goddess of the sky.She gave birth to Isis, Nephthys, Osiris and Seth.The pictures can be seen two of its image: the celestial cow and a woman touches the ground with his hands and feet.
Sekhmet - the goddess and wife of Ptah.She was considered a helper in war and represented the heat of the sun.Her cult was in Memphis.
taweret - the goddess to help during labor and embodies the female fertility.The figures portrayed her as a female hippopotamus standing on her hind legs.Her image can be found on amulets, because it helped to drive away evil spirits.
Tefnut - patron goddess of heat and moisture.Her painted with the head of a lioness.Her cult was in the city Tefnut.
Wadjet - goddess, depicted as a cobra.It is revered in the city of Pe-Dep.Wadjet was the personification of the power of Pharaoh.
Hathor - the goddess of music and love.Figures it appears cow with horns on his head.Her cult was in the city of Dendera.
Myths of Ancient Egypt
Mythology Egypt began to take shape in the VI-IV thousand. BC.e.In different areas of the country formed its own pantheon of gods and created a cult of his deity.Earthly sojourn of the gods embodied in animals, plants, heavenly bodies, natural phenomena.
Egyptian myths say that the world was bottomless expanse of water, which bore the name of Nun.Out of the chaos emerged deity and created the heavens and the earth, plants, animals, people.Sun became the god Ra, who appeared from the lotus flower.If he is angry, then advancing on the ground heat and drought.People believed that the gods became the first pharaohs.
But the Egyptian creation myth is not a single story.The same event can be described in various ways, and the deities presented in various guises.
creation myth
In Egypt, there were three major religious center - Memphis, Heliopolis and Hermopolis.In each of them there was a version of the origin of the world.
in Heliopolis especially revered god of the sun.Egyptian creation myth for the local priests was based on his cult.They believed that the god Atum emerged from the body of water and the force of his will, forced to grow up from the waters of the sacred stone, whose name Benben.Having ascended to the top of it, the god Atum gave birth to the god of the air Shu and Tefnut the goddess of moisture, which then gave birth to the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut.These deities are the foundation of creation.Then born Osiris, Seth, Isis and Nephthys from the union of Geb and Nut.Four of God came to embody barren desert and the fertile valley of the Nile.
in Hermopolis it was believed that the founders of the world became eight gods - ogloada.It consisted of four female and four male deities.Naunet and Nun symbolized water Haunet and Hu - space Kaunet and Cook - darkness amunet and Amon - air.Eight Deities became the parents of the sun god, who gave light to the world.
Legend Memphis Germopolisnuyu similar to, but with one difference - the god Ptah came to the sun god.The latter was created by the heart and tongue of Ptah.
Osiris in Egyptian mythology
Heroes Egyptian myths were mainly gods, the most famous of them - Osiris.He patronized agriculture and winemaking.
According to legend, he was the ruler of Egypt.During his reign, the country prospered.In Osiris she had a younger brother, Seth, who wanted to gain power.He planned to implement it through murder.
Isis, sister and wife of Osiris, a long time looking for the body of her husband.Then she had a son, whom she calls Gore.Matured, he triumphs over Seth and revives Osiris.But the latter did not want to live among the people, he becomes lord of the underworld.
believed that if the burial ritual for the deceased person will be respected by all the rules, he will be able to gain eternal life, like Osiris.
Nile in Egyptian mythology
Egyptian Mythology can not exist without the legends of the Nile River, which played a large role in the appearance of an ancient civilization.
believed that the sacred body of water connected world of people, the sky and the underworld.The river, which flows through the land, personified god Hapi.When was the last in a good mood, the output from the shores of the river, and saturated the soil moisture, making it possible to grow vegetables.
Nile lived in different spirits, who were the people in the form of animals: frogs, scorpions, crocodiles, snakes.
myths about the god Ra
Many Egyptian myths tell of the god Ra.Some of them say that people emerged from the tears of the god.His eyes were a powerful symbol of the art of Egypt.You can find their images on sarcophagi, clothes, amulets.Eye of Ra lived separately from his body.The right eye was able to dispel the opponents, and the left - to heal from illness.
Myths about Egyptian gods tell incredible stories in which the eye of Osiris serves individual character or object.
For example, in one legend Ra created the universe, is not similar to our world, and placed there the gods and humans.After some time, the residents decided to organize the universe about him conspiracy.But Ra found out about it and decided to punish the perpetrators.Having collected all the gods, he uttered them: "Ye gods!I created the people from my eyes, and they are plotting evil against me! "After these words, Ra threw his eyes to people who took the image of the goddess Hathor-Sekhmet.She dealt with the people, but not interested in that moment, and how Ra could throw your eye.
In another myth, Ra gives his eyes of the goddess Bast to help her in the fight against the evil serpent.There is a legend in which the eye of Ra is identified with the goddess Tefnut.She was mad at God, and went into the wilderness alone.There are hundreds of such myths, in which the eye of Ra is a separate subject, it seems wonderful to modern man.
Legends and myths about the Egyptian pyramids
question of how to build the pyramids of ancient Egypt, tormented by researchers and historians ever since.We put forward different versions, but as the situation was in fact, no one knows.
There are many myths about the appearance of the pyramids and their purpose.One legend says that the pyramids were built to store treasures.But if so, the modern man will not be able to confirm its validity.After the treasure might be stolen in ancient times.
To erect such structures is difficult, even with the help of modern technology.How did the ancient Egyptians did it?The pyramids are built of processed blocks, stacked neatly on top of each other.Their sides are oriented by the stars.Therefore, even put forward the version about the alien origin of the pyramids.
There are also myths that the pyramids were built before the Great Flood of Atlanta to keep the knowledge of their civilization.But to prove it until no one has.
It is clear that in those days people could not create a similar structure.This mystery will try to solve for a long time.It is not known whether will manage to do it.
Hieroglyphics and mythology
hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt strongly connected with religion and mythology.People turn to the gods in a special language.Which is reflected in the first characters.They had a kind of creatures and objects.
According to legend, the god Thoth in the form of hieroglyphs painted bases and knowledge of the universe.It is considered to be the emergence of Egyptian writing.
priests for the image of the divine truths painted figures of animals and plants.In their understanding of the knowledge that God has given, should be expressed in a simple way.For example, the concept of time can be described as something hasty, unifying with it.It teaches prudence, creates events, and ultimately destroys them.The hieroglyphics of ancient Egypt depicted the concept as a winged serpent holding its tail in the mouth - one image for an image of a complex knowledge.
