Mythology ancient egypt, or Ta-Kemet, as the Egyptians themselves call their country, is an integral part of the world's mythological heritage. In world mythology, ancient Egyptian myths play a special role, since they are very different from Roman and Greek myths.
The mythology of Ancient Egypt is poetic, allegorical, devoid of European rationality, the images of the gods in it are fickle, changeable, they merge and disintegrate depending on the variation of the same myth, characteristic of a certain territory of Egypt. The ancient Egyptian religion for a long time did not have obligatory dogmas that could be taken as the basis for classification.
A. Erman, Die Religion der Aegypter, fig. 17.
Great importance in ancient Egyptian myths is given to the Egyptian pantheon and the funeral cult. The philosophy of myth defines life as preparation for death, for the afterlife. Of course, the understanding of death and the afterlife in Ancient Egypt echoes that in other mythologies, but at the same time, the poetics of the Ancient Egyptian myth is alien to European people, because it is illogical, and European people, especially Western Europeans, are brought up on strict logical schemes and prefer logical structures that are different from oriental illogical constructions.
R. Lanzone. Dizionario di mitologia egizia. Torino,
1881-1885, CXXVIII, 1.
Ancient Egyptian mythology is still not sufficiently explained and classified, because the few sources that have come down to us present such disparate facts that they are difficult to explain and classify. The problem of sources is an acute problem of any mythology in general, but in the case of Ancient Egyptian mythology it is most acute. Despite the fact that writing in Ancient Egypt arose quite early, the temporal remoteness of the Ancient Egyptian civilization from modernity could not but affect the safety of the sources, only a small part of them has come down to us.
G. Daressv. Ostraca. Le Caire, 1901, No. 201.
M. E. Mathieu writes about this: “The study of Egyptian mythology is largely hampered by the fragmentary and incompleteness of the surviving material. It is absolutely certain that all the legends known to us so far are an extremely small number compared with the number of myths that were once composed in the Nile Valley. However, in the overwhelming majority of cases, we do not have complete records and those few legends that have come down to us. Suffice it to say that we do not have the full text of even such an important legend as the myth of Osiris. In the same way, complete records of a number of cosmogonic and solar legends have not come down to us, not to mention the numerous legends that developed around various local cults of gods, individual sanctuaries and necropolises.
E. Budge. The gods of the Egyptians, v. II, London, 1904, p. 215.
This article attempts to analyze the book of Milica Edvinovna Mathieu "Ancient Egyptian Mythology". M.E. Mathieu (1899-1966) is one of the most prominent Egyptologists, historians and art critics in Russia. She specialized in the religion and art of ancient Egypt, participated in the publication of ancient Egyptian and Coptic monuments from the collections of the Hermitage, researcher which has been since 1921. From 1933 to 1949 she headed the department ancient east, then the entire department of the East, and from 1953 to 1965. department of the foreign East. In the 1920s she taught Egyptian language and literature.
A. Scharff. Aegyptische Sonnenlieder. Berlin, 1922, fig. 5
The book "Myths of Ancient Egypt" was published in two versions, in 1940 and 1956 under the title "Ancient Egyptian Myths". When writing this article, the 1956 edition of Ancient Egyptian Myths was used.
COSMOGONOMIC AND SOLAR MYTHOLOGY OF EGYPT
According to M. E. Mathieu, the creation of the world in Egyptian mythology is not described by only one version. Myths about the creation of the world are quite contradictory and diverse.
There are versions of the birth of the Sun (the god Ra) from a heavenly cow, from a lotus, from a goose egg. The unifying moment in these myths is only the concept of chaos, as a substance that existed before creation.
A. Erman. Die Religion der Aegypter. Berlin. 1934, pic 2.
M. E. Mathieu points out the fragmentary and incompleteness of the material that has come down to our days. However, in her opinion, myths about the creation of the world can be classified according to the first deity who participated in the creation of the world.
Animals and birds act as a deity giving birth to the sun in Egyptian myths.
Most often, the Heavenly Cow appears in myths as the original deity that arose from chaos and gives birth to a solar deity, or as a deity - a symbol of the sky, present at the birth of a solar deity.
A. Erman and H. Ranke. Aegypten und ag. Leben. Tubingen, 1923, fig. 13
The Germopol legend tells of the birth of the solar god on the Germopol hill - the first piece of land that emerged from chaos, in the presence of frogs and snakes.
The Heliopolis legend tells of the birth of the sun on a sacred stone in the form of a Phoenix.
E. Budge. Facsimiles of the Papyri of Hunefer, Anchai,
Karacher and Netchemet. London, 1899, pl. 8.
Another option for creating the world is the birth of a solar god from a goose egg (the so-called egg of the Great Gogotun), laid in a nest on a hill that emerged from chaos - the first piece of land.
LD, IV, 61.
In general, the idea of a hill as the beginning of the earth is widespread in ancient Egyptian cosmogonic myths.
An interesting idea is of the sun and moon, like the eyes of a heavenly falcon, or of the sun, like a huge ball rolled across the sky by a sun beetle.
LD, IV, 67.
Another part of the cosmogonic myths of Ancient Egypt describes the connection of the appearance of the Sun not with animals, but with plants. The most famous myth of this series is the birth of the god Ra from a lotus on a hill that emerged from chaos.
There are variants of myths in which humanity owes the origin of the world and people to the original gods and goddesses that existed in chaos.
For example, the myth of the sky - the goddess Nut, bent over the earth and touching it with her toes and hands. It is the goddess Nut in the context of this myth that gives life to the god Ra.
Another myth tells about the god Khnum, who fashioned the earth, people and animals from clay using a potter's wheel.
Another option for creating the world is the origin of the earth by the will of the god Ptah, who created the world and people with the power of thought turned into a word.
LD, IV, 70.
M.E. Mathieu explains such a variety of cosmological myths as follows: “Created at different times by people who were at different stages of social development, myths could not but reflect in themselves all these stages passed ... whether they were an ancestor spirit in the form of an animal or a man, whether they lived in the conditions of a maternal or paternal clan, one way or another they built their family and kinship relations - from the totality of all these conditions of their life, the understanding of the origin of the world was determined, and as a result of this understanding one way or another, the legend was formed.
Changing ideas about the creator of the world from an animal or bird to anthropomorphic gods M.E. Mathieu connects with changes in social relations, and the appearance in myths of inventions (like the potter's wheel) with the development of human thought.
LD, III, 199
M.E. Mathieu draws attention to the fact that the origin of the world in Ancient Egyptian myths is always an act of either the male (a kind of God-father) or the feminine (a kind of Goddess-mother) beginning, but the birth of the Sun God never occurs as a result of the merging of the feminine and masculine principles.
At the same time, if more ancient legends tell about the goddess-creator, then as the development of social relations in mythology, more and more emphasis is placed on the god-creator. With this is connected the strengthening of the power of the pharaohs.
L.D. IV, 61.
Among the variants of the Ancient Egyptian cosmogony, it is customary to distinguish two groups - Heliopolis and Hermopol.
According to the Heliopolitan cosmogony, in the beginning there was nothing but primordial chaos - this is a primordial formless first space. Chaos manifested itself in different ways, for example, in the form of darkness that absorbs all existing forms. Another manifestation of chaos is the formless water element. In general, chaos is death itself, which destroys all forms. Chaos was personified by eight primary gods - four married couples who represented the Heliopolis ogdoad:
1. God Nun and Goddess Naunet - the personification of water chaos;
2. God Hu and Goddess Haunet - continuity, formless space;
3. God Cook and Goddess Kauket - darkness, primeval darkness;
4. God Niau and Goddess Niaut - something, the denial of any form. Later, this pair was replaced by another - the God Amon and the Goddess Amounet.
A. Erman, Die Religion der Aegypter, fig. 14.
The priests of Heliopolis chose one single god - Nun - the primeval ocean, the watery abyss. From this arose the primary hill of Ben-Ben, which was the god Atum-an - the god-creator (the head of the Heliopolis cosmogony), he created himself in the form of a hill of Ben-Ben. The god Ra ascended the hill in the form of the sun, who lit up the whole world and destroyed the darkness. Thus, a chain of occurrence emerges: Atum is the Ben-Ben hill, on which the sun shines - this is the god Ra-Atum. Atum impregnated himself and gave birth to two children - the boy-god of air Shu and the girl-goddess of heavenly moisture Tefnut. They gave birth to children - the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut, who in turn had four children, the stars of Osiris and Isis, Seth and Nephthys.
E. Budge. The gods of the Egyptians, v. II, p. 104
Thus, the main gods of the Heliopolitan cosmogony are:
2. Shu and Tefnut;
3. Geb and Nut;
4. Osiris and Isis;
5. Seth and Nephthys.
The information about the Germopol cosmogony is rather contradictory. According to the Hermopolitan cosmogony, eight primordial deities arose in Praoxana (four pairs of "god - goddess"). Their names are various properties of the primordial ocean: Nu and Nenet (water element), Kuk and Kuket (darkness), Khukh and Khukhet (infinity in space), Amop and Amopet (secret). According to the Germanic version, Chaos was also at the beginning of the beginning. A universal struggle of creative and destructive forces took place in it, in which the gods personified Infinity, Nothing, Non-Being, Darkness, Water, Air, etc. took part. From earth and water, the Primordial Hill was created - the universal World Mountain. On it is the bird White Goose - the Great Gogotun laid an egg. The primordial egg, according to the ancient Egyptian texts, was broken and brought to life by the cry of the White Goose - the Great Cackler. At first, the Sun God Khepri, the symbol of the morning Sun, hatched from it. His birth was the impetus for the emergence of the rest of the world of Gods, elements, people and things.
H. Junker. Die Auszug der Hathor-Tefnut aus Nubien, p. 64.
The center of Egyptian cosmogonic myths are the myths about the birth of the Sun and his deeds. The sun in ancient Egyptian mythology is the fundamental principle of the world, it is not without reason that in all myths about the creation of the world, the sun god is born first, and then the earth, other gods, people, animals appear.
The sun is the central figure of myths about the struggle between dark and light principles. Myths about the struggle of the Sun with darkness, the water element have survived to our time. Also, the Sun is at the center of myths about the change of seasons.
The most significant group of myths describes the struggle of the Sun with its enemies. The religious literature of Ancient Egypt contains a significant number of references to this struggle in a variety of variations.
Among the enemies of the Sun there are a crocodile (Ra, Shu-Onuris, Montu, Sondu fought with him), a snake (an unusual myth about the victory of Ra in the form of a huge red cat), a great serpent of the underworld (a kind of analogue of Satan in the Christian religious tradition), the water element ( the chaos of water was defeated at the creation of the world).
E. Budge. Legends of the gods. London, 1912, pl. XII.
The myth of the overthrow of the serpent Apophis into the underworld has survived to our time most fully.
The serpent in ancient Egyptian solar myths is the most frequent adversary of the Sun. The snake in the ancient Egyptian religious tradition is quite an interesting character. She is the simultaneous bearer of both good and evil principles, appearing in different myths in one or another hypostasis.
The snake cult that existed in ancient Egypt was often associated with the veneration of the earth, and through the veneration of the earth with the cult of the dead.
Ra was the father of Wajit, the cobra of the North that protected the pharaoh from the scorching rays of the sun.
According to the myth, during the day, the beneficent Ra, illuminating the earth, sailed along the celestial Nile in the Mandzhet barque, in the evening he transferred to the Mesektet barque and continued his journey along the underground Nile in it, and in the morning, having defeated the Apep serpent in the nightly battle, reappeared on the horizon.
A. Erman, Die Religion der Aegypter, fig. 47.
The snake in ancient Egyptian mythology as a good principle appears as a protector and helper, the savior of the gods, pharaohs, the dead, travelers. The snake brings fertility and is the guardian of a wide variety of water sources.
At the same time, in its second incarnation - the evil inclination - the snake appears as the main enemy of the Sun.
A group of myths about the Sun, not connected with the plot of the fight against enemies, is represented mainly by legends about the eye of the Sun, his daughter.
M. E. Mathieu writes: “The notion that the sun is an eye arose in Egypt in the remotest times. Like many other primitive peoples, the most ancient inhabitant of the Nile Valley perceived the sun in the form of a huge eye, sometimes a heavenly god, sometimes a sun god, a falcon or a man with a falcon head. Sometimes the sun was thought with the right eye of God, and the moon with the left ...
Most often, the solar eye was presented in the form of the beloved daughter of the sun, the mighty protector of her father. She was called by the names of various goddesses, Hathor, Tefnut, Sokhmet, legends were composed about her and her exploits, solemn festivities were held in her honor.
Two myths about the daughter-eye of the Sun have survived to this day. "Tales of the extermination of sinning people" and "Tales of the return of Hathor-Tefnut from Nubia."
In ancient Egypt, there was a holiday called Tefnut. The holiday of Tefnut was a holiday of the rebirth of nature, future abundance and harvest, the accompanying merry processions, the meeting of the goddess with flowers and gifts, joyful songs and dances, abundant drinking and food were noted - features characteristic of the holiday of renewal of nature.
It is very significant that in the songs that Tefnut was glorified at this holiday, she is called as the true goddess of wine and abundance "the mistress of intoxication" and one of her companions, who, according to legend, brought her to Egypt, the god Thoth, is called in the same songs " the lord of wine", "the lord of intoxication and joy". Ideas about the return of the goddess, which was associated with the revival of nature, were combined with ideas about her marriage, which caused the fruiting of all nature, for it was believed that if the goddess of nature, conceiving in a spring marriage with a heavenly deity, then gives birth to her child, then thereby all nature, conceived during the spring renewal, then gives birth to its rich fruits.
An interesting idea of Hator-Tefnut, as the beautiful sister of Shu - the son of the Sun. In ancient Egypt, the word "sister" also meant "beloved", the word "brother" - "beloved", "brother" and "sister" are the usual designations of lovers in Egyptian love poetry. And although Tefnut and Shu were, according to Egyptian mythology, brother and sister, children of the same father - the Sun, nevertheless, the appearance of the constant epithet "beautiful sister", which is called Tefnut's laudatory songs of her wedding feast, is associated precisely with the moment of her marriage and with her the role of the beloved bride of her brother-groom Shu. This is confirmed by the same songs that directly call her the wife of her beautiful brother Shu, and this latter - the beautiful husband of Hathor. The return of the goddess Hathor-Tefnut from Nubia and her subsequent marriage were inextricably linked in ancient Egyptian mythology with the celebration of the future natural abundance coming due to the change of seasons.
H. Junker. Die Auszug der Hathor-Tefnut aus Nubien.
Berlin, 1911, p. 54.
M.E. Mathieu writes: “A review of all the above material of the myth about the return of Hathor to Egypt showed us that this myth was based on ideas about the change of seasons as a result of the departure and new return of the female deity of nature, which arise even in the deepest antiquity and which at subsequent stages of development, they give myths about dying and resurrecting gods so common in world folklore.
summer heat as part of the change of seasons, it was explained by the anger of Ra on people. According to the myth, when Ra grew old, and people stopped revering him and even "planned evil deeds against him," Ra immediately gathered a council of the gods, headed by Nun (or Atum), at which it was decided to punish the human race. The goddess Sekhmet (Hathor), in the form of a lioness, killed and devoured people until, by cunning, she was able to drink barley beer red as blood. Intoxicated, the goddess fell asleep and forgot about revenge, and Ra, having proclaimed Geb as his viceroy on earth, climbed onto the back of a heavenly cow and from there continued to rule the world.
OSIRIS
M.E. Mathieu focuses on the god Osiris, because, in her opinion, the cult of Osiris is one of the most interesting Ancient Egyptian cults, not analyzed and not fully disclosed.
Mythology of all races, v. XII. Boston, 1918, p. 93, fig. 84.
M.E. Mathieu writes: “The complexity of the image of Osiris was felt by the Egyptians themselves, and it is not by chance that the following remarkable characteristic of this image was preserved in one of the hymns:
“Your essence, Osiris, is darker (than all other gods),
You are the moon in the sky
You become young when you wish
You become young when you want
And you are the great Nile on the banks at the beginning of the New Year;
People and gods live on the moisture that pours out of you.
And I also found that your majesty is the king of the underworld.
Combining at different times, for various reasons, the cults of the king, the dying and resurrecting god of the productive forces of nature, the Nile, the bull, the moon, the afterlife judge at the terrible court, the myth of Osiris absorbed the reflection of the religious ideas of a number of successive stages in the development of Egyptian society . An analysis of its numerous variants shows how, growing together with it, various legends continued to live, which were not originally associated with it, and we find traces of it in folklore, in ritual chants, in literature.
From a minor deity, Osiris eventually became the most important figure in the ancient Egyptian pantheon by the time of the Middle Kingdom.
Having descended to earth, Osiris ruled in the Nile Delta. He founded the state of Egypt, was the inventor of agricultural tools, gave people laws and order. Osiris married his sister Isis, the queen-moon, who kept in herself the life-giving rays of her husband and gave him the son of Horus. Isis, personifying the earth - mother, gave people rye and barley, and her husband taught his subjects to cultivate the soil, grow crops, and reap the harvest.
LD, IV, 35.
The brother of the good king was Set - the patron of evil, darkness, darkness, human hatred, greed and deceit. Set plots to overthrow his brother and take over his bright kingdom. He invites Osiris to a feast, where he tricks him into a coffin, in which he kills him by filling the coffin with molten lead, and throws his brother's body into the waters of the Nile. All Egypt resounds with groans and lamentations. Isis, having heard the sad news, puts on mourning clothes and goes in search of her husband's body. Having found Osiris, Isis turns to her son Horus for help, but while she was away, Set takes possession of her brother's body, dismembers it into 14 pieces, and each throws it into all the sleeves of the Nile. Horus, who arrived in time by that time, enters into battle with Set and defeats him, driving him into the desert. He collects his father's body parts and brings him back to life. The revived Osiris passes the reins of government to his son, and he himself becomes the ruler afterlife.
L.D. IV, 29.
This is how the main belief of the Egyptians arose that after death in this world they will have an afterlife, for which they must prepare all their lives. earthly life. After the death of the deceased, the trial of Osiris awaits, at which he will have to prove his innocence. If the heart of the deceased is so innocent that it does not outweigh the lightest feather on the scales, the deceased goes to the fields of eternal bliss.
A. Erman and H. Ranke. Aegypten und ag, Leben, fig. 139
Osiris symbolizes the life-giving force of nature, dying and reborn depending on the season. Often his mummy was depicted with cereals germinated on it.
From the tomb of Amenhotep II.
The priest waters the seedlings,
sprouted from the image of Osiris
A. Erman and H. Ranke. Aegypten und ag, Leben, fig. 139.
From the end of the New Kingdom, Osiris began to be identified with the sun god Ra. Osiris-Ra symbolizes the setting sun, swallowed up by the darkness-Set. Isis-moon keeps the warmth of the sun's rays in itself all night, and Horus - the rising sun - conquers darkness and gives people a new day. This myth (as well as the more ancient version of the confrontation between the solar god Ra and the chthonic serpent Apep) speaks of the eternal struggle between good and evil, the life-giving sun and the barren night. So, the land of the Nile Valley belonged to the good gods: Osiris, Isis, Horus, and the arid deserts - to Seth.
S. Schott. The feasts of Thebes. Orient. Inst. of Chicago
Commun., no. 18, Chicago, 1934. fig. 44.
From the very beginning Egyptian history, at least from the 1st dynasty, traces of two cults can be seen: Osiris and the sun god Ra-Atum. Both cults had many aspects that left their mark on the psychology of the Egyptians, who were deeply concerned with the great mystery of death, especially the death of the god-pharaoh.
Of the two cults, the cult of Osiris is more understandable to the European, firstly, because it consists of a cycle of logically combined legends, and, secondly, because it is closely connected with the myth of the god of fertility, or the god of grain, common to the entire Mediterranean, whose death and rebirth to some extent relieves people of the fear of the inevitability of their own death.
It is believed that the cult of the Sun was available only to the nobility and educated people, while the cult of Osiris was a popular religion, emotional, appealing to the hearts of people, and not to their intellect, and also democratic, because it allegedly guaranteed afterlife to all who followed his prescriptions and supplemented his rituals, everyone, and not just royalty.
The pharaoh after death turned into the god of the Sun or into one of the companions of the god Ra, who crossed the sky with him in his boat. And at the same time the pharaoh became Osiris. It would be a mistake to see in this two contradictory beliefs, or even two different symbolisms. For the ancient Egyptians, both symbols were unambiguous and simultaneous in in general terms and particulars. In addition, the late pharaoh remained in his tomb and continued to accept sacrifices, listen to prayers addressed to him, and attend annual ritual ceremonies in his honor. And here we have to face the amazing peculiarity of the ancient Egyptians to perceive in harmonious unity what seems to the European to be two incompatible realities or completely different aspects of one reality.
G. Maspero. Histoire ancienne des peuples
de l "Orient classique. Paris, 1895, p. 39.
A collection of nearly seven hundred magical incantations, hymns, prayers, incantations, and fragments of mythological legend was intended to help the late pharaoh dangerous journey to the afterlife and ensure his happiness and well-being there. The texts are once brightly colored hieroglyphic inscriptions carved on the walls of the pyramids of pharaohs and queens of the 5th and 6th dynasties. The texts were accompanied by expressive and dramatic scenes, often very emotional.
The journey to the other world, to resurrection, went through three main stages: awakening in a dark tomb, where the body of the pharaoh, according to legend, was supposed to protect spells from snakes and scorpions that really lived in these dungeons; climbing or crossing the river that separates earth from heaven, by coaxing, threatening or bribing a carrier; and finally, a joyful reunion with the gods and the great sun god himself. The late pharaoh either acted as the son of Ra-Atum and shared his power, then accompanied the sun god on the Solar Boat or belonged to his entourage, courtiers or scribes.
It is difficult to say who the Egyptians began to worship earlier - Osiris or the Sun, although in an agricultural society, probably, preference was given to the god of fertility. Small statuettes associated with the cult of Osiris and his sister-wife Isis have been found in tombs dating back to the prehistoric period, before 3000 BC, at Helwan, on the east bank of the Nile, opposite the ancient location of Memphis, but no older evidence has yet been found. Another early religious document, also from Memphis (Memphis Theology Monument), contains a creation myth that scholars believe dates back to ancient kingdom. It tells of the death of Osiris and how he was succeeded by his son Horus, a mythological version of the death of the pharaoh and the transfer of power to his heir. Osiris, Set and Isis, together with their sister Nephthys, who plays an insignificant role in this myth, were the children of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut; the image of her body symbolizes the firmament above the earth. Geb gave power over the world to his firstborn, Osiris, but Set, in a fit of black envy, killed his brother and drowned him in the Nile, or, according to later texts, cut him into pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. Isis rescued Osiris and brought his body to Memphis on the banks of the Nile. Isis managed to revive Osiris and conceived from him a son, Horus, who was born in the reed beds of the Delta; in the Delta region, according to some scientists, this myth originated. After his resurrection, Osiris became the king of the dead. Horus, the legitimate heir of Osiris on earth, decided to avenge his father, and after a fight with his uncle, during which Set knocked out one of his nephew's eyes - and the eyes of Horus, the falcon-headed god, according to legend, were the Sun and the Moon - he all- He won and ascended the throne. The lost eye helped him restore the moon god Thoth.
E. Naville. Todtenbuch, pl. XXVIII.
In the most ancient agricultural societies, the king was considered the magical center of the productive forces of nature. The myth goes back to the very origins of human civilizations that when the power of the king weakened, that is, when the harvest turned out to be scarce or cereals degenerated over time, they committed ritual murder king, so that the remnants of his strength contribute to fertility in the new year. Of course, in the historical period of Egypt, there is not even a hint of such a cruel custom anywhere, but the “heb-sed” holiday with the ritual run of the pharaoh around the pyramid clearly symbolized the ritual rejuvenation of the weakening ruler. By the time the Egyptians entered the historical period, they already possessed a more refined philosophy than the primitive cult of the god of the harvest, but even later, echoes of the ancient cult of fertility can be traced in the Egyptian ideas about royal power.
It is curious, however, that the original god of fertility Osiris became the lord of the dead and his place was taken by Horus, his son, the living ruler, who was responsible for "maat", for the order in the universe, on which the lives of people and animals and the fertility of the fields depended. Horus from the legend of Osiris, or Horus, the falcon-headed god of the Sun, is in no way connected by origin with the cult of the god of fertility. He is just a fearless warrior who avenges the murder of his father and defends his rightful heritage, Egypt.
Horus, the living lord, and Osiris, the lord of the dead, alternate in an unchanging and never-ending cycle. Osiris was especially revered at Abydos, where annual sacred processions drew pilgrims from all over Egypt. They sailed in boats resembling the boat of the sun god. Ra-Atum was revered in many places in all his incarnations, especially in the later period of Egyptian history, but Heliopolis at all times remained the center of orthodox theology, a kind of Rome of ancient Egypt.
Gradually, the cult of Osiris acquired everything greater value However, the cult of the Sun remained no less important for the Egyptians. Later, Amon, the local Theban deity, turned into Amon-Ra, the god of the Sun and the main deity of Egypt, and then the cult of the Sun really acquired the status of the official state religion.
M.E. Mathieu writes the following about the cult of Osiris: “The cult of Osiris had big influence on Christianity, on the addition of a number of rites, on the creation of many images of Christian iconography. Undoubtedly, the influence of the Osirian mysteries on the Easter ritual, images of the court of Osiris - on the iconography of the Christian Last Judgment, the doctrine of the underworld and the executions of the enemies of Osiris - on the Christian doctrine of the torment of sinners in hell, images of Isis with Horus - on the creation of the image of the Mother of God, Horus - the conqueror of evil - on a number of images of saints, the conquerors of the devil. Survivals of ancient Egyptian religious ideas, and especially those related to the cult of Osiris, were strongest, of course, in Egypt itself, and in the art and religion of Christian Egypt they can be traced especially clearly.
In the book "Ancient Egyptian Myths" M.E. Mathieu reveals the essence of the three most important for ancient Greek mythology and better than other surviving cycles of myths - cosmogonic, solar and concerning the cult of Osiris.
Cosmogonic myths report about the separation of order from chaos, about the arrangement of the cosmos and the consistent placement of its components in places familiar to humans (for example, the placement of stars in the sky). Order arises as a result of the action of either the primary elements (fire, water, air, earth), or some primary god.
Eschatological myths are opposed to cosmogonic myths. They tell about the end of the world, the end of time or the end of a long cycle. These myths are of a warning nature: the destruction of the world familiar to people is usually associated with some kind of violation of the order made by people (for example, with the failure to comply with the laws given by God). The end of the world is depicted as the destruction of the earth's surface, a chaotic mixture of the elements.
A significant part in the mythological system of the ancient Egyptian epic is occupied by heroic myths. But in the image of the protagonist who defeats enemies, it is not an ordinary person (even if endowed with supernatural abilities), as is often the case in the mythological systems of other nations, but gods (for example, the same solar god).
The gods in ancient Egyptian mythology are much more important than people, they are given a special place in the mythological system. The gods appear in all their diversity - in the form of animals, in the form of people with animal heads, in the form of scorpions and snakes, in human form.
M.E. Mathieu mentions in his book that the analysis of myths is carried out in the most general terms, their main points are shown, existing patterns are determined and visible analogies are drawn. This approach is determined by the fact that even the existing material, despite the fact that Egyptologists recognize its obvious scarcity, is too much to be able to fit it into the format of such a book. In this book, the author does not set the task of a detailed study, but seeks to acquaint the reader with the main points of the Ancient Egyptian mythological system in the most general terms, as well as to present the texts of the surviving Ancient Egyptian myths, including "The Book of Knowledge of the Phenomena of Ra", "Creation of the Moon", "Ra and Serpent”, “Extermination of people”, “Isis and Nephthys find the body of Osiris”, “Lament of Ifsis and Nephthys” and some others.
Ancient Egypt- a unique civilization that originated on the banks of the Nile. Interest in it does not disappear even now, as historians and researchers continue to be attracted by numerous secrets and mysteries, most of which are still not disclosed. The problem lies in the complexity of decryption. To better understand the culture of the ancient civilization, scientists had to study and decipher thousands of ancient manuscripts, as well as inscriptions on tombs and sarcophagi.
Myths and legends of Ancient Egypt: how did everything originate?
It is authentically known that the mythology of Ancient Egypt was formed under the influence of religion. People tried to find answers to eternal questions: how does life originate and what happens to a person after death? The worship of deities became the foundation for the emergence of myths. It is noteworthy that the afterlife was assigned the most important role, and the Egyptians themselves paid more attention to it than to life. This also affected the local architecture - the legendary pyramids, which not only acted as the tombs of the rulers, but also carried a serious sacred and religious meaning.
For several centuries, historians have researched and deciphered ancient Egyptian writings on papyrus, tomb walls, and temple slabs.
This helped to learn and understand the myths of Ancient Egypt, which described the deeds of good and evil deities.
Gods of Ancient Egypt: who did people believe in?
The Egyptians believed that the gods created the earth, sky, water and people, endowing them with feelings. It was faith in supernatural forces that helped them create incredible architectural masterpieces. As for the myths and legends themselves, they were written on papyrus scrolls and carved on the walls inside ritual structures. It was only in 1822 that the French explorer Jean-Francois succeeded in understanding, deciphering and reading Egyptian hieroglyphs. Champollion.
The gods treated people differently. Some were distinguished by cruelty and instilled fear, others protected and helped mere mortals. In total, there were about 700 deities, each of which had several names (up to five names). They were depicted as animals or people with a head or other part of the body from an animal. For example, the ruler of the afterlife, Anubis, was depicted as a man with a dog's head.
The gods created the world and supported it in every possible way, but they did it on the condition that people would worship them. The ancient Egyptians felt vulnerable and defenseless before the Creators. Therefore, they tried to show their humility and devotion by building temples and other architectural masterpieces in honor of the patrons.
Creation of the world - the version of the ancient Egyptians
Millions of years ago, when our world did not yet exist, there was only an endless ocean of Chaos, in which the first deity appeared -. He created a hill, mounted on it and decided to create new world. The first God understands that he cannot manage everything alone, so he creates the wind god Shu and the water goddess Tefnut.
All this time, darkness has ruled the universe. Atum, despite his power, loses children. Trying to find them, he rips out his own eye and throws it into the depths of Chaos.
Without waiting for the return of the eye, God creates something new.
After a while, the eye returned with the children. It understands what happened, gets angry at the owner and, in the hope of revenge, turns into a cobra. Atum immediately grabs a poisonous reptile and hangs it on his head so that he can see all the beauty of the created world. Note that this is where the tradition of the Egyptian pharaohs to wear urea kites on the crown came from.
Atum admired his creation until he noticed a lotus that emerged from the water. Ra, the god of the sun, emerged from the flower. He lit up the gloomy world, noticed Atum and his children and burst into tears of happiness. Each tear that fell to the ground turned into a person.
Ancient Egyptian myths about Osiris
The legends of Osiris, the dying and resurrecting deity, are considered the most important in Egyptian mythology. We are talking about the god who occupied the throne of the ruler of Egypt. People respected and worshiped him, because he gave them knowledge, taught them crafts, instilled a love for culture and music.
Osiris was not only worried about the inhabitants of Egypt, he traveled all over the world, educating and helping mere mortals. When the ruler was absent, his sister and wife Isis ruled the country. She continued the work of her husband, teaching people about agriculture and viticulture.
Seth is the evil, cunning and selfish brother of Osiris, who hated and wished for his death.
He did not understand why Osiris loves and cares for people, secretly jealous of his fame. Set hid hostility and anger for many years, until he came up with a plan for revenge. Together with his assistants, he arranged a feast, where, of course, he invited a naive brother.
In the midst of the celebration, Seth ordered to bring a luxurious sarcophagus chest made of sycamore, trimmed with silver and diamonds. He said that he would give it to someone for whom the chest would fit in size. Osiris, unaware of the evil intent of his brother, climbed into the sarcophagus, which turned out to be ideal in terms of his height and complexion. The ruler of Egypt did not know that Set had previously conspired with a servant who secretly took measurements from Osiris.
The conspirators immediately slammed the chest shut, hammered it with nails, soldered it with red-hot metal and threw it into the sea. The wife of Osiris, having learned about the betrayal, immediately rushed off in search. She managed to find a chest far from Egypt - where the waves of the sea brought it. But Seth again proved to be faster and more cunning. Before the arrival of Isis, he stole the body of Osiris, cut his brother into 42 pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt.
It took Isis years to put them together. The gods Thoth and Anubis embalmed the body, preparing it for the funeral rituals. For a while, Isis revived Osiris and conceived a child from him - Horus. All myths of ancient egypt about the gods Horus is said to incarnate in all pharaohs, ruling the country. As for Osiris himself, he went to the underworld, becoming its master.
Confrontation of Horus and Set - the battle of good and evil
The Egyptians believed that Horus was one of the representatives solar gods. In the drawings, he was represented as a man with the head of a falcon, and the sun with open wings was considered his symbol. Despite his good heart, Horus vowed from an early age to cruelly avenge his father. When he matured and prepared to fight with Seth for the throne, Osiris came to him from the underworld and asked two questions.
What action do you consider worthy? Osiris asked.
“Help your parents,” Horus blurted out without hesitation.
Then Osiris asked who was more useful - a horse or a fighting lion. Horus considered that from a horse, arguing that the lion is suitable for defense, and on a horse you can pursue the enemy. Osiris liked the answers, so he blessed his son to fight Set.
Note that in ancient Egypt, Set was called the patron of foreign invaders and criminals, the god of thunder and the desert, burning out all life. He was represented as a man with a donkey's head.
There are different myths and legends of ancient Egypt dedicated to how the confrontation between Set and Horus ended. According to one version, the warring parties reconciled, which was facilitated by wise god Geb. He divided the power: he appointed Horus the ruler of Lower Egypt, and Seth - Upper.
Legends of Ancient Egypt
Egypt, like Greece, became part of the Roman Empire at the beginning of our era. The beliefs of this people about the origin of the world are more scattered and contradictory than those of the ancient Greeks. Also, unlike Greek, Egyptian legends were largely reconstructed on the basis of later texts. It is believed that Egyptian mythology began to take shape in the 6th-4th millennium BC, and each region developed not only its own pantheon of gods, but also its own legends. But the so-called Great Pantheon of Gods or Ennead was revered everywhere, albeit in different forms.
Initially, Ptah (Ptah), the creator of the earthly world, the god of truth and order, was considered the supreme deity in Egypt, but later several religious centers arose: in Memphis - the temple of Ptah, in Thebes - Amon and in Heliopolis - the god Ra. In the third millennium BC, the Heliopolis system, the Ennead, prevailed. The main deities in it were Ra and Horus (the personification of the living pharaoh). The god of the underworld, Anubis, was also revered; the god of wisdom, writing, the moon and the inventor of hieroglyphs Thoth; and Hapi, the god of the river Nile. In total, there were more than seven hundred gods, and many of them duplicated each other's functions.
According to historians, the first Egyptian version of the origin of the world arose shortly before the unification of Egypt, around 3000 BC. e.
In ancient Egyptian myths, almost no attention is paid to the creation of man. Although the myths make it clear that the gods created the world specifically for people, demanding from them in return only worship, the construction of temples and regular sacrifices.
The Egyptians believed that the sun was born from the union of earth and sky, that is, from the gods Geb (the earth god) and Nut (the sky goddess). The sun god Ra is born every morning, emerging from the womb of Nut, and every evening again hides there. As already mentioned, in different regions of Egypt there were different views on the origin of the world, and each of the cult centers - Heliopolis, Hermopolis and Memphis - declared the creator of the world of its god, calling him the father of all other gods.
But there were also common views.
It was believed, for example, that the creation of the world was preceded by the chaos of water, immersed in eternal darkness. And only the light, the embodiment of which was the sun, helped to overcome this chaos. At first, a small island appeared from the water surface, which, as the water receded, became larger and larger. Here we can draw a parallel with the annual flood of the Nile, which, as we already know, was also revered as a god. That is, every year the Egyptians saw a prototype of the creation of the earth.
In Heliopolis, the creator of the world was considered the sun god Ra, identified with other creator gods: Atum (translated as “Perfect”) and Khepri (which can be translated as “He who leads to the appearance, beginning”). Almost Holy Trinity. And to understand the internal relationship of these three gods is as difficult as to understand how the Christian God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit relate to each other. Atum was depicted as a man, and Khepri as a scarab.
This gives reason to say that Khepri is a more ancient god and the roots of his appearance date back to the times when the gods were given the appearance of animals. The Egyptians believed that this beetle was able to reproduce on its own and therefore fully symbolizes the god who creates everything from nothing. And also the ball that the scarab pushes seemed to the Egyptians like the sun rolling with divine help across the sky. Meanwhile, Khepri did not have its own cult. He was revered, but was identical with Atum and Ra.
In the Pyramid Texts, the oldest written source in the history of mankind, the myth of the creation of the world by Atum, Ra and Khepri is recorded. So it can be assumed that by this time he was already widely known and, let's say, canonized.
So, the version of the birth of the world was stated as follows: Ra - Atum - Khepri created (well, or created) himself, arising from chaos, which was called Nun, or the First Ocean. This ocean had neither physical nor temporal dimensions. But, having appeared above the water (remember, in the Bible: “The earth was formless and empty, and darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God hovered over the water”), the newborn god could not find a place where he could hold on, and therefore created a hill, or, rather, the island of Ben-ben. Already on solid ground, he began to create other gods. The first pair: Shu (Air) and Tefnut (Moisture) - he had to give birth himself, and only then, from their union, the entire Egyptian pantheon appeared: Geb (Earth), Nut (Sky), which, in turn, gave birth to two gods and two goddesses - Osiris, Set, Isis and Nephthys. And so the Great Nine gods arose - the Ennead of Heliopolis.
The creator of people was the god Khnum, a potter, who appeared in the form of a ram. He fashioned the first humans out of clay.
In Memphis, at that time the major political and religious center of Egypt, many gods were included in the myth of the creation of the world, subordinating them to Ptah, who acted as the creator of everything. It is interesting that here the creation of the world was not a physical process, but exclusively by thought and word. How can you not remember the Bible again: “In the beginning was the word ...”
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From the book Secrets and mysteries of ancient Egypt author Kalifulov Nikolai Mikhailovich
From the book Secrets and mysteries of ancient Egypt author Kalifulov Nikolai Mikhailovich
Egyptian myths played an important role in the life of the population of the country of the pyramids. The population of the country sincerely believed that their fate depended on the heroes of legends. Egyptian mythology originates long before the advent of advanced civilization. The first mention of legends and gods date back to a period of 5 thousand years BC.
Egyptian myths have features that distinguish them from the myths of other peoples. First of all, this is the cult of the dead and the other world, as well as the deification of animals. Over time, the mythology of Egypt changed depending on the desires of the ruling dynasty. The pharaoh erected into a cult the deity who was the patron of his family.
Study of Egyptian mythology
The study of Egyptian mythology is hampered by the fact that sources that can help in elucidating this issue are characterized by incomplete data and unsystematic presentation. Periodically, new documents and artifacts are discovered, and the texts of the legends are reconstructed on their basis. Basically, ancient Egyptian myths are studied from the records on the walls of tombs and temples, from hymns and prayers.
The most significant monuments reflecting the views of the ancient Egyptians:
- "Pyramid Texts" - writings carved on the walls inside the pyramids. They contain royal funeral rituals. The letters date back to the 26th-23rd centuries BC and refer to the 5th and 6th dynasties of the pharaohs.
- "Texts of sarcophagi" - writings on sarcophagi. They date back to the XXI-XVIII centuries BC.
- The Book of the Dead is a collection of prayers and religious texts placed in the coffin of every Egyptian. It dates back to the period from the 16th century BC after the end of the history of Egypt.
Egypt, mythology, gods - mysterious concepts, which are being studied by many scientists.
Gods of Ancient Egypt
Amon is a god especially revered in the city of Thebes. In ancient images, he is represented in the form of a man. His head is crowned with two long feathers. You can find his image with the head of a ram, a sacred animal. In the 18th century, he became the supreme god. Amon patronized the royal power and helped to win victories in wars.
Anubis - the god of the underworld in the III millennium BC. e. Then they began to revere him as the lord of the dead. He was depicted as a man with the head of a black jackal. Anubis was especially worshiped in the city of Kinopol.
Apis is a sacred animal, a bull. It was believed that he was an earthly personification. The Bull was kept all his life at the temple in the city of Memphis, and after his death he was buried there.
Aten is a god whose cult appeared during the reign of Akhenaten. He appeared in the form of the sun. It was believed that he personifies the spirit of the deceased pharaoh, the father of Akhenaten.
Atum is a 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 the 5th dynasty, he began to symbolize the sun god.
Ba is a deity personifying human feelings and emotions. It was of a changeable nature. The man in dougho mythology is associated with this deity. The character of Ba could change depending on the state of the physical body of a person. After his death, it remained near the heart of the deceased, and then fell into a lethargic sleep. This deity can be compared with the modern concept of "soul".
Geb is the patron god of the earth. It was also believed to protect the dead. The myths about the Egyptian gods say that he is the father of Set, Osiris, Nephthys and Isis. In the drawings, he was depicted as an old man with a beard.
Ka symbolizes the image of man. This is a kind of spirit that accompanies him during life and death. It was believed that it penetrates into everything connected with a person, into all objects and beings. Mythology portrayed him as raised arms, bent at the elbows.
Ming is a god especially revered in the city of Koptos. He patronized cattle breeding and provided a rich harvest. Ming also helped caravans along the way.
Montu is a god depicted with the head of a falcon. He was especially revered in the cities of Thebes and Hermont. Montu contributed to the victories of the pharaoh in wars.
Osiris is the god and ruler of the underworld. The center of his cult was in the city of Abydos.
Ptah is the god who gave names to all things and created the rest of the gods. He was especially revered in the city of Memphis.
Ra is 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 is the god-master of the waters and the source of fertility. He was depicted with the head of a crocodile. He was especially revered in the Fayum oasis.
Set is the patron god of the storm and the desert, the protector of the god Ra. It was also believed that he is the personification of evil.
Thoth is the god of the moon and wisdom. In the drawings, he was depicted with the head of an ibis. It was believed that he invented writing and the calendar. He was especially revered in the city of Germopol.
Hapi is a god depicted as a full man with a vessel in his hands from which water flows. He personified the flood of the Nile.
Khnum is the guardian god of the Nile. It was also believed that he created mankind from clay. He was depicted with a ram's head. He was especially revered in the city of Esne.
Khonsu is a god depicted with a falcon's head or as a man with a moon sickle on his head. He was revered as a healer.
Horus is the god of royalty. It was believed that the ruling pharaoh is his earthly incarnation.
Shu is the god of air. He was also revered as the patron saint of the midday sun. He was the brother and husband of the goddess Tefnut.
Yah is the patron god of the moon. He was especially revered in the city of Germopol.
Goddesses of ancient Egypt
Isis is the goddess and wife of Osiris. She represented the ideal of femininity. Isis patronized motherhood and children. Her cult was widespread outside of Egypt.
The Goddess of Ancient Egypt is represented by Bastet - the patroness of fun and love. She was depicted with the head of a cat. Bastet was especially revered in the city of Bubastis.
Maat is a goddess who symbolizes truth and justice. She was depicted with a feather stuck in her long hair.
Mut is the goddess and queen of the sky. She was depicted with two crowns and a vulture on her head. Mut, like some other goddesses of Ancient Egypt, patronized motherhood. She was worshiped by the pharaohs, because it was believed that she gives the right to rule Egypt.
Neith is the goddess who created the world. In the city of Sans, it was also believed that she helps in war and hunting.
Nephthys, or Nebetkhet, is the goddess of death. It was believed that she is the author of many mournful hymns and prayers. Despite this, she was also revered as the goddess of sexuality. In the drawings, she is depicted as a woman with an unusual structure on her head, consisting of a house, which is crowned with a building basket. This symbol is included in the hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt.
Nekhbet is a goddess who helps with childbirth. She was depicted as a woman with a white crown and a kite on her head. You can find drawings in which she is presented in the guise of a kite. Nekhbet was especially revered in the city of Nekhen, the capital of Upper Egypt.
Nut or Nu - goddess of the sky. She gave birth to Isis, Nephthys, Osiris and Set. In the drawings, you can find two images of her: a heavenly cow and a woman touching the ground with the tips of her hands and feet.
Sokhmet is the goddess and wife of Ptah. She was considered an assistant in wars and personified the heat of the sun. Her cult was in the city of Memphis.
Taurt is a goddess who helps with childbirth and personifies female fertility. In the drawings, she was depicted as a female hippo standing on her hind legs. Her images could be found on amulets, because she helped drive away evil spirits.
Tefnut is the patron goddess of heat and moisture. She was painted with the head of a lioness. Her cult was in the city of Tefnut.
Wajit is a goddess depicted as a cobra. She was revered in the city of Pe-Dep. Wajit was the personification of the power of the pharaoh.
Hathor is the goddess of music and love. In the drawings, she appears with the horns of a cow on her head. Her cult was in the city of Dendera.
Myths of Ancient Egypt
The mythology of Egypt began to take shape in the VI-IV millennium BC. e. In different regions of the country, their own pantheon of gods developed and a cult of their deity was created. The earthly stay of the gods was embodied in animals, plants, heavenly bodies, natural phenomena.
Egyptian myths say that the world was a bottomless expanse of water that bore the name of Nun. Deities emerged from chaos and created heaven and earth, plants and animals, people. The sun was the god Ra, who emerged from the lotus flower. If he was angry, then heat and drought set in on the earth. People believed that the first gods became pharaohs.
But the Egyptian creation myth is not a single story. The same events can be described in different ways, and deities can be presented in different guises.
Creation myth
There were three main religious centers in Egypt - Memphis, Heliopolis and Hermopolis. Each of them had its own version of the origin of the world.
In Heliopolis, the myth of the creation of the world was especially revered for local priests and was built on his cult. They believed that the god Atum appeared from the expanse of water and, by the power of his will, made a sacred stone grow out of the waters, whose name is Benben. Having ascended to its peak, the god Atum gave birth to the god of air Shu and the goddess of moisture Tefnut, who then gave birth to the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut. These deities are the basis of creation. Then Osiris, Set, Isis and Nephthys were born from the union of Nut and Geb. The four gods became the personification of the barren desert and the fertile Nile valley.
In Hermopolis, it was believed that the eight gods - ogloada - became the founders of the world. It included four female and four male deities. Naunet and Nun symbolized water, Haunet and Hu - space, Kaunet and Kuk - darkness, Amaunet and Amon - air. Eight deities became the parents of the sun god, who gave light to the world.
The legend of Memphis is similar to Hermopolis, but with one difference - the god Ptah appeared before the god of the sun. The latter was created by the heart and tongue of Ptah.
Osiris in ancient Egyptian mythology
The heroes of Egyptian myths were mostly gods, the most famous of them being Osiris. He patronized agriculture and winemaking.
According to the legends, he was the ruler of Egypt. During his reign, the country prospered. Osiris had a younger brother, Seth, who wanted to take over. He planned to accomplish this through murder.
Isis, sister and wife of Osiris, has been looking for her husband's body for a long time. She then gives birth to a son whom she names Horus. Having matured, he defeats Set and revives Osiris. But the latter does not want to live among people, he becomes the lord of the underworld.
It was believed that if the funeral ritual for a deceased person is observed in accordance with all the rules, then he will be able to gain eternal life like Osiris.
Nile in ancient Egyptian mythology
The mythology of Egypt cannot exist without the legends about the Nile River, which played a big role in the emergence of the most ancient civilization.
It was believed that this sacred reservoir connected the world of people, Heaven and underworld. The river flowing through the earth personified the god Hapi. When the last one was in good mood, then brought the river out of its banks and saturated the soil with moisture, which made it possible to grow vegetables.
Various spirits lived in the Nile, which appeared to people in the form of animals: frogs, scorpions, crocodiles, snakes.
Myths about the god Ra
Many Egyptian myths talk about the god Ra. Some of them say that people arose from the tears of this god. His eyes were a powerful symbol in the art of Egypt. You can find their images on sarcophagi, clothes, amulets. The eyes of the god Ra lived separately from his body. The right eye was able to scatter opponents, and the left eye was able to heal from diseases.
The myths about the Egyptian gods tell incredible stories in which the eye of Osiris is a separate hero or object.
For example, in one legend, Ra created a universe that was not like our world, and settled gods and people there. After some time, the inhabitants of the universe decided to arrange a conspiracy about him. But Ra found out about this and decided to punish the culprits. Gathering all the gods, he said to them: “O gods! I created people from my eye, and they are plotting evil against me!” After these words, Ra threw his eye to people, which took on the image of She dealt with people, but this moment is not interesting, but how Ra could throw his eye.
In another myth, Ra gives her eye to the goddess Basti to help her fight the evil serpent. There is a legend in which the eye of Ra is identified with She was offended by God and went into the desert alone. There are hundreds of such myths in which the eye of Ra is a separate object, which seems wonderful to modern man.
Legends and myths about the Egyptian pyramids
The question of whether Ancient Egypt torments researchers and historians to this day. Various versions were put forward, but no one knows how things really were.
There are many myths about the appearance of the pyramids and their purpose. One legend says that the pyramids were built to store treasure. But if so, then modern man no longer be able to confirm its truth. After all, treasures could have been stolen in antiquity.
It is difficult to build such structures even with the help of modern technology. How did the ancient Egyptians do it? The pyramids are built from processed blocks stacked neatly on top of each other. Their sides are oriented by the stars. Therefore, even versions are being put forward about the alien origin of the pyramids.
There are also myths that the Atlanteans built the pyramids before the Great Flood in order to preserve knowledge about their civilization. But no one has been able to prove it yet.
It is quite clear that in those days people could not create such structures. This mystery will be tried to unravel for a long time. It is unknown if this can be done.
Hieroglyphs and mythology
The hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt are strongly associated with religion and mythology. People addressed the deities in a special language. Which is reflected in the first hieroglyphs. They looked like creatures and objects.
According to legend, the god Thoth depicted the foundations of the universe and knowledge in the form of hieroglyphs. This is considered the origin of Egyptian writing.
Priests painted figures of animals and plants to depict divine truths. In their understanding, the knowledge that God gave should be expressed in a simple way. For example, the concept of time can be characterized as something hasty, uniting the beginning with the end. It teaches discretion, creates events, and eventually destroys them. The hieroglyphs of Ancient Egypt depicted this concept as a winged snake holding its tail in its mouth - one image for depicting complex knowledge.
Ancient Egypt, in spite of everything, remains one of the most mysterious civilizations. It is still called the “gift of the Nile” and is considered the birthplace of the pyramids and the Sphinx, which fixed its eyes on the boundless sands. The past and present of this state are intertwined with threads historical events and amazing stories. Ancient Egyptian myths are a truly valuable gift that helps modern historians unravel many of the mysteries of this country's past. It is in them that the meaning of existence and their interaction with the outside world is laid.
Features of Egyptian mythology
Even without being a historian, any person is aware that the mythology of any ancient civilization is based on the worldview of a particular people. The ancient mythology of Egypt has amazing features that are contained in numerous symbols hiding behind ordinary events. It is almost impossible to understand them through a cold mind. To do this, it is necessary to take a philosophical look at what is hidden behind a string of words. What is the main feature of these ancient tales and legends? Ancient Egyptian mythology, first of all, urged a person not to oppose ongoing events, not to go against what is now commonly called fate, because everything done contrary to the “wise order” will turn against humanity.
Heroes of the myths of ancient Egypt
The first myths in Egypt were written, or rather, told, even before the construction of the famous pyramids. They contained legends about the creation of all life on earth. Besides, ancient mythology Egypt contained stories about the struggle of the gods for power. Unlike many eastern peoples, the Egyptians did not like to include ordinary people in myths, so their main characters were always numerous gods. Some Egyptians revered and loved, while others were afraid or frankly afraid. At the same time, the population of Ancient Egypt was considered close to the divine principle, because, according to the same myths, the gods lived among people in ancient times, and their direct descendants became kings and took care of their people.
Gods-villains and gods-helpers
What and who did the mythology of ancient Egypt tell about? Gods are the main characters of similar works in many other civilizations. And ancient Egyptian is no exception. As mentioned above, the Egyptians divided all the gods into good and evil. If it was possible to “negotiate” with the former with the help of offerings, then the latter did not know mercy and could moderate their anger only after huge sacrifices were made to them in the form of human lives. It's time to remember all the higher beings that ancient Egyptian mythology has ever mentioned.
There were several supreme gods in Egypt, it depended primarily on the regions of this state. Everywhere the Egyptians revered and respected the sun god Ra, and the pharaohs were considered his children. In Thebes (Upper Egypt) he was considered to be Amon-Ra, the god of the wind and sun, while in Lower Egypt, Atum, the god of the setting sun, ruled. In Heliopolis, located in Lower Egypt, Geb, the god of the earth, was recognized as the main deity, and in Memphis - Ptah. Here is such a diversity. It is worth noting that in ancient Egyptian mythology, the sun god was not alone. In those days, the Egyptians extolled not only the luminary itself, but also the stages of its existence on earth: the morning and evening sun. In addition, the god of the solar disk Aten was perceived as a separate divine principle.
In addition to the creatures described above, the myths about the ancient gods of Egypt also mentioned other equally important and influential entities. Positive roles in this case belonged to Amat for sins), Apis (the patron of fertility and strength), and Horus (the god of dawn or the rising sun). In addition, Anubis, Isis, Osiris and Ptah were often mentioned on the positive side in the myths. The following were considered cruel and, therefore, unloved higher entities in Egypt: Sebek - the god of lakes and rivers, who could only be propitiated by bringing him great sacrifices, Set - the lord of the winds and the desert, Sekhmet - the goddess of war, cruel and merciless to all people.
Particularly interesting are the ancient Egyptian myths about heaven and earth, that is, the world. In different centers of Egypt, the main role was assigned to one deity, while others were either assistants to him, or resisted and plotted. There was only one point of contact between these cosmogonistic directions - the deity Nun, symbolizing the Primordial Chaos.
Creation myths according to Heliopolis
The population of the Egyptian city of Heliopolis and its environs believed that the creation of the world, or rather, of everything that exists on earth, took place thanks to Atum. In their opinion, it was this god who was the very first creature that arose in the depths of Nun - a boundless, cold and dark substance. Not finding a solid place from which he could try to create light and heat, Atum created Ben-Ben - a hill rising in the middle of a cold lifeless ocean.
After some thought about what else to create, God decided to create Shu (the god of the wind), who could set the ocean surface in motion, and Tefnut (the goddess of world order), who was called upon to ensure that Shu did not destroy what will be created next. Nun, seeing such a miracle, endowed Shu and Tefnut with one soul for two. Since there was no light in this new world, the first gods were suddenly lost. Atum sent his Eye to search for them, which soon led his children to their ancestor. For joy, Atum shed tears, they dripped onto the earth's firmament and turned into people.
Shu and Tefnut, meanwhile, gave birth to Geb and Nut, who soon began to live as husband and wife. Soon the goddess of the sky Nut gave birth to Osiris, Set and Horus, Isis and Nephthys. The whole divine family, according to this myth, makes up the Great Nine gods of Egypt. But this is far from the only version of the order of appearance of higher beings, and hence their supremacy. The ancient mythology of Egypt contains several more stories on this subject.
Creation of the World: Memphis Cosmogony
According to the version of the creation of the world, set forth in the scrolls that were found in Memphis, the first god that arose in the depths of Nun was Ptah, representing the earth's firmament. By an effort of will, he uprooted himself from the earth and found a body. Ptah decided to create faithful helpers for himself from the same material from which he himself arose, that is, from the earth. Atum was the first to be born, who, at the behest of his father, recreated the Great Nine Gods of Egypt from the darkness of Nun. Ptah could only endow them with wisdom and power.
Theban version of the origin of the world
In Thebes, the story is somewhat different from those followed in other areas of Ancient Egypt. The first and most significant difference is the number of gods: if in other versions it was the Great Nine, then Theban suggests the presence of three supreme beings: Mina - Amon - the god of the sun, and the god of war Montu. Ming was considered the creator of the whole world. Somewhat later, Min and Amon were already presented as a single deity, symbolizing the sun, which gives light, warmth and rich harvests.
Germanic cosmogony on the origin of the world
The most numerous pantheon of the ancient Egyptian "original" gods existed in the mythological version of the creation of the world, found in Hermopolis. In the abyss of the Great Chaos (Nun), forces aimed at destruction reigned, consisting of three pairs of deities: Nisa and Niaut, symbolizing the void, Tenema and Tenemuit, denoting disappearance in darkness, and Gerech and Gerecht, the gods of night and darkness. They were opposed by four pairs of deities endowed with positive powers: Huh and Hauhet (gods of infinity), Nun and Naunet Kuk and Kauket (gods of darkness), Amon and Amaunet (invisible gods). This is the so-called Great Eight. Swimming for a long time in the waters of the ocean, they created an egg and placed it on the only place above the water - Fire Hill. After some time, a young Ra hatched from him, who was given the name Khepri. So there were nine gods, and they were able to start creating people.
Life after death in the myths of the Egyptians
The myths and legends of Ancient Egypt were not only devoted to the creation of the world. The faith that prevailed in this country assumed the existence of life after death. In Egyptian mythology, the underworld was a large full-flowing river, between the banks of which boats scurried. According to myths, the souls of dead people, after the extinction of the body, ended up in such a boat and made a long journey between the world of the living and the dead. Only after reaching the opposite shore, the soul of the deceased could calm down. The success of this journey was ensured by the gods: Anubis was responsible for the safety of the body before and after burial, Selket protected the souls of the dead, Sokar guarded the gates of the underworld, Upuat accompanied the souls during the journey along the River of the Dead.
Of great importance was also the preservation of the body of the deceased, for which he was mummified, preserving the internal organs in separate vessels. According to legend, a person could be reborn if all the rituals were carried out exactly as prescribed by the great wise law.
The struggle between good and evil in Egyptian myths
The ancient mythology of Egypt did not bypass such a topic as the struggle between good and evil. To date, many stories have been translated about how the gods of Egypt fought evil divine beings, which were most often represented in the form of crocodiles and hippos. The main fighter against them was, of course, the god of the Sun, and the main assistants in restoring order were the original gods - Shu, Montu, Nut and others. According to mythology, the battles of Ra with evil take place every day, and not only in the world of the living, but also in the realm of the dead.
