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This the first in a series of Pages devoted to the Ancient Gods. In this
article I will look at the beginnings in Egypt, Zep Tepi
In the land of Egypt, the ancient priests recited several versions, each
complementary story designed to highlight the various aspects of
divine creative energy.
In another myth, it is the goddess Neith (or Net) who uplifts life from
the cosmic waters. She is the primordial sea and a great weaver. She
casts her net, which is the fabric of her being, into the water. From
the waters of herself, she scoops out all creatures— the fish, the fowl,
the plants and animals, and humankind. She names them one by
one.
A third myth tells us that in this sea of possibility there exist the
Ogdoad, who are eight cosmic life principles. Four male beings are
frogs; four female beings are snakes. Paired male and female, they
represent the polarities of infinite time, infinite space, darkness before
dawn, and the impenetrable mystery of life itself. These are the eight
souls of Thoth, divine architect of the universe whose laws govern all
creation.
One myth known as the creation myth (The First Time - Zep Tepi)
sums up a lot about how the Egyptian gods were created. In this
myth, it tells of a time when there was nothing but a powerful being
called Nun. Nun was so powerful that a shining egg arose from her,
which was Ra. Ra was thought to have been so mighty that he willed
his children into being. The first was Shu, who was considered the
god of the space and light between the sky and the earth. Next Ra
created Tefnut, who was the personification of the moisture of the
sky. Then the god of the earth, Geb was created. Next Nut was
created. Nut was the goddess of the daytime sky, but was later the
goddess of the sky in general. The final god to be made was Hapi,
the ancient Egyptian god of the Nile.
After all of the gods where created, Ra created men and went down
to earth in human form to rule as the first pharaoh of Egypt.
The Egyptians believed that before the world was
formed, there was a watery mass of dark, direction
less chaos. In this chaos lived the Ogdoad of
Khmunu (Hermopolis), four frog gods and four
snake goddesses of chaos. These deities were
Nun and Naunet (water), Amen and Amaunet
(invisibility), Heh and Hauhet (infinity) and Kek and
Kauket (darkness). The name of the water of chaos
was Nun.
It was from Nun (Nu) that Ra (or Amen, another of the Ogdoad who
became prominent Middle Kingdom onward, and joined with the sun
god as Amen-Ra) created himself, rising up on the first piece of land -
the primeval mound (Benben) out of the water lily (lotus) blossom,
born from the world egg, or as a bnw-bird who then found and landed
on the mound.
The First Time then began and Ra was thought to have created the
universe, including his children - other gods. He brought Ma'at - order
- to chaos.
During dynastic Egypt Ra's cult center was Annu (Hebrew "On",
Greek "Heliopolis", modern-day "Cairo"). In Dynasty V, the first king,
Userkaf, was also Ra's high priest, and he added the term Sa-Ra
("Son of Ra") to the titulary of the pharaohs.
Ra was father of Shu and Tefnut, grandfather of Nut and Geb, great-
grandfather of Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys, and great-great-
grandfather to Horus. In later periods (about Dynasty 18 on) Osiris
and Isis superceded him in popularity, but he remained Ra netjer-aa
neb-pet ("Ra, the great God, Lord of Heaven") whether worshiped in
his own right or, in later times, as one aspect of the Lord of the
Universe, Amen-Ra.
Shu (Su) was the god of dry air, wind and the
atmosphere. He was also related to the sun, possibly as
an aspect of sunlight. He was the son of the creator god,
father of the twin sky and the earth deities and the one
who held the sky off of the earth. He was one of the gods
who protected Ra on his journey through the underworld,
using magic spells to ward off Ra's enemy, the water
snake-demon Apep. As with other protector gods, he had
a darker side - he was also a god of punishment in the land of the
dead, leading executioners and torturers to kill off the corrupt souls.
One story says that Shu and Tefnut went to explore the waters of
Nun. After some time, Ra believed that they were lost, and sent the
his Eye out into the chaos to find them. When his children were
returned to him, Ra wept, and his tears were believed to have turned
into the first humans.
As a god of the wind, the people invoked him to give good wind to the
sails of the boats. It was he who was the personification of the cold
northern winds; he was the breath of life - the vital principle of all
living things. His bones were thought to be clouds. He was also called
to 'lift up' the spirits of the dead so that they might rise up to the
heavens, known as the 'light land', reached by means of a giant
'ladder' that Shu was thought to hold up.
to water - tf is the root of the words for 'spit' and 'moist'. Her
name translates to something like 'She of Moisture'.
Related to moisture, she was also linked to the moon, as were other
deities of moisture and wetness. She was originally thought to be the
Lunar Eye of Ra and thus linked to the night sky as well as to dew,
rain and mist.
As with other water deities, she took on some form of a goddess of
creation.
Geb, God of the Earth, In the Earth and Under the Earth...
Anubis was often identified by the word sab, 'jackal' rather than 'dog'
(iwiw). Though to the Egyptians there was not a great deal of
difference between the two canines, so there is some confusion over
which animal Anubis actually was. The animal is sometimes referred
to as the 'Anubis animal' as it is unknown which exact species of
canine that Anubis actually was based on.
"In the beginning was the logos*, and the logos* was with God
and the logos* was God." - John 1:1