Egyptian Mythology
By Katie Baek and Surina K.
Ancient Egypt
Their king, the river Nile, and the life in the next world were the only things that mattered to the ancient Egyptians. A long time ago, each area had it's own gods and goddesses. There were 42 different districts in total. for the Egyptians, Ra, the sun god, was the most powerful. He was said to appear mysteriously out of the waters of the river NUN. The river also produced the sky and earth gods, NUT (pronounced NOOT) and GEB. The first human beings were performed by the tears of Ra. All Egyptians thought that their gods had animal forms.
Core Characters and Gods
The Pharaoh was the most important person in Ancient Egyptian society. Gods tended to have shifting identities. The pharaohs were often given names related to the sun god Ra and the falcon god named Horus. Daily sacrifices that the citizens of ancient Egypt had to make to their gods at their respective temples were clothing, food and other necessities.
Major Myths
Myths
Few actual Egyptian myths have been preserved to tell today. The ancient Egyptian myth has many forms or versions. One of the versions are that there was chaos and all was at war. Within the chaos, the spirit of creation was waiting to take form.
Solar Myths
Another Egyptian myth involved the sun god and the daily cycle of his movement. The sun god was born and he traveled across the day only to retreat back to the Underworld till the next day, when he was born again. He faces a giant snake named Apophis who tries to disrupt his journey.
Animal Forms
In ancient mythology Ra, the sun god had a falcon form. When a god took human forms, they kept their animal heads. Anubis the god of death had a jackal head. Priests were seen wearing jackal masks. The cat goddess Bastet married Taweret; produced a hippopotamus.
Important Egyptian Gods
Set
Set is a god of all evil things. Out of jealousy, he murdered his brother Osiris. Afterwards, he returned the throne to Horus which he failed to kill after battling him for 10 years. Horus is also Iris's son. After that, Ra made Set a storm god.
Osiris
He taught the people of Earth to farm land. Killed by his brother Set. His wife and sister Isis found his dead body in the river. Osiris became the lord of the underworld after he was brought back to life and judges souls for a living.
TropicMind.com - Ancient Egypt - Educational Video for Kids