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Ancient Egyptian Mythology |
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In Egypt different gods were worshipped in different areas and only some gods were worshipped universally. Furthermore there did not exist the concept of a transcendent god above all others. The gods in ancient Egypt were represented as humans who lived, died, went into battle, gave birth, and had human emotions. The hierarchical structure of the gods depended on the beliefs of the reigning king and their area of dominance depended on where the king established his capital.
In earliest ancient Egypt, towns would worship a divinity apart from other regional gods. As towns consolidated or alliances were established between regions, divinities would have been merged or grouped in new manners to appeal to newly defined populations.
The story of one set of gods took hold of the imagination of ancient Egyptians more than others, however, and helped establish religion as a social style of worship as opposed to an individual style of worship. The story of Osiris is that he was a benevolent and well-intentioned ruler who was betrayed and killed by his brother, Set. Osiris’ wife, Isis, was left to find the remains of the slain Osiris and, gathering them, bring them together to embalm the body. The words Isis proclaimed over the body of the dead Osiris brought him back to life and Earth and henceforth came to be identified with life and salvation. Osiris for his part dutifully chose to rule in the realm of the dead instead of the living. Osiris’ mother, Nut (also mother to Isis, Nephthys, Set), also plays a significant role in the royal house of Egypt by being the host to the deceased rulers, receiving the dead in the embrace of the sky. She is also the figure who daily gives birth to the sun, thus regulating the transition from day to night and the passage of time, parallel to Osiris’ symbolic importance as a figure of regeneration: in the continuing saga of the gods, Isis, after Osiris’ death, gives birth to his son, Horus, who would redeem his father’s death and define himself as a worthy ruler over the living. Isis was worshipped at Philae and would be continually associated with Astarte, Hathor, Nut and Sothis. Later she was worshipped throughout the entire Roman Empire. Nut and Isis, furthermore, figured as prominent funerary figures and would stand behind and in front of the coffin of the deceased during Egyptian funeral processions. They were called the wailing women. The story of Osiris was a potent one for ancient Egyptian worshippers who could look to his example and make meaning of the passage from life to death. Furthermore, Osiris was deemed to be the supreme judge of man’s actions in life and would have been held up as a figure to emulate in ethical conduct throughout one’s life. Another god widely worshipped throughout ancient Egypt was Amon, a supreme deity, usually associated with the wind or things hidden. At Thebes he was combined with the god of Heliopolis, Re, and became Amon-re.king of the gods. Along with Mut and Khonsu he was part of the Theban Triad. The female counterpart to Amon – Amaunet, was also worshipped at Thebes along with Amon and Mut. Both Amon and Amaunet were two of the primordial gods of the Hermopolitian Ogdoad, which is a group of eight gods. The creator of all things was considered, variably, either Re, Amun, Ptah, Khnum or Aten. Hathor, Bat, and Horus were all gods of heavens with fluctuating prominence. Osiris as well as Ptah was an earth god, Seth manifested himself in the form of storms, upset and confusion, and the god Hapi controlled the annual flooding of the Nile. Ma'at represented balance, justice and truth. |
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