ded as male, such as atum, are described as giving birth to other deities during the creative process.8 the actual means by which the creator reproduced were sometimes left vague and sometimes described in terms of blunt sexual imagery. pyramid texts (pt) spell 527 says that atum took his penis in his hand and masturbated and so were born the two siblings, that is shu and tefnut. in pt 600, atum- khepri is said to be the one who spat out shu and tefnut.9 several passages in the coffin texts refer to shu being exhaled from atum s nose and tefnut being spat from his mouth. these apparently contradictory statements are clarified in later sources, such as the bremner-rhind papyrus and the memphite theology. atum excites his penis with his hand and takes the semen into his mouth. the vignettes
st his sight. isis claims that she can help if ra will tell her his name. ra describes himself by many phrases that define his role as creator. he is the one who created the physicalworld, he made the bull for the cow so sex came into being. he is the one who causes the nile to flood. he is the one who divided the year into seasons and the day into hours. he ends by proclaiming that he is called khepri 70 handbook of egyptianmythology figure 13. votive bronze statuette of isis with her son, horus the child (cleveland museum of art, bequest of harley c. lee and elizabeth k. lee, 1993. 110) in the morning, ra at noon, and atum in the evening, but none of these is his true name; so the pain continues. isis insists that she cannot heal him without knowing his true name. when the pain gets wo
e of amun at siwa oasis. according to some classical writers, alexander and his companions were in danger of dying in the desert when two serpents appeared to lead them safely to siwa. the oracle of amun at siwa was believed to be infallible. the greeks wove it into their own mythology, claiming that the heroes perseus and heracles had consulted amun/zeus there. see also aten; atum; birds; boats; khepri; min; mut; ogdoad of hermopolis; ra references and further reading: j. assmann. egyptiansolarreligion in the new kingdom: re, amun, and the crisis of polytheism. translated by anthony alcock. london and new york: 1995. g. hart. amun. in a dictionary of egyptiangods and goddesses. london and boston: 1986, 4 17. deities, themes, and concepts 101 v. a. tobin. amun and amun-re. in the oxford
fought a great battle against the forces of chaos. the key event was the slaughter of the chaosmonsterapophis under the ished tree. this was a sacredtree growing in heliopolis that was linked to the destiny of all beings. during this battle, ra-atum took the form of a cat, a mongoose, or an ichneumon, all predators that kill snakes (see figure 22. in solarmythologyatum was often paired with khepri. they were complementary opposites, the setting and rising sun. in some underworld books, atum is shown as an elderly man leaning on a stick. this is a rare phenomenon in egyptian art, but it reflects the literary tradition that the sungod aged and became vulnerable to rebellions by deities and people. such rebellions led to great changes in the nature of the world, such as the creatorsun
n god aged and became vulnerable to rebellions by deities and people. such rebellions led to great changes in the nature of the world, such as the creatorsungod s departure from earth to live in the heavens or the dissolution of the whole cosmos. in book of the deadspell 175, atum warns osiris that after millions of years he will destroy everything that he has made. see also bastet; eye of ra; khepri; ra; shu and tefnut references and further reading: k. mysliwiec. atum. in the oxford encyclopaedia of ancientegypt i, edited by d. redford. oxford and new york: 2001, 158 160. j. zandee. the birth-giving creator-god in ancientegypt. in studies in pharaonic religion and society, edited by a. b. lloyd. london: 1992, 169 185. primary sources: pt 527, 600, 606; ct 76, 80; bd 17, 175; ad; bog
d dancing for the sungodra, so baboons were thought to be the first creatures to pay proper religious observances. baboons were kept as sacred animals in several egyptiantemples. there was a belief reported by some classical writers that the most learned egyptian priests understood the secret language of baboons. this was thought to be the natural language of true religion. see also eye of ra; khepri; khonsu; moon; ogdoad of hermopolis; ra; thoth references and further reading: h. te velde. some remarks on the mysterious language of the baboons. in funerary symbols and religion, edited by j. h. kamistra et al. kampen, netherlands: 1988, 129 137. primary sources: bd 15, 100, 126; ad 1st hour; kasp; solar hymns; petese; eofs banebdjedet (banebdjed) a ramgod associated with the town of me
a; isis hymns; triumph of horus; lamentations; i&o iusaas iusaas was a female counterpart of atum, shown as a woman with a scarab on her head. see also atum; hand of atum khentamentiu (khentamenti) khentamentiu was the foremost of the westerners, a funerary god who came to be regarded as an aspect of osiris. khenty-khety khenty-khety was a creatordeity who came to be regarded as a form of horus. khepri (khepry, khopri) the dawn manifestation of the sungod; usually shown as a scarab beetle, khepri was one of the four main forms of the sungod, ra. his name derives from the ancientegyptian word kheper meaning to become or to be transformed. kheperu were changes or transformations, and khepri was the one who transformed or created himself. khepri appears as an irridescent beetle, a beetle
an irridescent beetle, a beetle-headed hawk, or a beetleheaded man seated on a throne. the scarab beetle s habit of pushing a large ball of dung was transformed into the image of a giant beetle pushing the sun and other celestial bodies across the sky. young beetles hatch out of buried dung balls and fly off. their apparently miraculous emergence from the ground may have given rise to the idea of khepri as a self-generated deity. as early as the pyramid texts, khepri is given as one of the names of the sungod. he is addressed as the shining one and the one who is in the nun. khepri was linked with the creative power of the heart and identified with the infant sungod who began creation by rising out of the primeval waters or the primeval lotus. 152 handbook of egyptianmythology the mirac
dressed as the shining one and the one who is in the nun. khepri was linked with the creative power of the heart and identified with the infant sungod who began creation by rising out of the primeval waters or the primeval lotus. 152 handbook of egyptianmythology the miracle of that first sunrise was repeated every day. in the myth, the true name of ra, the wounded sungod tells isis that he is khepri in the morning, ra at noon, atum in the evening. khepri, the young sun of dawn, often formed a pair with ra-atum, the old sun of evening. the night boat of the sun was associated with atum and the day boat with khepri. at heliopolis, atum-khepri was worshipped as one god who daily underwent a series of transformations. in the book of what is in the underworld, the corpse of khepri is divide
un was associated with atum and the day boat with khepri. at heliopolis, atum-khepri was worshipped as one god who daily underwent a series of transformations. in the book of what is in the underworld, the corpse of khepri is divided and buried during the night, but he rises again triumphantly at dawn. human life was seen as a series of kheperu, such as child into adult or old person into corpse. khepri could help the final transformation from mummy to akh (transfigured spirit. in the book of the dead, khepri is invoked to overcome the intense fear of putrefaction. the deceased declares that his corpse will not decay because i am khepri. my body parts will continue to exist. this promise of a permanently renewable life after death made the scarabform of khepri the most popular of all egyp
the book of the dead, khepri is invoked to overcome the intense fear of putrefaction. the deceased declares that his corpse will not decay because i am khepri. my body parts will continue to exist. this promise of a permanently renewable life after death made the scarabform of khepri the most popular of all egyptiansymbols. millions of scarabs were made as amulets over a period of 2,500 years. khepri had no temples of his own, but giantstonescarabs were set up in some temple complexes. the famous example by the sacred lake at karnak is close to an underground chapel that represented the duat (the underworld. in a very secretritual, the cult image of amun-ra would descend into this chapel and return transformed into khepri, who emerges from the earth. this khepri statue has generated
lower itself could be identified with the great goddess who gave birth to the sun. the bluelotus came to be a general symbol of rebirth. it was also the emblem of the god nefertem. the sweetly scented bluelotus (nymphea caerulea) grows in still water. its flower buds only rise above the water and open their petals when the sun is shining. this lotus is pollinated by beetles, which links it with khepri, the beetle god of dawn. the image of the first sunrise as a lotus emerging from the dark waters and opening to reveal its golden stamens seems to be an ancient one. from around the fourteenth century bce on, the newly risen sun could be pictured as a naked child sitting inside the lotus and holding one finger to his lips. in hymns intended to be sung at dawn, the sungodra is the child of
us-flower at the nose of ra, identify him with the lotus itself. a sweet and powerful scent was a distinguishing characteristic of egyptiandeities, and nefertem was the god who presided over perfume making. in egyptian funerary art, the dead were often shown holding a bluelotus to their noses. breathing in the perfume of the lotus gave them new life as followers of ra. see also horus the child; khepri; ogdoad of hermopolis; ra; sons of horus references and further reading: m. lurker. lotus. in the gods and symbols of ancientegypt. translated by barbara cumming and revised by peter clayton. london: 1980, 77 78. m-l. ryhiner. l offerande du lotus dans les temples gyptiens de l popque tardive. rites gyptiens vi. brussels: 1986. primary sources: pt 249, 512; ct 80; bd 15, 81 158 handbook of
wn. this was the equivalent in the daily solarcycle to the period of precreation in the great cycle of mythical history. the ogdoad merged in the primeval waters to allow the creator to come into being, and the heh gods acted together to make the void in which the earth could come into being. members of the ogdoad such as nun and naunet and kek and keket were said to help the sun to be reborn as khepri every morning. see also amun; baboons; lotus; nun; nut; shu and tefnut; thoth references and further reading: s. tower hollis. otiose deities and the ancientegyptian pantheon. journal of the american research center in egypt 35 (1998: 61 72. 176 handbook of egyptianmythology l. h. lesko. ancientegyptian cosmogonies and cosmology. in religion in ancientegypt, edited by byron e. shafer. i
s the flesh of ra. for much of the voyage the sungod is as passive as the corpse of osiris while a huge array of other deities protect and defend him. the forceful power of the sun is concentrated in the goddess known as the eye of ra, who often guards the prow of the solar barque. much solarmythology was expressed by images rather than narratives. the solarcycle could be summarized by showing khepri (the scarab beetle, ra-horakhty (a falcon-headed man, and ra-atum (a mature man wearing the double crown) together in the solar barque. khepri was the self-generating sun of dawn. ra-horakhty (ra-horus of the double horizon) was the triumphant sun who rose in the east as ruler. ra-atum was the weary setting sun whose death was an essential part of the cycle of renewal. the sungod could als
e. khepri was the self-generating sun of dawn. ra-horakhty (ra-horus of the double horizon) was the triumphant sun who rose in the east as ruler. ra-atum was the weary setting sun whose death was an essential part of the cycle of renewal. the sungod could also be depicted with four rams heads representing his four bas (souls or manifestations (see figure 19. the four souls are often named as ra, khepri, atum, and osiris. in some underworld books, ra mysteriously merges with the corpse of osiris, the ruler of the underworld. when they become the united one, the dead can reawaken and the world can be remade. the fact that the sungod was crucial to the theology of kingship may have led to a rather uncomplimentary portrayal of ra in egyptian literature. in some narrative myths, ra appears as
a prince named thutmose once visited giza to hunt desert animals. in his time (early fourteenth century bce) the statue seems to have buried in the sand up to its head. looking for shade in the heat of the day, thutmose lay down in front of the statue and went to sleep. he dreamed that the great sphinx spoke to him as a father speaks to his son, naming itself as horemakhet (horus of the horizon) khepri-ra-atum. the god complained that he was ailing in all 206 handbook of egyptianmythology his limbs because the sand had overwhelmed him. he promised that if the prince would free him from the encroaching sand, thutmose would enjoy a long life and one day be king. when he awoke, thutmose sent for numerous workers. the remainder of the inscription is badly damaged, but we know that the helpfu
HEAVEN HELL
and the men who know the proper words of power shake out their nets and recite the formulae which shall have the effect of throwing apep and sessi into the state of stupefaction wherein it will be easy to slay them. the spells and words of power have their proper effect, the monsters are fascinated and slain, and the path of afu-ra is clear. on the right of the boat of afu-ra is the huge serpentkhepri, with a head and a pair of human legs at each end of his body; one head faces north (or, west, and the other south (or, east. behind each head is a uraeus, and between the uraei stands "horus of the tuat" wearing the crowns of the south and north (vol. ii, p. 257. a rope passes under khepri, and on one side is hauled by eight powers (sekhemiu, and on the other by the "souls of ament" who ar
e south and north (vol. ii, p. 257. a rope passes under khepri, and on one side is hauled by eight powers (sekhemiu, and on the other by the "souls of ament" who are man-headed; by the "followers of thoth" who are ibis-headed; by the "followers of horus" who are hawk-headed; and by the "followers of ra" who are ram-headed (vol. ii, pp. 255, 256, 258. it will be noted that the two pairs of legs of khepri face in opposite ways, so that in whichever direction he moves one pair must walk backwards; the eight powers have overcome the resistance of the sixteen gods, and the face of horus of the tuat is towards the rising sun. on the left of the path of afu-ra we see a hawk-headed lion called heru-am-uaa, i.e "horus in the boat" wearing the crown of the south; on his back p. 186 stands the two-he
PHILIP NEIL MYTHS LEGENDS EXPLAINED
as, and what was not, to be. the benu bird was depicted as a gigantic heron; the greeks later called it the phoenix, recognizing that the bird was really an aspect of the sungod, re. at the great temple of amun at karnak, a duck was released across the waters of the sacred lake each morning in imitation of the benu bird. re, the sungod 14 re, the sungod r e, the sungod, took three main forms: khepri, the scarab beetle, who was the rising sun; re, the sun s disc, who was the midday sun; and atum, an old man leaning on a stick, who was the setting sun. each evening, as the sun reached the westernmost peak of mount manu, the skygoddess, nut (see p. 13, swallowed it, whereupon the sungod journeyed perilously through a netherworld in his night barque (boat. here, he was assailed by demons
h re, the sun would not rise. this daily cycle of death and rebirth came to symbolize the life cycle of humankind, who hoped after death to find a new birth. from the middle kingdom, the visible sungodre was complemented by an invisible divinity, amun, the hidden one, who as amun-re was worshiped as the king of gods. scarab beetle the scarabeus, or dungbeetle, is the symbol of re in his role as khepri, the rising sun. rolling along a ball of dung, the scarab beetle is a symbol of the sun itself. it was also a symbol of self-generation and rebirth, because of the way the young appear from the ball of dung. into the underworld here, the skygoddessnut raises osiris, the son of geb and nut and ruler of the underworld, to receive the sun disc before it goes on its terrifying night journey
RUBY TABLET OF SET
he left upper point, down to the lower point, and classification: v2- b1r.1- 1 author: eardley w. scott ii date: xxvi html revision: dec 17, 1998 ce subject: eucharist reading list: follow through, and call forth] set-hen [turn to the south, repeat the action, and call forth] nebt-het [turn to the east, repeat the action, and call forth] anpu [turn to the north, repeat the action, and call forth] khepri [replace the sceptre on the altar [take the censer off the altar, and incense the four quarters. replace censer on altar [again take the sceptre, and trace an inverse pentagram in the air; facing south, call forth tuamautef, the god of the south, and say] tuamautef. come forth from your place of rule, and bring your energy for change and enthusiasm. i call you in the name of set your lord a
be. come and bestow your essence on this symbol of the element of water [take the symbol of water off the altar, raise it to the west, and visualize the essence of qebhsenuf entering the symbol. next consume the symbol; as you do so imagine the essence entering your being [face the altar and read the invocation of set.(2 [read the following statement] in the names of set-hen, nept-het, anpu, and khepri do i declare my freedom of mind, my independence, and my infernal right to do as i will outside the realm of the cosmiccreation, that i become that which i will to be. i will to know, and to be truly eternal in the realm of ego, not in the creed of another's thought. i call forth set, the great initiator, to bear witness to what i say, and to stand by me in my undertaking within the realm
THE BOOK OF GATES
are "the followers of horus" and the last four are ram-headed, and are the followers of ra" click to view two gods with nets. 2. eight bearded, man-headed beings, who stand at the other end of the scene in two groups of four, and who are described as "powers" p. 254 each grasps a rope with both hands. the rope which is held by these groups of beings is attached to the legs of the enormous serpentkhepri. this serpent has a head at each end of its body, the foremost part of which is supported on a pair of human legs; from each end of that portion of its body which lies flat on the ground springs a uraeus. on the centre fold of the body is seated a hawk, which wears on its head the double crown, this hawk is the symbol of "horus of the tuat" the text which refers to this section of the scene
is supported on a pair of human legs; from each end of that portion of its body which lies flat on the ground springs a uraeus. on the centre fold of the body is seated a hawk, which wears on its head the double crown, this hawk is the symbol of "horus of the tuat" the text which refers to this section of the scene reads- p. 255 click to view the souls of ament, and the followers of thoth who tow khepri. p. 256 click to view the followers of horus and the followers of ra who tow khepri "those who are in this scene have the rope in their hands, and it is fastened to the leg[s] of khepri, who moveth backwards to the hall of their horizon. they draw this rope with the god into their horizon, and they tow him along in the sky (nut. they live upon the, things of the south, and their sustenance
pe in their hands, and it is fastened to the leg[s] of khepri, who moveth backwards to the hall of their horizon. they draw this rope with the god into their horizon, and they tow him along in the sky (nut. they live upon the, things of the south, and their sustenance is from the things of the north [and they exist] on that which p. 257 cometh forth from the mouth of ra. the voice of this serpentkhepri goeth round about and travelleth into the secret place after ra hath entered into the height of heaven" the four groups, each containing four beings "say unto ra-'come, o come, after thy transformations! come, o ra, after thy transformations! appear, click to view the serpentkhepri and horus of the tuat. appear, after thy transformations! appear, o ra, after thy transformations in heaven