RA THE SUN GOD

Sun worship was exceptionally prevalent in ancient Egyptian religion. The earliest deities associated with the sun are Wadjet, Sekhmet, Hathor, Nut, Bast, Bat, and Menhit. First Hathor, and then Isis, give birth to and nurse Horus and Ra.

The Sun's movement across the sky represents a struggle between the Pharaoh's soul and an avatar of Osiris. The "solarisation" of several local gods (Hnum-Re, Min-Re, Amon-Re) reaches its peak in the period of the fifth dynasty.

In the eighteenth dynasty, Akhenaten changed the polytheistic religion of Egypt to a pseudo-monotheistic one, Atenism. All other deities were replaced by the Aten, including, Amun, the reigning sun god of Akhenaten's own region. Unlike other deities, the Aten did not have multiple forms. His only image was a disk—a symbol of the sun.Ra (alternately spelled Ré), Egyptian *ri:ʕu, is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun. The meaning of the name is uncertain, but it is thought that if not a word for 'sun' it may be a variant of or linked to words meaning 'creative'[citation needed].

The chief cult centre of Ra was Heliopolis (called Inun, "Place of Pillars", in Egyptian), where he was identified with the local sun-god Atum. Through Atum, or as Atum-Ra he was also seen as the first being and the originator of the Ennead, consisting of Shu and Tefnut, Geb and Nut, Osiris, Set, Isis and Nephthys.

In later Egyptian dynastic times, Ra was merged with the god Horus, as Re-Horakhty ("Ra, who is Horus of the Two Horizons"). He was believed to rule in all parts of the created world the sky, the earth, and the underworld. He was associated with the falcon or hawk. When in the New Kingdom the god Amun rose to prominence he was fused with Ra as Amun-Ra.

During the Amarna Period, Akhenaten suppressed the cult of Ra in favour of another solar deity the Aton, the deified solar disc, but after the death of Akhenaten the cult of Ra was restored.The Middle Kingdom saw Ra being increasingly combined and affiliated with other chief deities, especially Amun and Osiris.

During the New Kingdom, the worship of Ra became more complicated and grander. The walls of tombs were dedicated to extremely detailed texts that told of Ra's journey through the underworld. Ra was said to carry the prayers and blessings of the living with the souls of the dead on the sun boat. The idea that Ra aged with the sun became more popular with the rise of The New Kingdom. Eventually, during the reign of Akhenaten(mid 1350s-1330s), the worship reached the level of "uncompromising monotheism"

Many acts of worship included hymns, prayers, and spells to help Ra and the sun boat overcome Apep.

Though worship of Ra was widespread, his cult center was in Heliopolis in Lower Egypt. Oddly enough, this was the home of the Ennead that was believed to be headed by Atum, with whom he was merged. The Holiday of 'The Receiving of Ra' was celebrated on May 26 in the Gregorian calendar.

The rise of Christianity in the Roman empire caused an end to the worship of Ra by the citizens of Egypt, and as Ra's popularity suddenly died out, the study of Ra became purely for academic knowledge even among the Egyptian priests.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• egypt
• cult
• sun
• aten
• history
• ancient
• religion

[djdre2]

Great work!

[trueblueaus1488]

@djdre2 Thanx

[UNKNOWNFORMS]

great song is it simon and garfunkels sound of silence?

[thone2008]

In some account, RA Travels across the Blue Sky [Celestial Flood] in an ARk, in epigraphy, 4 People [ 3 + 1 wife] with a BIRD - The Ark would Land on the Great Pyramid [Mount ARARAT] Ararat means [The Great Mount of RA]

[RamiroV33]

The priest is on the boat and hell is on its way.

[salaahsajda]

is ra was bigger than amun

[wheresgodnow]

@farang, and the pope wears the crown of the 'sun' not the SON, to this very day. Pharaohs had to stay at war, to maintain their power. After the Romans conquered Egypt, the ideology persisted. Look at us now, always at war...I feel conned.

[farang]

Ra, according to the most ancient Egyptian myth, is the son of Ptah. Ptah is Buddha, Ra is Rama: they came from India. "Abram", the father of the Jews(Hebrews) is actually A Brahma, from the Sarai River valley, where the kingdom was called "Puru"...get it? Abram(ham) and "Sarah"? Google "Puru" and see for yourself at Wikipedia....The Egyptian pharoahs called themselves "Heperu"...from Puru, morphing into Hebrews.

Vedic myth. "Shakamuni Buddha" was Egyptian Sokar Amun Ptah. The Trilogy.

[Mertt03]

hmm very interesting status having asiatic eyes! I knew they originally came from asia

[pacbiggiecom]

They were not God's, they were Neteru, not Gods the Greek, Romans and Jews called them Gods.