Egyptian mythology
description
Transcript of Egyptian mythology
Egyptian Mythology
Tyson, Velasquez,and Castillo
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient
Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods
as a means of understanding the
world.
Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses who
were worshiped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals
surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient
Egyptian religion, which emerged along with them sometime in prehistory.
Ancient Egyptian Deities
In different eras, various gods were
said to hold the highest position in
divine society.
Egyptian Base Gods
Osiris: is an Egyptian base god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the
underworld and the dead. He was classically depicted as a green skinned man with a
pharaoh's beard, partially mummy wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two
large ostrich feathers at either side, and holding a symbolic crook and flail.
OSIRIS
Anubis: is the Greek name for a jackal-headed god
associated with mummification and the
afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. He is the son of
Nephthys and Set according to the Egyptian mythology. According to the Akkadian
transcription in the Amarna letters, Anubis' name was vocalized in Egyptian as Anapa. The oldest known
mention of Anubis is in the Old Kingdom pyramid texts, where he is associated with the burial of the pharaoh.
ANUBIS
Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in ancient
Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late
Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times.
The most commonly encountered family relationship describes
Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris but in another tradition Hathor is
regarded as his mother and sometimes as his wife. Horus served many functions in the
Egyptian pantheon, most notably being the god of the sun, war and
protection.
HORUS
Figure of a Horus Falcon, between circa 300 and circa
250 BC (Greco-Roman).
Courtesy of the Walters Art Museum.
Praised for controlling vermin and killing dangerous snakes
such as cobras, the cat became a symbol of grace and poise. As a revered animal and one
important to Egyptian society and religion, some cats received the same mummification after death as humans. Mummified cats were given in offering to Bastet, who is the Goddess of cats, Lower Egypt, the sun and the moon. In 1888, an Egyptian farmer uncovered a large tomb
with mummified cats and kittens. This discovery outside the town
of Beni Hasan had eighty thousand cat mummies, dating to
1,000th -2,000th B.C.
SIDE NOTE
CATS IN ANCIENT EGYPT
Picture: A bronze statue
of the cat goddess,
Bastet
Bastet also known as baast, ubasti and
Baset refers to a cat goddess of ancient Egyptian mythology
who was worshipped. She was the Goddess of cats, Lower Egypt,
the sun and the moon. Bastet may
have been the most important goddesses
in acient egypt.
BASTET
Photograph of an alabaster cosmetic jar
topped with a lioness,
representing Bast, an
eighteenth dynasty burial artifact from the tomb of
Tutankhamun circa 1323 BC - Cairo Museum
Egyptian Heros?The Egyptians didn't have the same
cosmology as the Greeks and Romans. There are tales of great deeds done
by the Egyptian gods and goddesses, but they aren't the same as the
Heroes and demigods of Greek and Roman mythology.
Most of the Egyptian 'heroes' would have been pharaohs who won great battles or did great things for their country. However there are many
myths.
Creation MythsAmong the most important myths were
those describing the creation of the world. The Egyptian developed many accounts of the creation, which differ greatly in the events they describe. In
particular, the deities credited with creating the world vary in each account. This difference partly reflects the desire of Egypt's cities and priesthoods to exalt
their own patron gods by attributing creation to them. Yet the differing
accounts were not regarded as contradictory; instead, the Egyptians saw
the creation process as having many aspects and involving many divine forces
The sun rises over the circular
mound of creation as goddesses
pour out the primeval waters
around it.Picture
Courtesy of Wikipedia
Hermopolis Creation MythThe creation myth formed in the city of Hermopolis focused on the
nature of the universe before the creation of the world. The qualities of the primeval waters were represented by a set of eight
gods, called the Ogdoad. The god Nu and his female counterpart Naunet represented the inert primeval water itself; Huh and his counterpart Hauhet represented the water's infinite extent; Kuk
and Kauket personified the darkness present within it.and Amun and Amaunet represented its hidden and unknowable
nature, in contrast to the tangible world of the living. The primeval waters were themselves part of the creation process, therefore, the
deities representing them could be seen as creator gods. According to the myth, the eight gods were originally divided into
male and female groups. They were symbolically depicted as aquatic creatures because they dwelt within the water: the males were represented as frogs, and the females were represented as snakes. These two groups eventually converged, resulting in a great upheaval, which produced the pyramidal mound. From it emerged the sun, which rose into the sky to light the world.
Questions?