Egyptian Mythology: A Concise Guide
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"As a camel beareth labour, and heat, and hunger and thirst, through deserts of sand, and fainteth not; so the fortitude of man shall sustain him through all perils."  —Pharaoh Akhenaton, 18th dynasty
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The Gods do not dwell in the sky above, as in most other mythologies, but in manmade temples during their lives and then in giant pyramids when they move into the Underworld.
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The Nile: the Egyptians called it Ar or Aur, which meant “black,” or they referred to it simply as “the river.” It was the Greeks who actually gave the Nile its name, from the word for “valley” i.e. Neilos.The White Nile rises in Lake Victoria in Equatorial Africa, joins the Blue Nile, which rises at Lake Tana in Ethiopia and snakes its way down to enter Egypt in the south, at Aswan. From there it sweeps down to the Mediterranean Sea. In historical times it had three phases: Akhet, from June to September, when it was in flood, called the inundation; Peret, from October to February, when all ...more
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Society was very stratified but all were equal before the law. Women had equal rights to men.
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In the beginning there were the dark, swirling waters of chaos called Nu.
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with his shadow, producing two children. He coughed or spat out Shu, the God of Air (or Wind) and vomited up Tefnut the Goddess of Moisture (or Rain). Atum taught Shu the principles of life and Tefnut learned the principles of order.
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After a while he became concerned for his children and he sent his one eye to find them. When they returned, with his eye, he was so overjoyed he started crying with gratitude; human beings manifested from his tears.
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harmony and order and balance in all things. This is known as Ma’at.
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Bastet was originally a lioness and then became a cat; as the Goddess of the Home, she is often shown with a cat’s head and holding a “sistrum” which was a sacred rattle. Often there is a kindle of kittens by her side. Thoth, the God of Learning, Magic and Wisdom, is usually depicted with the head of an Ibis and carrying a pen and ink holder.
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One of her icons is a sycamore tree and she is often seen holding her last born child Horus the Younger in her arms. This image is considered to be a forerunner of the pictures of Mary holding the Christ child as her cult remained popular through the 6th century CE.
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Some say he created himself through the power of his tongue. This is a ghostly presentiment of the beautiful opening of St. John’s gospel in the Bible; “In the beginning was the word, and the Word was with God and God was the Word.”
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Thoth is credited with being the inventor of hieroglyphics, arithmetic and astrology, and is usually depicted as carrying a pen and ink or a stylus and palette.
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He almost always has the head of an Ibis surmounted by the lunar crescent. His other sacred animal is the baboon, ...
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He is a lunar deity and is called “he who balances”; a reference to his role as the record keeper in the Underworld when ...
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