He was so important that he earned the status of King of the Gods, with the Egyptian kings or pharaohs holding the title “sons of Ra.” The sun, and therefore Ra, represented life, warmth, and growth to ancient Egyptians. He was the most powerful and most worshiped of all Egyptian gods. He was also the predominant creator god in ancient Egyptian religion. Ra’s glory came to an end during the time when the Roman’s conquered Egypt in 30BC.Ra is the Egyptian god of the Sun.Ra is also closely associated with the Tree of Life myth, the Ben-Ben Stone and the Bennu Bird myths.The right eye of Ra represented the Sun while the left eye of Ra represented the moon.The sacred cobra that encircled Ra’s crown symbolized royalty, sovereignty and divine authority.The evening manifestation of Ra is known as the ram-headed god, Khnum.
The morning manifestation of Ra is known as “Khepri the scarab God.”.Nut, goddess of the sky and heavens, is sometimes referred to as Ra’s mother, because he emerges from her and is reborn every morning.During Ra’s journey through the heavens he was accompanied by several other gods including Thoth, Horus, Hathor, Maat, Abtu, and Anet.Historians believe that the pyramids might represent rays of sunlight, further connecting the pharaohs with Ra, the sun god.The ancient Egyptians worshiped Ra to such an extent above other gods that some historians have argued that ancient Egyptian religion was indeed a monotheistic one with Ra as the singular god.Initially associated with Horus (similarly to the wadjet, the Eye of Horus), the Eye of Ra shifted positions in the myths, becoming both an extension of Ra's power and a separate entity altogether.Ĭlick here to learn more about The Eye of Ra Ra God Facts Present in the ancient Egyptian mythology is the Eye of Ra, shown as the sun disk with two 'uraeus' cobras coiled around it, next to the white and red crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt. During this time, many solar temples were built. Many tombs in the Valley of the Kings portray depictions of Ra and his journey through the underworld. The New Kingdom brought new heights of worship to Ra. © isawnyu - Relief of Ramses II making an offering to Ra and Nekhbet Amun was one of the gods who formed the Ogdoad (the assembly of eight gods who represented eight elements of creation).
During the Middle Kingdom, the new deity, Amun-Ra was formed. As the powerful creator of mankind and the sun god, he also became associated with Atum to make “Atum-Ra.”įifth Dynasty and subsequent pharaohs were all known as “The son of Ra” and Ra became incorporated into every pharaoh’s name from then onward. Ra’s relationship with other gods did not stop there. This new deity fusion was then referred to as “Ra-Horakhty” meaning Ra is Horus of the Horizon. As the king and leader of Egypt, the pharaoh was seen as the human manifestation of Horus, so the two gods became connected. It wasn’t until the fifth dynasty that Ra became closely associated with the pharaoh. This solar temple is known as “Benu-Phoenix” and is believed to have been erected in the exact spot where Ra emerged into creation.Īlthough Ra dates back to the second dynasty, he is not the oldest of the Egyptian gods. The earliest known temple built in honor of Ra exists in Heliopolis (what is now a Cairo suburb). Instead, they were created to be open to the sunlight that Ra represented. Solar temples were built for Ra but did not contain a statue of the god. © milk fat - The Bennu Bird Worship of the Sun God
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