Ra Ra /rɑː/[1] or Re /reɪ/ (Egyptian: 𓂋ꜥ, rˤ) is the ancient Egyptian solar deity. By the Fifth Dynasty (2494 to 2345 BC) he had become a major god in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the midday 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 power' and 'creator'.[2] In later Egyptian dynastic times, Ra was merged with the god Horus, as Re-Horakhty ("Ra, who is Horus of the Two Horizons"). All forms of life were believed to have been created by Ra, who called each of them into existence by speaking their secret names. Role[edit] Ra and the sun[edit] To the Egyptians, the sun represented light, warmth, and growth. Ra in the underworld[edit] When Ra was in the underworld, he merged with Osiris, the god of the dead, and through it became the god of the dead as well.[4] Ra as creator[edit] Iconography[edit] Ra was represented in a variety of forms. Worship[edit] Amun and Amun-Ra
Khnum Khnum (/kəˈnuːm/; also spelled Khnemu) was one of the earliest Egyptian deities, originally the god of the source of the Nile River. Since the annual flooding of the Nile brought with it silt and clay, and its water brought life to its surroundings, he was thought to be the creator of the bodies of human children, which he made at a potter's wheel, from clay, and placed in their mothers' wombs. He later was described as having moulded the other deities, and he had the titles Divine Potter and Lord of created things from himself. General information[edit] Temple at Elephantine[edit] The temple at Elephantine was dedicated to Khnum, his consort Satis and their daughter Anukis. Opposite Elephantine, on the east bank at Aswan, Khnum, Satis and Anukis are shown on a chapel wall dating to the Ptolemaic time.[3] Temple at Esna[edit] Other[edit] The Beit el-Wali temple of Ramesses II contained statues of Khnum, Satis and Anukis, along with statues of Isis and Horus.[3] Artistic conventions[edit]
Khepri Khepri (also spelled Khepera, Kheper, Khepra, Chepri) is a god in ancient Egyptian religion. Symbolism[edit] Khepri was connected with the scarab beetle (kheprer), because the scarab rolls balls of dung across the ground, an act that the Egyptians saw as a symbol of the forces that move the sun across the sky. Khepri was thus a solar deity. Religion[edit] Appearance[edit] References[edit] ^ Jump up to: a b Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). External links[edit] Media related to Khepri at Wikimedia Commons
Apollo Apollo (Attic, Ionic, and Homeric Greek: Ἀπόλλων, Apollōn (GEN Ἀπόλλωνος); Doric: Ἀπέλλων, Apellōn; Arcadocypriot: Ἀπείλων, Apeilōn; Aeolic: Ἄπλουν, Aploun; Latin: Apollō) is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in classical Greek and Roman religion and Greek and Roman mythology. The ideal of the kouros (a beardless, athletic youth), Apollo has been variously recognized as a god of light and the sun, truth and prophecy, healing, plague, music, poetry, and more. Apollo is the son of Zeus and Leto, and has a twin sister, the chaste huntress Artemis. Apollo is known in Greek-influenced Etruscan mythology as Apulu. Etymology Tetradrachm from the Illyro-Paeonian region, representing Apollo The etymology of Apollo is uncertain. Several instances of popular etymology are attested from ancient authors. A Luwian etymology suggested for Apaliunas makes Apollo "The One of Entrapment", perhaps in the sense of "Hunter".[11] Greco-Roman epithets
Baldr "Each arrow overshot his head" (1902) by Elmer Boyd Smith. Baldr (also Balder, Baldur) is a god of light and purity in Norse mythology, and a son of the god Odin and the goddess Frigg. He has numerous brothers, such as Thor and Váli. In the 12th century, Danish accounts by Saxo Grammaticus and other Danish Latin chroniclers recorded a euhemerized account of his story. Compiled in Iceland in the 13th century, but based on much older Old Norse poetry, the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda contain numerous references to the death of Baldr as both a great tragedy to the Æsir and a harbinger of Ragnarök. Name[edit] Jacob Grimm in his Teutonic Mythology (ch. 11) identifies Old Norse Baldr with the Old High German Baldere (2nd Merseburg Charm, Thuringia), Palter (theonym, Bavaria), Paltar (personal name) and with Old English bealdor, baldor "lord, prince, king" (used always with a genitive plural, as in gumena baldor "lord of men", wigena baldor "lord of warriors", et cetera). Attestations[edit]
Horus 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. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egypt specialists.[1] These various forms may possibly be different perceptions of the same multi-layered deity in which certain attributes or syncretic relationships are emphasized, not necessarily in opposition but complementary to one another, consistent with how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple facets of reality.[2] He was most often depicted as a falcon, most likely a lanner or peregrine, or as a man with a falcon head.[3] Etymology[edit] Horus was also known as Nekheny, meaning "falcon". Note of changes over time[edit] In early Egypt, Horus was the brother of Isis, Osiris, Set and Nephthys. Horus and the pharaoh[edit] Origin mythology[edit] Mythological roles[edit] Sky god[edit] God of war and hunting[edit]
Bastet Photograph of an alabaster cosmetic jar topped with a lioness, representing Bast, an 18th dynasty burial artifact from the tomb of Tutankhamun circa 1323 BC - Cairo Museum Bastet was a goddess in ancient Egyptian religion, worshipped as early as the Second Dynasty (2890 BC). As Bast, she was the goddess of warfare in Lower Egypt, the Nile River delta region, before the unification of the cultures of ancient Egypt. The two uniting cultures had deities that shared similar roles and usually the same imagery. Name[edit] Bastet, the form of the name which is most commonly adopted by Egyptologists today because of its use in later dynasties, is a modern convention offering one possible reconstruction. During later dynasties, Bast was assigned a lesser role in the pantheon bearing the name Bastet, but retained. The town of Bast's cult (see below) was known in Greek as Boubastis (Βούβαστις). She was the goddess of protection against contagious diseases and evil spirits.[4] Bubastis[edit]
Belenus In Celtic mythology, Bel, Belenos (also Belenus) was a deity worshipped in Gaul, Cisalpine Gaul, and Celtic areas of Austria, Britain and Spain. He is particularly associated with Cornwall, West Cornwall being anciently called Belerion, the place of Bel. He was the Celtic sun god and had shrines from Aquileia on the Adriatic to Kirkby Lonsdale in England.[1][2] The etymology of the name is unclear. In the Roman period he was identified with Apollo.[1] There are currently 51 known inscriptions dedicated to Belenus, mainly concentrated in Aquileia and Cisalpine Gaul, but also extend into Gallia Narbonensis, Noricum, and far beyond.[4] Images of Belenus sometimes show him to be accompanied by a female, thought to be the Gaulish deity Belisama.[4] In Asturias, Belenus persists as place name. Epithets[edit] An epithet of Belenus may have been Vindonnus. Teutorix has been suggested as an epithet of Belenus as borrowed into Germanic religion. Name variants[edit] References[edit]
Atum Atum (/ɑ-tum/), sometimes rendered as Atem or Tem, is an important deity in Egyptian mythology. Name[edit] Atum's name is thought to be derived from the word tem which means to complete or finish. Thus he has been interpreted as being the 'complete one' and also the finisher of the world, which he returns to watery chaos at the end of the creative cycle. Origin[edit] Atum is one of the most important and frequently mentioned deities from earliest times, as evidenced by his prominence in the Pyramid Texts, where he is portrayed as both a creator and father to a king.[2] Roles[edit] In the Old Kingdom the Egyptians believed that Atum lifted the dead king's soul from his pyramid to the starry heavens.[6] He was also a solar deity, associated with the primary sun god Ra. In the Book of the Dead, which was still current in the Graeco-Roman period, the sun god Atum is said to have ascended from chaos-waters with the appearance of a snake, the animal renewing itself every morning.[8][9][10]
Aten Alternative use: the Aten asteroids, named after 2062 Aten; A10 Networks, a manufacturer of computer networking equipment Aten Aten (also Aton, Egyptian jtn) is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology, and originally an aspect of Ra. The deified Aten is the focus of the monolatristic, henotheistic, or monotheistic religion of Atenism established by Amenhotep IV, who later took the name Akhenaten in worship and recognition of Aten. In his poem "Great Hymn to the Aten", Akhenaten praises Aten as the creator, and giver of life. The worship of Aten was eradicated by Horemheb. Overview[edit] The full title of Akhenaten's god was "Ra-Horakhty who rejoices in the horizon, in his Name as the Light which is in the sun disc." Royal Titulary[edit] Pharaoh Akhenaten and his family adoring the Aten, second from the left is Meritaten who was the daughter of Akhenaten. Small Temple of the Aten at Akhetaten Variant translations[edit] Variant vocalizations[edit] Names derived from Aten[edit]
Eos Etymology[edit] Greek literature [edit] From The Iliad: Now when Dawn in robe of saffron was hastening from the streams of Oceanus, to bring light to mortals and immortals, Thetis reached the ships with the armor that the god had given her.—Iliad xix.1 Quintus Smyrnaeus pictured her exulting in her heart over the radiant horses (Lampus and Phaëton) that drew her chariot, amidst the bright-haired Horae, the feminine Hours, climbing the arc of heaven and scattering sparks of fire.[5] She is most often associated with her Homeric epithet "rosy-fingered" (rhododactylos), but Homer also calls her Eos Erigeneia: That brightest of stars appeared, Eosphoros, that most often heralds the light of early-rising Dawn (Eos Erigeneia). Hesiod wrote: And after these Erigeneia ["Early-born"] bore the star Eosphoros ("Dawn-bringer"), and the gleaming stars with which heaven is crowned. Genealogy[edit] Lovers and children[edit] Etruscan interpretations[edit] Roman interpretations[edit] See also[edit] Dawn goddess
Amun "Amen Ra" redirects here. For the Belgian band, see Amenra. Amun (also Amon (/ˈɑːmən/), Amen; Ancient Greek: Ἄμμων Ámmōn, Ἅμμων Hámmōn) was a major Egyptian deity. After the rebellion of Thebes against the Hyksos and with the rule of Ahmose I, Amun acquired national importance, expressed in his fusion with the Sun god, Ra, as Amun-Ra. Early history Amun rose to the position of tutelary deity of Thebes after the end of the First Intermediate Period, under the 11th dynasty. Temple at Karnak The history of Amun as the patron god of Thebes begins in the 20th century BC, with the construction of the Precinct of Amun-Re at Karnak under Senusret I. Major construction work in the Precinct of Amun-Re took place during the 18th dynasty when Thebes became the capital of the unified Ancient Egypt. Amon-Ra (l'esprit des quatre elements, lame du monde matérial),N372.2., Brooklyn Museum New Kingdom Bas-relief depicting Amun as pharaoh Identification with Min and Ra Atenist heresy Theology Decline
Freyr Freyr (sometimes anglicized Frey, from *frawjaz "lord"[1]) is one of the most important gods of Norse paganism. Freyr was associated with sacral kingship, virility and prosperity, with sunshine and fair weather, and was pictured as a phallic fertility god, Freyr "bestows peace and pleasure on mortals". Freyr, sometimes referred to as Yngvi-Freyr, was especially associated with Sweden and seen as an ancestor of the Swedish royal house. In the Icelandic books the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, Freyr is presented as one of the Vanir, the son of the sea god Njörðr, brother of the goddess Freyja. Adam of Bremen[edit] Written around 1080, one of the oldest written sources on pre-Christian Scandinavian religious practices is Adam of Bremen's Gesta Hammaburgensis ecclesiae pontificum. Later in the account Adam states that when a marriage is performed a libation is made to the image of Fricco. Prose Edda[edit] Gylfaginning[edit] The woman is Gerðr, a beautiful giantess. Skaldic poetry[edit]