Mythology: the Egyptian god of the Sun and other ancient gods

The mythology of the Ancient World is so confusing and multifaceted that it is already impossible to determine exactly what the ancients believed. Let us turn to such an important personage as the Egyptian god of the Sun, for the sun is life, light, and ancient people attached great importance to it.

Various sources speak of two different gods of the daylight. One of them, about whom the majority has heard, is Ra, and the second, who has faded in the shadow of his "colleague", is Gore. Both of them have the title of the Sun God, but their images are so intertwined that sometimes there is no difference between them. We will try to understand, because of what there was such confusion.

The Egyptian God of the Sun - Gore

The sources say that this god appeared much earlier than Ra. Just his way is a man with a falcon head, as well as a solar disk with the wings spread by this bird.

Gor was first a symbol of victory over enemy tribes. First he became a deity in Upper Egypt, and after all of Egypt was conquered, the god with the falcon head began to personify the power of the pharaoh. Gore united in itself two principles: earthly, in the form of a pharaoh and a king, and heavenly, in the form of the lord of heaven and the sun god.

Gore, the god of the sun in Egyptian mythology, is the son of Isis and Osiris. When the latter was brutally murdered by his brother Seth, Gore entered into battle with him and won, returning the throne of his father. After that, he received the great honor of being called the king of all Egypt.

The Egyptian Sun God - Ra

He was considered the creator of everything: the universe, life, light. An interesting fact is that he himself created himself from the lotus, which appeared on the first stone, which, in turn, originated from primary waters. Then the Egyptian god of the Sun created air and humidity, from which other gods began to appear, for example, Nut (the goddess of Heaven) and Geb (the god of the Earth). Subsequently, Ancient Egypt began to emerge. And the man appeared from the tears of the god Ra.

Above we consider only one myth concerning the birth of a given god, but there are a great many of them. In some ways they are similar, and in some ways completely opposite, because in time, one myth is superimposed on another, and what was the primary source, it is almost impossible to learn.

But some stories about the Sun God are known to everyone. For example, that Ra rides on the day chariot on the heavenly goddess Nut, and at night in the next world he fights with the serpent Apop, so that the morning comes again.

The symbols depicting the god Ra are almost identical to those that symbolize the god Horus. Only in this case the idea of its concrete form is a little blurry: a falcon, a hawk or another large bird.

There is an image where Horus stands on the boat of the god Ra and fights against the enemies of light, represented in the form of hippos and crocodiles. But the image of Horus nevertheless went into the background. It is said that when the government in Egypt was replaced (namely, a man came not from the royal family), myths appeared that it was Ra that was the supreme god of the sun, and Gore was only his son. That's why the images of Ra and Gore blend into one.

Other ancient gods of the sun

1. The personification of the sun god in Ancient Greece is Helios. He, like Ra, moved the sky every day on his chariot drawn by four winged horses. The most positive god - he was loved by everyone.
2. Four gods of the Sun gave life and light to Ancient Russia. Horse, Svetovit, Jadbog and Yarilo - from the oldest to the youngest. Horse - The sun of the afterlife, winter and night. Light - Sun of sunset, old age, autumn, evening. Jadbog - The sun of summer, fruits, day, maturity. Yarylo - morning, beginning, spring, youth.