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Anubis Anubis, who the ancient Egyptians called Ienpw (phonetically "Yinepu"), is the mysterious canid funerary deity of ancient Egypt. Even the meaning of his name is unknown -- speculations range from "Royal Child" to having derived from the world for "to putrefy". Both certainly fit the deity, who was at various points in time of Egyptian history known as the lord of the dead before Osiris and, later, became popularly known as the son of Osiris. Just what type of animal Anubis is represented by is unknown as well; definitely canid and most likely a jackal or a wild dog -- or a hybrid of both -- but, as in the case of Seth, with alterations that deliberately smudge the lines of reality. The deep black color Anubis's animal is not reflective of its actual coat but is instead symbolic of his position as a funerary deity. The reason for Anubis's animal being canid is based on what the ancient Egyptians themselves observed of the creature -- dogs and jackals often haunted the edges of the desert, especially the cemeteries where the dead were buried. Anubis is an extremely ancient deity. The oldest mastabas of the Old Kingdom have prayers to him carved into their walls, and he is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts in his most celebrated role as a guardian and protector of the dead. A standard offering formula for the dead in the Old Kingdom began thusly:
"An offering which the king gives and Anubis, who is upon his mountain and in the place of embalming, the lord of the necropolis...."
As mentioned previously, Anubis began in the position that Osiris would later command. In the earliest period of Egyptian religion Anubis was clearly the lord of the dead and Osiris the embalmed god while Anubis performed the act of embalming. Titles that were invested unto Osiris -- such as Khenty-Imentiu or "Foremost of Westerners" -- were originally Anubis's. As the drama of Osiris's death and vindication unfolded over the centuries, Anubis assumed the role of the guide who holds steady the scales on which their hearts are measured against the feather of ma'at as "He Who Counts the Hearts". Should the heart be light as the feather, the soul would then be lead by Anubis (or, in some cases, Harseisis) to be presented to Osiris. Should the heart be heavy, it is fed to Ammit and the soul destroyed.
As Imy-ut, or "He Who is In the Place of Embalming", Anubis is the embalmer who washes the entrails of the dead and guards over their physical bodies as well as the places that house them (the tomb and the necropolis). Priests wearing a mask of Anubis were responsible for the Opening of the Mouth ceremony that reawakened a dead person's senses. In a reflection of the royal seal used on the tombs of the Valley of the Kings depicting pharaoh's victory over the "nine bows" (enemies of Egypt), Anubis is shown recumbent over nine bows meant to be hostile forces of the Underworld who he -- as "Jackal Ruler of the Bows" -- has triumphed over. Anubis's parentage is a mystery -- in one tradition he is the son of Nebt-het (Nephthys) and Ra. In yet another, from the Coffin Text period, the cow goddess Hesat is his mother and, from the same source, Bastet is even accounted as his mother (most likely a pun on the ointment jars that comprise her hieroglyphs -- the same jars that were used during the embalming process Anubis was lord of). The Pyramid Texts even supply Anubis with a daughter in the form of the goddess Qeb-hwt ("Cooling Water") -- a celestial serpent or ostrich Who purifies and quenches the monarch. Anubis is depicted most often as a man with the head of a black canid with alert, pointed ears. He is also represented by a full black canid wearing ribbons and holding a flagellum in the crook of its arm. Very rarely is he ever shown fully human, though there are some cases (such as in the temple of Ramesses II of Abydos) of this. Perhaps the most famous representation of Anubis, the gold-gilded wooden canid found in the tomb of Tutankhamen, was doubtlessly placed there as a protector of the dead and guardian of the tomb. Anubis was worshipped throughout Egypt, but the center of his cult was in Cynopolis (Upper Egypt).
Other names:
Anpu
Ienpw
Yinepu
Pronunciation:
uh-noo'-bis |
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Horus
The name "Horus" is a general catchall for multiple deities, the most famous of whom is Harseisis (Heru-sa-Aset) or Horus-son-of-Isis (sometimes called Horus the Younger) who was conceived after the death of his father, Osiris, and who later avenged him. In all the Horus deities the traits of kingship, sky and solar symbology, and victory reoccur. As the prototype of the earthly king, there were as many Horus gods as there were rulers of Egypt, if not more. The oldest of the Horus gods is appropriately named Horus the Elder (Heru-ur), and was especially venerated in pre-Dynastic Upper Egypt along with Hathor. In this very ancient form, Horus is also a creator god, the falcon who flew up at the beginning of time. The pre-Pharaohnic rulers of Upper Egypt were considered "shemsu-Heru" or "followers of Horus", and the original Horus is himself considered in some myths to be the brother of Seth and Osiris, second-born of the five children of Geb and Nut (Osiris, Horus, Seth, Isis, Nephthys). Horus the Elder's city was Letopolis, and his eyes were thought to be the sun and moon. When these two heavenly bodies are invisible (as on the night of the new moon) he goes blind and takes the name Mekhenty-er-irty, "He who has no eyes". When he recovers them, he becomes Khenty-irty, "He who has eyes". A warrior-god armed with a sword, Horus could be especially dangerous to those around him in his vision-deprived state, and during one battle in particular he managed to not only knock off the heads of his enemies but of the other deities fighting alongside him, thus plunging the world into immediate confusion that was only relieved when his eyes returned. Other notable Horus gods are the previously mentioned Harseisis, as well as Horus of Behdet (sometimes called simply Behdety) who was represented as a winged sun disk, Anhur (a form of Horus the Elder and Shu), Horakhety (Ra-Heru-akhety) who was a syncretism of Ra and Horus, and Harpokrates (Heru-pa-khered) or Horus the Child. In the form of Harpokrates, Horus is the danger-beset son of Isis with one finger to his lips, signifying his childish nature (also evident in his princely sidelock and naked status). Harpokrates represented not only the royal heir, but also the newborn sun. Horus deities are frequently depicted as hawks or hawk-headed men, though some are represented as fully human. The pharaoh was considered to be the Living Horus, the temporal stand-in for Horus in the earthly domain. As the opponent of Seth (who, though initially an Upper Egyptian deity himself, later came to represent not only Lower Egypt but the desert surrounding Egypt), Horus is alternately a brother vying for the throne and unification of Egypt (Horus the Elder), or a royal heir come to reclaim his inheritance (Horus the Younger). Horus can be seen at the top of the serekh of early kings, though in very rare cases his place was usurped by Set (Peribsen, Dynasty 2) or even shared with him (Khasekhemwy, Dynasty 2). Horus is also depicted on the famous Narmer palette along with Bat, an earlier form of Hathor. A passage from the Coffin Texts (passage 148) sums up Horus in his own words: "I am Horus, the great Falcon upon the ramparts of the house of him of the hidden name. My flight has reached the horizon. I have passed by the gods of Nut. I have gone further than the gods of old. Even the most ancient bird could not equal my very first flight. I have removed my place beyond the powers of Set, the foe of my father Osiris. No other god could do what I have done. I have brought the ways of eternity to the twilight of the morning. I am unique in my flight. My wrath will be turned against the enemy of my father Osiris and I will put him beneath my feet in my name of 'Red Cloak'." "Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt" by R.T. Rundle Clark, p. 216
Article details
Other names:
Hrw
Hr
Pronunciation:
hohr'-uhs |
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Thoth
Thoth is the name given by the Greeks to the Egyptian god Djeheuty. Thoth was the god of wisdom, inventor of writing, patron of scribes and the divine mediator. He is most often represented as a man with the head of an ibis, holding a scribal palette and reed pen. He could also be shown completely as an ibis or a baboon.
As with most Egyptian deities there were many different stories regarding the parentage of Thoth. Many sources call him the son of Re, but one tradition has him springing forth from the head of Seth. This latter story is reminiscent of the birth of the Greek goddess Athena, who like Thoth was the patron divinity of wisdom. Myths concerning Thoth show him as a divinity whose counsel is always sought. His most significant role is during the battles of Horus and Seth. Thoth is a staunch supporter of Horus and his mother Isis, maintaining that Horus' claim to the throne is just and the murderous Seth has no right to the kingship of Egypt. Elsewhere Thoth is a reliable mediator and peacemaker. When the goddess Tefnut had a dispute with her father Re and absconded to Nubia, it was Thoth that the sun-god sent to reason with her and bring her home. Thoth was also present at the judgement of the dead. He would question the deceased before recording the result of the weighing of the deceased's heart. If the result was favorable Thoth would declare the deceased as a righteous individual who was worthy of a blessed afterlife. Thoth was also a lunar deity, and whatever form he took he wore a lunar crescent on his head. Some Egyptologists think that the Egyptians identified the crescent moon with the curved beak of the ibis. It is also suggested that the Egyptians observed that baboon was a nocturnal (i.e. lunar) animal who would greet the sun with chattering noises each morning. As he was messenger of the gods Thoth was identified by the Greeks with their own god Hermes. For this reason Thoth's center of worship is still known to us today as Hermopolis.
Other names:
Djeheuty
Tehuti
Tahuti
Zehuti
Pronunciation: thahth
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Seth The ancient Egyptian god of chaos, the embodiment of hostility and even of outright evil. He is also a god of war, deserts, storms, and foreign lands. As the god of deserts he protects the caravans which travel through the desert, but he also causes sandstorms which bring him into conflict with the fertility god Osiris. The two are adversaries and in the Osiris myths, Seth killed his brother and scattered the remains all over Egypt. Seth belongs to the Ennead of Heliopolis and is the son of Geb and Nut (or Re and Nut). He is the brother of Osiris, Isis, and Nephthys, who is sometimes given as his consort, although Seth is more commonly associated with the foreign, Semitic goddesses Astarte and Anat. During the 3rd millenium BCE Seth replaced Horus as the tutelary deity of the pharaohs, but the story of Osiris' murder gained currency and Horus was restored to his original status. The war that followed lasted eighty years, during which Seth tore out Horus' left eye and Horus tore off Seth's foreleg and testicles. Eventually, Horus emerged victorious, or was deemed the victor by the council of the gods, and thus became the rightful ruler of the kingdoms of Lower and Upper Egypt. Seth was forced to return the eye of Horus and was either castrated or killed. In other versions he went to live with the sungod Re, where he became the voice of thunder. In the Book of the Dead, Seth is called "Lord of the Northern Sky" and is held responsible for storms and cloudy weather. Despite his reputation, Seth has some good characteristics. He protects the sun barge of Re during its nightly journey through the underworld and he fights the snake-like monster Apep. On the other hand, he was a peril for ordinary Egyptians in the underworld, where he was said to seize the souls of the unwary. Seth was portrayed as a man with the head of undeterminable origin, although some see in it the head of an aardvark. He had a curved snout, erect square-tipped ears and a long forked tail. He was sometimes entirely in animal form with the body similar to that of a greyhound. Animals sacred to this god where the dog, the jackal, the gazelle, the donkey, the crocodile, the hippopotamus, and the pig. There was an important sanctuary at Ombos in Upper Egypt, his reputed birthplace, and considered to be the home of his cult. This cult was also prominent in the north-eastern region of the Nile delta. The Greeks equated him with their Typhon. Other names include : Sutekh, Setech, Sutech, Set, Setekh, Setesh, Seti. |
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Ptah
Ptah is the creator-god of Memphis, the city that served as the capital of the ancient Egypt for most of its history and which was known, during that history, as Het-ka-Ptah or "House of the Soul of Ptah". Ptah is one of several Egyptian deities attributed with a myth about fashioning creation. Ptah, as the god Ta-tenen (the primordial mound), creates in the so-called "Memphite Theology" the world, its inhabitants, and the kas (or spirits) of the other gods. A patron of craftsmen, Ptah's name means "Creator". He is depicted as a mummified man with only his hands free to grasp a sceptre composed of the symbols of life (ankh), power (was), and stability (djed). He is also typically shown wearing a skullcap and standing on the plinth-shaped hieroglyph that is part of the name for Ma'at, the goddess of fundamental truth. Another deity of Memphis, the funerary god Sokar, was also a patron to craftsmen, and seems to have divided his labor with Ptah: where Ptah was closely associated with stone-working, Sokar was closely associated with metal-working. In the Later Period, Ptah and Sokar would become syncretized with Osiris to form Ptah-Seker-Osiris, a composite deity invoking the properties exhibited by all three: creation, stasis, and the afterlife. In Heliopolis, this triad would be known as Ptah-Sokar-Atum, but hailed as Osiris. Ptah's wife is usually Sakhmet or, less commonly, Bastet. Gods attributed as his children are Nefertem, Imhotep (a deified architect of the Old Kingdom), and Maahes. Apis, the bull of Memphis, was associated with Ptah as his oracle. From the Memphite Theology: "Thus it is said of Ptah: 'He who made all and created the gods.' And he is Ta-tenen, who gave birth to the gods, and from whom every thing came forth, foods, provisions, divine offerings, all good things. Thus it is recognized and understood that he is the mightiest of the gods. Thus Ptah was satisfied after he had made all things and all divine words."
(Ancient Egyptian Literature, Volume I: The Old and Middle Kingdom translated by Miriam Lichtheim) |
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Mammon NAME: Mammon. The Golden Calf. SYMBOLS: a golden calf. $ (also signs for the Pound, Yen, Mark etc...) USUAL IMAGE: Mostly bovine, male calves and Bulls. HOLY BOOKS: If there ever were any in the past they have been destroyed however a good god is hard to put down, so that he can be found in the Wallstreet Journal, The Financial Times, Sears & Robuck catalog, Wealth of Nations, Forbes, etc... HOLY DAYS: Main one use to take place between Dec. 12 to Dec. 25, but his followers have stretched this out so that the images, icons, and chanting of their high holy day now starts around Nov. first. UNHOLYDAY: One of the rare one's that has one of these, takes place (at least in the U.S. so this one can be thought of as sort of like Thanksgiving,an American based (un)holiday) on April 15 PLACES OF WORSHIP: the market place, Malls, Banks, the `pits' on Wallstreet and in like centers of worship. Also like few other up to date deities Mammon has gone video and has a televised worship place, and just like some others are served by the 700 club or MTV, he is served on the religious channel known as the Home Shopping Network. MAJOR TABOOS: Don't get caught. Don't leave home with out it. Never give a sucker an even brake. FORMS OF WORSHIP: BUYING!. spending. hording. dancing around a graven image (as Golden calves are hard to come by today, this has mainly been replaced by such things as large boats, BMW's, and other types of cars. SYNODEITIES: Baal, Rockefeller, Nephthys, Scrooge McDuck, Santa Claus. DETAILS: Mammon is the all-American deity, though he is just as well liked and worshiped the whole world over, an interesting bit of synchronicity is the way that the bull image and related images turn up to day, in the past a common foe of some bull deities was a tiger, and as you go west this foe becomes a bear. and on Wallstreet we still have bulls and bears, and the new myths about the war between the bull (capitalism) and the bear (communism) are well known to every one. |
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Introductory Hymn to the Sun-God Ra
Worship of Re when he rises in the eastern horizon of the sky,
by N
N Says:
Hail to you, you having come as Khepri, even Khepri who is the creator of the
Gods.
You rise and shine on the back of your mother the sky, having appeared in glory as King of the gods. Your mother Nut shall use her arms on your Behalf in making greeting. The Manu-mountain receives you in peace. Maat embraces you at all seasons. May you give power and might in vindication �?and a coming forth as a living soul to see horakhty �?to the ka of N.
N says: O all you gods of the Soul-mansion who judge sky and earth in the
Balance, who give food and provisions;
O Tatenen, Unique One, creator of Mankind; O Southern, Northern, Eastern and Western Enneads, give praise to Ra, Lord of the Sky, the Sovereign who made the gods. Worship him in his goodly shape when he appears in the Day-bark. May those who are above worship you, may those who are below worship you, may Thoth and Maat write to you daily; your Serpent-foe has been given over to the fire and the rebel-serpent is fallen, his arms are bound, Ra has taken away his movements, and the Children of impotence are non-existent. The Mansion of the Prince is in festival, the noise of shouting is in the Great Place, the gods are in joy, when they see Ra in his appearing, his rays flooding the lands. The Majesty of this noble god proceeds, he has entered the land of Manu, the land is bright at his daily birth, and he has attained his state of yesterday. May you be gracious to me when I see your beauty, having departed from upon earth. May I smite the Ass, may I drive off the rebel-serpent, may I destroy Apep when he acts, for I have seen the abdju-fish in its moment of being and the bulti-fish piloting the canoe on Its waterway. I have seen Hours as helmsman with Thoth and Maat beside him, I have taken hold of the bow-warp of the Night-bark and the stern-warp of the day-bark. May he grant that I see the sun-disc and behold the moon unceasingly every day; may my soul go forth to travel to every place which it desires;
May my name be called out, may it be found at the board of offerings,
May there be given to me loaves in the Presence like the Followers of Hours, May a Place be made for me in the solar bark on the day when the god ferries across,
And may I be received into the presence of Osiris in the Land of Vindication.
For the ka of N.
Translation by Allen and Faulkner
From Egyptian Book of the Dead
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Hymn To Osiris
"Homage to thee, Osiris, Lord of eternity, King of the Gods, whose names are
Manifold, whose forms are holy, thou being of hidden form in the temples,
Whose Ka is holy. Thou art the governor of Tattu (Busiris), and also the mighty
One in Sekhem (Letopolis).
Thou art the Lord to whom praises are ascribed in
The Nome of Ati, thou art the Prince of divine food in Anu. Thou art the Lord who is commemorated in Maati, the Hidden Soul, the Lord of Qerrt (Elephantine), the Ruler supreme in White Wall (Memphis). Thou art the Soul of Ra, his own body, and hast thy place of rest in Henensu (Herakleopolis). Thou art the beneficent one, and art praised in Nart. Thou makest thy soul to be raised up. Thou art the Lord of the Great House in Khemenu (Hermopolis). Thou art the Mighty one of victories in Shas-hetep, the Lord of eternity, the Governor of Abydos. The path of his throne is in At-tcheser (a part of Abydos). Thy name is established in the mouths of men. Thou art the substance of Two Lands (Egypt). Thou art Tem, the feeder of Kau (Doubles), the Governor of the Companies of the gods. Thou art the beneficent Spirit among the spirits. The god of the Celestial Ocean (Nu) draweth from thee his waters. Thou sendest forth the North wind at eventide, and breath from thy nostrils to the satisfaction of Thy heart. Thy heart reneweth its youth, thou producest the.... The stars in the celestial heights are obedient unto thee, and the great doors of the sky open themselves before thee. Thou art he to whom praises are ascribed in the Southern heaven, and thanks are given for thee in the northern heaven. The imperishable stars are under thy supervision, and the stars which never set are
Thy thrones. Offerings appear before thee at the decree of Keb. The Companies of the Gods praise thee, and the gods of the Tuat (Other World) smell the earth in paying homage to thee. The uttermost parts of the earth bow before thee, and the limits of the skies entreat thee with supplications when they see thee. The holy ones are overcome before thee, and all Egypt offereth thanksgiving unto thee when it meeteth Thy Majesty. Thou art a shining Spirit-Body, The governor of Spirit-Bodies; permanent is thy rank, established is thy rule.
Thou art the well-doing Sekhem (Power) of the Company of the Gods, gracious
Is thy face, and beloved by him that seeth it.
Thy fear is set in all the lands by reason of thy perfect love, and they cry out to thy name making it the first of names, and all people make offerings to thee. Thou art the lord who art commemorated in heaven and upon earth. Many are the cries which are made to thee at the Uak festival, and with one heart and voice Egypt raiseth cries of joy to thee.
"Thou art the Great Chief, the first among thy brethren, the Prince of the
Company of the Gods, the stablisher of Right and Truth throughout the World,
The Son who was set on the great throne of his father Keb.
Thou art the beloved of thy mother Nut, the mighty one of valour, who overthrew the Sebau-fiend.
Thou didst stand up and smite thine enemy, and set thy fear in thine adversary.
Thou dost bring the boundaries of the mountains. Thy heart is fixed, thy legs are set firm. Thou art the heir of Keb and of the sovereignty of the Two Lands (Egypt). He (Keb) hath seen his splendours, he hath decreed for him the guidance of the world by thy hand as long as times endure. Thou hast made this earth with thy hand, and the waters, and the winds, and the vegetation, and all the cattle, and all the feathered fowl, and all the fish, and all the
creeping things, and all the wild animals therof. The desert is the lawful possession of the son of Nut. The Two Lands (Egypt) are content to crown thee upon the throne of thy father, like Ra.
"Thou rollest up into the horizon, thou hast set light over the darkness, Thou sendest forth air from thy plumes, and thou floodest the Two Lands like the disk at daybreak.
Thy crown penetrateth the height of heaven, thou art the companion of the stars, and the guide of every god. Thou art beneficent in decree and speech, the favoured one of the Great Company of the Gods, and the beloved of the Little Company of the Gods.
His sister [Isis] hath protected him, and hath repulsed the fiends, and turned aside calamities (of evil).
She uttered the spell with the magical power of her mouth. Her tongue was perfect, and it never halted at a word. Beneficent in command and word was Isis, the woman of magical spells, the advocate of her brother. She sought him untiringly, she wandered round and round about this earth in sorrow, and she alighted not without finding him. She made light with her feathers, she created air with her wings, and she uttered the death wail for her brother. She raised up the inactive members of whose heart was still, she drew from him his essence, she made an heir, she reared the child in loneliness, and the place where he was not known, and he grew in strength and stature, and his hand was mighty in the House of Keb. The Company of the Gods rejoiced, rejoiced, at the coming of Horus, the son of Osiris, whose heart was firm, the triumphant, the son of Isis, the heir of Osiris."
From Egyptian Book of the Dead
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Ra Other Names: Re Patron of: the sun, heaven, kingship, power, light. Appearance: a pharaoh wearing the sun disk on his head. Description: Ra was the almost universally-worshipped king of the gods and all-father of creation. A sun god, he was said to command the chariot that rode across the sky during the day. A king, he was the patron of the pharaoh. Ra is the most central god of the Egyptian pantheon. Ra's position in the pantheon is unusual. He is the only god, apart from Osiris, who is definitely said to be not on the earth. Ra, it is said, is an aging god, still powerful, but too old to deal with his children any longer, so he has gone exclusively to the sky to watch over the world. Horus rules over the earth and the gods in his stead, demonstrating the divine right of kingship. Worship: Worshipped widely throughout Egypt, Ra was the principal sun god for centuries. Variants: Amun-Ra
Composite deity with Amun (starting around the XI Dynasty), creator of the universe, worshipped primarily at Thebes. Ra-Atum/Atum-Ra
A composite deity with Atum. The primordial creative force combined with the ruler of the gods. In this form, Ra also symbolized the setting sun and its journey through the underworld to its rising in the east. | | |
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