Ra

(Revision as of 01:13, 1 Mar 2005)

The Ennead
Ra Shu Tefnut Nut Geb	Nephthys Osiris Isis Set
The Ogdoad
Nu/Naunet Amoun/Amaunet	Kuk/Kauket Huh/Hauhet
Other Egyptian Gods
Anubis Anuket Apophis Apis Astarte Aten Bast Bes Hapi Hathor Horus Harpocrates	Khepri Khonsu Khnum Maat Mentu Neith Nut Ptah Sebek Sekhmet Tahuti Tawaret Tum

Ra was the god of the sun during dynastic Egypt; the name is thought to have meant "creative power", and as a proper name "Creator", similar to English Christian usage of the term "Creator" to signify the "almighty God." Very early in Egyptian history Ra was identified with Horus, who as a hawk or falcon-god represented the loftiness of the skies. Ra is represented either as a hawk-headed man or as a hawk.

Owing to the fact that the sun was a fire, the Egyptians realized that in order to travel through the waters of Heaven and the Underworld, it required a boat, and so Ra was depicted as traveling in a boat. During the day the boat was a great galley called Madjet ("becoming strong") and during the night, a small barge called Semektet ("becoming weak").

During dynastic Egypt Ra's cult center was Annu (Hebrew "On", Greek "Heliopolis", modern-day "Cairo"). In Dynasty V, the first king, Userkaf, was also Ra's high priest, and he added the term "Sa-Ra (Son of Ra)" to the titulary of the pharaohs.

Ra was father of Shu and Tefnut, grandfather of Nut and Geb, great-grandfather of Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys, and great-great-grandfather to Horus. In later periods (about Dynasty 18 on) Osiris and Isis superseded him in popularity, but he remained "Ra netjer-aa neb-pet" ("Ra, the great God, Lord of Heaven") whether worshiped in his own right or, in later times, as half of the Lord of the Universe, Amen-Ra.

Reference: http://www.amberwood.org/egypt.htm