The religion of Ancient Egypt is characterized by the continued existence of primitive beliefs. Throughout the centuries-old existence of the Egyptian state, the essence and significance of many cults have undergone changes more than once. The beliefs of primitive hunters, farmers, and pastoralists mixed among themselves, later on they were overprinted with political events, echoes of the times of the country's upsurge and its decline.
It should be noted that in Egypt there was no single state religion, with the exception of the reign of Akhenaten. That is why the unification of the pantheon of the gods was not carried out. The gods and myths of Ancient Egypt are a rather complex phenomenon, since they often combine often conflicting, and sometimes completely mutually exclusive beliefs. From time to time, in priestly circles, certain attempts were made to streamline and bring together chaotic piles of historical beliefs. But they were never crowned with success.
Gods - the ancestors of the world
There was also no single concept of the universe in ancient Egypt. The prevailing views on the creation of the world were very controversial, due to the different times of their occurrence and place of origin. The most popular was the Heliopolis legend about the universe, which narrated that Atum originally emerged from primitive chaos as the personification of the Atum-Ra sun. He is the progenitor of all living things. Having fertilized itself, Atum spits out air - Shu and Teftun - moisture, which in turn generate heaven - Nut and earth - Heba. At Nut and Hebe Osiris, Seth Isis and Nephthys were born. All these gods of ancient Egypt make up the so-called "Heliopolis nine", which occupied a rather important place in the pantheon.
Later, the Memphis legend, which arose already in the era of statehood, ascribes the creation of the world to its god Ptah.
The most revered in Egypt were the deities associated with the Nile, for example, Sebek, Hapi, and with the sun - Gore, Atum, Ra, as well as the gods who patronize the dead - Anubis, Osiris. The ancient Egyptians deified everything around, believing that all spheres of life, from natural forces to cultural development, are in the power of the gods. Natural phenomena were perceived as relations between various deities. Social and cultural life had its patrons. So, for example, the goddess Saf or the ibisogod deity Thoth, who personified the whole culture as a whole, was associated with writing.
The cult of the sun in ancient Egypt
There were different ideas about the appearance of the solar gods of Ancient Egypt in different places: whether it was a winged disk, or a huge beetle - the Scarab, pushing the disk of the star in the sky, it was also represented in the guise of a falcon or a person with a falcon head.
Representatives of the solar cult at different times and in different centers had their own names: Ra, Khepri, Atum, Khor and others. Sometimes the various gods of Ancient Egypt merged into one, and ideas about them layered. In the Ancient Kingdom, among others, a special place was taken by the god Ra, who fell outside the scope of local significance and turned into an all-Egyptian cult of the state. Subsequently, if any deity gained national significance, it immediately united with Ra, and the corresponding particle was attached to his estate: Sebek-Ra, Amon-Ra, Mentu-Ra and others.
In the period of the Middle Kingdom after the unification of Egypt under the rule of the Theban house, the cult of the god Amun took the leading role . He was considered a great celestial deity, symbolizing the state, as well as the power and power of the pharaoh.
Other cults
Also, one of the most revered gods of Egypt were Osiris, who personified the waters of the Nile, his sister, and also overnight his wife - Isis - the goddess of fertility, the patroness of motherhood, and their joint son Horus, one of the oldest gods of the sun and statehood. The dark forces were personified by the brother of Osiris Seth - the god of drought, evil and chaos and his wife Nephthys. These gods of Ancient Egypt instilled fear and at the same time deep respect in the inhabitants of the Nile Valley, who tried to appease them with fervent worship.
The syncretism of the cult of Osiris with the cult of the dead can be traced back to antiquity, and by the period of the New Kingdom, an idea about the picture of the afterlife that Osiris performed was quite distinctly emerging. God Anubis, who was represented in the form of a jackal or a man with a jackal's head, was considered a guide to the kingdom of the dead.
Studying the question of the gods and myths of Egypt, one should certainly consider them in specific historical conditions, taking into account the layering of different periods, as well as places of distribution. All the gods of Ancient Egypt are a complex syncretic embodiment of archetypes and occupy an important place in the cultural heritage of this mysterious state of the distant past.