EGYPTIAN

MYTHOLOGY
THE STORIES
OF RA
THE CREATION
OF EGYPT
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 At first there was nothing but Nun, the primal
ocean of chaos which contained the seeds of
everything to come. In this jumble of waters the
sun god reposed. Finally, by an exertion of will,
he emerged from chaos as Ra and gave birth to
Shu and Tefnut by himself. In turn Shu, the god
of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture,
gave birth to Geb and Nut, the earth god and
sky goddess. Thus the physical universe was
created.
 Men were created from Ra's tears. Eons passed and
Ra grew decrepit, so the ungrateful race of men
plotted against Ra. When Ra learned of these plots he
angrily called a council of the gods. The gods decided
that mankind must be destroyed, and Ra despatched
the goddess Hathor to wipe out humankind. Hathor did
an effective job of it, killing men by the tens of
thousands until only a tiny remnant was left. Then Ra
relented, and men were spared. But Ra was thoroughly
sick of the world and retreated into the heavens,
leaving Shu to reign in his place. At that time the
present world was established.
 Against the orders of Ra, Geb, the earth god, and Nut,
the sky goddess, married. Then Ra in his wrath ordered
Shu, the air god, to separate them. Shu defeated Geb and
raised Nut aloft, separating them permanently. However,
Nut was pregnant, and Ra had decreed that she could not
give birth in any month of any year. Seeing her plight, the
god of learning, Thoth, gambled with the moon for extra
light and thus was able to add five extra days to the official
Egyptian calendar of 360 days. On those five days Nut
gave birth to Osiris, Horus the Elder, Set, Isis, and Nepthys,
successively. Osiris became the incarnation of good, while
Set became the embodiment of evil. In this manner the
two poles of morality were fixed once and for all.
THE STORY OF
RA AND
SEKHMET
RICK RIORDAN
 Ra was angry and called together the gods and
goddesses–Shu and Tefnut and Geb and Nut. Ra asked
them what he should do about the men and women
and their evil deeds. The gods agreed that Ra should
create a daughter who would destroy the men.
So Ra’s daughter Sekhmet came into being, the
fiercest of goddesses. She rushed upon her prey like a
lion, and killed those who disobeyed Ra. When Ra saw
what Sekhmet had done, he took pity on the men, but
he could not stop Sekhmet.
 He sent messengers to the Nile to bring him red
ocher. They brought the ocher to Heliopolis, Ra
commanded the women to brew seven thousand jars
of drink. Ra mingled red ocher with the liquid and
poured it over the fields. At daybreak Sekhmet came
and found the place flooded. She saw the red brew and
thought it was the blood of those she had killed. She
stooped and drank until she was drunk and unable to
kill anyone. Then she came reeling back to where Ra
waited, without killing a single man.
 Then Ra changed Sekhmet’s name to Hathor, and
changed her nature so she was sweet and loving.
Mankind was saved, and Hathor’s priestesses drank
the beer of Heliopolis colored with red ocher in her
honor when they celebrated her festival at the start of
every new year.
THE SECRET
NAME OF RA
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 Ra had many names that were not known unto gods
or men, and he had one secret name which gave to
him his divine power. The goddess Isis, who dwelt in
the world as a woman, grew weary of the ways of
mankind; she sought rather to be amidst the mighty
gods. She was an enchantress, and she desired greatly
to have power equal with Ra in the heavens and upon
the earth. In her heart, therefore, she yearned to know
the secret name of the ruling god, which was hidden in
his bosom and was never revealed in speech.
 Each day Ra walked forth, and the gods who were of his train
followed him, and he sat upon his throne and uttered decrees.
He had grown old, and as he spoke moisture dripped from his
mouth and fell upon the ground.
Isis followed after him, and when she found his saliva, she
baked it with the earth on which it lay. In the form of a spear
she shaped the substance, and it became a venomous serpent.
She lifted it up; she cast it from her, and it lay on the path
which Ra was wont to traverse when he went up and down his
kingdom, surveying that which he had made. Now the sacred
serpent which Isis created was invisible to gods and men.
 Ra answered not; he shook; all his body trembled and his
teeth clattered for the venom overflowed in his flesh as does the
Nile when it floods the land of Egypt. But at length he possessed
himself and subdued his heart and the fears of his heart.
He spoke, and his words were: "Gather about me, ye who are
my children, so that I may make known the grievous thing which
hath befallen me even now. I am stricken with great pain by
something I know not of . . . by something which I cannot
behold. Of that I have knowledge in my heart, for I have not
done myself an injury with mine own hand. Lo! I am without
power to make known who hath stricken me thus. Never before
hath such sorrow and pain been mine."
 He spake further, saying: "I am a god and the son of a god; I
am the Mighty One, son of the Mighty One. Nu, my father,
conceived my secret name which giveth me power, and he
concealed it in my heart so that no magician might ever know it
and, knowing it, be given power to work evil against me.
"As I went forth, even now, beholding the world which I have
created, a malignant thing did bite me. It is not fire, yet it burns
in my flesh; it is not water, yet cold is my body and my limbs
tremble. Hear me now! My command is that all my children be
brought nigh to me so that they may pronounce words of power
which shall be felt upon earth and in the heavens."
 All the children of Ra were brought unto him as was his
desire. Isis, the enchantress, came in their midst, and all
sorrowed greatly, save her alone. She spoke forth mighty
words for she could utter incantations to subdue pain and
to give life unto that from which life had departed.
Unto Ra spoke Isis, saying: "What aileth thee, holy
father? . . . Thou hast been bitten by a serpent, one of the
creatures which thou didst create. I shall weave spells; I
shall thwart thine enemy with magic. Lo! I shall overwhelm
the serpent utterly in the brightness of thy glory."
 He answered her, saying: "A malignant thing did
bite me. It is not fire, yet it burns my flesh. It is not
water, yet cold is my body, and my limbs tremble.
Mine eyes also have grown dim. Drops of sweat fall
from my face.“
Isis spoke unto the divine father and said: "Thou
must, even now, reveal thy secret name unto me for,
verily, thou canst be delivered from thy pain and
distress by the power of thy name."
 Ra heard her in sorrow. Then he said: "I have created the
heavens and the earth. Lo! I have even framed the earth, and
the mountains are the work of my hands; I made the sea, and I
cause the Nile to flood the land of Egypt. I am the Great Father
of the gods and the goddesses. I gave life unto them. I created
every living thing that moves upon the dry land and in the sea
depths. When I open my eyes there is light; when I close them
there is thick darkness. My secret name is known not unto the
gods. I am Khepera at dawn, Ra at high noon, and Tum at
eventide.“
So spoke the divine father, but mighty and magical as were
his words, they brought him no relief. The poison still burned in
his flesh and his body trembled. He seemed ready to die.
 Isis, the enchantress, heard him, but there was no
sorrow in her heart. She desired, above all other things, to
share the power of Ra, and she must needs have revealed
unto her his sacred name which Nu conceived and uttered
at the beginning. So she spoke to Ra, saying: "Divine
father, thou hast not yet spoken thy name of power. If thou
shalt reveal it unto me, I will have strength to give thee
healing.“
Hotter than fire burned the venom in the heart of Ra.
Like raging flames it consumed his flesh, and he suffered
fierce agony. Isis waited, and at length the Great Father
spoke in majesty and said, "It is my will that Isis be given
my secret name, and that it leave my heart and enter
 When he had spoken thus, Ra vanished from before the eyes of
the gods. The sun boat was empty, and there was thick darkness.
Isis waited, and when the secret name of the divine father was
about to leave his heart and pass into her own, she spoke unto
Horus her son and said: "Now, compel the ruling god by a mighty
spell to yield up also his eyes, which are the sun and the moon.“
Isis then received in her heart the secret name of Ra, and the
mighty enchantress said "Depart, O venom, from Ra; come forth
from his heart and from his flesh; flow out, shining from his mouth.
… I have worked the spell. … Lo! I have overcome the serpent and
caused the venom to be spilled upon the ground because the
secret name of the divine father hath been given unto me. … Now
let Ra live, for the venom hath perished.“
So was the god made whole. The venom departed from his
body and there was no longer pain in his heart or any sorrow.
THE GODS AND
GODDESSES OF
EGYPT
ANCIENT
EGYPTIAN GODS
AND GODDESSES
 SHU
God of the Winds and Air
Wears a huge ostrich feather
headdress, holding scepter in one
hand and the ankh in the other, has
windblown or knotty hair, always looks
exhausted.
He keeps the winds blowing, and
enforces Ra’s punishment against
his own children–Nut and Geb.
 TEFNUT
Goddess of Moisture and
Rain
A lion-headed lady, wears on her
head the solar disk circled by two
cobras, holding in her hands the
scepter and ankh.
She was the personification of the
moisture of the sky. Also, she was
the counterpart to Shu and the
mother of Geb and Nut.
 NUT
Goddess of the
Sky
She was typically portrayed as a woman who
wears on her head a vase of water, and many
times shown as a woman whose hands and
feet touch the ground so that her body forms a
semi-circle.
Her arms and legs represent the four
pillars on which the sky rests. She is
held up by her father Shu. Also, she
swallows the sun god, Ra, and gives
birth to him the next morning, giving
 GEB
God of the Earth

He is usually shown as a man wearing either

the crown of the North or of the South.
Added is either the Atef crown or a goose.

Myth has it that his laughter causes

earthquake.
OSIRIS
God of the Dead
Amulet:
Djed

He was depicted as a mummified

human with beard and green skin
wearing the atef crown. He also holds
crook and flail.
 ISIS
Goddess of Motherhood and
Love
Amulet:
Tyet

She is a beautiful woman wearing a

tyet as a symbol of protection. She
sits on a throne shaped like a cow’s
horn, with Horus on her lap.
 HORUS
The Falcon God

Amulet: Udjat or the Eye of

Horus

He is a falcon-headed god of the sky,

the god of revenge, and the protector
of the ruler of Egypt. His connection to
the living Pharaoh is so strong that
each pharaoh becomes his human
 SET
God of Chaos

He may appear as a red-headed

donkey or even a pig.

He was regarded as the Lord of Lower

(Northern) Egypt. He was associated
with the desert and storms. The
Greeks associated Seth with their god,
Typhon.
NEPTHYS
Goddess of the Night

She wears hieroglyphic nameplate

jewelry, carries a kite (bird), and likes to
hold bones and skulls.
She is best known as the goddess of
the night and protective goddess of
the dead, but she is also the goddess
of nature, lamentation, and sleep.
 ANUBIS
God of Funerals and Death

He has the head of a jackal. If he is in full jackal

form, he wears a golden collar and is black,
sleek, and graceful. When he appears as a
human, his ears stick up like a jackal’s.
He was the son of Nepthys and Osiris. He
assisted in the rites by which a dead man
was admitted to the underworld. Anubis was
worshipped as the inventor of embalming
and who embalmed the dead Osiris and
thereby helping to preserve him that he
 BAST
Goddess of Cats, Women, and
Children
She was also known as Bastet. She was usually
represented as a woman with the head of a
domesticated cat with the attitude of a gentle
lioness and the agility of a gymnast.
She was the goddess of fire, cats, of the
home and pregnant women. According to
one myth, she was the personification of the
soul of Isis. She was also called the "Lady of
the East". As such, her counterpart as "Lady
of the West" was Sekhmet.
 BES
Protector of Children

Bes was the god of music and dance, the

god of war and slaughter, and a destroying
force of nature. He was also a protector of
children. Bes is most likely of equatorial
African origin, although some think he is
Semitic (Middle Eastern).
 KHONSU
God of the Moon

Khonsu was a moon-god and the son

of Amon-Re and Mut. His name
derives from the root, "khens" which
means to travel, to move about, to
run. He was usually portrayed as a
man with the head of a hawk and
wearing the lunar disk. He was also
shown as a child with the sidelock of
 THOTH
God of Wisdom and
Learning
He was said to be self-created in the
beginning along with his consort, the
goddess Ma’at (truth). The two
produced eight children, the most important
being Amon. Alternately depicted as an ibis-
headed human, an ibis, or a baboon (or dog-
headed ape), perhaps because the grave
facial expressions of these creatures
suggested thoughtfulness. He carries a pen
THE STORY OF
THE DEMON
DAYS
RICK RIORDAN
 Ra, the most powerful of all the gods, heard a
prophecy that a child of Nut and Geb would
overthrow him. Not one to give up power, Ra
forbade the pregnant Nut from having children on
any of the 360 days and nights of the Ancient
Egyptian year.
But Nut had long dreamed of being a mother, so
she hatched a plan to outsmart Ra. She gambled
with the moon god, Khonsu, but instead of playing
for money, Khonsu had to give Nut a bit of
moonlight every time he lost. She collected enough
THE CHILDREN WERE:
Osiris, born December 27
Horus the Elder, born December 28
Set, born December 29
Isis, born December 30
Nepthys, born December 31
DARK DEITIES
AND BEASTLY
BEINGS
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RICK RIORDAN
 AMMIT
Devourer of the
Dead
 A mythological
chimera composed of the
head of a crocodile, the
forelimbs of a lion, and the
hind limbs of a
hippopotamus, Ammit was
the personification of the
man-eating predators so
feared by ancient Egyptians.
 APEP
Enemy of
Light of Ma'at,
The arch-enemy
Apep or Apophis was a
giant mythological snake
that stretched for 50 feet
from head to tail. The
subterranean movements
of Apep were said to
cause earthquakes, and
its violent encounters
with Set, the god of the
desert, spawned
 BENNU
The Bird of
Fire
Bennu was associated
with rebirth.
 EL
NADDAHA
the Siren of the
Nile
El Naddaha is often
adduced as being a
classic genie, which
would place her in the
Muslim rather than the
classical Egyptian
pantheon.
 THE
GRIFFIN
Beast of War
The Griffin features the
head, wings, and talons
of an eagle grafted onto a
lion's body. Also, they
served as a symbol of
war, and it also did
double duty as the "king"
of all mythological
monsters and the
staunch guardian of
priceless treasures.
 THE
SERPOPAR
D

Harbinger of
Chaos
Serpopards represented
the chaos and barbarism
lurking beyond the borders
of Egypt during the pre-
dynastic period, and may
also have served as
symbols of vitality or
masculinity.
 THE
SPHINX
Teller of Riddles

Androsphinx: has the body

of a lion and a
human head
Criosphinx: has the body of
a lion and the
head of a ram
Hierocosphinx: has the
body of a lion and
a head of a falcon
or hawk
 URAEUS

the Cobra of
the Gods
 SERQET

The scorpion
goddess of
protection
 SOBEK

The crocodile
god or Lord of
Faiyum Oasis
HIEROGLYPHS
W H AT A R E
H I E R O G LY P H S
?

These are
picture symbols
used by the
Egyptians to
communicate
with each other.
 ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPHIC
WRITING
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FOUR CATEGORIES OF HIEROGLYPHIC
SIGNS
1. Alphabetic signs represent a single sound. Unfortunately the
Egyptians took most vowels for granted and did not represent
such as ‘e’ or ‘v’. So we may never know how the words were
formed.
2. Syllabic signs represent a combination of two or three
consonants.
3. Word-signs are pictures of objects used as the words for those
objects. they are followed by an upright stroke, to indicate that
the word is complete in one sign.
4. A determinative is a picture of an object which helps the reader.
For example; if a word expressed an abstract idea, a picture of a
SYMBOLS AND
SPELLS
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SECTION-SYMBOLS.HTM
 UDJAT/
WEDJAT

to restore life
and protect
against evil
 TYET

to bind and
release magic
 ANKH

a symbol of
life
 DJED

a symbol for
stability
 BA

human’s soul
TASKS: TO BE SUBMITTED AS SOON AS
SUSPENSION OF CLASSES IS LIFTED
1. Egyptians are inclined with magic and spells. Create your own magical spells
using hieroglyphs in a scroll like paper.
2. Ra’s secret name was Devil Day. Write your secret name using hieroglyphs (as
shown by Rick Riordan), and explain why you chose that name.
3. What tradition of Ancient Egypt do you know? Explain it.
4. Who among the introduced Egyptian deities remind you of your inner self? Why?
5. Do you have any question about Egyptian Mythology? If yes, what is it?

Note: Write your answer for numbers 2, 3, 4, and 5 in your notebook.