admin Where did we come from and how did our world begin? For thousands of years people in cultures around the world have invented stories to explain the formation of their dominion. I was. The ancient Egyptians were no exception in this regard. By examining their religious texts and related accounts, we can understand how they described the creation of the world they lived in.
Their beliefs were complex and reflected their natural surroundings. In this essay for Glencairn Museum News, Jennifer Hauser Wegner, Assistant Curator of the Egyptian Department of the Dr. Penn Museum, explores ancient Egypt, including the cosmological background of several objects in the Egyptian Museum gallery at the Glencairn Museum. We delved into the fascinating subject of creation myths.
The Egyptian pantheon was filled with gods who lived in the heavens, but their influence also extended to the earth. First appearing inside the pyramids of the kings of the 5th Dynasty (c. 2500-2350 BC), the Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts show that the Egyptians considered the sky to be their dwelling place. Places associated with their gods and the afterlife. Just as everyday life depended on the Nile, the Egyptians envisioned this celestial realm as a sacred landscape to navigate in sacred ships (Fig. 1).
The sun god Re was of paramount importance to the ancient Egyptians, and the daily movement of the sun from east to west, rising and setting each day served as a metaphor for the cycle of life from birth to adulthood. . From death to rebirth (Fig. 2).
The omnipresence of the sun in mostly desert-like environments could also explain the early Egyptians’ interest in the concept of the sun. At dusk, the sun god went to the underworld (duat). Funerary documents from the New Kingdom (1292-1075 BC) and accompanying images found on the walls of the king’s tombs document his nighttime journeys. The sun god spent the 12 hours of the night traveling in the underworld, eventually merging with Osiris, the main funerary god. The journey was perilous, and the sun god antagonized Apophis, a serpent who threatened him each night as he traveled on his solar ship.
Another important role of Re was that of a creator god. The daily reappearance of the sun on the horizon at dawn symbolized the re-creation of the world. However, Le was not the only creator god in Egyptian mythology. The Egyptians had some elaborate myths explaining the origin of their world. Each of these creation stories revolved around a different ancient Egyptian city (Figure 3).
Thermopolitical cosmology began at the ruins of Hermopolis in central Egypt. Hermopolis was the sanctuary of Thoth, the god of wisdom. The ancient Greeks identified Thoth with their god Hermes and gave it the name Hermopolis, or “City of Hermes.” The ancient Egyptian name for this city was Kemnu, or “City of Eight”. The number “8” in this place name refers to the eight gods (Ogdoad) who are the main characters of this creation story. Ogdoad consisted of his four male deities with frog heads and corresponding female deities with serpent heads (Fig. 4). This sacred group represented the dark, watery, unknown and eternal state of the universe before creation. Nun and Naunette represented water. Hae and Howett expressed the concept of infinity. Kek and Kauket represented darkness. Amun and Amaunets reflect the concept of being invisible. These eight gods existed in a watery chaos before creation.
In the unchanging “nothing”, there was the possibility of creation. The Egyptians believed that from these eight gods descended a cosmic egg containing the gods responsible for the creation of the rest of the world, including the primordial hills, the first lands that emerged from the pre-creation waters. I was. In some versions of the myth, the eggs were laid by geese called ‘great songbirds’, while in others the ibis, a bird associated with the god Toto, is responsible for laying the eggs (Fig. , 6). The mythical appearance of Thoth here is likely the work of the Hermopolitan priesthood, who wanted to recognize the importance of the city’s patron deity. After the appearance of the mound, the lotus blossomed, heralding the birth of the newborn sun god (Fig. 7). After the Sun’s first appearance, the rest of creation could follow. In some cases, this myth also describes a chafer hatching from a lotus flower. The scarab is often a symbol of the sun, and the lyrics describe this beetle transforming into a child. When this child cried, tears became human (Fig. 8)
Figure 5. An amulet representing the god Thoth as an ibis-headed man (Glencairn Museum E219). Figure 6. A bronze statuette representing the god Thoth as an ibis (Glencairn Museum E1121).
Figure 7. In this statuette from the tomb of Tutankhamun, the boy king is shown as the newborn sun god emerging from a lotus flower at the moment of creation (Cairo Museum JE 60723). Image courtesy of the Griffith Institute.
Figure 8. On this bracelet of Nimlot, the newborn sun god is shown as a child seated atop a lotus flower (EA14595). Image © The Trustees of the British Museum.
The importance of the sun in the creation of the world is also emphasized in another creation myth concerning a collective of gods known as the Heliopolitan Ennead (Fig. 9).
These nine deities (Enneads) are mentioned in Old Kingdom pyramid texts. This myth seems to have originated in the city of Iunu (or Heliopolis, Greek for “City of the Sun”). Here the creation of the world begins with the creator god Atum (or Le Atum). As seen in the Hermopolitan version of Creation, there is a pre-creation chaotic watery state before Atum was born. Atum creates himself and appears in Heliopolis in the form of an obelisk-like pillar (Bamben). He testifies through his own bodily fluids. To initiate the creation of the world, Atum exhales a pair of divine beings, the air god Shu and his female counterpart, the moisture goddess Tefnut (Fig. 10).
Shu and Tefnut create the second generation of gods. Their son Geb is the earth god and his sister and wife Nut is the sky goddess. In this second generation, the Egyptian universe emerges, with all the elements necessary for life on Earth (sun, air, moisture, land, sky). The iconography of Geb and Nut together is particularly striking (Fig. 11). Geb appears as a human male lying on the ground. Above him is arched the figure of his sister and wife Nat, separated from his father Shu. Nat is often depicted as a naked woman with her body covered in stars. The Egyptians imagined their arms and legs as pillars in the sky, and each limb as representing his four cardinal points. Geb and Nut were able to create the next generation of gods: Isis, Osiris, Seth, and Nephthys before being separated by their father. Isis (Fig. 12) and Osiris (Fig. 13) gave birth to Horus. (It is interesting to note that the Heliopolitan genealogy can also be seen as a family tree of Egyptian kings (Fig. 14). Each king was considered a representative of Horus during his lifetime and then Osiris, the king of the gods. was associated with God) died, after his death. )
Figure 12. Figurine of Isis, member of the Heliopolitan Ennead, suckling Horus (Glencairn Museum E1164). Figure 13. Figurine of Osiris, member of the Heliopolitan Ennead (Glencairn Museum E74).
In addition to their role in the creation of the universe, Enid members are involved in other life cycles and regenerations. For example, the sky goddess Nut is believed to give birth to the sun every day, and in some traditions also gives birth to the stars. While observing the night sky, the Egyptians may have noticed the outer arm of the Milky Way resembling a female form and identified this celestial feature with the goddess Nut. As the goddess responsible for the daily rebirth of the sun, Nat was also thought to play a role in the resurrection of the dead. New Kingdom (1539-1075 BC) depictions of Nut on the ceilings of royal tombs depict the goddess as the sun enters through her mouth, passes through her star-covered body at night, and is reborn in the morning. It is She often appears in the inner lid of sarcophagi and, like the sun god Re, protects the dead until they are reborn. Nuts may also appear on her coffin lid in the form of a woman with outstretched wings to protect her deceased breast (Fig. 15).
A third version of the creation of the universe is described in a document known as Menphite Theology. Memphis was her one of the most important cities in ancient Egyptian history. Memphis, located at the confluence of the Nile Delta and the Nile, was the first capital of Egypt. Throughout Egypt’s long history, Memphis remained an important religious and administrative center despite its changing status as the country’s capital. According to historian Manetho, Memphis was founded around 3200 BC. Founded by the legendary King Menes. The city-guarding trinity consisted of Ptah, his wife Sekhmet, and his son Nefertem (Fig. 16). Ptah is the patron goddess of the craftsman and plays the role of the primary creator god in the creation of the Memphis version (see also main photo above).
In contrast to the creation versions expressed in the Hermopolitan and Heliopolitan creation myths, which are reconstructed from various ancient religious texts, the Menphite creation myth is represented in a single document, Shabaka, now in the British Museum. Recorded in stone (pictured). . 17). The inscription on this monument tells how King Shabaka, a Nubian pharaoh of Egypt’s 25th Dynasty (705-690 BC), discovered a worm-eaten papyrus in the library of the Temple of Putah in Memphis. Shabaka reportedly realized the importance of the damaged document and ordered the words to be carved into stone for preservation. In this text Ptah (Fig. 18) is believed to have created the world. Through thoughts and words, he creates “seeing, hearing and breathing, which speak to the mind and produce all understanding.” As for the tongue, it repeats what the mind has devised. Thus all the gods were born, and his wish was fulfilled. For all God’s words are conceived by the heart and commanded by the tongue. This document explains how Ptah created all the gods and was responsible for establishing their worship throughout Egypt.
He created cities,
He founded gnomes,
He placed the gods in temples,
He established their offerings,
He built their temples,
He built their Shaped their bodies according to their desires.
So the gods entered their bodies from every tree, from every stone, from every clay, from everything that grew on them,
from the place where they were born.
So all the gods and their dwarves gathered around him, contented and united with the lord of the two nations. ”
References to the moment of creation are not only found in Egyptian texts. Most of the temples have architectural features that mimic the elements of the universe at the dawn of creation. A temple usually has a large gate called a pagoda (Fig. 19). The pylon shape consists of his two tapering towers connected by a lower section. The shape of the tower mimics the hieroglyph for the word “horizon” (Akate), represented as his two hills with a central sun disc. Another example of the image of the sun is the fact that there are often two obelisks in front of temple entrances. The obelisk is a standing stone on four sides that tapers upwards and culminates in a small pyramid called a ‘pyramid’. The obelisk, sacred to the Sun God, is a symbol of the sun associated with Benben, reminiscent of the primordial mounds depicted in the Heliopolitan and Hermopolitan creation myths.
Each temple was a microcosm of a world that was being created daily. A typical temple included one or more open courtyards beyond an entrance pylon, a portico, and the innermost chamber, the sanctuary. Columns found throughout temples often had papyrus or roti-shaped capitals, reminiscent of marshy vegetation growing on primitive mounds (Fig. 20). The dark sanctuary or temple that housed the image of the temple’s deity imitated the hill from which creation began. When the priests performed the morning rites and opened God’s temple, the moment of creation was recreated, and the god who resided in the temple assumed the position of creator. The precincts of many temples are also surrounded by walls of undulating bricks, presumably a pre-creation chaos that was kept at bay by the creation of the (original) hill on which the temple structures were built. It is thought to symbolize water.
In addition to the creator gods depicted in the three main creation myths, there are other gods considered creator gods, such as Min, Amun, Khnum, and Aton. His one of the earliest known Egyptian gods was the god Min (Fig. 21). His depictions appear as early as the pre-dynastic period. Three colossal statues of him at Min, c.3300 BC. It was by W.MF. dug up. Petrie of the Coptos site. Although fragmentary, these statues originally depicted the deity with an erect phallus, which became the standard for his depiction. As a deity associated with fertility and creation, Ming is most often depicted in this characteristic paw pose. He has a flail on one of his raised arms and wears a crown of high feathers much like that of Amun-Re.
A member of the Hermopolitan Ogdore, Amun’s name means “hidden one.” During the Middle Kingdom (c. 1945 BC to his c. 1640), this deity gained increasing importance, and during the New Kingdom, he gained fame as a state deity and was given the nickname “King of the Gods.” Amon, along with his wife Mutt and his child Chosu, form the Thebes Triad, the patron deities of Thebes city (Fig. 22). At the same time, Amun (or its combined form Amun Re) was seen as a creator god in its own right. Amun is usually depicted as a human, and in Amun-Re’s form he wears a crown of two high feathers. Rams and geese were sacred animals to him.
The sheep-headed god Khnum is mentioned in the Coffin Documents, a collection of funerary poems written between 1991 and 1786 BC. He is written as the creator of humans and animals (Fig. 23). By the time of the reign of the female pharaoh Hatshepsut (reigned 1479-1458 BC), Khnum was depicted as a god responsible for shaping gods, humans and animals on a potter’s wheel (Fig. 24).
During the Amarna period, when Pharaoh Akhenaten (r. I took over (Fig. 25). . Aten was the god of the sun, and his role in creation is celebrated in the hymns composed during this period. In one version, Atton is praised and described as follows: (It is interesting that scholars have long observed the similarity of this hymn to the expression of the 104th Psalm of the Bible.):
How many works
One God, none at his right hand
You alone shape the earth according to your desires
All men, cattle, herds, feet
And in the foreign land of Char and Kush, in the land of Egypt, you give everyone their place, and make what they need, Count his lifespan so that all may have food.” This religious experiment did not last long after Akhenaten’s death. By the time Tutankhamun’s reign began, the traditional religious system of many gods had been restored, and Aten was once again just one of the many sun gods in the Egyptian pantheon.
As you can see, there was no creation story in the Egyptian religious tradition. Egyptians explained the origin of the world in different ways. These different traditions were not mutually exclusive. Although they often complement and overlap, a distinction can be drawn between the various creation myths that help distinguish them from each other.
