Today's Topics: 

Welcome back! I hope that you had an enjoyable break.

Because we have warmed up to the mythological ideas from the first two units, we should be able to understand the Egyptian stories a little better.  One challenge will be to become familiar with a whole new set of gods and goddesses.  Please look at these character glossary to read about these new deities.

Like the Mesopotamians, t he Egyptians were master astronomers, but to Egypt the sky was their main focus.  Yes, they also had earth and water gods too, but the heavens were their ultimate goal.  Many Egyptian stories contain powerful sky gods, and references to the Zodiac and other constellations is more prominent in this culture as well.  Eventually, the Egyptian people believed that they too could ascend to the heavens to become a star in the sky, just like their favorite gods. 

We viewed a compelling video today, Quest for the Lost Civilization, where British researcher graham Hancock showed us how the pyramids were constructed to mirror the constellations in the night sky.

Focusing on the sky and out new set of gods, let's first examine the character Ra (also spelled Re) a little closer.  One of the first gods in the Egyptian myths was the sun god, who appeared in dozens of forms throughout the history of this region.  Living in the open desert, the Egyptians were constantly aware of the power of the sun as a life-giving force.  Over the millennia, however, more gods were created and overtook the authority of Ra.  Our story for next week's class (Osiris, Isis, and Horus) shows several of the more important deities that were developed later in Egyptian lore.  That is why Ra also goes by dozens of other names, often written in a hyphenated form, representing the combination of the qualities of Ra merged with another force.  Ultimately, Ra became known as a very old and distant god, who was important in creation, but has dwindled in strength over the ages.

In fact, Ra is often named for his different purposes as the god of the sun, especially the different appearances of the solar disk throughout the day.  For example, Ra is often called Khepri to represent the morning sun, he is called Ra to represent the powerful midday sun, and is called Atum (or Atem, or Atem-Ra) to symbolize the old god that fades away with the setting sun.  Khepri is shown in the form of a scarab beetle (or a dung beetle) that rolls the sun over the horizon much like the dung beetle rolls a ball of dung across the desert sand.  Some force must be pushing the sun above the horizon, working against gravity, so why not make the sun disk hoisted above the horizon by a beetle who does this for a living anyway?  Later, we will see the figures in the solar barque (the boat of the sun) that travels around the earth day and night, propelled by the various forces and housing the great gods as they take souls into the afterlife.  In most of the stories, however, Ra will be shown as an elderly, fading deity who has lost power and respect (such as in the story Isis and the Name of Ra).

During the next class we will review "The History of Creation," which shows Ra in his Atum form, indicating that he is also a god of rebirth and cyclical changes.  He creates the universal forces, called the Ogdoad, who use the archetype of the dry land rising out of the dark and chaotic waters -- a common motif.  Notice that Atum (Ra) used words to command new creation.  The Egyptians used the mouth, voice, or words to convey creative or authoritative power.  We will see references to these ideas throughout the unit, and these concepts transferred into Judaism as well.  In fact, notice the words that Atum uses in the third paragraph -- "I am he who came into being in the form of the god Khepri."  We will hear these words again, and we will learn that it marks a transition from the Age of Taurus to the Age of Aries.  "Aries," the "Ram," also means "I Am," which means "Yahweh" (the Hebrew God from Genesis).  Both Yahweh and Atum declare that "they are," or that they exist.  Both use their voice to create, and both parallel each other.

Web Sites to Visit

Here are the web sites listed below for your viewing pleasure that will help you to understand the ancient Egyptians.  Please remember that the content of these links is not my responsibility, and a few promote some far-out conclusions.  There are also several mistakes throughout these sites, so be careful to focus more on the pictures than the words.

Here is a map of Egypt to get your bearings on the area. Throughout most of Egypt's history, the region was divided between two major realms: the Upper Kingdom and the Lower Kingdom. Remember, however, that the Nile River flows from South to North, meaning that the higher ground is located at the bottom of the map (Upper Egypt), while the lower-lying areas, including the Nile Delta, are located at the top of the map (Lower Egypt): http://www.crystalinks.com/egyptmap.html

These two kingdoms had independent pharaohs, each wearing a different colored crown to designate their reign over the Upper or Lower parts of the Nile. The pharaohs of Upper Egypt wore a red crown, while the kings of Lower Egypt wore white crowns. At different times, powerful leaders were able to unite the two halves of Egypt to form a unified country. When these pharaohs reigned over both parts, they wore the unified crown that combined the red and white crowns together. Any character depicted with both crowns represents incredible power. You will notice that several gods, such as Horus, wear the double crown, often called the pschent: http://www.egyptologyonline.com/pharaoh's_crowns.htm

Here are some symbols that appear as parts of various characters, including the ankh (the symbol of eternal life and good luck) as well as the was, the spear-like staff that is used as a weapon and a symbol of power. Another symbol atop the heads of the gods is a cobra, often coiled around a sun disk. The serpent is called a uraeus serpent, and it too represents the power to strike fear into one's opponent: http://members.aol.com/egyptart/symlst.html

Here are some interpretations of the Udjat Eye, the Divine Eye seen in The Destruction of Mankind and the Osiris Story.  Notice the beautiful blue stone inlay work in these pictures.  That blue stone is lapis lazuli:
http://www.eyeofhorussymbol.homestead.com
http://phoenixandturtle.net/excerptmill/EGYPTB.HTM
http://www.recoveredscience.com/const102horuseye.htm

Here are various animals and their corresponding hieroglyphs: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/animalgods.htm

This next link provides lots more information about the symbols and gods of Egypt. Amongst the goodies you will find is a scene that depicts the "Weighing of the Heart Ceremony," which we will see in The Journey to the Duat (a story that we will end the unit with). Scroll about 2/3 the way down the page to view this scene, part of which is reproduced on your coursepacket cover. The human soul (symbolized as a heart) is weighed on a balance scale against the white ostrich feather of Ma'at (justice).  If the heart weighs less than the feather, then that soul is deemed to be above the law, and able to enter the Duat (afterlife).  Osiris sits on his throne to the far right, and you will also notice Thoth recording the verdict, Anubis overseeing the operation, and Ammut ready to eat any corrupted hearts that outweigh the feather.  You can also see Osiris sitting on his throne, holding the symbol of life, the ankh.  Thoth (god of wisdom and divine words) records the name of the soul that will not be allowed to enter eternity, much like St. Peter's book at the Pearly Gates (Christianity).  Horus (the falcon-headed god) is gesturing to Osiris so that he passes the soul onto the afterlife, and next to him in white is the deceased pharaoh.  Set and the next person to stand judgment appear at the far left.  Inside the royal throne chamber, you also see four little jars, called canopic jars, that contain the vital organs of the soul during mummification, and the little green bird flying above Osiris represents the "ba" soul of the deceased person facing his judgment.  He holds a white ostrich feather (Ma'at, or justice), the same as the one on the balance scale.

Also, there are several interpretations of the solar boat (also called the solar barque and the boat of heaven), which transports the sun across the river in the sky (the Milky Way, the astronomical equivalent to the Nile River).  We will see this boat referred to as the solar boat, and sometimes the solar barque (bark), because they were made of wood.  (This gives us the word "disembark," meaning a person who gets out of a vessel, such as a boat).  The solar barque is also called The Boat of a Million Years, with the word "million" being the Egyptian term for infinity or eternity, suggesting that time itself or the cycles of nature will never cease).  Scroll down about 75-80% down to see the solar barque, supported by Nun (goddess of watery chaos) and carrying the solar disk, upheld by the scarab beetle (Khepri):
http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/index.htm

Here is a classic image of the Egyptian sky: Nut is arched over the horizon (on the dark side of the world), Shu is helping Nut to be supported up high, and Geb is the god of the earth (he's stretching to reach all of creation, not slacking off!).  I also have similar pictures in the first few pages of the Egyptian section of the coursepacket: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/geb.htm

Here is what a scarab beetle (dung beetle) looks like (more or less).  The scarab was the animal that rolled the sun over the horizon each morning: http://www.insects.org/ced2/stag.html

Sorry if you were eating something while reading this!

We'll get into the readings on Wednesday.

Announcements:

Please purchase your coursepackets at the bookstore. You will need to special order your copy if the Bookstore is sold out.

Also, please be aware that you have a quiz due on Wednesday. My Friday sections have already taken their Quiz 6 as part of the Age of Aries unit, so we need to make one of them up in the Egyptian unit.

Due Next Time:

 

Egyptian Creation Stories (264-270)

The Destruction of Mankind (281-288)

Isis and the Name of Ra (289-292)

The Power of Myth, chapter 4 (Campbell, 113-150)

Quiz 6

The Egyptian Natur (252)

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses (253-263)

Egyptian Hymns (271-280)

 

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