The mythology of the ancient world is so intricate and multifaceted that it is no longer possible to determine exactly what the ancients believed. Let us turn to such an important character as the Egyptian god of the Sun, because the sun is life, light, and ancient people attached considerable importance to it.
Various sources speak of two different gods of the daylight. One of them, about which most have heard, is Ra, and the second, faded in the shadow of his "colleague", is Horus. Both of them have the title of the sun god, but their images are so intertwined that sometimes you can not see the differences between them. Let's try to understand what caused such confusion.
Egyptian sun god Horus
The sources say that this god appeared much earlier than Ra. Just his image is a man with a falcon's head, as well as a solar disk with outstretched wings of this bird.
Gore was originally a symbol of victory over enemy tribes. First, he became a deity in Upper Egypt, and after all of Egypt was conquered, the god with a falcon head began to personify the power of the pharaoh. Horus combined two beginnings: earthly, in the form of a pharaoh and a king, and heavenly, in the form of a ruler of heaven and a godSun.
Horus, the sun god in Egyptian mythology, is the son of Isis and Osiris. When the latter was brutally killed by his brother Set, Horus entered into battle with him and won, returning the throne of his father. After that, he received the great honor of being called the king of all Egypt.
Egyptian sun god - Ra
He was considered the creator of all things: the universe, life, light. An interesting fact is that he himself created himself from a lotus that appeared on the first stone, which, in turn, arose from the primary waters. After that, the Egyptian god of the Sun created air and humidity, from which other gods began to appear, for example, Nut (goddess of Heaven) and Geb (god of the Earth). Subsequently, Ancient Egypt began to emerge. And man appeared from the tears of the god Ra.
The above is only one myth concerning the birth of this god, but there are a great many of them. In some ways they are similar, but in some ways they are completely opposite, because over time one myth is superimposed on another, and it is almost impossible to find out what was the original source.
But some stories about the sun god are known to everyone. For example, that Ra on a daytime chariot sails along the heavenly goddess Nut, and at night in the afterlife he fights with the serpent Apep so that morning comes again.
The symbols depicting the god Ra are almost identical to those that symbolize the god Horus. Only in this case, the idea of its specific species is a little blurry: a falcon, hawk or other large bird.
There is an image where Gorstands on the boat of the god Ra and fights against the enemies of the world, presented in the form of hippos and crocodiles. But the image of Horus nevertheless faded into the background. They say that when the power in Egypt changed (namely, a person not from the royal family came to power), myths appeared that it was Ra who was the supreme god of the sun, and Horus was just his son. That is why the images of Ra and Horus are mixed into a single whole.
Other ancient sun gods
- The personification of the sun god in ancient Greece is Helios. He, like Ra, every day crossed the firmament on his chariot harnessed by four winged horses. The most positive god - everyone loved him.
- The four gods of the Sun bestowed life and light on Ancient Russia. Khors, Svetovit, Dzhadbog and Yarilo - from the oldest to the youngest. Khors - The sun of the underworld, winter and night. Svetovit - The sun of sunset, old age, autumn, evening. Dzhadbog - the Sun of summer, fruits, day, maturity. Yarilo - morning, beginning, spring, youth.
