Egyptian+Creation+and+Destruction+Myths

//Ross The Boss MythWiki Project// **Egyptian Creation and Destruction** by Frank Albanese Hour 3!

Creation -

As with many forms of storytelling, information is passed down from generation to generation often dilluting and restructuring the original story by perhaps undesirable margins. In mythology especially, there are many variations of beliefs to why certain things are and how they came about. Creation and destruction are among the most interesting myths from the time of the Egyptians. While there are many myths about the creation of everything, there are two large, common myths.

Egyptians believed that the creation of everything and ”Life” began with the rise of a sacred site called the Primeval Mound, believed to be at Heliopolis, which was the home of the Pyramid Texts. The pyramid texts were believed to be one of the most important religious sites in ancient Egypt.

Symbolically, the rising of the mound from the waters recounts the Egyptian season following the period of “inundation,” when the Nile receded and land reappeared. Further, the sacred waters of the Nile provided the Egyptians with highly fertile land, linking prosperity with the recreation of the creation story.

The Egyptian creation story addresses light, life, and, and consciousness. Tefnut, the ancient Egyptian god of moisture and fertility, would become Mayet, as known as the “World Order”, balancing night and darkness, good and evil, creation and destruction. As long as Mayet existed, life would be assured.

The creation of mankind is tied to the upbringing the four children of Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky. Isis, Osiris, Seth, and Nephtys conclude the creation link with man. Osiris married his sister Isis who was the giver of law. Taking the Egyptians from cannibalism, he taught them to grow wheat and barley. Finally, Osiris was murdered by Seth. As a result, he became the guardian of the Afterlife.

In another Egyptian myth, the Egyptians only believed the ocean existed at first. Then Ra, the sun, came out of an egg (a flower, in some versions) that appeared on the surface of the water. Ra brought forth four children: Shu (son), Geb (son), Tefnut (daughter) and Nut (daughter). Shu and Tefnut became the atmosphere. They stood on Geb, who became the earth, and raised up Nut, who became the sky. Ra, the Egyptian sun god, ruled over all. Geb and Nut later had two sons, Set and Osiris, and two daughters, Isis and Nephthys. Osiris succeeded Ra as king of the earth, helped by Isis, his sister-wife. Set, known as the patron of the winds, storms, chaos, darkness, strength, war, evil, and conflict, hated his brother and killed him. "Isis then embalmed her husband's body with the help of the god Anubis, who thus became the god of embalming. The powerful charms of Isis resurrected Osiris, who became king of the netherworld, the land of the dead. Horus, who was the son of Osiris and Isis, later defeated Set in a great battle and became king of the earth."

One creation myth refers to mankind being created from the tears of Ra, the Egyptian sun god.



In this myth, Atum creates a male god, Shu, and a female goddess, Tefnut, through the act of masturbation. Another version of the story has Ptah creating the two by his tongue, in essence spitting them out. This also symbolizes the connectedness in spirit shared by Ptah and his creation: “Ptah is in everything, in everybody…in all men, all cattle, all fish…everything that lives.” This was the “life force.” The idea of the “breath of life” refers to the creator’s vital essence, known as ka. The creator gave them this force so that his “ka might be in them.” [3]

As with many ancient creation stories, many Egyptian myths begin with nothing. The rise of the hill or mound serves as a reminder of the “high place”, like a religous heaven of sorts. The myth even foretells the end of the world when “this earth will return to the Primeval Water…to the endless flood as it was in the beginning.” [5]
 * Symbols of Egyptian Myth**

”Life” or creation began with the rise of the Primeval Mound, believed to be at Heliopolis, [2] home of the Pyramid Texts and one of the most important religious sites. Symbolically, the rising of the mound from the waters recounts the Egyptian season following the period of “inundation,” when the Nile receded and land reappeared. Further, the sacred waters of the Nile provided the Egyptians with highly fertile land, linking prosperity with the recreation of the creation story.

According to Rundle Clark, “the basic principle of Egyptian cosmology is the Primeval waters.” [1] These waters encompassed the entire space that would come to be known as land and sky. Egyptians referred to a “firmament” that separated the waters below from the waters above. There was no light or darkness.

Within the various myths, several gods are seen as bringing forth life from the chaotic nothingness including Ptah and Atum. One verson cites Neith, a female goddess, playing a role in bringing life or assisting in the creation endeavor. The role of a female creator is not unique; the Australian Aboriginal creation myth also attributes life to a female and in the primary Egyptian myth, Atum is both male and female.

Atum (Atum-Ra)- the chief god of Heliopolis; "the complete one;" the god of the setting sun.

These myths attempted to explain the Egyptians' place in the cosmos based on the observation of natural processes. This was particularly true for the flooding of the Nile. The flooding of the Nile was critical for Egyptian civilization. As a result, gods identified with nature became popular in many Egyptian creation myths. Some of the most common creation myths refer to Nu or Nun, describing the churning sea of chaos that existed before creation. Out of this chaos rose the egyptian sun god Ra. Ra then created deities that were both male and female. In turn, these deities gave birth to more deities, and the newly created deities were responsible for the creation of the physical world. Ra was also responsible for the creation of mankind. One creation myth refers to mankind being created from the tears of Ra.

Most commonly, ancient Egyptians believe that the Primeval Serpent, Atum, returns at the end of the world when civilization sinks back into the Abyss.
 * ====Egyptian Destruction Myth====**

In another myth, "Sekhmet delighted in slaughter and bloodshed and she ravaged both Upper and Lower Egypt, until the Nile ran red with men’s blood. Re began to pity men, but even he couldn’t stop the vengeful Sekhmet. So he sent messengers to the isle of Elephantine to bring back red ochre, which he told them to mix with beer and pour on the fields where Sekhmet planned her next slaughter."

"When Sekhmet saw the beer, she thought she had already slain the people. She laughed for joy and drank the ‘blood’, until she was so intoxicated she could no longer kill. Re then changed her name to Hathor and from then on, she could only lay men low with the power of love."




 * Conclusion and Influences**

The influence of Egyptian mythology and religion extended beyond the kingdom's borders. The ancient Greeks and Romans adopted some of Egypt's gods and myths, suitably modified to fit their cultures. Egyptian cults, particularly that of Isis, also spread to Greece and Rome.

Atum predicts the destruction of the world he created and his own reversion back to the form of a serpent or snake.[3] As Henri Frankfort says, "The primeval snake . . . survives when everything else is destroyed at the end of time."[4] Thus the serpent was strongly and continually associated with creation and eternal existence in the ancient Egyptian ethos. The Egyptians portrayed life itself by the image of the rearing serpent, and a serpent biting its tail was a common Egyptian emblem for "eternity."




 * ==Bibliography==**

__//Library Book Sources//__

Pinch, Geraldine. //Egyptian Mythology: A guide to the gods, goddesses, and traditions of Ancient Egypt//. Santa Barbara, CA. ABC-Clio-Inc., 2002. Print.

Fleming, Fergus, and Alan Lothian. //The Way To Eternity Egyptian Myth//. Castle House: Duncan Baird Publishers, 1997. Print.

__//Online Sources//__

Streich, Michael. "Egyptian Creation Myths: A Creator God Establishes a World Order From Nothingness." Egyptian History. Suite 101, 06 Feb. 2009. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. .

"Egyptian gods and goddesses." History - AllAboutHistory.org. Ed. All About History. Web. 13 Jan. 2010. .

Whitney05. "Egyptian Mythology: The Creation Story." HubPages. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. .

Streich, Michael. "Ancient End of Time Beliefs and Prophecies: Final Cosmic Destruction of Civilization from Zoroaster to St. John." Ancient History. Web. 14 Jan. 2010. .

Picincu, Andra. "Myths and Mythology in Ancient Egypt -." Associated Content - associatedcontent.com. Web. 12 Jan. 2010. 

Skinner, Andrew C. "Serpent Symbols and Salvation in the Ancient Near East and the Book of Mormon - Andrew C. Skinner - Journal of Book of Mormon Studies - Volume 10 - Issue 2." Google. Web. 15 Jan. 2010. .

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