Ancient Egyptian Nature Gods

 

Gods of Sun, Sky, Earth, and Procreation

	Ra, the Egyptian sun-god, one of the most ancient gods, and the guide of worlds, the one of one, or the one one. Time began with the first rising of Ra. He is said to sail in the morning in a boat called Atet and in the afternoon in a boat called Sektet. At night he travels through the underworld.
	Amon is another sun-god. He is chief god of Thebes. When Thebes ruled Egypt the Theban priests tried to make Amon everyone's God. To this end they merged it with Ra, the most ancient of the sun gods.
	Mut, consort and sister of Amon. Patroness of women/mothers. Cult centered at Thebes. Associated with Hera/Juno in the Greek/Roman pantheon.
	Khons (or Khensu, Khonsu, Khuns), god of the moon and healing. Son of Amun and Mut. Cult centered at Thebes.
	Amon-Ra created from Amon and Ra. Associated with Zeus/Jupiter in the Greek/Roman traditional gods.
	Sekbeth, Egyptian god representing the destroying power of the sun.
	Anhert or Shu is the god of the day sky.       Nut is the god of the night sky. Consort of Geb, and sister of Shu.       Nut is often shown covering Geb, the god of earth.     Geb, the god of the earth.     Seb, another god of the earth.
	Hathor, another sky-goddess who is often portrayed in the form of a cow; or with horns on her head with the solar disk between them. The origin of rain, she is also the goddess of dancing; of music; and of love. In later periods her role was taken over by Isis.
	Min, the Egyptian god of procreation, or earthly regeneration. This ithyphallic god is a commonly found image in statues and paintings. Little statues of Min were often carried with a person or placed in a home. The town of Koptos, on the east bank of the Nile north of Luxor, was the center of Min worship. This lasted from earliest pre-dynastic time through the Greek kings, the Ptolomeys. In New Kingdom times Min was highly popular and orgiastic festivals were held in his honor. In Koptos, a major temple site, has huge statues dedicated to Min. In later times Min became associated with Amun-Ra as the controller of earthly procreation. But the same image continued to be used. He is associated with Bacchus among the Greek/Roman traditional gods.

 

2003-02-26