CORTEZ, Neal I LITE1023 WORLD LITERATURE

BSIT 4-2N Mrs. Patricia V. Nogales

QUESTION: Who are Ra, Isis, Osiris and Horus and why are they on the lyric poem
THE DEAD MAN ARISETH AND SINGETH A HYMN TO THE SUN?
A brief summary on the background of the Gods and Goddesses to explain why they appear on
the lyric poem.

Ra (The Sun God)

 He is the ancient Egyptian deity of the sun. By the Fifth Dynasty in the 25th and
24th centuries BC, he had become one of the most important gods in ancient Egyptian
religion
 Ra was worshipped as the creator god among some ancient Egyptians, specifically followers
of his cult at Heliopolis.
 It was believed that Ra wept, and from his tears came man.
 Ra was represented in a variety of forms. The most usual form was a man with the head of a
hawk and a solar disk on top and a coiled serpent around the disk. Other common forms are
a man with the head of a beetle (in his form as Khepri), or a man with the head of a ram. Ra
was also pictured as a full-bodied ram, beetle, phoenix, heron, serpent, bull, cat, or lion,
among others.
 Ra was said to carry the prayers and blessings of the living with the souls of the dead on
the sun boat. The ancient Egyptians believed that as the sun god, Ra’s role was to sail
across the heavens during the day in his boat called the “Barque of Millions of Years.”
In the morning when Ra emerged from the east, his boat was named, “Madjet” which
meant “becoming strong.” By the end of the day the boat was called, “Semektet” which
meant “becoming weak.” At the end of the day, it was believed that Ra died (swallowed
by Nut) and sailed on to the underworld, leaving the moon in his place to light up the
world. Ra was reborn at dawn the very next day. During his journey across the heavens
during the day, he fought with his main enemy, an evil serpent named Apep, or also,
The Lord of Chaos. In some stories, Ra, in the form of a cat named Mau, defeats the evil
serpent, Apep. This is part of the reason why cats are so highly-revered in Egypt.
 Ra represents sunlight, warmth and growth. It was only natural that the ancient
Egyptians would believe him to be the creator of the world, as well as part of him being
represented in every other god. The ancient Egyptians believed that every god should
illustrate some aspect of him, while Ra himself should also represent every god.
 Historians believe that the pyramids might represent rays of sunlight, further connecting
the pharaohs with Ra, the sun god.
 During Ra’s journey through the heavens he was accompanied by several other gods
including Thoth, Horus, Hathor, Maat, Abtu, and Anet.
 Nut, goddess of the sky and heavens, is sometimes referred to as Ra’s mother, because
he emerges from her and is reborn every morning.
 The morning manifestation of Ra is known as “Khepri the scarab God.”
CORTEZ, Neal I LITE1023 WORLD LITERATURE
BSIT 4-2N Mrs. Patricia V. Nogales

 The evening manifestation of Ra is known as the ram-headed god, Khnum.

 The sacred cobra that encircled Ra’s crown symbolized royalty, sovereignty and divine
authority.
 The right eye of Ra represented the Sun; while the left eye of Ra represented the moon.
 Ra is also closely associated with the Tree of Life myth, the Ben-Ben Stone and the
Bennu Bird myths.
 Ra’s glory came to an end during the time when the Roman’s conquered Egypt in 30BC.

Isis

 Her name comes from the Egyptian Eset, ("the seat") which referred to her stability and
also the throne of Egypt as she was considered the mother of every pharaoh through
the king's association with Horus, Isis' son. Her name has also been interpreted as
Queen of the Throne, and her original headdress was the empty throne of her murdered
husband Osiris.
 Her symbols are the scorpion (who kept her safe when she was in hiding), the kite (a
kind of falcon whose shape she assumed in bringing her husband back to life), the
empty throne, and the sistrum.
 She is regularly portrayed as the selfless, giving, mother, wife, and protectress, who
places other's interests and well-being ahead of her own.
 She was also known as Weret-Kekau ("the Great Magic") for her power and Mut-Netjer,
"Mother of the Gods" but was known by many names depending on which role she was
fulfilling at the moment. As the goddess who brought the yearly inundation of
the Nile which fertilized the land she was Sati, for example, and as the goddess who
created and preserved life she was Ankhet, and so on.

Osiris

 The Egyptian Lord of the Underworld and Judge of the Dead, brother-husband to Isis,
and one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt.
 The name `Osiris' is the Latinized form of the Egyptian Usir which is interpreted as
'powerful' or 'mighty'.
 He is the first-born of the gods Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) shortly after the creation of the
world, was murdered by his younger brother Set, and brought back to life by his sister-
wife Isis.
 He is associated with the djed symbol and is often depicted with black or green skin
symbolizing the fertile mud of the Nile and regeneration. He is also frequently shown as
a mummy or in partially mummified form in his role as Judge of the Dead.
CORTEZ, Neal I LITE1023 WORLD LITERATURE
BSIT 4-2N Mrs. Patricia V. Nogales

Horus

 Horus is the name of a sky god in ancient Egyptian mythologywhich designates

primarily two deities: Horus the Elder (or Horus the Great), the last born of the first
five original gods, and Horus the Younger, the son of Osiris and Isis.
 According to the historian Jimmy Dunn, "Horus is the most important of the avian
deities" who takes on so many forms and is depicted so differently in various
inscriptions that "it is nearly impossible to distinguish the 'true' Horus.
 Horus is mostly a general term for a great number of falcon deities" (2). While this is
certainly true, the name 'Horus' will usually be found to designate either the older
god of the first five or the son of Isis and Osiris who defeated his uncle Set and
restored order to the land.

Maat

 Ma'at (pronounced may-et) is the ancient Egyptian goddess of truth, justice, harmony,
and balance (a concept known as ma'atin Egyptian) who first appears during the period
known as the Old Kingdom (c. 2613 - 2181 BCE) but no doubt existed in some form
earlier.
 She is depicted in anthropomorphic form as a winged woman, often in profile with an
ostrich feather on her head, or simply as a white ostrich feather.
 The feather of Ma'at was an integral part of the Weighing of the Heart of the Soul
ceremony in the afterlife where the heart of the soul of the dead person was weighed in
the scales of justice against the feather.

Thoth

 Thoth is the Egyptian god of writing, magic, wisdom, and the moon.
 He was one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt alternately said to be self-
created or born of the seed of Horus from the forehead of Set. As the son of these two
deities, who represented order and chaos respectively, he was also the god of
equilibrium and balance and associated closely with both the principle of ma'at (divine
balance) and the goddess Ma'at who personified this principle (and who was sometimes
seen as his wife).