Ra

Ra was an important god in ancient Egypt, known as the deity of the Sun. By the time of the Fifth Dynasty, around the 25th and 24th centuries BC, Ra became one of the most important gods in ancient Egyptian religion. People believed Ra was linked to the noon-day Sun, and he was thought to rule the sky, the Earth, and the underworld. Some stories say Ra was the first pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.

Ra was often shown as a falcon and shared traits with the sky-god Horus. Sometimes, the two were combined as Ra-Horakhty, meaning "Ra, who is Horus of the Two Horizons." Later, when the god Amun became more important during Egypt's New Kingdom, he was joined with Ra as Amun-Ra.

People believed all life was created by Ra. In some stories, humans were made from Ra's tears and sweat, which is why Egyptians called themselves the "Cattle of Ra." In the myth of the Celestial Cow, humans planned against Ra, and he sent the goddess Sekhmet to deal with them.

Religious roles

According to Egyptian myth, Ra was the god of the Sun. When he grew old, he moved to the skies. Each day, Ra traveled across the sky in a special boat called the solar barque to bring sunlight. At sunset, he passed through the horizon and sailed through the underworld at night. Along the way, he faced challenges but always returned at dawn to light the day again.

People believed the Sun gave life to crops and all living things. Because of this, they worshipped Ra as a creator god who brought warmth, growth, and life. Ra was seen as a powerful and important god, often shown with a falcon's head and a sun disc on top of it. Stories tell of Ra creating the world and many gods and humans from chaos.

Iconography

Ra was shown as a man with the head of a falcon, wearing a sun disk with a snake around it. He looked similar to the sky-god Horus.

Ra appeared in many different ways. He could be a man with the head of a beetle, called Khepri, or a man with the head of a ram. Ra was also sometimes shown as a ram, beetle, bird, snake, bull, cat, or lion. In the Underworld, he was most often shown with a ram's head and was called the "ram of the west." Some stories describe Ra as an old king with golden skin, silver bones, and blue stone hair.

Worship

Ra was mainly honored in a place called Iunu, which later became known as Heliopolis, near modern-day Cairo. People believed Ra was the same as the local sun god Atum. As Atum or Atum-Ra, he was seen as the first being who created the world and many other gods and goddesses.

Ra's worship started to grow during the Second Dynasty. By the Fourth Dynasty, pharaohs were thought to be special representations of Ra on Earth, called "Sons of Ra". In the Fifth Dynasty, Ra became very important, and pharaohs built special buildings like pyramids, obelisks, and sun temples to honor him. They even said they were direct descendants of Ra.

Over time, Ra was often linked with other important gods, like Amun and Osiris. By the time of the New Kingdom of Egypt, people created beautiful wall paintings and writings in tombs showing Ra's travels through the underworld. They believed Ra carried the hopes of the living and the spirits of the dead on a magical sun-boat.

When Christianity in the Roman Empire grew, the worship of Ra gradually stopped.

Relationship to other gods

Gods merged with Ra

As with many important gods in ancient Egypt, Ra's identity was often combined with other gods, creating connections between different deities.

Amun and Amun-Ra

Amun was an early god linked with creation and the wind. As the worship of Amun and Ra grew in different parts of Egypt, they were combined into Amun-Ra, a sun god who created everything. This combination likely happened during the rule of Theban leaders in the New Kingdom to bring together followers of both gods. Amun-Ra was called "King of the Gods" and shown as a red-eyed man with a lion's head and a sun disk.

Atum and Atum-Ra

Atum was another god closely tied to the sun and creation. Ra and Atum shared many similarities, and they were combined into Atum-Ra. Atum was also seen as the creator of other gods and was born from the ocean Nun.

Ra-Horakhty

Ra-Horakhty was a title or way to describe Ra, meaning "Ra (who is) Horus of the Horizons." It connected Horus, linked with the sunrise, to Ra. This title was used to show Ra as a symbol of hope and new beginnings. Pharaoh Thutmose III honored Horakhty by dedicating pillars in Heliopolis.

Khepri and Khnum

Khepri, shown as a scarab beetle, was seen as Ra's morning form as the sun rose. Khnum, a ram-headed god, was linked with the evening sun. Ra was often shown as the midday sun when it was at its highest.

Montu and Montu-Ra

Montu was an ancient god linked with the sun's strong heat. He was sometimes called Montu-Ra and was linked with both parts of Egypt. Montu was shown with a sun disk on his head because of his connection to Ra.

Raet-Tawy

Raet-Tawy was a female version of Ra. She was sometimes seen as Ra's wife or daughter and was also linked with Montu.

Gods created by Ra

In some stories, Ra was believed to have created many other gods.

Bastet

Bastet, also called Bast, was known as the "cat of Ra." She was his daughter and helped protect him. Bastet is famous for defeating a snake who tried to harm Ra.

Sekhmet

Sekhmet was another daughter of Ra, shown as a lioness or large cat. She was used by Ra to punish people but was calmed by drinking beer that looked like blood.

Hathor

Hathor was also a daughter of Ra. She helped cheer up Ra when he was sad and was very important to him.

Other gods

Ptah

Ptah was not often mentioned in early pyramid writings, possibly because the main writers came from areas where Ra was more worshipped.

Isis

In one story, Isis used a snake to make Ra tell her his secret name, which she then passed to Horus to help him rule.

Apep

Apep, also called Apophis, was the god of chaos and Ra's enemy. He tried to attack Ra as Ra traveled through the world below the sky.

Aten

Aten was the sun disk and an aspect of Ra. It became important during the rule of Pharaoh Akhenaten, who focused worship on Aten.