Egyptian Mythology and Legends

 Egyptian Mythology and Legends

 
Although Egyptian Mythology (aka religion) is believed to be much older and different than religion today, that is really not the case. Ancient Egyptian religion encompasses the beliefs and rituals of Ancient Egypt. It was followed for over three thousand years until the establishment of Coptic Christianity and Islam. In Egyptian times there were many gods and godesses and each area and kingdom believed and worshipped the one that best fit their life. These beliefs were also attributed to the current king's reign and kingdom location. Just like the lives of the people that worshipped them, the Egyptian's believed that their gods also lived, died, birthed, ate, drank, died, and had general human emotions. However, one of the greatest power bases of the Egyptian religion was actually in the name. The Egyptians believed that the name held great power and that writing a name or taking it in vain could have dire consequences. In respect to this, each god had five names that was associated with an element.

Throughout the vast and complex history of Egypt, the dominant beliefs of the ancient Egyptians merged and developed as leaders of different groups gained power. This process continued even after the end of the ancient Egyptian civilization as we know it today. As an example, during the New Kingdom Ra and Amun became Amun-Ra. This "merging" into a single god is typically referred to as syncretism. Syncretism should be distinguished from mere groupings, also referred to as "families" such as Amun, Mut and Khonsu, where no "merging" takes place. Over time, deities took part in multiple syncretic relationships, for instance, the combination of Ra and Horus into Ra-Herakty. However, even when taking part in such a syncretic relationship, the original deities did not become completely "absorbed" into the combined deity, although the individuality of the one was often greatly weakened. The combined power of deities generated greater attraction, and people were drawn to them like casino players to . Their combined magnetism increased their perceived greatness. Also, these syncretic relationships sometimes involved more than just two deities, for instance, Ptah, Seker and Osiris, becoming Ptah-Seker-Osiris. The goddesses followed a similar pattern. Also important to keep in mind is that sometimes the attributes of one deity got closely associated with another, without any "formal" syncretism taking place. For instance, the loose association of Hathor with Isis.
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