| |
Egyptian mythology is dogmatic that the institution of kingship
was coeval with the rule of the Egyptian gods. Thus, the king
list preserved in the Royal Canon of Trin, which dates to the
19th dynasty, begins with a dynasty of 11 deities who ruled for
over 7700 years. Through creation Re became the king of
Egyptian gods and men and although he eventually tired and
withdrew from the world he had made, he continued to hold
sovereign power as god of the heavens. On earth, the rule of Ra
led to a royal succession among the Egyptian gods themselves,
and in the Canon the length of the reign of each god is given
before the reigns of human kings. The text state that
eventually Osiris became king of Egypt, and as the heir of
Osiris, Horus next took over his father's kingship. However,
his own rulership took on even wider, cosmic, proportions as it
was fused with the rule of Ra and with that of the ancient
falcon god Horus who was himself originally a cosmic deity.
This level of kingship is made clear in the Coffin Texts:
"Horus... Has become lord of the (solar) barque and has
inherited the sky...
It is this Horus, the son of Isis, who rules over all
the heavens and the gods therein." - Coffin Texts VI
390
Horus, in turn, became the link with the living
human king. Although, according to its primary expression in
the Heliopolitan theology, this story may be understood as much
as an affirmation of the king's descent from the Egyptian gods
as a genealogy of divine kings, we must not lose sight of the
fact that from an Egyptian perspective the myth links kingship
to the Egyptian gods just as much as it establishes it by means
of the gods.
Hymns to the gods often name them as "kings" - especially hymns
of the later New Kingdom which also give deities many of the
epithets used of kings such as "royal ruler" and "ruler of the
Two Lands".
|
 |
|
|
|
 The
Complete Gods and
Goddesses of Ancient Egypt
Book
Since you are interested in
the Egyptian gods and
goddesses, you will certainly
find this book interesting and
very informative. As a matter
of fact, most of the articles
here are inspired by, or even
directly taken from, this
book.
What makes this book so
special? I find this book so
special and different because
it is something that both
experts and new learners can
learn from. It introduces you
to the famous Egyptian gods and
goddesses, but it also gets you
deep inside the ancient
Egyptian religious life and
mysterious practices, even it
has a few pages dedicated to
the demons of ancient Egypt. I
strongly recommend this book
for you if you want to get
closer insight of the ancient
Egyptian religious doctrines.
The
book is available on
Amazon.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
