The "Eight" (Ogdoad)
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(Ra) Atum ("The great he-she")
(Atum emerges from the mud and slime of the primeval hillock.)
The "Nine" (Ennead)
Atum ("he-she") sneezes out:
Shu (air) Geb (earth) | + Tefnut (moisture) + Nut (sky) |
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Osiris + Neftis produce Anubis, the jackal. Horus, the hawk symbolizesthe sun, eternal life, while the jackal symbolizes death, decay of thebody (a carrion animal).Horus ("Face"), hawk|
The Legend of Ra, Isis, and the Snake
Ra, the chief god and sun god, has a secret name, which is the secretto his power. The goddess Isis (healing, childbirth, "throne") wants "torule over the earth jointly with [Ra]" (204). She thought she could getthis power by learning Ras secret name. Ra was getting old, dribblingat the mouth and having "little or no control over his body." Isis tooksome earth and after adding some of Ras drool (which, naturally, droppedfrom the sky), she worked and kneaded the clay into the shape of a snake.Somehow, with her magic powers, she brought the snake to life and placedit in hiding by the path that Ra (as the sun) traveled every day.
Soon, Ra came along with his retinue of gods and servants. The serpentleaped out and bit Ra in the leg. Ra began to feel woozy right away, feelinghis "vital power" leaving him. As the serpents poison flowed through hisveins, Ra screamed in pain. All the gods gathered round him, asking whatwas the matter. However, Ra was in the grip of the poison, and could nottell them what had happenedhis teeth rattled and his limbs shook, "forthe poison had flooded all his members, just as the Nile during the Inundationfloods all of the land of Egypt" (204).
When Ra finally does manage to speak, he says that he has been wounded"by some deadly thing" (205) which he did not see or make, and he askswho would do such a thing to him. He says, "I have never suffered painsuch as this before." Then he talks about what a mighty god he is and howmany wonderful and powerful names he has. His real, secret name, however,"was hidden inside my body by my begetter so that the words of power ofthose who would work magic upon me might not obtain dominion over me" (205).He then talks about his pain again and asks the gods to help cure him withspells.
All the gods try, but only Isis seems to have a clue as to the natureof this disease. She says immediately that Ra has obviously been poisonedby a serpent, and moreover, that she can cure him with her "efficaciouswords of power" (206). Ra again complains about shaking and feeling chilled("colder than water") and feverish ("hotter than fire"). Isis says, "Tellme thy name, O divine father, for the person liveth who repeateth thy name"(206).
However, instead of telling his name, Ra boasts of his creation of theearth and mountains and of his power to make the Nile rise (206). He tellsIsis some of his other names--"I am Khepera in the morning, Ra at noon-day,and Temu in the evening" (207)-- but he will not surrender his secret name.
Isis is not fooled by these well-known names, and she asks again forthe secret name. Since he is so ill, Ra finally says, "I will allow myselfto be searched through by Isis, and will let my name come out from my bodyand pass into her body" (207). Ra hides himself from the other gods, andIsis, assisted by her son Horus, performs the name operation in some unspecifiedmanner. She then utters a magic spell ("Discharge thyself, O poison" etc.),curing him with her words of power. No doubt this magic spell for curingsnakebite could be used by humans who were in similar straits as Re.
Work Cited
Budge, E. A. Wallis. The Dwellers on the Nile. 1926. Rpt. NewYork: Dover, 1977.
Back to ENG 204 World Mythology CourseIndex
Egyptian Myth LINKS
Siren'sEgypt Index: http://pubpages.unh.edu/~cbsiren/mythold.html#egypt
Exploring AncientWorld Cultures: Egypt: http://eawc.evansville.edu/egpage.htm
Oriental Institute,University of Chicago: http://www-oi.uchicago.edu/OI/default.html
[Authoritative, impeccable scholarship, if a bit puzzling tonavigate--check out their ABZU index to Ancient Near Eastern Resourceson the web.]
