Myths featuring Ra

Following his harrowing journey to the underworld of Yomi to rescue his wife Izanami, the creator god Izanagi underwent a ritual purification to cleanse himself of the underworld's impurities. As he washed his face, three major deities, known as the Three Noble Children, were born from his ablutions. From Izanagi's right eye emerged Tsukuyomi-no-Mikoto, who was destined to rule the realm of...

After returning from the dark underworld of Yomi, the creator god Izanagi-no-Mikoto cleansed himself in a sacred river in Miyazaki. As he washed his left eye, the radiant sun goddess Amaterasu Ōmikami was born, bringing warmth and light to the cosmos. This act established the Shinto ritual of purification and birthed the most revered deities of Japan.

Following his horrific journey to Yomi, the land of the dead, to retrieve his deceased wife Izanami, the creator god Izanagi flees back to the living world. Overwhelmed by the spiritual contamination and filth of the underworld, he bathes himself in the sacred waters of the Tachibana River. This acts of ritual purification, known as misogi, cleanses his body and gives birth to many crucial...

Following the death of his beloved wife Izanami during the birth of the fire god Kagutsuchi, the creator deity Izanagi was consumed by profound grief and rage. Drawing his ten-grasp sword, Izanagi slew Kagutsuchi, decapitating him to avenge Izanami's death. From the blood that splattered on the rocks and the sword, several powerful storm, thunder, and rain deities were born, while...

This myth describes the pivotal transition in Egyptian cosmology from a time when gods physically walked the Earth to the era of human pharaohs. After a period of direct rule and human rebellion, the sun god Ra chose to ascend to the heavens on the back of the celestial cow, Nut, establishing the boundaries between the mortal world and the divine realm. The subsequent reigns of Osiris and...

Serapis was a synthetic deity created in the 3rd century BCE to bridge the gap between Greek and Egyptian cultures. Combining the traits of the Egyptian god Osiris and the sacred bull Apis, he became the patron god of Alexandria and the supreme deity of the Ptolemaic Kingdom. His cult symbolized the political and religious fusion of two ancient civilizations under the rule of the Greek pharaohs.

This myth describes the origin of the Khamsin, the scorching fifty-day desert wind, which is said to be the residual heat of the goddess Sekhmet's breath. Created by the sun god Ra to punish humanity, Sekhmet’s fury was so great that her presence permanently scorched the Western Desert. Even after being pacified by the gods, her fiery essence remains as a seasonal gale that sweeps across the...

Wepwawet, the jackal-headed or wolf-headed deity of Asyut, serves as the divine scout and 'Opener of the Ways' for the Pharaoh. In times of war, he leads the Egyptian armies through the treacherous desert, ensuring victory and clearing obstacles in both the physical and spiritual realms. His role as a protector extends from the battlefield to the journey of the soul into the afterlife.

Bastet, the feline-headed goddess and daughter of Ra, acts as the primary protectress of the home against the creeping agents of chaos. This myth describes her nocturnal vigilance as she stalks the halls of the faithful in Bubastis, hunting down venomous serpents sent by the forces of Apep. By neutralizing these threats, she maintains the balance of Ma'at and ensures the safety of the...

Following the death of the 'heretic king' Akhenaten, the powerful priesthood of Amun-Ra launched a systematic campaign to erase his name and memory from the face of Egypt. They believed that Akhenaten's exclusive worship of the Aten disk had fractured Maat, the cosmic order, and only by obliterating his existence could the gods return to their temples and restore balance to the Nile. This...