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EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY
Essential Standard
• 6.C.1 Explain how the behaviors and practices of
individuals and groups influenced societies,
civilizations and regions.
• 6.G.1 Understand geographic factors that influenced
the emergence, expansion and decline of civilizations,
societies and regions (i.e. Africa, Asia, Europe, and
the Americas) over time.
Clarifying Objective
•
6.C.1.2 Explain how religion transformed various societies, civilizations and regions (e.g., beliefs, practices and spread of
Buddhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism).
•
6.G.1.1 Explain how the physical features and human characteristics of a place influenced the development of civilizations,
societies and regions (e.g., location near rivers and natural barriers, trading practices and spread of culture).
•
6.G.1.4 Explain how and why civilizations, societies and regions have used, modified and adapted to their environments (e.g.,
invention of tools, domestication of plants and animals, farming techniques and creation of dwellings).
•
6.C.1.1 Analyze how cultural expressions reflected the values of civilizations, societies and regions (e.g., oral traditions, art,
dance, music, literature, and architecture).
Polytheism
• Egyptians were Polytheistic
• This meant that they believed in many,
many gods and not just one god like
Christians believe in
• Egyptians had gods for everything
Understanding Maat
• Maat is the Egyptian word for stability
• Egyptians worshiped gods for everything because
they believed the combination of these different
gods would give Egypt stability
Animals in Egyptian Mythology
• Animals were central to
Egyptian Mythology
• Ancient Egyptians believed
that animals held heavenly
qualities
• They shaped their gods
after animals that they
revered
• Some of the animals were
 Falcon (Horus)
 Ram (Ra/Atum)
Pharaoh
• During the Old
Kingdom when Egypt
united Upper & Lower
Egypt the King Meni
became the Chief
Priest or (Pharaoh)
• He became the contact
for all Egyptian men &
women and their gods
• He resided in
Memphis the city that
was built for him
Pharaoh Controlled the Nile
• The Egyptians believed that Pharaoh was given the power to
control the Nile River
• They believed that Pharaoh would make the Nile Flood every
year to provide fertile ground for crops
• He was given these powers by the Egyptian gods & goddesses
• Here is the story of Egyptian Mythology
Mastering Flood Cycles
• Ancient Egyptians believed that Pharaohs had the key to
mastering the flood cycles of the Nile
• This is partially why they developed the calendar
• If they could master the flood cycles (when it would flood
every year) then they would know when to plant their crops
Mastering Flood Cycles
Floods Cycles were so important because they left silt on top of
the farmland which provided rich nutrients to the soil and
helped more crops grow
This would give them extra crops at the end of the year
They would take the extra wheat and either store it for later or
trade it with other civilizations
Ancient City of Heliopolis
• Heliopolis was the Ancient city of the Kings
• Known as the City of the Sun
• It is located near what is today the city of Cairo, Egypt
(Capital city)
Ancient City of Heliopolis
Heliopolis contained hieroglyphics all over its walls that
contained the story of the creation of Egypt
The stories on these walls make up the “Creation Myths”
The Creation myths are based on the “Great Ennhead” which
was a family of 9 Egyptian gods
The Temple of Atum still stands there today
Nun
The story starts with Nun which was not a
god at all
Nun was the waters of chaos that represented
what Egypt would become with their gods
Nun was a deep dark ocean
Atum/Ra the Sun god
• Out of the waters of the Nun
rose the island called Ben-Ben
• The island was risen by
Atum/Ra the Sun god
• Atum/Ra was the god of all gods
and the god of life
• He stood atop of the island BenBen
Shu god of the Air
• While on top of the island
Atum coughed and spat out
Shu
• Shu was the god of the Air
• Shu was the calming god & the
god of pacifier
• He was represented with
Ostrich Feathers
• Shu is the son of Atum
• Atum coughed once more and spat out Tefnut the
goddess of Moisture
• Ancient Egyptians worshiped her for she would bring
the rains for their crops
• Tefnut is portrayed sometimes as having a lioness head
and sometimes fully human
• She is the daughter of Atum
Tefnut goddess of Moisture
Shu & Tefnut
• Shu & Tefnut had two
children
• These were the
grandchildren of
Atum
• The first child was
Geb the god of the
Earth
• The second child was
Nut the goddess of the
Sky
Geb
• Geb was the first born and was
the god of the Earth
• Geb allowed crops to grow
• Ancient Egyptians believed
that Earthquakes was Geb
laughing
• He was depicted as a Ram,
Bull, or Crocodile depending
on what Kingdom time period
it was
Nut
 Nut was the second born child
and was the goddess of the Sky
 She allows the stars to shine and
she is the goddess of fertility
 She protects souls & bodies as
they journey into the afterlife
Nut is a daughter of Shu and Tefnut. Her
husband and brother is Geb. She has five
children: Osiris, Set, Isis, Nephthys and
Horus. Her name is translated to mean
'sky' and she is considered one of the
oldest deities among the Egyptian
pantheon, with her origin being found on
the creation story of Heliopolis.
Nut
Nut or Neuth also
spelled Nuit or Newet)
is the goddess of the
sky in
the Ennead of ancient
Egyptian religion. She
was seen as a starcovered nude woman
arching over the
earth,or as a cow.
 She separates and
protects the cosmos from
the Nun
 Goddess of direction as
she is believed to have
touched all points that
give us cardinal direction
(North, South, East &
West)
 She appears as either a
naked woman covered in
stars or a cow
 Her symbol is a ladder
(ladder was used by
Osiris to climb to the
stars)
Nut goddess of the Sky & Babies
• There was a reason she was the Egyptian goddess of fertility
• Nut wanted to have many children
• Atum the son god feared that one of Nut’s children would
overthrow him and become god of gods
• He declared that Nut will never be able to have children any
day of the year
Egyptian Calendar
• Egyptians were the inventors of the calendar
• They used this calendar to monitor when it was a good
time to harvest their crops
• They also used their calendar to give a time frame as to
when things would happen (floods of the Nile happen
in the spring or the 100th day on the Calendar)
• At the time the Egyptian calendar only had 360 days
Thoth has a Plan
• Nut went to Thoth the god of wisdom
and he had a plan
• Thoth the god of wisdom knew that
he could beat Khonshu the god of
moonlight in a game
• Khonshu’s moonlight was as bright
as Atum’s sunlight
Thoth Creates Days
• Thoth & Khonshu
were great friends so
Thoth knowing he
could win played many
games with Khonshu
• Every time that Thoth
won Khonshu gave
Thoth some of his
moonlight
• Soon Thoth had
enough moonlight to
create 5 extra days
(365 day calendar)
• This is very significant
because it was the first
modern calendar like
ours with 365 days to a
year
Nut Bears Children
Osiris, alternatively Ausir, Asiri or Ausar, among other
spellings), was an Egyptian god, usually identified as the god
of the afterlife, the underworld, and the dead, but more
appropriately as the god of transition, resurrection, and
regeneration. He was classically depicted as a green-skinned
man with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the
legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two large ostrich feathers
at either side, and holding a symbolic crook and flail.
• Thoth gives those
days to Nut and
since they were not
part of the 360 day
calendar she may
give birth
• On the first day she
bears a son and
names him Osiris
Nut Bears Children
• On the second day she gives
birth to a girl and names her
Isis
• On the third day she bears
another son and names him Set
or Seth
• On the fourth day she bore a
second daughter and named her
Nephthys
th
5
New Day
• On the 5th day the son god
finds out of this plan and is
furious
• There is no child born on
this day
• Atum/Ra storms into
where Geb & Nut live and
separates them for all of
eternity
th
5
New Day
• Nut’s father Shu was to
keep them apart forever
(this is why divorce was
accepted in Egyptian
culture)
• Still Nut never regretted
her decision
Shu
The air god
separated the sky
goddess Nut from the earth god, Geb. This
treatment symbolized duality, the separation of
the world into opposites: above and below, light
and dark, good and evil. Shu is mostly represented
by a man. Only in his function as a fighter and
defender as the sun god does he sometimes receive
a lion's head.
Isis goddess of Religious Beliefs
• Isis was the goddess
of Religious Beliefs
• She was worshiped
as an ideal mother &
wife and was the
patroness of nature
& magic
• She was a friend of
the slaves, sinners, &
artisans
• Mother of Horus
Osiris god of the Egyptian People & The Underworld
Osiris became the first god of the
Earth (first Pharaoh)
He was also god of the
Underworld, Harvest, Eternal Life
He would decide with the help of
the Pharaohs whose souls would
through to eternity
Osiris is a good Pharaoh who rules
with Isis for many years
However all was not well
Set or Seth god of Darkness & Chaos
Set or Seth is the god of Darkness & Chaos
He is not a nice god
Ancient Egyptians do not worship this god but fear him
As the story of Heliopolis goes Seth becomes very jealous of his brother
being the first Pharaoh Osiris
Set or Seth god of Darkness & Chaos
• Seth wanted to be ruler of the Earth
• One night Seth snuck into where Osiris & Isis lived
and killed Osiris
• He mutilated his brother Osiris and tore his body into
pieces
• Seth became ruler of the Earth
Osiris goes to the Underworld
• Osiris goes to the Underworld and
becomes King of the Underworld
• Isis is heartbroken and reassembles
Osiris corpse and travels to the
Underworld to find him
• Because she brings his body down
Osiris soul is able to reunite with his
body and he is temporarily
resurrected
• Isis
reassembles the
corpse of Osiris
and travels to
the Underworld
to find him
Isis becomes Pregnant
While Osiris is resurrected
and sharing moments with
Isis she becomes pregnant
Osiris returns to the
Underworld where he is
King & Isis bears a son who
they name Horus
Horus the god of War
o Horus was the god of war &
hunting, god of the living
o He is depicted as having a head of
a hawk
o The Pharaohs were said to be
Horus in human form
o Horus grows up and is furious at
King Seth for murdering his
father
Horus Fights Seth
He challenges Seth
to a fight to the
death
The fight lasts
several days with
neither gaining
control until the
gods side with
Horus and he
defeats Seth
Horus Becomes King of Earth
• Horus becomes King of the
Earth after defeating Seth
• Osiris & Isis become
permanent rulers of the
Underworld
• Peace is restored to Ancient
Egypt
• That is the Egyptian Mythology
creation story
Important Points
• 6.C.1.2 (Polytheistic)
Ancient Egyptians were
polytheistic believing in
more than 1 god
• 6.C.1.1 (Art) Hold animals
in high regard and use
animals to represent their
gods
• 6.G.1.1 (Location Near
Rivers) Egyptians used the
Nile River to grow crops,
provide a water source & for
a means of trade both
through sailing to ship goods
& making items from the
reeds