In ancient times people could not explain many phenomena, for example, why it rains or why the sun rises and sets daily. Therefore, they invented various deities responsible for different elements, natural phenomena, etc. The sun god Ra was considered the supreme ruler who created all life on earth. Religious representations of Egypt have a direct connection with the Roman and Greek versions, so the gods of different cultures were often compared and compared with each other.
The God of the Sun Ra in Egypt
There are many different legends that differently describe this deity and its origin. For example, there is an opinion that Ra created all the gods, others assure that he was the son of heaven and earth. His images also differed, so, in the afternoon, he was represented by a man with a sun disc on his head. Often depicted him with the head of a falcon, who was considered his sacred bird. There is also evidence that Ra was in the form of a lion or jackal. At night, the sun god was portrayed as a man with a mutton head. At a certain time Ra was compared with a phoenix - a bird that burned itself in the evening, and in the morning it was reborn.
In ancient Egypt, the sun god Ra practically did not interfere in the life of ordinary people, mainly his activity was directed towards other gods. One of its most significant manifestations towards people occurred in old age, when mortals stopped respecting and worshiping it. Then Ra sent the goddess Sekhmet to earth, which destroyed the unruly. The main activity of the sun god was that he began the movement from east to west along the celestial river Nile on his boat, called Mantjet. At the end of the journey, the Egyptian sun god Ra was transplanted to another ship that moved through the underground kingdom, where a battle with dark entities awaited him. After the victory, the sun god again went to heaven, and everything was repeated again. The Egyptians addressed Rab every morning with gratitude for the coming of a new day.
The sun god Ra in the Slavs
The ancient Slavs believed that Ra was a descendant of the Creator of the Universe. They believed that it was he who ruled the chariot, which every day takes out and takes the sun from the sky. He had many wives who gave birth to his great offspring. So, according to the legends, Ra is the father of Veles, Horsa, etc. In old age Ra asked the Celestial Cowl Zemun to raise it on the horns and this led to the fact that he became the Ra-river, which at the moment is called the Volga. After this, his son's duties began to be fulfilled by the son of Hors.
Symbols of the sun god Ra
On the images in the hands of God there was a cross with an upper circle instead of a wand, called Ankh. In translation, this word means "life." This symbol was considered the eternal rebirth of Ra. The importance of the Ankh is still causing much controversy among scientists. For example, medieval alchemists considered him the personification of immortality. In this symbol, the
Another mystical symbol associated with the god Ra is his eyes. They were depicted on different objects, buildings, tombs, etc. The right eye was represented as a snake Urey and the Egyptians believed that it has the power to destroy any enemy army. Another eye was endowed with healing powers. A lot of myths are associated with the eyes of the sun god.