12-18-2009, 06:15 AM
Also known as AMUN-RE, AMEN-RA, AMEN-RE, AMON-RA, AMON-RE, AMMON-RA, AMMON-RE
AMUN-RA: Egyptian blue chip merger of AMUN and RA.
These two deities joined forces in much the same way that multi-national corporations do today. AMUN, Inc and RA, Corp became the gargantuan AMUN-RA Corporation â slogan: "The Sun in Splendor".
With offices all over the continent, profits zoomed through the roof and the Egyptian stock market was at an all-time high.
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Also known as AMEN, AMON, AMMON
AMUN: One of the OGDOAD. He started out as the God of Wind and Air alongside his wife AMAUNET. But his remarkable staying power led to him becoming the great Sun God in charge of everything. He really should be the God of self-publicity, opportunism and always having the last word.
Long ago and far away, AMUN went in for mystery and abstract ideas. But he always kept an eye on progress and was willing to go with current trends and fashions: a hawk's head when they were all the rage, colorful fashion accessories and a beard if they were in vogue.
He could be a trendsetter with his red, green and blue plumed headgear, bracelets and necklets. In his dressing room were heads and tails for all occasions â frog, serpent, ape, lion, ram and even a goose, beetle wings and claws. You name it, he would get it.
He kept a low profile during the hassle of the years when ATEN became a dictatorship, but the moment monotheism was over he leapt back. As with any counter-revolution, a strong leader is needed, so he stepped in to become the great Sun God of Thebes and his word was law.
With his increased importance, it wasn't much of a stretch for AMUN to form an alliance with fellow Sun God RA. The two deities joined forces and became AMUN-RA. (And note who has top billing there).
AMUN's publicity drive also extended to Greece, where he was worshipped under the name Ammon and had his very own oracle. As an Egyptian God of almost unique holiness and majesty, he's in a league of his own and has interesting parallels with the utterly holy YAHWEH of the Hebrews.
The wandering Israelites must have picked up a lot of cultural tidbits from the Egyptians â and may even have borrowed the idea of monotheism from the short-lived ATEN. But AMUN, whose name means 'what is hidden', is name-checked on almost every page of the Bible. Whenever 'Amen' crops up at the end of a prayer, he is taking the credit.
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RA: Re: Egyptian Top God. The Eye of the Sun.
Previously known as ATUM, he's the most important Egyptian God. He created himself out of the mound formed by the OGDOAD's primordial chaos, and then made SHU and TEFNUT to form the world. Now he sails across the sky in his solar boat.
Mankind was made from his tears and if that doesn't make you grateful, just go to Egypt and look at the midday sun. There he is â that's his all-powerful eye bearing down on you.
But is he all-powerful? There are times when he seems to be waning a bit and feeling his age.
He has a very strange relationship with the Sky Goddess NUT (who arches backwards across the world and probably symbolises the Milky Way). In the evening he sails through her mouth and then has to battle through her nightmare insides.
Like some computer-devised game, he wends his way through twelve gates at the rate of one per hour without getting zapped by malevolent hideous monsters. And like some end-of-game baddie, the snake God APEP lies in wait hoping to gobble him up. Once these perils are transversed, he then surfaces via NUT's birth canal to greet the new day.
He's not alone in this enterprise â selected top Gods came along for the thrill of pitting their skills and chilling out in no uncertain manner. THOTH, MAAT, HATHOR, HORUS are the top crew, with ABTU and ANET as early warning system and KHEPRI the dung beetle as a sort of morning mascot.
The night boat is called Mantchet, and there's also a day boat called Semketet, where they probably laze around sunbathing and drinking cocktails as they recount their night time adventures.
Shrouded in the mists of Chaos and speculation of cosmic genealogy, RA may or may not have had parents. NUT is often put forward as his mother, but is most likely due to his habit of popping out to be reborn after the night shift. However she was the mother of his children: OSIRIS, ISIS, SET and NEPHTHYS. To accomplish this, THOTH had to invent some additional days for the calendar so she could take the time off.
Later in life there were some amalgamations. RA was so much in the spotlight that many Gods tried to get in on the act by adding his name to theirs for added glory. The most notable of these was AMUN-RA.
RA himself seems to have opted for semi-retirement, although he remains very much in the public eye and has a full schedule of guest appearances.
AMUN-RA: Egyptian blue chip merger of AMUN and RA.
These two deities joined forces in much the same way that multi-national corporations do today. AMUN, Inc and RA, Corp became the gargantuan AMUN-RA Corporation â slogan: "The Sun in Splendor".
With offices all over the continent, profits zoomed through the roof and the Egyptian stock market was at an all-time high.
-------------
Also known as AMEN, AMON, AMMON
AMUN: One of the OGDOAD. He started out as the God of Wind and Air alongside his wife AMAUNET. But his remarkable staying power led to him becoming the great Sun God in charge of everything. He really should be the God of self-publicity, opportunism and always having the last word.
Long ago and far away, AMUN went in for mystery and abstract ideas. But he always kept an eye on progress and was willing to go with current trends and fashions: a hawk's head when they were all the rage, colorful fashion accessories and a beard if they were in vogue.
He could be a trendsetter with his red, green and blue plumed headgear, bracelets and necklets. In his dressing room were heads and tails for all occasions â frog, serpent, ape, lion, ram and even a goose, beetle wings and claws. You name it, he would get it.
He kept a low profile during the hassle of the years when ATEN became a dictatorship, but the moment monotheism was over he leapt back. As with any counter-revolution, a strong leader is needed, so he stepped in to become the great Sun God of Thebes and his word was law.
With his increased importance, it wasn't much of a stretch for AMUN to form an alliance with fellow Sun God RA. The two deities joined forces and became AMUN-RA. (And note who has top billing there).
AMUN's publicity drive also extended to Greece, where he was worshipped under the name Ammon and had his very own oracle. As an Egyptian God of almost unique holiness and majesty, he's in a league of his own and has interesting parallels with the utterly holy YAHWEH of the Hebrews.
The wandering Israelites must have picked up a lot of cultural tidbits from the Egyptians â and may even have borrowed the idea of monotheism from the short-lived ATEN. But AMUN, whose name means 'what is hidden', is name-checked on almost every page of the Bible. Whenever 'Amen' crops up at the end of a prayer, he is taking the credit.
---------------------
RA: Re: Egyptian Top God. The Eye of the Sun.
Previously known as ATUM, he's the most important Egyptian God. He created himself out of the mound formed by the OGDOAD's primordial chaos, and then made SHU and TEFNUT to form the world. Now he sails across the sky in his solar boat.
Mankind was made from his tears and if that doesn't make you grateful, just go to Egypt and look at the midday sun. There he is â that's his all-powerful eye bearing down on you.
But is he all-powerful? There are times when he seems to be waning a bit and feeling his age.
He has a very strange relationship with the Sky Goddess NUT (who arches backwards across the world and probably symbolises the Milky Way). In the evening he sails through her mouth and then has to battle through her nightmare insides.
Like some computer-devised game, he wends his way through twelve gates at the rate of one per hour without getting zapped by malevolent hideous monsters. And like some end-of-game baddie, the snake God APEP lies in wait hoping to gobble him up. Once these perils are transversed, he then surfaces via NUT's birth canal to greet the new day.
He's not alone in this enterprise â selected top Gods came along for the thrill of pitting their skills and chilling out in no uncertain manner. THOTH, MAAT, HATHOR, HORUS are the top crew, with ABTU and ANET as early warning system and KHEPRI the dung beetle as a sort of morning mascot.
The night boat is called Mantchet, and there's also a day boat called Semketet, where they probably laze around sunbathing and drinking cocktails as they recount their night time adventures.
Shrouded in the mists of Chaos and speculation of cosmic genealogy, RA may or may not have had parents. NUT is often put forward as his mother, but is most likely due to his habit of popping out to be reborn after the night shift. However she was the mother of his children: OSIRIS, ISIS, SET and NEPHTHYS. To accomplish this, THOTH had to invent some additional days for the calendar so she could take the time off.
Later in life there were some amalgamations. RA was so much in the spotlight that many Gods tried to get in on the act by adding his name to theirs for added glory. The most notable of these was AMUN-RA.
RA himself seems to have opted for semi-retirement, although he remains very much in the public eye and has a full schedule of guest appearances.