Reign of Ra : Glorifying Egypt's Supreme Sun God
Ra: The Sun God of Ancient Egypt
Meet Ra, the Sun God
Long ago in Egypt, everyone loved and worshipped the Sun God named Ra. He was like the king of all gods and made everything in the world. The big bosses of Egypt, called pharaohs, wanted to be just like him.
Who Was Ra?
Ra was like the big, warm sun up in the sky that gives us light and helps plants grow. Since he made everything, people thought he was part of all the other gods too.
What Did Ra Look Like?
People drew Ra like a man with a falcon head and a circle which is the sun, on top of his head. Sometimes, he had a ram's head or a beetle's head. They also drew him as different animals like a lion or a cat.
Ra's Cool Stories
Ra had a big sun boat that he would ride across the sky every day. In the morning, his boat was called "Madjet," like it was getting strong and starting a workout. By evening, it was called "Semektet," like it was tired after a long day. Ra fought off a bad snake named Apep every day too. This was why people in Egypt thought cats were so cool because Ra could turn into a cat to beat Apep.
Ra, the Father of Gods
Ra was believed to come out of nowhere and made other important gods like Shu, who was like the air we breathe, and Tefnut, who was like a nice, refreshing mist.
When Ra Got Old
Even Ra got old and weak. There's a tale where a goddess named Isis tricked him to get his secret magic name, so she got some of his special god powers.
Special Stuff for Ra
The Tree of Life was a big deal. It was in Ra's sun temple, and only special kings could eat its fruit for a super long life. There was also this phoenix bird named "Bennu," and it was all about Ra's spirit.
Temples for Ra
The Egyptians made special temples for Ra that were full of sunlight but didn't have a statue of him. They liked to keep things simple. The first temple of Ra was in a place called Heliopolis, which now is a part of Cairo, the capital of Egypt.
Ra and the Big Boss Pharaohs
A long time ago, before even your great-great-great-grandma was born, Ra became the top god for the pharaohs. They called themselves the "son of Ra" to show they were super important.
Ra Gets Even More Love
In the New Kingdom era, people loved Ra so much they painted lots of pictures of him in their huge burial spots called the Valley of the Kings.
Ra's Magic Eye
The Eye of Ra was like a superhero's badge. It was a sun circle with two snakes and was super powerful. It changed stories a lot, but it always meant Ra was a big deal.
Cool Things to Know about Ra
- People thought Ra was so important that he might have been the only god they needed.
- Big triangle buildings called pyramids might represent sunshine because of Ra.
- When Ra went on his sun boat, he had a crew of other cool gods.
- Some people thought Ra was born and reborn every single day from Nut, the sky goddess.
- Ra had many looks – one for the morning and one for the evening.
- His cobra, the moon, and the sun were all signs of being powerful and in charge.
- Ra had a strong connection to the Tree of Life, the Bennu Bird, and a special stone called the Ben-Ben Stone.
- When the Romans came to Egypt around 2,000 years ago, people stopped worshipping Ra as much.
As all good stories come to an end, so did the age of Ra in ancient Egypt. Despite being the all-powerful Sun God who was at the heart of Egyptian culture, his worship gently faded after the Romans arrived in Egypt. Yet, the legacy of Ra, with his sun boat travels, powerful eye, and connection to the pharaohs, still shines as bright as the sun in the stories and monuments left behind.