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rebeLLove a scris:
AAH: Old Moon God. A shadowy figure who appears to work behind the scenes pulling strings. He's best pals with KHONSU, OSIRIS and THOTH, but seems strangely superior to them. Perhaps because he rules the 360-day moon calender which governs the year. AAH is best known for gambling away five days of moonlight in a dice game. Because RA had laid a curse upon Sky Goddess NUT, she could not give birth to a child on any day of any year. So the sympathetic THOTH gambled with AAH and won five days worth of moonlight. (And as any cosmological person will know, moonlight is not measured in litres or kilograms, but hours and days.) THOTH took this moonlight, divided it into five days and inserted it into the month of July. Because these extra days were not covered by RA's curse, NUT discovered she could give birth during that time. So ISIS, OSIRIS, HORUS, SET and NEPHTHYS are all July babies. And the year has remained 365 days ever since.
APEP: Evil Snake Demon of Darkness and Confusion. It takes some swallowing. He is the great serpent monster who swallows light for a light snack. He lives in the darkness of the Underworld and lies in wait for RA the Sun God to appear each evening. Gulp. But RA's team of snake slayers are on hand to repel the attack and so the sun is able to rise again in the morning. Occasionally APEP manages to take a bite and we get an eclipse. The ancient Egyptians always got very nervous on cloudy days...
ABTU: ABTU and ANET are a pair of life-size sacred fish who swim before the boat of Sun God RA. They warn him of any airborne crocodiles, hydrogen-filled hippos, or treacherous cloud banks he might encounter in his journey across the sky.
AMMIT: The Devourer of Souls. She's a demonic Goddess who is part hippo, part croc and part lion, a scary combination that's put to good use when a soul's judgment day comes. AMMIT lurks under the Scales of Justice while OSIRIS, THOTH and MAAT weigh up the evidence. If your soul is deemed unworthy, she pops out and gobbles it up. And that's the end of you.
AILUROS: (Also known as BAST, BASTET, UBASTET) Daughter of RA, BAST is the cat-headed Goddess of Fertility, Sensuality and Fire Prevention. She also has a flair for avenging wrongs and is feisty enough for the Greeks to have identifed her with ARTEMIS.Her official headquarters appears to have been at Bubastis on the Nile Delta, where she had an annual festival. A lot of water has flowed down the Nile since then and festivals are few and far between. Why not hold your own cat festival? It may do you and your cats the power of good. BAST was a very useful Goddess who performed a vital public service. In the event of fire, her cat servants would run into the flames to draw out the power. These were the original fire extinguishers. Sadly this practise did lead to a few charred cats. However, cats were revered in Egypt and we're sure there was no deliberate cruelty involved. After all, with nine lives, they might come back, albeit slightly singed. The Egyptians must have been very grateful for these fire-fighting services, as dead cats were mummified and sent to join BAST in the spirit world. There's a tendency nowadays to regard BAST as the Goddess of Sex and Lesbians, but that has more to do with modern sex-kittens. Cats are very sensual animals but you don't want to get scratched. We feel sure it is due to BAST's powers that we now have smoke alarms and catflaps, so never underestimate the power of the original cat-woman. Be kind to cats. And remember, kind to cats means tough on rats.
AKEN: The Ferryman. He's the husband of AMENT, the Underworld hospitality Goddess, and carries the souls of the dead to her in his little papyrus boat. He dresses in nautical fashion but spends most of his time sleeping at the wheel. Hobnobbing with the dead must have a slumberous effect. Whenever a soul comes along asking for passage, they have a terrible time trying to wake him up. It's depressing to realise that public transport is subject to delay even in the afterlife
AKER: God of Earth and Guardian of the Gateway of Death. His sphere of action is limited to a tiny patch of the world that joins the east and west horizons of the Underworld. Does this entitle him to be a horizontal God? His two lion heads face east and west, gazing into tomorrow and yesterday. AKER guards the Gates of Death and lets the Sun God RA through every day. Must be quite a monotonous job. Presumably he also stops the serpent APEP from escaping into the sky to chase the sun. We have it on good authority that a prayer to AKER can cure snake bites. He's also the God to turn to if you've accidentally swallowed a fly.
AMATHAUNTA: A Sea Goddess. She may sell seashells by the seashore or build sandcastles, but this is just wild speculation, so far we have not come across further details. She could be engaged in some off-shore project. Who can say?
AMAUNET: The OGDOAD Mother Goddess of the North Wind in Lower Egypt. She has a snake head and wears a crown, which is quite a balancing act. AMAUNET breathes new life into things with her northen winds, blowing fresh knowledge and wisdom into the minds of the elite. She also does a lot of Pharaoh work, giving each new ruler the hidden knowledge they need to rule. Her husband is AMUN, although to be honest the two of them lead quite separate lives
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 - 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 - 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.
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 - 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.
AMENHOTEP: God of Architecture, Buildings and Construction Work. It just shows the power of the priests. He started out as Pharaoh Amenhotep I, the second king of the 18th Dynasty. But his many building projects were so popular that the priests elevated him to deity status upon his death. And he proved very popular, with many festivals held in his honor each year. Most houses had a picture of him, depicted with black or blue skin to symbolise resurrection. Which must have been a real inspiration to budding builders of the time. AMENHOTEP must be one of the very few Gods to have left his mortal remains behind for us to poke at - his mummified body was discovered in 1881 in very good condition.
AMENT: Goddess of Underworld Hospitality. The daughter of HORUS and HATHOR, she is the meet-and-greet deity who welcomes deceased spirits at the gates of the Underworld. You might expect her to be sitting at a desk when you arrive. But no. She perches in a tree and watches out for her husband AKEN bringing new recruits. When you arrive at the Underworld she offers you bread and water. With her regal demeanour you'd expect something a bit more refined. Like a nice cup of tea.
AMN: The invisible Goddess who welcomes the good to the Underworld. But if she's invisible, how do you know? You'd think she'd have a desk in reception or something. However, she could be AMENT in a somewhat bashful mode.
AMSIT: One of the SONS-OF-HORUS. He's the human-headed Keeper of Embalmed Livers. Yuck!
ANAT: War Goddess and love of SET. She was imported from Mesopotamia where she had been associated with BAAL under the name of ANATH. She got herself into a spot of bother in stealing a sacred bowl which had to be sorted out by EL. So we presume she decided it was time to move on. Egypt welcomed her as a warrior Goddess and she didn't waste much time in setting up a liasion with SET.
ANDJETY: Underworld God of Rebirth. Along with his wife ANIT, he's responsible for your continued existence in the Underworld. He started out as a God of Pets and Farm Animals before being promoted (demoted?) to his present position. That's why he carries a shepherd's staff and wears a cow's internal organs on his head. Obvious really.
ANET: A sacred fish. See ABTU
ANHUR: Warrior God and regional remix of RA, SHU and HORUS. His mother is HATHOR, he's known as 'The Killer' and is dead good at slaying enemies. ANHUR wears a very silly hat consisting of four tall plumes, but apart from that he's pretty butch. He's also a God of Creativity, perhaps to help him outwit his enemies.
ANIT: Underworldly wife of ANDJETY.
***ANKH: The Egyptian Symbol of Life, brandished by so many Gods and not a few people with New Age tendencies. It represents not only existence but life's energy, fulfilment and progress - both here and in the afterlife. In other words it's not so much the symbol of life as the symbol of living.The ANKH's origins are shrouded in secrecy and mummified in mystery. Some authorities believe it represents the strap of an Egyptian sandal - for 'get up and go' energy. It may be a symbolic knot, a key, a human figure, or a representation of the sun's progress across the sky. There are also sexual connotations, but we try to avoid fetishism. Perhaps the true answer is that it means whatever you want it to mean. And that could explain why the ANKH is as popular today as it was thousands of years ago.
ANKHET: Goddess of the Nile. ANKHET keeps the waters clean with fresh fertilisation. Consequently she's a very important Goddess to the Egyptians. She's also good on the defense - she carries a spear and doesn't hesitate to make her point. As far as family life is concerned, ANKHET is one corner of a love triangle involving her dad KHNUM and sister SATET. They're known as the Triad of Elefantine, but it's really more a menage-a-trois.
ANOUKE: War Goddess who does shafting with a bow and arrows. But she's really just NEITH in a bad mood.
ANUBIS: Egyptian God of the Dead and Lord of Mummy Wrappings. He's the famous funeral God with the black dog's head. But is he a doberman or a jackal? No-one really knows for sure. ("Down, Anubis down!" No, it must be a jackal.) He's the primordial son of spooky NEPHTHYS and shining RA, and is far too profound to be the son of Cow Goddess HESA as some sources claim. Death was a serious business to the ancients and ANUBIS ruled over it with grim majesty until OSIRIS took over the job. Nowadays he takes a back seat in funeral matters, but still likes to be involved in the judging of the dead. He holds the scales of justice steady while your soul is weighed, and if you're light enough he'll lead you to OSIRIS for the top prize of everlasting afterlife.
APEDEMAK: Not waterproof clothing but a Sudanese Sun God with a lion's head. Praying to him would bring victory in battle, although he hasn't been seen for quite a while now. A latecomer to the Egyptian pantheon, he seems to have been a flash in the pan.
APET: (Also known as TAWERET, APTET, IPY, IPET, OPET, TAURT, TAUERET, THURERIS, TOERIS) Goddess of Maternity and Childbirth. Very popular with those expecting a blessed event, she comes in the form of a pregnant hippopotamus. If you can believe this, just add breasts and a crocodile tail. (Make that several breasts - she was very well-endowed in that department.) Possibly the wife of SEBEK, she protects women and children. Her alternative name Thoeris appears to mean 'Mistress of Talismans'. For added protection during maternity, put a picture of her on your pillow to keep the demons away. According to the BOOK-OF-THE-DEAD, she nourishes the deceased and devours the wicked who are on the way to Hell. This must be for a taste of things to come. It would also seem the constellation of Ursa Major may be under her control. But there are rather a lot of Hippo Goddessess and much confusion of names. When crocodiles come into the equation as with TAWERET and RERET and you get Crocopotamuses and Hippodiles, we tend to take the rest of the day off.
APIS: We don't want to gore you but this is a load of Egyptian bull. A Memphis bull, to be exact. When a black bull was born bearing a white triangle on its forehead, a flock of excited priests would swoop down and whisk it away for a life of luxury. As long as this mortal incarnation of APIS was happy, everyone's livestock would prosper. After treating the fortunate animal with the utmost holy attention for precisely 25 years, they would then promptly drown it and look for another one.
ARENSNUPHIS: A Nubian local God. Depicted as a lion man with a plumed crown. Very snazzy. Although touted by locals as the consort of ISIS, this kind and benevolent God is very much a third division deity. No offence.
ASET: (Also known as ISIS) Very popular Goddess of Motherhood, Royalty and Family Commitment. The daughter of GEB and NUT, she went to the ends of the Earth to find the remains of her murdered husband OSIRIS. With cunning ingenuity she managed to reassemble the body for burial, and couldn't resist one last rite which was more fertility than funeral. In consequence, she became pregnant with glorious HORUS, and had to go into hiding before bad brother SET found out. Luckily her mothering skills paid off and HORUS grew into a SET-beating superhero who became the first ruler of a peaceful united Egypt. ISIS settled down to enjoy royal life, attending garden parties and state functions in her role as King's Mother. She now has a fetching line in headgear featuring cow horns and sun disc. We've seen this before somewhere. Royal Ascot perhaps. ISIS was one of the few Egyptian Gods the Greeks took a fancy to, and she even went through to the Romans. There was a temple built to her at Pompeii. The cult became very popular and her consort OSIRIS was probably the foundation of the Roman God SERAPIS. During the Cleopatra/Anthony affair, Cleo saw herself as the personification of ISIS. With her departure, the Roman Senate did its best to demolish her Egyptian shrines, but you can't keep a good Goddess down. By the time of Julius Caesar the cult was thriving and had its own festivals. All through this, ISIS shook her sistrum - which she retained despite her classical look statue makeover. With the Christians she happily became identified as the Virgin Mary. The Armenian liturgy even retained the rattling sistrum sound. Penitents crawling on a symbolic search for Christ were only replacing the earlier devotees on the symbolic search for OSIRIS.
ATEN: A minor Sun God who became Top Creator God of the world's first monotheistic religion. Thebes in Ancient Egypt was the bees knees - humming along happily with 500+ deities to choose from. Until one dreadful day Amenhotep IV came to power. He was obsessed with a little-known Sun God named ATEN. Really obsessed. He changed his name to Akhenaten (He Who Worships Aten) and proclaimed henceforth there was only one God: ATEN. To prove his point, he abandoned all the old Gods and temples, and moved everyone to a new capital. There he built himself a magnificent new temple and palace where he could sit in the sun and worship all day long. Priests and suppliers of sacrificial succulents were forced onto the dole as the new religion was enforced. To start with, the new sun disc God was balanced on the head of HORUS and RA was somewhere in the background. But as time went on, the other Gods were forced out and ATEN became more abstract - just a flat disc with a few ropey rays emanating from him, very similar to how small children illustrate sunshine. Despite his dedication, Akhenaten let things go sadly to pot, and after seventeen years of monotheism the populace was heartily sick of it. Being a Pharaoh, there is no way he would have abdicated, but perhaps he succumbed to sunstroke or a slipped disc. The next Pharaoh was the much-revered Tutenkhamen, who restored all the delightful deities of yore. The world's first monotheistic God was hastily erased from public records. ATEN became ATEN-RA for a mere twinkle, until AMUN nipped in to oust him altogether as AMUN-RA. Now ATEN is only preserved on disk via computer and gets hardly a mention in the BOOK-OF-THE-DEAD. This is not quite the end. Monotheism was such a momentous concept that it may well have been taken on board by the Israelites in their great Exodus - along with various Egyptian hymns and prayers. (Some people have even suggested that Akhenaten was actually MOSES himself.) One final twist. Somebody, possibly even Akhenaten himself, composed a 'Hymn to Aten' which was actually set to music and written down. This, as far as we know, is the first ever example of written musical notation. But what's the heiroglyphic equivalent of a demi-semi-quaver? Is there anybody out there who can play it?
ATUM: Egyptian Creator God who did it with himself, as in the phrase 'The Hand of Atum.' He was the first true God, arising from the OGDOAD's waters of Chaos disguised as a hill. As the original creator God, he made the world and everything in it by performing a certain self-pleasuring act. (Those of an innocent disposition can take this to mean he was chewing gum.) Top twin Gods SHU and TEFNUT were formed from the resulting bodily fluids. He was later amalgamated with RA to form ATUM-RA but still likes to keep his hand in. We know who his followers are, but we'll turn a blind eye. ATUM is symbolised by the setting sun (is there an Egyptian God who isn't associated with the sun?). Sunsets are his particular thing, and when the sun rises each day he becomes reborn as KHEPRI. |
dupa ce k ai facut coppy si paste...mai e si in engleza  ))))
^^ aken- paznicul barcii din lumea de dincolo. este destul de amuzant faptul ca el trebuie sa fie trezit din somn de catre luntrasul mahaf ca sa pregateasca barca ptr calatoria pe apele celeste.
amaunet-zeita al carei nume inseamna "cea ascunsa" si a carei umbra, printre zeii arhaici, este un simbol al protectiei.
ammut sau "devoratoarea de morti"-zeita a lumii de dincolo, reda in mod sugestiv rolul ei sinistru de distrugatoare a celor care au dus o viata nemernica pe pamant.
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we all die young
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. Dar Ra şi însoţitorul său, Mehen, despicau pântecele lui Apophis permiţând Bărcii Solare să scape.