These large and profoundly beautiful volumes can be summed up, but hardly done justice outside of their own text. Their inclusion here is necessary, as is their inclusion in any text about Greek mythology, however, I again encourage you to read these phenomenal works for yourself.
CHAPTER 7
Meet Your Roman Doppelgangers
When Rome conquered Greece, rather than abolishing the Greek’s religion, they, like many groups before and after including the Christians in Rome, ascribed the existing gods of the Greeks to aspects of their own mythology.
This was particularly easy for the Romans, as the Greek religion bore many similarities to their own, in fact, had likely inspired their own. The king of the gods in Greece, Zeus, would be attributed to the Romans’ god Jupiter, a god of a similar nature. Ares would become Mars, Aphrodite would become Venus, Poseidon would become Neptune, Athena would become Minerva, and the list goes on.
The reason behind absorbing the religion of the Greeks rather than replacing it outright was simple. If conquerors take over your empire and strip you of your worship, they will be met with force and rebellion. In order to secure a more thorough and a much more peaceful transfer of power, the Romans would simply assimilate the gods and myths of the Greeks into their own system of belief.
This tactic has been used by conquerors and religious groups throughout the ages, notably by Christians. Once a powerful group, and no longer quite so persecuted in Rome, the Christians adopted the pagan holidays as their own. Although Christ is said to have been born in the summer or early fall, the Christians moved the date of his birth to be celebrated on December 25th, over the Roman pagan holiday of Saturnalia and also the birthdate of the Egyptian god Horus (among many others). Likewise, the festival of Easter which is celebrated as the resurrection of Christ is based off of the spring equinox and a pagan festival of fertility (and others). The festival celebrated Ishtar, a Babylonian goddess of fertility who was killed and resurrected.
By adapting the gods of the Greeks, the Romans ensured that the people would not rebel to nearly as great an extent over their rule. In fact, the Romans tended to respect the ancient Greeks and their manner of worship, and even added solely Greek legends and myths to their own pantheon.
This was quite out of character at the time for the Roman conquerors who often demanded more than simple fealty to the emperor. The Greeks were allowed to continue practicing their religion as they had done before this time.
CONCLUSION
It has been a long journey. From Chaos to Heracles, from the birth of the Olympian gods to the Roman adaptation of the Greek religion, the culture and mythology of the Greeks never ceases to fascinate people from all over the world.
We have read of heroes and heretics, gods and men. The tales of Greek mythology are vast and intricate, describing not only the forces of nature, but the innermost being of the Greek people, indeed, of all people in their own inventive way.
The Greek perception of death is visited by the dreaded gorgon Medusa. Life is brought forth by Prometheus. Not to mention all of the trials of Odysseus as he searches for his way home.
In learning about other cultures, we learn not only about our past, but our present as well. There is a common thread within all of us, and that can be found in the way that we relate to each other. The world is often beset by troubled times, but there is always the opportunity to come together through understanding and a commonality which runs deeper than any disagreement or perceived difference.
Whether you read this text casually or for the purpose of gaining specific knowledge of the ideas, philosophies, myths and manners of the Ancient Greeks, I certainly hope that you found in this book the object of your intention.
It has been a great pleasure to share this wonderful collection of Greek myths with you, the reader, and I hope that you will join in further reading of the other books in this series. The other books in this series include a book regarding the history of ancient Greece, along with one book each of ancient Egypt’s history and mythology. I hope to meet you again through the age-old sharing of ideas that is the connection between myth and history, science and religion.
PART 2
Egyptian Mythology
Discover the Ancient Secrets of the Egyptians
INTRODUCTION
The mythology of ancient Egypt is a vast and fascinating thing to study. With up to seven-hundred gods and goddesses (and combinations thereof,) the mythology of the ancient Egyptians was complex and, like all religions thus far, would undergo changes in theory and practice over time.
There’s something so compelling about the ancient Egyptians that their culture and beliefs are still popular today. Although most of the country no longer practices the religion of the ancients, figures such as Isis, Osiris, Horus and Set (to name a very few) still pop up in movies, music, art and philosophical discussion.
The mythology of the ancient Egyptians is now worldwide, and is without doubt, one of the most enduring and fascinating sets of mythos that the world has ever seen.
One of the most intriguing things about the Egyptian mythology is that there are actually a number of parallels between it and later mythologies, such as that of the Greeks, the Romans; even modern day Judaism, Christianity and Islam have many similarities with these ancient myths.
But there is that which sets the mythology of the ancient Egyptians apart. Somehow it’s regal and elegant. Like many other mythologies, there are tales of good and evil, sex and violence, creation and destruction, love and loss. The phenomena of nature, humans, animals, emotions, life, love and death are contained within the vast and often inscrutable sources from which we have come to glean the meaning behind the glyphs and learn more about one of, if not the most, important cultures and mythologies the world has seen.
It’s important to note that many of the Egyptian myths that we are aware of only began to be recorded during the old kingdom (approx. 2686-2181 B.C.) through use of what we now call The Pyramid Texts. These were prayers, myths and incantations carved into the walls of the burial chambers of ancient Egypt’s most important figures to ensure their safe passage to the afterlife.
The origins of Egyptian mythology are lost to antiquity; however, what we do know is more than enough to keep one busy studying for a lifetime. The pharaohs would come to be regarded as gods upon the earth, incontestable gateways between all of mankind and the realm of the gods; however, little mention of the pharaohs themselves will be made in this particular text. Here, we are primarily concerned with that which is outside the realm of governance; at least as far as it doesn’t concern the religion of the ancient Egyptians.
In Egyptian mythology, we have the idea of the soul, of justice, balance, both on earth in life and after death in an afterlife… for a very short period, we even see a transition from paganism (belief in multiple gods) to monotheism (belief in one god,) although this change would not last.
The principles and morals of the ancient Egyptians are brought to life through their mythology. One of the easiest ways of understanding a people is to familiarize one’s self with their beliefs, whether religious or secular, and I am very excited to take this journey with you into a realm of better understanding one of the most enigmatic societies that the world has ever known.
CHAPTER 8
The Creation
There are many creation myths in the ancient Egyptian religion, and some were favored more than others by different cities within the upper and lower kingdoms. Just as Egyptians had many cults proclaiming one god to be of primary importance, or simply as patron to a particular group, these myths vary depending on locale and time period. Therefore, as a general rule—both in regard to the creation myths and the other myths contained within this book—one of the more popular versions of the myth will be written here, although I will make an effort, where possible and pertinent, to show some of where the myths differ.
For most parts of this chapter, the Heliopolitan (that is to say, originating in the ci
ty of Heliopolis) tradition will be used, as it was, at one point, the center of religious worship and spiritual illuminism for a time. In this tradition, we have the Ennead, or the nine original gods from whom all else was brought into existence. This will, however, be contrasted with the tradition of Hermopolis (City of Hermes, obviously a name later given to the city by the Greeks,) to give an account of the Ogdoad, or a set of eight original gods and the birth of Re (often Ra,) the sun-god.
In the beginning, according to Egyptian mythology, the universe was without form and void; all that existed was the chaotic, primordial waters of Nu (the abyss; alternately Nun.) From this abyss sprang forth Atum (or Tum, Tem, Re-Atum, Atum-Ra, etc.) Different traditions have the first god to spring forth from Nu to be different forms of the god Re, as Atum is particularly associated with the sun, or Re, at sunset, thus he is a god of completion. In the case of the previous philosophy, being the god of completion could reference the completion of the first formative god. Other Egyptian traditions also have Ptah, Amun or the entire Ogdoad as the original creators.
This relates to the later ideas of the ancient Greek religion, also Judaism, Christianity and Islam in that, though naught else existed, the world was formed over the course of days from a watery abyss. This is, of course, merely an extension and not verbatim the Egyptian myth, as the Egyptian creation story has Re, the sun, being the creator itself.
This god came into existence through formulation of thought and strength of his/her will. The reason why both feminine and masculine pronouns are covered here is that, like many ancient and modern gods, Atum was hermaphroditic (that is, both male and female, thus able to create without unifying with another.) In other traditions, Atum was neither male nor female, although this may simply be a reference to his hermaphroditism. Regardless, in Atum was every element and particle necessary for all of creation to exist.
Traditions differ on when the next part happened in the sequence of things, but there is consensus that Atum called forth a pyramidal island called Benben. Thus, he had a place to steady himself, and some traditions have Benben eventually becoming the home of Atum.
Atum is notable, not only for being the progenitor of all of the gods after himself and Nu, but for his single, all-seeing eye. This eye will become of particular importance shortly.
Things really started to get going when Atum spat. This normally rude gesture produced two children: Shu (God of the Air) and Tefnut (Goddess of mist or moisture.) As with many mythologies, the gods of the ancient Egyptians, specifically the primordial ones (primordial meaning something which has existed since the beginning of time,) represent specific elements, forces or parts of nature. Thus Shu=Air and Tefnut=moisture, the basic components of the act of spitting, and also translatable into elements within the daily lives of the people.
At this point, however, the Earth itself had not been created. This didn’t happen until Shu and Tefnut, through sexual union, parented Nut (Goddess of the Sky) and Geb (God of the Earth.)
After the birth of Nut and Geb, Shu and Tefnut decided to go for a leisurely stroll through the universe. This stroll was, in fact, so leisurely that their father, Atum became worried and sent his eye to search for them. It took quite the journey, but eventually came across the two wanderers who retrieved it and brought it back to their father. Upon witnessing their return (and, assumedly having his eye returned,) Atum wept. His tears would fall to the surface of the earth, and from these tears were formed human beings.
Things would get a little complicated when Nut and Geb came together and Nut was impregnated. Shu, somehow upset by the union of these siblings, his children, but completely fine with his relationship with Tefnut, his own sister, decided to separate the two by physically coming between them. In some traditions, Shu also prevented Nut from giving birth. Nut, understandably distressed by this development went to Tahuti (also called Thoth) and begged his aid. This led to a gambling match between Shu and Tahuti which the latter would win, thus allowing Nut to give birth. Who accepts a challenge from the god of wisdom (Tahuti) and thinks that they can win, anyway?
Nut (pronounced like newt or, in some traditions, Nuit, pronounced like “new eat”) would, however, give birth to Osiris, Isis, Set and Nephthys. With that, the Ennead (the first nine gods) would be complete.
For a quick contrast in the interest of a broader perspective, in the Hermopolitan (originating from Hermopolis) creation story, things started with a group of eight gods called the Ogdoad. These gods were often broken up into either two sets of four or four sets of two. The reason for this being: Two sets of four = the male and female gods grouped together; four sets of two = the god and goddess representing each of the four primordial functions were grouped together (i.e. Nu and Naunet, etc.)
The gods were: Nu (male) and Naunet (female), representing the primordial waters; Kuk (male) and Kauket (female), representing the darkness of the waters; Huh (male) and Hauhet (female), representing the limitless expanse of the waters; and Amun (male) and Amaunet (female), representing the occult (meaning hidden) nature of the waters.
In this tradition, these gods all issued forth from the primordial waters themselves, and were depicted as creatures of the sea; specifically, the males were frogs and the females were snakes. This is the reason for the division of the eight into two sets of four. It was when these original gods came together that the mound Benben came out of the water, and another god shot into the sky. The god was Re. With that, there was light.
Regardless of which Egyptian creation myth you go with (and there are plenty of others from which to choose,) the most consistent similarities seem to be the origin of everything within the original and primordial chaotic waters, and the coming forth of Benben, the mound of earth which sprang from these waters.
At the time of creation, all was still in chaos, however. Though the world had been formed, and the sky and most of the rest of existence, including that of humans, there was no order, no law or justice. From this need, Ma’at (or Maat, Mayet, Maae’t, etc.) was created. Ma’at was formed to bring the principles of honor, law and order to the still young universe, and it is according to this law that humans were expected to act, not only within the myth itself, but in daily life. Ma’at would also go on to play a very important role within the Egyptian conception of death and the passage to the afterlife, but we’ll get into that a little bit later on. Ma’at’s symbol is that of the feather, specifically that of an ostrich.
Ma’at was the daughter of Atum (or Re, depending on which personification of the sun-god is used in the particular creation myth.) Not only would Ma’at bring the world and, indeed the universe itself, out of the realm of chaos, through her influence, it would not be able to return into chaos. The exact time within the creation myth of Ma’at’s creation is debatable. Some myths have Ma’at being born at the beginning of the universe and thus, the universe was able to be brought from pure chaos; in others, she was born shortly thereafter. Regardless, she is not considered to be the original progenitor of the universe, rather a function of it.
Though many of the gods of Ancient Egypt were favored, disfavored, some even ignored or not believed in, Ma’at was a constant throughout the cities of Egypt for her importance as a living principle to the people throughout the kingdom.
CHAPTER 9
How to Usurp a God
With so many different Egyptian myths, it’s difficult to know where to start after the creation, however, Isis and Osiris, Set and Horus play an integral role in the way that things would play out shortly after the world was born. Horus, specifically, would become an extremely important figure within the Egyptian pantheon; although Osiris and his wife—and sister (this happens a lot in mythology)—were also of the utmost importance. The myth of Osiris is quite probably the most intricate of all of the Egyptian myths, as it would set the stage for the way the world would work from his rule onward. As usual, there are different versions of the myth, but we’ll focus on the most commonly known one, with occasional interj
ections with some of the differences.
When the world was formed, Osiris (god of life, rebirth, and [spoiler alert] the afterlife) was king of the Earth. Isis was his queen. Though not much is known (or possibly, was formulated) about the time in which Osiris ruled, other than that he was a just ruler and followed the order of Ma’at, the consequences of his brother Set’s anger toward him, is where the importance of the story really came to the forefront.
According to the myths, things were going fine, right up until Set (god of disorder, the desert, storms and often thought of as the Egyptian equivalent of the devil, or the Hebrew Shaitan—meaning adversary—later translated into Satan) murdered Osiris. Exactly why he did this, as I’m sure you’ve already become accustomed, changes depending on where the story was told, but the predominant myths have Set as being jealous of his brothers rule, and his murder was intended to usurp him; Set killing Osiris due to a kick or other blow that Osiris had given him; or Osiris copulating with Set’s wife (or consort as historians generally put it,) Nephthys. Regardless the reason, Set killed Osiris.
Mythology: The Ancient Secrets of the Greeks, Egyptians, Vikings, and the Norse (Mythology, Gods, Myths, and Legends) Page 6