The Religion of Ancient Egypt - Essay Example

Ra was one of the main gods in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptian people worshiped Ra because the Sun (Ra symbolized the Sun) was concerned as the main source of life in Ancient Egypt; Ra was known as the ancestor of pharaohs, and the worship of Ra and a pharaoh as his son was sacred for ancient Egyptians; Ra was concerned as a founder of life on the Earth, so Egyptians worshiped Ra as one of the main gods among many others. This paper will support these three causes of the Sun God Ra worship. . The Sun (Ra symbolized the Sun) was concerned as the main source of life in Ancient Egypt: “The daily cycle, as the sun rose, then set only to rise again the next morning, symbolized renewal and so Re was seen as the paramount force of creation and master of life” (Ra).

Ra symbolized eternal life cycle for ancient Egyptians; sunrise, zenith and sunset were associated with birth, life and death. Ra always was given birth in the morning (as a scarab beetle), rode on his boat across the sky in the day, and died in the evening: “At sunset, he is swallowed by the goddess Nut, who gives birth to him each morning again as Khepri. Therefore, the cycle continued with birth, life and death” (Ra).. .Ra was said, in fact, to be the direct ancestor of the kings of Egypt, and in certain hymns was even addressed as a dead king" (Egyptian religion).

In honor of pharaohs such giant architectural masterpieces as pyramids were erected, and the worship of pharaohs was directly connected with that of the Sun God Ra. Pharaoh was the earth embodiment of Ra who provided his power over the nature: "While the king ruled earth, Re was the master of the universe so they were of the same nature and were in effect a mirror image of each other" (Ra). Egyptian pharaohs erected pyramids and temples in honor of Ra - they tried to underline their connection with Ra.

The cult of Ra was transforming through the Egyptian history, but it was always associated with pharaohs: "Beginning with the Middle Kingdom (2134-1668 BC), Ra worship acquired the status of a state religion, and the god was gradually fused with Amon during the Theban dynasties, becoming the supreme god Amon-Ra" (Ancient Egyptian Religions). Heliopolis was the main center of Ra worship during the New Kingdom - it was the time of the greatest development of Ancient Egypt and the cult of Ra as the main god of Egypt.

So, ancient Egyptians worshiped Ra as the symbol of king power, and the highest development of the state was associated with the power of pharaoh and Ra as his embodiment. Ra was concerned as a founder of life on the Earth, so Egyptians worshiped Ra as one of the main gods among many others. Cosmological views of ancient Egyptians gave Ra one of the leading places in the pantheon of gods "The early Egyptians believed that he created the world, and the rising sun was, for them, the symbol of creation" (Ra).

They believed that Ra created the Earth, haven and all creations on the planet. 3. As was