Reading Notes: Ancient Egypt Part A
In the story, "The Secret Name of Ra," Ra was tricked into giving up his special powers. The Goddess, Isis, had enough power to poison Ra and told him that if he gave up his secret name that contained his power, then she would be able to heal him. Ra was in agonizing pain and eventually transferred the secret from his heart to her heart so that he could live. I wonder why the power was so important to Isis if she already had powers herself? Was the scheme a hidden agenda from another God or Goddess? Maybe Ra bragged of his power and Isis wanted the satisfaction of weakening a powerful ruler.
Is Ra still a God even without his powers? He mentions in the story "Ra and Hathor" that he (Ra) was hesitant to punish mankind until he got advice from fellow rulers. Did Ra's compassion and level-headedness get stripped away when his secret name (identity) got taken away?
Ra was a very important God and was a God of many: the sun, sky, Earth, underworld, etc. He was also "the creator." This story was centered around Ra's want/need to destroy mankind and get revenge because of the plotted rebellion against him. He ordered slaughtering of humans across the lands, but eventually he felt remorse and ordered a stop to the slaughtering.
I think the stories of Ra are interesting because Ra started out compassionate, powerful, and brave and once Isis stripped him of his identity, he became somewhat ruthless and paranoid. I wonder why mankind turned on Ra and plotted a rebellion in the first place? Why did Ra turn to violence instead of addressing his people? The stories are centered around trickery and Isis succeeded in tricking Ra.
Bibliography: The Name Secret of Ra from the Ancient Egyptian Unit by Donald Mackenzie
Ra and Hathor from the Ancient Egyptian Unit by Donald Mackenzie
Is Ra still a God even without his powers? He mentions in the story "Ra and Hathor" that he (Ra) was hesitant to punish mankind until he got advice from fellow rulers. Did Ra's compassion and level-headedness get stripped away when his secret name (identity) got taken away?
Ra was a very important God and was a God of many: the sun, sky, Earth, underworld, etc. He was also "the creator." This story was centered around Ra's want/need to destroy mankind and get revenge because of the plotted rebellion against him. He ordered slaughtering of humans across the lands, but eventually he felt remorse and ordered a stop to the slaughtering.
I think the stories of Ra are interesting because Ra started out compassionate, powerful, and brave and once Isis stripped him of his identity, he became somewhat ruthless and paranoid. I wonder why mankind turned on Ra and plotted a rebellion in the first place? Why did Ra turn to violence instead of addressing his people? The stories are centered around trickery and Isis succeeded in tricking Ra.
Bibliography: The Name Secret of Ra from the Ancient Egyptian Unit by Donald Mackenzie
Ra and Hathor from the Ancient Egyptian Unit by Donald Mackenzie
The Sun God, Ra
Comments
Post a Comment