Hey everyone, Welcome to Mythology Explained. In today’s video, we’re
going to discuss five of the most powerful gods in Egyptian mythology, gods so powerful
that their powers often dwarfed those of the other deities in the Egyptian mythos.
And just a quick comment before we get started: this list isn’t ranked and is by no means
comprehensive, so let us know in the comments who else you think deserved to be included.
Certainly Horus, Geb, and Shu could have been included. Also, this video will only feature
male deities. We’ll make a separate video for female deities later on.
Let’s get into it.
Starting off our List is Amun.
Amun, whose name means Hidden One, was commonly depicted as a bearded man in the prime of
manhood - strong, virile, and vigorous - wearing a headdress adorned with two tall plumes. Unlike
other Egyptian gods, Amun wasn’t thought of as living in some paradisiacal celestial abode,
rather his presence was ubiquitous, existing in all places and in all things, yet unseen, beyond
the perception of god and mortal alike. Because of this, Amun was often likened to the wind:
felt by everyone, seen by no one. An interesting aspect of Egyptian mythology is that there was a
multitude of creation myths, with various versions having primacy at different times and in different
places. Because of this, Amun features as a creator deity in several tellings of the
creation narrative. As a member of the Ogdoad of Hermopolis - which comprised eight deities,
four male-female pairings - Amun and his female counterpart Amunet,
along with the other three pairings, embodied the aspects of the waters of Nun,
the primordial waters that existed before all else and teemed with all the procreative
power of creation. The union of each of the four pairings manifested a cosmological event crucial
to the creation of the universe. There were many different versions, so the result varied,
producing either the primeval mound, the primeval lotus, the island of flame, or the cosmic egg.
Another of Amun’s primeval incarnations was the cosmic goose,
known as the Great Shrieker, whose booming honk broke the silence,
bringing the first sound into existence. In some accounts the primeval goose laid the world egg.
In others, Amun fertilized the world egg while in his ram-headed serpent form called Kematef.
The ancient Egyptians were especially fond of syncretism, which is the merging of different
points of worship into a single entity. Because of this and because of Amun’s importance, he was
fused with numerous other gods. Perhaps the best known instance of this is the amalgam of Amun-Ra,
known as the “one who made himself into millions”, he who was the ultimate creator of all life.
Another example of this sort of pairing was with the god Min,
an ancient god of human and agricultural fertility, melding into Amun-Min.
At number 4 we have Atum.
Another creator Deity, Atum began the world and was thought to be the one who would be responsible
for the eventual end of the world. He was the chief deity in a group of nine gods
known as the Ennead of Heliopolis. In the beginning, there was only Atum. he existed
by himself in the waters of Nun, the primordial waters of creation. He grew weary of his solitude,
so he masturbated and impregnated himself. From this came two children, Shu and Tefnut,
the second and third gods of the Ennead. Shu was the personification of air, and Tefnut
was the personification of moisture. They became each other’s consorts, and from their union came
Geb and Nut, the next Generation of primordial deities. Geb was the personification of the earth,
and Nut was the personification of the sky. They became another brother-sister pairing,
but one more prolific in their production of offspring. They had four children. Osiris, Set,
Isis, and Nephthys. Like Amun, Atum was also fused with Ra, creating Atum-Ra. In this superior form,
Atum was the primordial aspect and Ra was the solar aspect. Throughout the day, the sun was
personified as different deities or as different versions of the same deity. Atum, the primordial
aspect of Atum-Ra, was the personification of the setting sun. In the Book of the Dead, Atum reveals
to Osiris that one day in the distant future, millions of years from now, he will unmake the
world, destroying everything he created, reverting everything back to the primordial waters of Nun.
Coming up next is Osiris.
The eldest son of Geb and Nut, Osiris was one of the nine gods of the Ennead of Heliopolis.
He was depicted as a mummified king with an atef crown resting on his head. His hands held a crook
and a flail, and his skin was either black or green, either denoting putrefaction or
representing his connection to the cycle of life and death. With Isis, his sister-consort,
at his side, Osiris ruled over Egypt, but his reign was cut by his jealous younger brother,
Set, who killed Osiris, either drowning him or taking the form of a bull and trampling him.
After killing him, Set hacked up Osiris’ body and scattered the pieces across Egypt. Isis,
undeterred by the death of her husband, scoured the land and recovered every piece - that is,
every piece except for the penis, which was tossed into the Nile and eaten by fish,
and so had to be fashioned anew. Using her magic in concert with the mummification arts of Anubis,
Isis resurrected Osiris, but only for a brief time. His return was ephemeral,
granting him just enough time to impregnate Isis with a son, Horus. A decades long struggle ensued
in which both Set and Horus vied for the throne. The elaborate series of contests was finally
concluded when Osiris intervened on behalf of his son. You see, while Osiris no longer ruled Egypt,
in death he had become the lord of the underworld, presiding over the judgment of every soul that
journeyed through his domain. He threatened to unleash the demons of the underworld on the gods
if Horus wasn’t immediately bestowed with the throne, as was his right.
At number 2 we have Ra
From about 3,000 years before the birth of Christ to the time of the Roman empire, every pharaoh
referred to himself as the son of Ra. Those who were the enemies of Ra were, by extension,
the enemies of Egypt and of Maat, the divine order. The inextricable link between Ra and the
divine order was crystalized by making the goddess Maat, she who personified the divine order,
Ra’s favorite daughter. The most important moment in Egyptian mythology was the first sunrise,
when Ra first emerged from the primordial waters of Nun. In this scene Ra is commonly described as
either a blazing bird or as a golden child. This was viewed as a sort of second birth in which Atum
rose as Ra-Atum, making Ra, along with Atum, the chief deity of the Ennead. Ra was the
first king. When he grew older, he abdicated and passed the throne to his eldest son, Shu,
who would be the first of several subsequent divine kings before the rule of Egypt became
the responsibility of mortal pharaohs said to be connected to the gods through blood.
After leaving his throne behind, Ra ascended into the sky, thus beginning the nigh-unending
cycle of the next stage of his life. Each day his soared across the sky in his celestial boat,
bathing the land with light and warmth, and each night, he sailed through the underworld,
navigating its countless dangers, the greatest of which was the serpent Apophis,
an ancient monster that sought to undo the very fabric of creation,
reverting everything back to the chaotic oneness of the primordial waters of Nun.
And filling up our last spot is Thoth
Usually depicted as a man with the head of an Ibis, but also sometimes as a baboon,
Thoth was a dynamic god with a broad sphere of influence whose power and purview fluctuated
greatly depending on the myth. He was the god of wisdom and secret knowledge. He was also
ingenious and innovative, inventing both writing and the multitude of languages spoken by humanity.
Originally a lunar deity, Thoth was deputized by Ra to watch over the world at night. Later,
he subsumed knowledge and writing, becoming the patron of scribes and record keepers. Because of
this, Thoth was often in attendance when anything important happened, particularly when it was
ritualistic or involving the transfer of power. He was said to bear witness to the conjoinment of
Ra and Osiris in the underworld each night. With Osiris presiding over the procession,
Thoth weighed the heart of each soul and recorded the result. And he helped mediate between Set and
Horus during their decades-long struggle for the crown. Additionally, Thoth frequently gave succor
and did favors for other gods in need. He found the eye of Ra and convinced her to return to her
father, and he bent his magical talents towards the healing of Horus’s eye. The accounts of his
birth were varied. One had him spring forth from Set’s forehead after Set unwittingly ingested
some of Horus’ seed. Another had Thoth as a self-created god that was the lord of the Ogdoad.
In his divine creator form, Thoth was said to have produced the cosmic egg on the island of fire.
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