C is for Creation

The ancient Egyptian's creation myths stemmed from their observation of nature, which helped them to understand their place in the cosmos. Therefore the Nile river, with its annual floods, was very important in these myths.

The Egyptians believed that in the beginning, there was only water, which they called Nu or Nun. This is represented by the Nile. Eventually the water would begin to recede, allowing small pieces of land to emerge. On the first day, the sun would rise over the first dry piece of land, and this was the beginning of all things.

There are two versions of the creation myth, both starting with the water. The lower kingdom creation myth suggests that Ra (the sun) came out of an egg which appeared on the surface of the water. Four children were brought forth by Ra, which became the gods Shu and Geb and the goddesses Tefnut and Nut. Shu and Tefnut became the atmosphere and stood on Geb, who became the earth, and in turn raised up Nut, who became the sky. Ra ruled over them all. Geb and Nut had two sons, Set and Osiris, and two daughters, Isis and Nephthys. Osiris succeeded Ra as king of the earth and was helped by Isis, his sister-wife. Set killed Osiris. The god Anubis became the god of embalming when he helped Isis to embalm Osiris' body. Isis resurrected Osiris with powerful charms, and he became king of the netherworld. Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, defeated Set and became king of the earth.

The upper kingdom creation story is slightly different. Ra (the sun) gave birth to only Shu and Tefnut. Shu, who was the god of air, and Tefnut, who was the goddess of moisture, gave birth to Geb and Nut, the earth god and the sky goddess. Men were created from Ra's tears, but they proved to be ungrateful. Ra and a council of gods decided they should be destroyed, so Ra created Sekhmet to do this. She slaughtered all but a few humans when Ra relented, and tricked her into stopping.

Geb and Nut married, but this angered Ra and he ordered Shu to separate them. However, Nut was already pregnant, but she could not give birth as Ra had decreed that she couldn't give birth in any month of any year. She was helped by Thoth, the god of learning, who gambled with the moon for extra light, thus adding five extra days to the 360 day calendar. Nut was then able to give birth to Osiris, Horus, Set, Isis and Nephthys. Osiris became the symbol of good, while Set was the symbol of evil.