Week 4 Reading Notes: Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories

I have never studied ancient Egyptian mythology, and I found the creation story very fascinating. I love that it resembles Greek mythology in that Ra came from Nu, the first existing god, and Ra actually became more powerful than Nu, like Zeus and his Titan father Cronos. I like that Ra then creates whichever gods he sees fit, and anything he thinks of appears before him.
The story of Isis and Ra's secret name piques my interest by showing similarities to biblical and greco-roman mythology. The serpent created by Isis reminds me of the serpent that tempts Eve in the biblical creation story. The serpent is also a symbol of evil. Like the Greek and Roman gods, the Egyptian gods also show human characteristics of evil, deception and lust for power. They are not represented as perfect, sinless deities.
I found the story of Ra's journey through Duat, the underworld, long and tedious. It seems like everyone is a serpent at one time or another, both good and bad. I find it curious that Ra just creates gods and beings as he sees fit. However, it is an interesting concept that at night time the sun god Ra is making his way through the underworld.
In the story of Osiris, I get the idea that Ra was not a very good ruler of men on earth. Osiris comes along and teaches men how to farm and how to pray, and all is happy and peaceful. Then, of course, Set had to come along and ruin everything. Some people just don't like peace.
While I think Set is a morally bad guy, I understand the necessity of conflict in storytelling. The story is boring if it is always peaceful and happy. Something bad must happen to stir the pot. And, for some reason, I have a feeling that I will read more about Osiris later.
Unlike greco-roman mythology, gods and men alike seem to come back to life quite frequently and easily. It seems like Isis was going to take a baby and try to summon Osiris' spirit into him. I would have liked to read that, and perhaps I will write about that. I prefer that idea to the actualities of Osiris being mummified and brought back to life to become god of the dead.
Talk about action! The story of the wax crocodile was my favorite. There is drama and conflict when the scribe's wife falls in love with the young man. There is magic and revenge when the scribe creates a real, monster crocodile out of wax, who in turn eats the young man. Then, as if that wasn't enough, they burn the scribe's wife at the stake! Whoa.

Photo of sculpture of Set, Osiris and Iris. Found on Wikimedia, here. I chose this image because I find the story of these three to be the most interesting.

Bibliography: Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie, from the Ancient Egypt Unit, found here.