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Publiuslogic Links
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Dons Notes In Red!
One in the Same Re, Amen-Ra,
(Ra), Ceops, Khufu, Christ?
Including Many
Other Names And Forms, that we all can find and add to this page. Feedback
 
RE (Ra,
Amon-Ra, Amen Ra) Myths or Reality?
Symbols: Bennu (phoenix),
obelisk, pyramid, Udjat (Eye of Horus), sun, falcon, bull
Cult Center: Heliopolis
The sun god of Annu (Heliopolis, near modern-day Cairo), he became a state
deity in the Fifth Dynasty. Some traditions made him the creator of men, and
the Egyptians called themselves "the cattle of Re".
His name is thought to mean "creative
power", and as a proper name "Creator". Very early in Egyptian
history, Re was identified with Horus, who as a falcon-god represented the
loftiness of the skies. He was represented as a hawk-headed man or as a hawk.
A combination of the two, Ra-Hoor-Khuit, "Re, who is Horus of the
Horizons" showed the two as manifestations of the singular Solar Force.
Re was the father of Shu and Tefnut, grandfather of Nut and Geb, great-grandfather
of Osiris, Seth, Isis, Nephthys and great-great-grandfather of Horus.
Seeing as that the sun was a fire, the
Egyptians believed that in order to travel through the waters of heaven and
the underworld, one required a boat and so Re traveled in one. In the day,
the boat was a great galley known as "Madjet" ("becoming
strong") that rose in the east from behind "Manu" the mountain
of sunrise and passed between two sycamores. As the sun set the boat Re used
was a mall barge called "Semektet" ("becoming
weak").
The course that the boat took was determined
by the goddess Ma'at. During his travels he had plenty of company. Several
gods took the journey with him and their job was to help navigate the boat
and thus make it's passage successful. Thoth and Ma'at stood on either side
of Horus, who steered the boat and wasm also apparently the captain of the
ship. In front of the boat swam two pilot fishes known as "Abtu"
and "Ant". Other passengers include: Geb, Hu, Sia (intelligence) and
Hike (magic). At night the god Upuaut (the Opener of Ways) stood a the prow.
The journey was not an easy one though.
Monsters would constantly try to stop the boat. Among these were Sebau, Nak,
and Apep. Apep was the most powerful of these. He was a personification of
darkness and Re had to fight him successfully every morning before he could
rise from the east. Apep was pictured as a serpent or as a crocodile.
Alternately, either Thoth or Seth defended the barque against him. When Apep
was successful, stormy weather would ensue. A solar eclipse occurred when
Apep actually swallowed the barque. There was a book written about Apep
called The Book of Overthrowing Apep which gives spells and information on
how to defeat him. These spells were recited daily in the temple of Amon-Re
in Thebes.
In later periods when Isis and Osiris overtook
him in popularity, he remained "Re retjer-aa neb-pet" ("Re,
the great God, Lord of Heaven") whether worshipped in his own right or
later on, as half the Lord of the Universe, Amen-Re.
All content and images © April Arnold, 1997-2001,
All Rights Reserved
LAST UPDATED: Saturday, January 06, 2001 16:20:51
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Ra as the emination of
Khufu
Khufu
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Protected by Khnum
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(aka Cheops,
Suphis)
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Builder of the Great
Pyramid Founder of the Giza Plateau Khufu (2589-2566 BC)
was the 4th Dynasty (2613-2498) pharaoh who built the Great Pyramid of Giza.
Originally, the Great Pyramid stood 481 feet (146.6 m) tall. Although
commonly called Cheops (and also Suphis) because of the late Greek influence
on Egypt, the name Khufu is the original ancient Egyptian name for this king
as demonstrated by his own cartouche. He reigned for approximately 24
years.
Although the Great pyramid has such fame,
little is actually known about its builder, Khufu. Ironically, only a very
small statue of 9 cm has been found depicting this historic ruler. This statue,
pictured above and below, was not found in Giza near the pyramid, but
was found to the south at the Temple of
Osiris at Abydos, the ancient necropolis.
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According to various
inscriptions, Khufu probably did lead military into the Sinai, and raids
into Nubia and Libya. Khufu was the son of another great pyramid builder,
King Sneferu. Khufu’s mother’s name was Hetepheres.
Although King Sneferu was remembered as a
benevolent and beneficent ruler, Khufu is believed by some to have been a
more ruthless and cruel despot. He was rumored in later times to have
been prone to enjoying the fantastic stories of the reigns of his
predecessors, as well as tales of magic and the mystical. His fame lasted
throughout Egyptian history and he still had a funerary cult as late as the
Saite Dynasty (26th Dynasty).
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Of course, whether or not
he was a cruel ruler, he did command a tremendous ability to organize and
mobilize worker. There was an extremely large amount of manpower necessary to
build the Great pyramid and its surrounding complex and tombs. Certainly
Khufu would have had the benefit of witnessing the previous pyramid projects
of his father, Sneferu. The Great Pyramid stands witness to the ability of
Khufu to lead and coordinate his people. Current theories espouse that the
building of the Great Pyramid was not achieved by slave labor. Instead, the
project defrayed taxes, which were paid in the form of goods and services as
there was no monetary system. Also, due to the annual inundation of the Nile
there was always a yearly segment of the population that had some time that
they could not spend in their homes. Curiously, although his father was
probably buried in Dahshur, Khufu chose the Giza plateau to situate his
pyramid, temples, and perhaps, his tomb. Also curiously, he did not choose
the highest spot on the plateau, which was later used by his son and
successor, Khafre. This gave Khafre's pyramid the illusion of being taller,
when in fact the Great Pyramid is the actually the taller pyramid.
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In addition to the
splendor of the Great Pyramid, an exciting ancient wooden boat was found
sealed in a pit at the base of the Great pyramid. This boat was interred in
pieces and has since been reassembled, restored and housed in a
climate controlled museum over the site of the original pit.
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Khufu had several sons
and his immediate successor was his son Djedefre (Radjedef). Curiously,
Djedefre also chose to build his pyramid at a location other than that of
his fathers. Instead Djedefre was buried to the north at a site now known
as Abu Roash. A remaining son of Khufu - Khafre, was to join his father
building his pyramid at the higher spot in on the Giza plateau. Although
Khufu's pyramid is actually bigger than Khafre's, the higher ground
provides the illusion that Khafre's pyramid is taller.
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After the death of Khfare,
his son Menkaura built his smaller pyramid at Giza, eventually completing the
last of the famous pyramids at Giza.
By Andrew Bayuk
Read MORE about Khufu HERE
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JESUS AS HELIOS, GOD OF THE SUN Source: Christ helios in
mosaic start of
the third century from Pre-Constantinian necropolis beneath St Peter's in
the Vatican; from Pierre
du Bourguet, Early Christian Art trans., Thomas Burton (New York; Reyna Co.
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GUARDIAN'S EGYPT
A
huge site by Andrew Bayuk with lots of
information and links to other Egypt resources
on
the web.1
ANCIENT EGYPT
A
guide to the ancient sites and history of Egypt
by
Mark Millmore. 2
MYSTERIES OF EGYPT
Information about the civilization and
monuments of ancient Egypt. From the
Canadian Museum of Civilization. 3
ARCHAEOLOGICAL ODYSSEY
Ethan Gelber explores the historical heritage of
Egypt. From the Great Outdoor Recreation
Pages. 4
EGYPTWORLD
A
beautiful and educational site from
ThinkQuest. 5
NOVA: MYSTERIES OF THE NILE
A beautiful site that uses QuickTime to explore
monuments of ancient Egypt. 6
LIFE IN ANCIENT EGYPT
An online exhibit from the Carnegie Museum of
Natural History. 7
LIFE AND DEATH UNDER THE PHARAOHS
An informative site that accompanies an
exhibition. 8
Other Links
Ceops and Pyrimids: http://members.aol.com/larrypahl/gr-pyr1.htm
http://goodfelloweb.com/giza/index.html
Egypt links: Ancient Egypt http://www.culturefocus.com/egypt.htm
http://www.culturefocus.com/egypt_pyramids.htm
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