Week Four: Ancient Egypt

This week, I decided to fulfill my long fascination with ancient Egypt and Egyptian folklore. I can remember for years I have been extremely interested in Egyptian legends and I am so excited to read about them in the Ancient Egypt unit.

Link to the Ancient Egypt unit: http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/myth-folklore-unit-ancient-egyptian.html

Creation
This story of creation was really interesting to me. I am so used to the story of creation from the Bible that I realized I have never even heard of other stories of creation. In this story, the water itself, which is all that existed, was a god. All the characters in the creation story were also gods, yet elements of nature themselves. It was really interesting to see a different side of the creation story.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-creation.html

The Secret Name of Ra
This story was very different, as it was all about the secret name of Ra and who should know the name. Isis wanted to know the secret name of Ra which gave him his power, but he would not speak it. In the end, Ra did give his name to Isis secretly within her heart. I think this story really tells us that gods in Ancient Egypt had all kinds of magical powers and divine knowledge.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-secret-name-of-ra.html

Ra and Hathor
The story of Ra and Hathor reminded me very vividly of the flood story of Noah and the Ark. This story seems to be the Ancient Egyptian version of the great flood story. Ra was upset that people spoke out against him and ordered all the gods and goddesses to create a great flood to wash away those who had done wrong. He later felt guilty and made vessels for them to be saved. This story was a cool take on the story of the great flood.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-ra-and-hathor.html


The Sun's Journey
This story had two very different things going on. First, the sun god and Ra concluded that Ra should be able to live in the heavens. The second big thing happening in this story is the description of the underworld. Ra tells the people that if they are sinners, they will be sent to the underworld by Thoth. There are many terrible details described in the underworld in this story. I liked that this story had two different plots and lots of descriptions happening all at the same time.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-suns-journey.html

Osiris
This story was a great description of the god Osiris. This god reminded me of Jesus in Christianity. For instance, when Osiris was born he was the "lord of all things" and was quite wise. I thought of Jesus as the son of god and a very wise man. Osiris was a king as well, just as Jesus was the king of heaven. I thought the two stories had similar elements, although many of the details were quite different.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-osiris.html

The Death of Osiris
This story brings a human element to the world of the Ancient Egyptian gods. There was great jealousy of Osiris by Set, so there was a competition of whose body would best fit into the casket. The casket was made specifically for Osiris, so when he laid down, they shut the lid and drifted it off to sea. Isis was distraught as Set ruled over Osiris' throne. It was interesting to see that even gods could mourn and that gods could die.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-death-of-osiris.html

The Journey of Isis
Isis has an interesting story that I did not know about. She had a son who was killed but brought back to life all while she was still on the quest to find Osiris' body. When she did find his body, she kissed the corpse in distress. Set had Osiris' body cut into fourteen pieces and thrown into the Nile but crocodiles did not devour them. Isis found all the parts of her husbands body and made tombs for them. It was good again to see a goddess mourning, as it makes them seem a little more human.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-journey-of-isis.html

King of the Dead
This story begins with Set still ruling but Horus, son of Isis, growing to be a man who should rightfully be king. Horus saw in a dream a vision of his father, so he went to war with Set and lost an eye in battle. Set was defeated and was driven out of the kingdom. Horus then became the king of the dead, as many of his followers and his father's followers were killed in persecution by Set. This story had a lot of struggle, but it reminded me of some biblical stories as well.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-king-of-dead.html

The Wax Crocodile
This story was really interesting as it seemed like a legend even in Ancient Egypt. There are many relics in the ancient world and the wax crocodile seemed to be one. When touched by a certain individual, the crocodile became giant and devoured a child. This story seemed like an old legend that was told to people in Ancient Egypt, which I found really interesting.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-wax-crocodile.html

The Green Jewel 
This story was really fun to read, as it was about the magical powers in Ancient Egypt. A girl had lost her green jewel in a lake so the magician Sneferu parted the waters to get the jewel. This reminded me of the story of Joseph who parted the Red Sea in biblical times in order that the people could get to the holy land. It is cool to see that the stories of these different beliefs have similar themes.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-green-jewel.html

The Two Brothers: Part One
This story was much different than the others of the unit thus far. It was the story of two brothers who lived and worked together. The younger brother viewed the elder brother as his father and his wife as his mother. When the elder brother's wife attempted to seduce the younger brother, he left and the wife acted as if he had physically hurt her to her husband. The elder brother then became so upset that he felt as if he should kill his own brother. Tying it back to the Bible Women unit I read, this story reminds me a lot of Poptihar's Wife.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-two-brothers-part-one.html

The Two Brothers: Part Two
This story picks up with Anpu ready to kill Bata. Magic is brought into the story, as an ox told Bata that his brother was ready to kill him. He did as the animal said and his brother chased after him, knife in hand. The younger brother called out to Ra, the sun god, who saved him. Bata told Anpu the truth and Anpu did believe him. In anguish of his brother leaving, Anpu cast away his wife and went to live alone in the desert. In order to be repaid, Anpu asked the gods to give his brother a wife so he wouldn't have to be alone. This story was awesome to see that even in times of perceived deception, family rises above.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-two-brothers-part-two.html

The Two Brothers: Part Three
This story begins with Bata's death and his wife being alone. The servants of a king went out to find him a wife and tried to take Bata's wife but she did not want to go. They took a piece of her hair and finally she went to be with the king. The king cut down the tree in which Bata's soul was concealed and he fell down dead. His brother found him and mourned for the loss of his brother. He found his soul in a seed and dropped it into water and Bata came back to life, hoping to find his wife. The magical element of this story of someone coming back to life was really neat to read.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-two-brothers-part-three.html

The Two Brothers: Part Four
The last part of the brother's story begins with Bata as a bull and he told his wife that he was alive. She was disturbed by it, asking the king if she could eat the bull's liver. The king then ordered that Bata be offered as sacrifice. Bata's soul moved to the trees from the bull even after the bull was scarified. The wife had the trees cut down but swallowed a piece of it, causing her to become pregnant. The baby was Bata, who then became king after his perceived father's death. This story ended as it should, with the "good guy" coming out on top.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-two-brothers-part-four.html

The Book of Thoth: Part One
The Book of Thoth began with Nefer-ka-ptah reading books in a temple and a priest laughing at him, telling him where the Book of Thoth is hidden. The priest gives Nefer-ka-ptah a task and he tells him where the magical book is. Nefer-ka-ptah goes to find the book with the blessing of the king's royal barge. This story begins the overarching story with the beginning of a journey for magical powers.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-book-of-thoth-part-one.html

The Book of Thoth: Part Two
On his journey, Nefer-ka-ptah gains a priest of Isis for help in creating a magical box and a magical cabin to help him on his journey. Nefer-ka-ptah battles the snake that no man could kill, for it was immortal in order to protect the Book of Thoth. Nefer-ka-ptah got the book and had the power to enchant the heavens and the earth. This story places an important on holy text, just like other religions do around the world.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-book-of-thoth-part-two.html

The Book of Thoth: Part Three
A new character is added to the mix, as Thoth discovers his book as been stolen by Nefer-ka-ptah. Thoth calls on Ra to bring sorrow to Nefer-ka-ptah and his family, and Ra causes Nefer-ka-ptah's son to drown. Nefer-ka-ptah cast a spell and the son told him how he had died, causing Nefer-ka-ptah to seek revenge. The same exact thing then happened to Nefer-ka-ptah's wife. Nefer-ka-ptah then threw himself into the water and was drowned. The king had the Book of Thoth buried with Nefer-ka-ptah so Thoth gained revenge, but not his book. This story is again, like a great story. The "good guy" technically won in the end.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-book-of-thoth-part-three.html

The Tale of King Rhampsinitus

The story begins with Rhampsinitus building a great place to hold his riches. The king' sons then steal much of this treasure in the night. The king then set a trap to stop those from plundering his riches. In order to protect themselves, the head of the trapped brother was severed by the other. In order to find the truth, the king sends his daughter in disguise to trick the robbers. She realizes the robber killed the second robber and tried to seize them. The king is pleased at the cunning of the robbers and gives his his daughter to take as a wife.

http://mythfolklore.blogspot.com/2014/06/egypt-tale-of-king-rhampsinitus.html