796
edits
Changes
no edit summary
===The Power of the Egyptian Gods and Goddesses===
[[File: Dendera.jpg|300px|thumbnail|left|The Temple of the Goddess Hathor at Dendera]]
Before examining if and how <i>The Destruction of Mankind</i> myth relates personality elements of ancient Egyptian deities, it is important to know the attributes for which the gods and goddesses were imbued. To begin with, as mentioned earlier, most of the Egyptian deities had some very humanlike attributes. Most were born, or created, aged, and very often also died. Some, such as Osiris, were even murdered. The sun-god Re, arguably the most important of all Egyptian deities and the central figure of <i>The Destruction of Mankind</i>, was depicted as old and somewhat enfeebled in this and other myths. <ref> Hornung, Erik. <i> Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many.</refi> Translated by John Baines. (Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press, 1996), pgs. 143-154</ref> Although these attributes placed the ancient Egyptian deities on a level with humans to certain extent, one would be wrong to think that the Egyptian gods and goddesses were physically, intellectually, or morally weak in any way and not superior to humans.
All of the Egyptian gods and goddesses had their own superhuman abilities. Some, such as Thoth, possessed superior knowledge and intellect, while Isis knew the secrets of magic. Other gods were credited for their creative abilities and many of the deities could be syncretically combined to incorporate multiple powerful attributes into one figure. For instance, Re was often combined with Amun, the New Kingdom warrior god, to create Amun-Re. In what is perhaps a peculiar or unique element of ancient Egyptian theology and myth, the powerful aspects of a deity could exist simultaneously with their weaknesses. Re could age, become enfeebled, and even die, but he was reborn daily and would ride a mystical solar barge. <ref> Hornung, p. 155</ref> The multi-faceted, complex attributes of the Egyptian deities were often not as apparent in the daily rituals of the religion, but they were on display in the culture’s few narrative myths.