The sun god Ra was arguably
Egypt's most important deity.
Ra was an ancient deity who coalesced with many other solar and cosmic gods
through time while retaining his own position. At an early date he seems to
have merged with the falcon god becoming Ra-Horakhty as the morning sun and
with Atum as the evening sun.
Even when the god Amun rose to national supremacy in the Middle and New
Kingdoms, Ra was not suppressed and the two deities were brought together as
Amun-Ra in a process of
syncretism which led association of most of Egypt's major gods with the
powerful solar deity.The name RA is
simply the Egyptian word for the sun and while the blazing solar orb was
considered to be the visible body of Ra, it was also seen as his independent
Eye as a fierce manifestation of one of a number of goddesses
.
As Egyptian mythology tells how Ra ruled on earth in the earliest ages there
are also ample indications that the Egyptians recognized the Sun's influence
in the physical world chosen solar manifestation power providing light and
heat, causing crops to grow and a source of life in the cosmic world.
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