Ra

The Sun God Who Crossed the Sky

Ra was one of the greatest gods of ancient Egypt and was closely connected with the Sun, kingship and creation. He was usually shown as a man with a falcon's head wearing a sun disc surrounded by a cobra. Egyptians also imagined him in different forms during the day. Khepri, shown as a scarab beetle, represented the morning Sun, while Atum could represent the evening Sun. Ra himself was the powerful Sun shining overhead. His most important centre of worship was Iunu, which the Greeks later called Heliopolis, near modern Cairo.

Every day, Ra travelled across the sky in a solar boat, bringing warmth and light to the living world. At sunset, his journey became much more dangerous. He entered the Duat, the realm of the dead, and travelled through darkness during the night. There he faced the enormous serpent Apep, a creature representing chaos. Apep was never defeated forever, so the battle happened again and again. Set sometimes stood on Ra's boat and helped fight the serpent. When the Sun appeared at dawn, Egyptians could imagine that Ra and his crew had survived another dangerous night.

Ra was also extremely important to Egyptian kings. Pharaohs called themselves 'Son of Ra', linking their rule with the Sun god. Temples, hymns and monuments honoured him for thousands of years. One story says that when Ra became old, humans plotted against him. His fierce Eye, appearing as Hathor or Sekhmet, began punishing them so violently that Ra decided it had to stop. Red-coloured beer was poured over the land, and the goddess drank it because she thought it was blood. She became calm and humanity survived. Ra's stories could change over Egypt's long history, but the main idea remained simple. Every evening the Sun disappeared, travelled through danger and returned. I think that makes sunrise seem much more exciting. To the Egyptians, morning was not just the start of another day. It was another victory over darkness.

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