Ancient Egyptians developed several variations of the creation myth that, taken together, explained the act of life from different perspectives rather than from contradictory sources. What is significant is that creation occurred through the words and actions of a creator god, forming all of life out of universal chaos. Additionally, this creator god infused mankind with his ka, his own essence, the “breath of life.”
Chaos and the Primeval Hill or Mound
According to Rundle Clark, “the basic principle of Egyptian cosmology is the Primeval waters.” [1] These waters encompassed the entire space that would come to be known as land and sky. Egyptians referred to a “firmament” that separated the waters below from the waters above. There was no light or darkness.
Within the various myths, several gods are noted as bringing forth life from the chaotic nothingness including Ptah and Atum. One verson cites Neith, a female goddess, playing a role in bringing life or assisting in the creation endeavor. The role of a female creator is not unique; the Australian Aboriginal creation myth also attributes life to a female and in the primary Egyptian myth, Atum is both male and female.
”Life” or creation began with the rise of the Primeval Mound, believed to be at Heliopolis, [2] home of the Pyramid Texts and one of the most important religious sites. Symbolically, the rising of the mound from the waters recounts the Egyptian season following the period of “inundation,” when the Nile receded and land reappeared. Further, the sacred waters of the Nile provided the Egyptians with highly fertile land, linking prosperity with the recreation of the creation story.
Shu, Tefnut, and the Divine Order
In the primary myth, Atum creates a male god, Shu, and a female goddess, Tefnut, through the act of masturbation. Another version of the story has Ptah creating the two by his tongue, in essence spitting them out. This also symbolizes the connectedness in spirit shared by Ptah and his creation: “Ptah is in everything, in everybody…in all men, all cattle, all fish…everything that lives.” This was the “life force.” The idea of the “breath of life” refers to the creator’s vital essence, known as ka. The creator gave them this force so that his “ka might be in them.” [3]
As Clark concludes, the Egyptian creation story addresses light, life, and, and consciousness. [4]. Tefnut would become Mayet, the “World Order” balancing night and darkness, good and evil, creation and destruction. As long as Mayet existed, life would be assured.
The emergence of mankind is associated with the coming of the four children of Geb and Nut, god of the earth and goddess of the sky. Isis, Osiris, Seth, and Nephtys conclude the creation link with man. Osiris, married to his sister Isis, was the giver of law. Taking the Egyptians from cannibalism, he taught them to grow wheat and barley. Ultimately, after his murder at the hands of Seth, he became the guardian of the Afterlife.
Common Creation Symbols
As with many ancient creation stories, the Egyptian myth begins with nothingness – the still waters of a formless earth. The rise of the hill or mound serves as a reminder of the “high place” so important in ancient religion. The myth even foretells the end of the world when “this earth will return to the Primeval Water…to the endless flood as it was in the beginning.” [5]
Sources:
[1] R. T. Rundle Clark, Myth and Symbolism in Ancient Egypt (London: Thames and Hudson, 1995), p. 35.
[2] M. V. Seton-Williams, Egyptians Legends and Stories (New York:Barnes and Noble, 1988).
[3] Clark, 42.
[4] Ibid. 36.
[5] Book of the Dead, Chapter 175.
Also:
Nicolas Grimal, A History of Ancient Egypt (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1997).
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