The Mythic Cycles
Egyptian myth is not a chronicle but a few retold mythic cycles — creation, the parting of sky and earth, the myth of Osiris, the succession of Horus, the underworld judgment — plus a layer of real cult history (the rise of Amun, the reform of Akhenaten). Tap a god's badge to jump to its card.
Ⅰ · Creation
Before all things there was only the primordial water of Nun; Atum-Ra brought himself into being upon it and made the first pair of gods, setting the whole pantheon in motion.
The Primordial Water of Nun
Before sky, gods, and light, there was only Nun — the boundless, dark water of chaos: not a created thing, but "the state before creation" itself.
Ⅱ · Separation of Sky and Earth
Shu and Tefnut bore Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky; these lovers, brother and sister, were forced apart by Shu, and only the space opened between them could hold life.
Geb and Nut
Shu, god of air, lifted the sky goddess Nut on high and pinned the earth god Geb beneath his feet, and so sky and earth were parted — a pair of lovers torn asunder, explaining why the cosmos has an above and a below.
Ⅲ · The Myth of Osiris
The good king Osiris was murdered and dismembered by his brother Set; his wife Isis gathered the pieces, revived him by magic and conceived, and Osiris then reigned forever as king of the underworld. This is the backbone of Egyptian myth.
The Coffin Made to Measure
Set laid his trap with a coffin built to fit Osiris exactly, then nailed and sealed him inside with lead and cast him into the Nile — a fratricide that began as a banquet game of "whoever fits, keeps it."
Isis Seeks Her Husband
Osiris was cut into fourteen pieces and scattered across the land; Isis and her sister Nephthys took the form of birds to gather them one by one, wrapped him in linen, revived him by magic, and conceived Horus.
Ⅳ · The Contendings of Horus and Set
Grown to manhood, Osiris's son Horus avenged himself on his uncle Set; the two gods fought and litigated for eighty years, until the divine tribunal awarded Horus the throne — the mythic ground of every pharaoh's legitimacy.
The Eye of Horus
Horus's eye was torn out and shredded in his savage struggle with Set, and Thoth healed and restored the pieces — the "Eye of Horus" became the mightiest amulet of wholeness and protection.
Ⅴ · The Underworld & Judgment
The dead are led by Anubis into the "Hall of Two Truths," where the heart is weighed on the scales against the feather of Maat; Thoth records, and Ammit waits nearby — pass, and you gain eternal life; fall out of balance, and you are devoured.
The Weighing of the Heart
Anubis steadies the scales, and the heart of the dead is weighed against the feather of Maat, goddess of truth; if the heart is light it passes judgment and wins eternal life, if heavy it is swallowed by the devourer Ammit — the "second death."
Ⅵ · A History of Belief
Beyond myth, Egypt's gods have a real history too: Amun of Thebes rose with the empire to become king of the gods, and the monotheistic revolution of Pharaoh Akhenaten is the most astonishing page in that history of belief.
Amun-Ra Becomes King of the Gods
Amun, the local god of Thebes, rose with the capital and merged with the sun god Ra as the empire's supreme deity; the scale of the Temple of Karnak is the measure of his priesthood's power.
Akhenaten's Monotheistic Revolution
Around 1350 BC, Pharaoh Akhenaten deposed the gods and exalted the sun disc Aten alone — the earliest recorded experiment in monotheism; the moment he died it was undone, and his name was struck from the king lists.