In the beginning everything was darkness and a vast expanse of water called Nun. Out of the dark, deep waters rose a shining golden egg. “I’m Ra,” declared a voice and out of the egg came the great God of Egypt. Ra was all-powerful and had many names. “I’m Khepri at dawn, Ra at noon and Tum at dusk,” he said.
He became the Sun and began his journey from the east to the west and thus was created the first day.
Ra kept all but one sacred secret name to himself. With his thoughts he created the world. ‘‘Shu,” he said and Shu, the air was created. “Tefnut,” he called out and Tefnut, the Rainmaker poured forth the first rain. Geb, he named the Earth and his sister Nut, the sky. Nut lay arching her body from one horizon to the other above Geb whom she loved dearly. They were children of Shu and Tefnut.
Ra named all that was on land and the waters. He named the river Nile and the land Egypt. He gazed upon the earth with his burning eye. The fiery eye brought forth tears which fell on the earth and created the first men and women of
the world.
Then he came down to rule the world of men as the first Pharaoh. He reigned for thousands and thousands of years; the land was prosperous and people happy. It was truly the golden age of Ra.
Over time Ra grew old and frail. His subjects looked at him with scorn and no longer obeyed the laws of the land he had set for them to live in harmony.
“Look at the old Pharaoh… his bones have become silver, his flesh is gold coloured and his hair had become blue like lapis lazuli.. We need a new ruler...” they said. Ra heard the clamour and became very, very angry at the wickedness and law lessness of men. He summoned all the gods to the council.
He addressed the gods, “Oh, great god Nun who created me, and all ye gods whom I have in turn created, you have seen the cruelty of men who no longer live by the laws that I have made for them. Tell me what do you advise, what should I do now? Should I, who created them from my eye, scorch these ungratefuls with the same burning eye and destroy them? Do you know they are plotting with Apophis , the Evil Serpent to overthrow me? ”
All the gods trembled at the fury of Ra. Only Nun, the ancient spoke, “Ra, you are the lord of all. No one can destroy your powers. Only the evil will follow Apophis. There are still some who fear and respect you. So do not, we beseech you, burn down the land of Egypt. Seek out only those who are wicked and rebellious and destroy them.” All gods looked on at Nun with respect and agreed to the wise god’s advice.
“I will send a glance of my eye into the world as my daughter Sekhmet. She will punish the wicked and destroy all evil,” declared Ra and all the gods bowed before the great god till their foreheads touched the ground. And so was created Sekhmet, the fearsome lioness who sprang forth from the eye of Ra. The powerful goddess, later to be known as the Eye of Ra, leaped out from her father’s eye and bounded purposefully towards the desert hills where the evil conspirators were hiding.
To be continued... .