Let There Be Light: Ancient Egyptian Creation Myths and the Gods Behind Them
By Kenzy Fahmy
In the beginning there was only darkness, a limitless black ocean of chaos. What came out of those dark and chaotic waters depended on where you were in Egypt, Heliopolis or Memphis, Hermopolis or Thebes, each had their own version of how the universe came to be, each had their own group of deities that brought the world to life. Egyptologists struggled to piece together the diverse and often conflicting stories they uncovered in different parts of the country, a fragmented puzzle of the Egyptian creation myths that seemed incomplete and impossible to interpret. But after dividing the stories according to their place of birth, the religious center where they originated, they were able to form a clearer picture of what the ancient Egyptians believed to be the story of their creation.
Although the stories differed from region to region, they did share common elements. In all we find the themes of darkness and light, a creator that awakens within the dark waters which they called Nun and divides into the many different aspects of the universe, creating a mound from which all other gods would emerge and with them, the world.
In Heliopolis, this creator was called Atum, ‘the finisher’. He represented both evolution and the completion of evolution, the be all and end all, a singularity floating in the primordial ocean that was Nun, an endless body of water where life and death did not yet exist and where nothing had been named. A pyramidal mound arose from the water and from Atum came Shu and Tefnut, expelled from Atum’s expanding body and sneezed into existence (sneezed or excreted in other ways, depending on the version of the story). Along with the creation of Tefnut, representing moisture, and Shu, representing space and air, came the creation of time; Shu was associated with neheh, the never ending cycle of life, death and rebirth, while Tefnut was associated with djet, time that stands still and all that is everlasting.
With space and time now in existence, the universe was ready for the very first sunrise and the creation of mankind. The Eye of Atum, often referred to as the Eye of Ra, was sent out in search of Shu and Tefnut, initiating the first sunrise and every sunrise to follow. There are a number of myths that describe how mankind came into being, all involving a heartbroken Eye of Atum shedding tears from which humanity was formed. In one myth, the Eye, upon returning to Atum, realizes she has been replaced by another and sheds bitter tears of anger. But the creation of our world was not yet complete and the Egyptian pantheon still had more gods to come.
From Shu and Tefnut came Geb and Nut, gods of the Earth and Sky, and from their union came Osiris, the god of fertility and the afterlife, Isis, goddess of motherhood and magic, Seth, the god of war and chaos, and his wife Nebthet, protector of the dead. Together with Atum, they made up the Ennead of Heliopolis and laid the foundation for Egyptian mythology for centuries to come.
In Memphis, it was the god Ptah, patron deity of craftsmanship, out of whose heart and mind sprung all of creation. To the priests of Memphis, the gods, the sky and earth, mankind, art, technology and everything else was conceived of and spoken into existence by Ptah; he named the unnamed and brought it to life. Together with his lion-headed wife, the goddess Sekhmet, and their son Nefertum, they formed the Triad of Memphis. Interestingly, Ptah was also associated with the god Tatenen, ‘the risen land’, bringing the primordial mound, the first land to rise out of Nun, into this myth as well.
Further south, in Thebes, it was the god Amun (Amun-Ra) who reigned supreme, a transcendent, self-created god that existed within and beyond Nun, his true self unknown even to the gods. It was said that anyone who expressed or exposed his identity, whether intentional or not, would instantly drop dead. Amun eventually became the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon, the King of Gods, and together with his wife Mut and son Khonsu, made up the Theban Triad. Once again we find the primordial mound in this myth, a commonality in all the creation myths and possibly a precursor to the pyramid; Thebes was thought to be the location where the mound initially rose out of the infinite waters at the beginning of time.
Finally, we have the Ogdoad of Hermopolis, the eight primeval gods that personified the abstract interconnected aspects of Nun depicted as male-female pairs, the males as frogs and the females as snakes. These were the Hermopolite gods of creation and pre-creation. Nun and Naunet represented the limitless waters, Kuk and Kauket, darkness, Huh and Hauhet, infinity, and Amun and Amunet represented all that was hidden. Together, these eight gods formed the first mound and the egg from which the sun god hatched. Of course, there are other versions of the story; in some the Ogdoad create a lotus flower from which the sun is born.
And then of course, we have the sun god Ra, creator of the universe and source of all life, closely associated with Atum and Amun, sometimes even interchangeable. Ra would travel between the sky and the underworld every day, creating day and night, a treacherous journey for the sun god that involved many threats, including the serpent god of chaos, Apep, who tried to consume the sun god as he passed through the land of the dead.
While the myths may have conflicted with each other in many ways, they also complemented each other and allowed for harmony between the different religious hubs of the country. There did come a time, though, when unification of the different myths was sought and Amun was named ultimate creator and King of all Gods. The ancient Egyptian myths and their variations are as endless as the waters of Nun, intertwining and evolving as the Egyptians themselves evolved, constantly being adapted to their changing cultural and political needs. They can be incredibly difficult to navigate, but their overarching themes guide us through, from the dark and eternal ocean to the light of creation and everything that sprung forth from it.