The Cult of Ra

The Cult of Ra PDF Author: Stephen Quirke
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780500051078
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 184

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Book Description
Did the ancient Egyptians believe in many gods, or was it one god in many guises? The answer lies in the special relationship between the sun god Ra and the king, in his central title "Son of Ra". Stephen Quirke draws together recent advances in our understanding of the cult of Ra, from the third millennium B.C. to the Roman conquest of Egypt and the rise of Christianity. He explores the Egyptian sources for the character of Ra, his pivotal role in creation, and the way in which the Egyptians expressed the world as physical matter unfurling from the sun. Through select inscriptions and manuscripts the reader enters the closed world of the king as he carried out his principal function, to maintain life itself. With prayer, sacrifices, and the power of knowledge, Pharaoh ensured the smooth passage of the sun hour by hour through the sky. The epicenter of the cult was the temple of Ra at Iunu (the Heliopolis -- "city of the sun" -- of the ancient Greeks). All but inaccessible within the urban spread of modern Cairo, the sacred precinct of Iunu formed the greatest religious complex of ancient Egypt. Excavations at the site offer a glimpse of vanished magnificence, echoed in displaced monuments within Egypt and around the globe, and in better-preserved sites inspired by the solar city, such as Karnak and Tanis. Pyramids and obelisks represent the outstanding architectural and engineering achievements of ancient Egypt, and here their precise links to the sun cult are examined. The book closes with an account of Akhenaten, the most exclusive son of Ra, who transformed the Ra cult into the royal worship of the sun-disk, Aten. From this richly rewarding and provocative book we learn justhow central the sun and its cult were to ancient kingship and personal belief in the Valley of the Nile.

The Cult of Ra

The Cult of Ra PDF Author: Stephen Quirke
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780500051078
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 184

Get Book Here

Book Description
Did the ancient Egyptians believe in many gods, or was it one god in many guises? The answer lies in the special relationship between the sun god Ra and the king, in his central title "Son of Ra". Stephen Quirke draws together recent advances in our understanding of the cult of Ra, from the third millennium B.C. to the Roman conquest of Egypt and the rise of Christianity. He explores the Egyptian sources for the character of Ra, his pivotal role in creation, and the way in which the Egyptians expressed the world as physical matter unfurling from the sun. Through select inscriptions and manuscripts the reader enters the closed world of the king as he carried out his principal function, to maintain life itself. With prayer, sacrifices, and the power of knowledge, Pharaoh ensured the smooth passage of the sun hour by hour through the sky. The epicenter of the cult was the temple of Ra at Iunu (the Heliopolis -- "city of the sun" -- of the ancient Greeks). All but inaccessible within the urban spread of modern Cairo, the sacred precinct of Iunu formed the greatest religious complex of ancient Egypt. Excavations at the site offer a glimpse of vanished magnificence, echoed in displaced monuments within Egypt and around the globe, and in better-preserved sites inspired by the solar city, such as Karnak and Tanis. Pyramids and obelisks represent the outstanding architectural and engineering achievements of ancient Egypt, and here their precise links to the sun cult are examined. The book closes with an account of Akhenaten, the most exclusive son of Ra, who transformed the Ra cult into the royal worship of the sun-disk, Aten. From this richly rewarding and provocative book we learn justhow central the sun and its cult were to ancient kingship and personal belief in the Valley of the Nile.

The Age of Ra

The Age of Ra PDF Author: James Lovegrove
Publisher: Solaris
ISBN: 1849979545
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 350

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Book Description
The Ancient Egyptian gods have defeated all the other pantheons and claimed dominion over the earth, dividing it into warring factions. Lt. David Westwynter, a British soldier, stumbles into Freegypt, the only place to have remained independent of the gods’ influence. There, he encounters the followers of a humanist leader known as the Lightbringer, who has vowed to rid mankind of the shackles of divine oppression. As the world heads towards an apocalyptic battle, there is far more to this freedom fighter than it seems...

"Ra is My Lord"

Author: Jochem Kahl
Publisher: Otto Harrassowitz Verlag
ISBN: 9783447055406
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 100

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Book Description
Due to extremely poor and difficult sources, we are as much in the dark about the history of the Egyptian 2nd Dynasty (c.2850-2700 BCE) as we are about the Gods worshipped at that time. Nor are we sure about the reigns and order of kings from this period. having assumed that veneration of the Sun God Re began during the 2nd Dynasty, opinion has changed over the last thirty years: evidence for the worship of Re has been found only for the beginning of the 3rd Dynasty.

Cult of the Sun

Cult of the Sun PDF Author: Ann Rosalie David
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 232

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Book Description


Space Is the Place

Space Is the Place PDF Author: John Szwed
Publisher: Duke University Press
ISBN: 1478012056
Category : Music
Languages : en
Pages : 330

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Book Description
Considered by many to be a founder of Afrofuturism, Sun Ra—aka Herman Blount—was a composer, keyboardist, bandleader, philosopher, entrepreneur, poet, and self-proclaimed extraterrestrial from Saturn. He recorded over 200 albums with his Arkestra, which, dressed in Egypto-space costumes, played everything from boogie-woogie and swing to fusion and free jazz. John Szwed's Space is the Place is the definitive biography of this musical polymath, who was one of the twentieth century's greatest avant-garde artists and intellectuals. Charting the whole of Sun Ra's life and career, Szwed outlines how after years in Chicago as a blues and swing band pianist, Sun Ra set out in the 1950s to impart his views about the galaxy, black people, and spiritual matters by performing music with the Arkestra that was as vital and innovative as it was mercurial and confounding. Szwed's readers—whether they are just discovering Sun Ra or are among the legion of poets, artists, intellectuals, and musicians who consider him a spiritual godfather—will find that, indeed, space is the place.

Exploring Religion in Ancient Egypt

Exploring Religion in Ancient Egypt PDF Author: Stephen Quirke
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1118610520
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 292

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Book Description
Exploring Religion in Ancient Egypt offers a stimulating overview of the study of ancient Egyptian religion by examining research drawn from beyond the customary boundaries of Egyptology and shedding new light on entrenched assumptions. Discusses the evolution of religion in ancient Egypt – a belief system that endured for 3,000 years Dispels several modern preconceptions about ancient Egyptian religious practices Reveals how people in ancient Egypt struggled to secure well-being in the present life and the afterlife

The End of Ancient Christianity

The End of Ancient Christianity PDF Author: R. A. Markus
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 9780521339490
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 282

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Book Description
Examines the nature of the changes that transformed the Christian world from the fourth to the end of the sixth century.

Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt

Religion and Magic in Ancient Egypt PDF Author: Rosalie David
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141941383
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 471

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Book Description
The ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile - their life source - was a divine gift. Religion and magic permeated their civilization, and this book provides a unique insight into their religious beliefs and practices, from 5000 BC to the 4th century AD, when Egyptian Christianity replaced the earlier customs. Arranged chronologically, this book provides a fascinating introduction to the world of half-human/ half-animal gods and goddesses; death rituals, the afterlife and mummification; the cult of sacred animals, pyramids, magic and medicine. An appendix contains translations of Ancient Eygtian spells.

The Temple Of Edfu : Aguide By An Ancient Egyptian Priest

The Temple Of Edfu : Aguide By An Ancient Egyptian Priest PDF Author: Dieter Kurth
Publisher: American Univ in Cairo Press
ISBN: 9789774247644
Category : Egyptian language
Languages : en
Pages : 112

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Book Description
"This is the oldest and most authentic guide to an ancient Egyptian temple ever written - its author was an ancient Egyptian priest who lived in the first century B.C., under the last kings of the Ptolemaic dynasty, when the construction and decoration of the huge temple of Edfu was completed. The anonymous priest's tasks was to compose a text long enough to make up a line of hieroglyphic inscription on the girdle wall of the temple, stretching around it to a length of some 300 meters, and in it describe the temple in detail - its layout and construction, the functions of its chambers and chapels, and its external appearance and the impression it conveyed to the faithful. The language of the text, arising within the long tradition of Egyptian temple building, is stylized and poetic, but remarkably, the priest fulfilled his assignment with such accuracy, devotion, and enthusiasm that the monumental inscription can be used today by the modern visitor as a reliable and informative guide to the temple." "The inscription is here translated in full, and appears with notes by the translator on the essentials of ancient Egyptian religion and ritual and on the discovery and documentation of Edfu Temple, while a comprehensive glossary explains unfamiliar terms and concepts. Illustrations of the temple, the original hieroglyphs, and the kings who build the temple complement the text."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

From Fetish to God in Ancient Egypt

From Fetish to God in Ancient Egypt PDF Author: E. A. Wallis Budge
Publisher: Courier Corporation
ISBN: 9780486258034
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 578

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Book Description
Rich, detailed survey of Egyptian conception of "God" and gods, magic, cult of animals, Osiris, more. Also, superb English translations of hymns and legends. 240 illustrations.