Wednesday, February 13, 2019

Reading Notes: The Secret Name of Ra, Extra Credit

  • Cool concept to potentially explore further: 
    • Ra had many different names that no one, including god and men, knew 
    • He had one secret name that granted him his divine power 
      • the secret name was "hidden in his bosom"
  • the goddess Isis lived in the human world as a woman, but she was tired of mankind's ways and wanted to live among the gods instead 
    • why wasn't she living with the gods in the first place?
  • Ra is actually portrayed as an aging god - he isn't portrayed to permanently look like a man in his youth
  • Ra had some of his saliva fall on the ground when he was talking, and Isis baked the saliva and earth it had fallen upon 
    • she shaped the mixture in the form of a spear, and it then became a venomous serpent 
  • Isis took the snake and essentially lays a trap for Ra  
    • Ra eventually falls victim and is stung by the serpent 
  • Ra proclaims that he has no idea what is the cause of his pain, but he knows that he has never been the victim of such pain and sorrow 
  • Isis convinces Ra to tell her his secret name so that she can have the power to heal him 
  • Isis expels the venom from Ra, and he no longer feels any pain or sorrow in his heart
The Goddess Isis. Source: Wikipedia

Bibliography: This story is part of the Ancient Egyptian Unit and can be found here. Story source: Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).

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