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1. RELS584 (Religions of the Ancient Near East)
Essay 1
Karel Giffen (220159844)
‘Critically compare at least two of the ancient Egyptian cosmologies being Heliopolis, Memphis, and Thebes.
What do they reveal about ancient Egyptian views regarding the origins and nature of the gods, humanity,
and the cosmos?’
Ancient Egyptian cosmologies can vary depending on time, place, and the individual
localised loyalties of various Egyptian cities and regions.1
What is reasonable, however, is that
despite minor localised differences, all ancient Egyptian cosmologies regarded the
inseparability of deific power as mirrored through the divine act of creation as sacrosanct. 2
Moreover, such cosmologies are perhaps not intended as a literal explanation for the origins of
the universe, though this is perhaps modern academic objectivity, but rather serve to explain
not only the origins of the physical universe, but the foundations of key ideologies and
philosophies; an exercise in curiosity fundamental and common to all ancient peoples.3
The
cosmologies of Heliopolis, Memphis, and Thebes are amongst the most well attested of ancient
Egyptian creation myths, and it is from among these cosmologies that the most reasonably
confident deductions concerning ancient Egyptian beliefs around the origins and nature of the
gods, humanity, and the cosmos can be gleaned. Such beliefs include the role of myth as a
unifying force over the Egyptian peoples, especially during times of turmoil,4
the enduring
impermeability of the forces of djet and neheh,5
the primacy of the Pharaoh as a champion of
ma’at, an enduring force from creation,6
and the importance of fecundity and prosperity in an
1
David A. Leeming, Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2009), 103.
2
Glenn S. Holland, Gods in the Desert: Religions of the Ancient Near East (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield
Publishers, Inc., 2009), 18.
3
Donald B. Redford, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 2 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2001),
469.
4
Geraldine Pinch, Egyptian Myth: A Very Short Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004), 51.
5
Holland, Gods in the Desert, 19.
6
Henri Frankfort, Kingship & the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the Integration of Society &
Nature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948), 51.

2. otherwise arid geography dependent on the reliable and regular inundation of the Nile, by
which the ritual acts of the gods and goddesses become symbolic of fertility and the
continuation of life and agriculture in Egypt.7
It is through discussion of direct evidence from
the ancient Egyptian cosmologies and other relevant primary texts that an understanding of
their contributions to understanding of these mentioned themes shall be garnered.
The cosmology of Heliopolis demonstrates the concept of myth as a unifying force for the
Egyptians, especially during times of turmoil, through the smiting of the serpent Apophis. In
this episode, Atum having conceived the universe, the serpent Apophis stands as a symbol of
abhorrence in an otherwise perfect world conceived of Atum, ‘he [Apophis] is one who has
fallen into into the flames, Apophis (Apep), with a knife on his head. He is not to be seen’.8
Having rent Apophis’ ruin to the flames, Atum declares this victory in the name of the god Ra,
‘…O Rey Behold, I have driven away your enemy…’, before exhorting Ra in order that he, in
the same way that Atum smote Apophis, ‘drive away, consume, and burn-up every enemy of
Pharaoh’, further declaring that the name of every enemy of the Pharaoh, including their
families, be inscribed on wax papyrus and ritualistically burnt,9
symbolic of Atum’s triumph
over Apophis, the primordial enemy. Thus, Apophis, born of the afterbirth of Ra, is symbolic
not only of a spiritual enemy, who stands as the direct counterpart to the power of Ma’at –
natural, eternal, divine justice – but also comes to be symbolic of the Pharaoh, and thus Egypt’s
physical enemies; rebellions, usurpers, and foreign invaders.10
The symbolism that the serpent
Apohpis should represent Egypt’s physical and divine foes is more explicit in the cosmology
of Thebes. ‘The foe has been speared… the rebels are massacred by his [Amun-Ra’s] sword…
the enemies of the Lord of All are overthrown, his foes in heaven and earth are no more… You
are triumphant, Amon-Rey’. 11
Thus, this account differs in that instead of Atum slaying
Apophis in the name of Ra, it is the twin god Amun-Ra himself who smites Apophis. Moreover,
7
Holland, Gods in the Desert, 26.
8
“The Cosmology of Heliopolis”, Brian E. Colless, accessed November 3, 2021,
https://sites.google.com/site/collesseum/heliopolis.
9
Ibid.
10
Mark D. Janzen, “The Iconography of Humiliation: The Depiction & Treatment of Bound Foreigners in New
Kingdom Egypt” (PhD diss., University of Memphis, 2013), 17.
11
“The Cosmology of Thebes”, Brien E. Colless, accessed November 13, 2021,
https://sites.google.com/site/collesseum/thebes.

3. as the god Amun becomes more established during the Middle Kingdom (MK), with Thebes
as a major cult centre,12
it is possible that the major god of the Egyptian cosmology is altered
by the Thebans to give preference to their local god Amun. Indeed, the MK pharaoh
Amenemhet I was responsible for extensive military campaigns designed to weaken the
influence of rival, local gods and rulers and to reassert his own physical power and that of the
influence of the god Amun throughout Egypt.13
In this way, the cosmologies of Heliopolis and
Thebes remind us of the Egyptian worldview that she is always under threat by chaos, whether
in a spiritual or physical form, yet optimistically, like the constant rising of the sun each day,
these forces are also being constantly combatted by the god Ra in the spiritual sense, and by
his son the Pharaoh in the physical sense14
.
Duality of contrasting forces and ideas was a prevalent feature of ancient Egyptian
philosophy. This is best exemplified through the concepts of djet and neheh. Neheh represents
the temporal, transient, and measurable historicity of people, nations, and events.15
For
example, a Pharaoh could be said with reasonable certainty to have lived in a specific
chronology, and may have performed measurable deeds and actions recorded in the historical
record. On the other hand, djet refers to immutable eternity; the ceaseless and never-ending
forces of ma’at, impervious and invincible.16
Thus, although individual Pharaohs may have
lived and died, the very institution of Pharaonic kingship and their duty to the gods, Egypt, and
their people was immortal. In short, neheh and djet is perhaps best understood as the timeless
function of continuity and change within ancient Egypt. The eternal dichotomy of neheh and
djet, and the Pharaoh’s role as champion of this cosmic order is summarised through the
following passage from the cosmology of Heliopolis. ‘He is Rey, who created the names of the
parts of his body; and thus brought into being the gods in his retinue. I am the irrepressible
one. Who is he? He is Atum, who is in his sun disk. He is Rey, when he arises on the eastern
12
Gae Callender, “The Middle Kingdom Renaissance”, in The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, ed., Ian Shaw (New
York: Oxford University Press, 2000), 144.
13
“Egyptian Myth & Legend”, Donald Mackenzie, accessed November 13, 2021, http://public-
library.uk/ebooks/31/75.pdf.
14
Siegfried Morenz & Ann E. Keep, Egyptian Religion (London: Taylor & Francis, 2004), 25.
15
Frédéric Servajean, “Duality”, in UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, ed. Jacco Dieleman & Willeke Wendrich
(Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2008), 2.
16
Ibid.

4. horizon of heaven. Mine is yesterday, and I know tomorrow. Who is he? Yesterday is Osiris;
tomorrow is Rey, on that day when the enemies of the Lord of the Universe are annihilated and
his Son Horus is made ruler’.17
This passage demonstrates a duality between Atum and Ra,
whose existence is both dependent and interdependent on one another. Both appear as creators
of the cosmos and whose myth cycles are both transformative and transcendent. That is, Atum
and Ra appear as the same solar god of creation, yet in their myth cycle, they transform
depending on their function within the cosmos, culminating in the final assimilation with Osiris
as god of the dead following their murder at the hands of Seth, after which Atum and Ra are
evenged by their son Horus. ‘Atum in his sun disk… Yesterday is Osiris, tomorrow is Ra, on
that day on which the rebels against the Lord of All are slaughtered and when his son Horus
was appointed’.18
The role of Pharaoh as preserver of djet and neheh is further demonstrated
in the Memphite cosmology, whereby the 8th
century BC Pharaoh Shabaka is credited with
restoring monuments and inscriptions dedicated to the god Ptah, of whom held a cult centre at
Memphis. ‘His Majesty copied this text out anew in the House of his father Ptah-South-of-His-
Wall, having found it to be a work of the ancestors, which had become worm-eaten, so tht it
could not be understood from the beginning to the ending. His Majesty copied it out anew… in
order that his name might endure…’19
. Thus, throughout the cosmologies, the belief that the
Pharaoh is the direct son of the gods is consistent, however wat may differ from region to
region is the exact god in question from whom Pharaoh is descent. During the 6th
Dynasty of
the Old Kingdom (OK), the relationship between Pharaoh and the solar deity, and this deity’s
status as a ‘royal god’ is strengthened through extensive royal patronage at Heliopolis, cult-
centre of Ra and Atum during the OK.20
Moreover, through continued architectural investment
at Heliopolis throughout the OK, this demonstrates that Egypt’s early Pharaohs were eager to
consolidate their rule through capitalising on the notion of a divine kingship,21
whereby despite
17
“The Cosmology of Heliopolis”.
18
“Book of the Dead Chapter 17”, University College London, accessed November 6, 2021,
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/literature/religious/bd17.html.
19
“The Cosmology of Memphis”, Brian E. Colless, accessed 14 November, 2021,
https://sites.google.com/site/collesseum/memphis.
20
Massimiliano Nuzzolo & Jaromír Krejčí, “Heliopolis & the solar cult in the third millennium BC”, Egypt & the
Levant 27 (2017), 375.
21
Lisa K. Sabbahy, “Background to ancient Egypt”, in Kingship, Power, & Legitimacy in Ancient Egypt: From the
Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom, ed. Lisa K. Sabbahy (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
2020), 22.

5. occupying only the mortal realm of history, the Pharaoh and their descendants come to be
viewed as the son of Ra, and thus taking their place within the cyclical nature of neheh and
djet; physically temporal, yet the institution of Pharaonic rule as part of Egypt’s eternal cosmic
order and the Pharaoh’s role as defender of the god very much consolidated, this function
having been exemplified through Pharaoh Shabaka’s restoration of Ptahite monuments, thus
ensuring that Shabaka’s reputation within neheh and that of his ancestors is protected, but as
well as contributing to the overall obligations of djet.
The motif of Pharaoh as defender of ma’at is well attested throughout ancient Egypt. Ma’at
is usually conveniently translated as, ‘truth’, or the, ‘right order’, but of which was inherent
since creation and of which the Pharaoh is obliged to uphold.22
Moreover, to obey ma’at was
to see Egypt prosper; to deny ma’at was to see Egypt subject to isft, conveniently translated as
chaos.23
Pharaohs would therefore go to great lengths to defend ma’at and leave instructions
for their successors in order to maintain Egypt’s djet, even if an individual Pharaoh’s reign and
thus their passage through neheh had come to pass in order that they may be remembered
positively for their contribution to Egypt. For example, during the OK, a common royal epithet
was, ‘possessor of ma’at’, or, ‘he who arises in ma’at’.24
The Instructions of Kagmeni dictate,
‘do ma’at for the King, for ma’at is what the King loves’.25
Furthermore, the Instruction of
Ptahotep (6th
Dynasty) indicate that, ‘there is punishment for him who passes over its [ma’at’s]
laws.26
Additionally the Instructions for Merikare (9th
Dynasty) indicate, ‘do ma’at so that you
may endure on earth’.27
Ma’at is a powerful concept associated with justice, not dissimilar to
that of other ancient cultures with similar beliefs. For example, the ancient Greek concept of
δική (dike), refers to the god-given concept of divine and mortal justice as posited by Hesiod
in the Theogony.28
Moreover, the Sanskrit जाित (dharma) refers to a legal and moral duty based
22
Frankfort, Kingship & the Gods, 51.
23
Redford, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 2, 319.
24
Ibid.
25
Ibid.
26
Ibid.
27
Ibid.
28
James Diggle, et. al., The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, vol. 1: A – I (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021),
379.

6. on one’s social status, and is more commonly understood as natural or divine order.29
Moreover, that the king of these equivalent civilisations should be a defender of this natural
law and order is not unique to Egypt either. For example, should the ancient (i.e., Mycenaean)
Greek Fάναξ (wanax, or king) defend δική, he assures his people continued prosperity and
divine favour under Zeus.30
In Vedic India, धमर्पित (dharmapati) translates as, ‘lord of dharma’,
and was a term reserved for both kings and Indra, father of gods, thus connecting and
associating the king with divine law and order mandated by the gods.31
Clearly, the concept of
kingship as guardian of a divine natural law and order is prevalent throughout the ancient
world. In terms of the Heliopolitan cosmology, however, ma’at is often understood to be the
daughter of the god Ra or Atum,32
as it was he who created all living things, including gods, as
well as the foundations of cosmic order, ‘he is Rey, who created the names of the parts of his
body; and thus brought into being the gods in his retinue. I [he is] am the irrepressible one’.33
The Pharaoh, as son of Ra, and by extension, brother of the goddess Ma’at being Ra’s daughter,
was thus said to be especially imbued with ma’at and thus held a particular responsibility to
act justly in order to defend ma’at.34
Therefore, ancient Egyptian cosmologies such as from
Heliopolis serve to explain the origin of important concepts such as ma’at as having always
existed, and begat from Ra or Atum as the first god. Ma’at lays the divine foundations for
divine and mortal law and natural order which must be protected in order to save Egypt from
chaos and thus takes a prevalent place in not only cosmology, but ancient Egyptian wisdom
literature as referenced earlier involving words of advice on the importance and defence of
ma’at from one Pharaoh to the next.
Fertility is another significant motif amongst ancient Egyptian cosmologies, and the Nile
as giver of life to the ancient Egyptians represents both forces of male and female fertility and
29
Antonia M. Ruppel, The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017),
35.
30
“The Role of the Mycenaean Wanax”, Thomas G. Palaima, accessed 8 November, 2021,
https://sites.utexas.edu/scripts/files/2020/05/1995-TGP-TheNatureOfTheMycenaeanWanax.pdf.
31
Stephanie W. Jamison & Joel P. Brereton, The Ṛgveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India, vol. 1 (New York:
Oxford University Press, 2014), 624.
32
Frankfort, Kingship & the Gods, 51.
33
“The Cosmology of Heliopolis”.
34
Redford, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 2, 319.

7. sexual energy. The annual flooding of the Nile represents a vigorous and forceful maculine
energy reminiscent of the god Atum’s sacred masturbation by which he ejaculated the world
into being,35
‘Atum is he who created by his masturbation in On (Heliopolis). He took his
phallus in his fist and aroused desire. Then a pair of twins was born, Shu and Tefnut… You
spat out what was Shu (god of air), and spurted out what was Tefnut (god of moisture’36
.
Moreover, if the flooding of the Nile represented the potent masculine energy resplendent of
Atum’s divine masturbation, then the Nile’s subsequent period of drought for the remainder of
the year can be interpreted as feminine, for drained of the god Atum’s seminal fluid, the
yawning banks of the Nile were in dire need of refilling and craved replenishing in order to
become a vessel of masculine creative energy once more.37
Such a perspective on the duality
of male and female creative and sexual energy is attested in other ancient Egyptian literature,
such as the wisdom piece The Instruction of Ptahotep (6th
Dynasty). In this piece, a husband is
exhorted to, ‘love your [his] wife with ardour, fill her belly, clothe her back, ointment soothes
her body. Gladden her heart as long as you live, she is a fertile field for her lord’.38
Thus, from
the Pyramid Texts, the Pharaoh was seen as the giver of fertility and preserver of all; ‘he fills
the Two lands with his strength, he is Life’,39
so too did ordinary Egyptians come to represent
this same force of masculine and feminine fertile energy, provided they were able to follow the
sound advice in the wisdom literature of Ptahotep as referenced previously.
In summary, ancient Egyptian cosmologies can vary significantly in time and place of
composition, however they hold similar themes, beliefs, and ideologies. Such beliefs held in
common include the idea that the Pharaoh should be a unifying and powerful force for ancient
Egypt as a symbol of divine and physical defence. This is exemplified through the allegory of
the smiting of Apophis, consistent with both the Heliopolitan and Theban cosmologies,
whereby Apophis represents a divine enemy contrary to ma’at, but can also be symbolic of
35
Ashley N. Dawson, “Reversal of gender in ancient Egyptian mythology: Discovering the Secrets of Androgyny”,
Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research 1, no. 1 (2013): 3.
36
“The Cosmology of Heliopolis”.
37
Dawson, “Reversal of gender in ancient Egyptian mythology”, 3.
38
Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 1: The Old & Middle Kingdoms
(Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2006), 88.
39
Margaret A. Murray, Egyptian Religious Poetry (London: John Murray, 1949), 40.

8. Pharaoh’s struggles against foreign enemies.40
These myths differ in that in the Heliopolitan
account, it is Atum who slays Apophis, and in the Theban, it is Amun who slays Apophis.41
This is a sound example of the localised nature of Egyptian creation myths. The eternal role of
djet and neheh are common throughout the Theban and Memphite cosmologies, whereby
Pharaoh exists as both a temporal and historical figure, yet their role as divine champion is
eternal. This is reflected in Pharaoh Shakaba’s restoration of Ptahite monuments and
inscriptions in the name of this god and of the Pharaoh’s ancestors.42
In doing so, he secures
both the historical and eternal legacy of himself, his ancestors, and the god Ptah. The role of
Pharaoh as defender of ma’at is discussed in the Heliopolitan cosmology, as well as wisdom
literature of varying dynasties which both remind that the god Ra is the eternal creator of the
gods, of humankind, law, and order, and that pharaohs will do well to live by ma’at and instruct
their heirs as to how to protect ma’at as well.43
Finally, the role of fertility and sexual power is
prominent in the Heliopolitan cosmology, as it is through the god Atum’s divine masturbation
that creation is achieved.44
Atum’s ejaculation is resplendent of the annual flooding of the Nile,
whereby it is this masculine energy that fertilises the parched, yawning banks of the Nile each
year to ensure life.45
Such beliefs around fertility also make their way into the wisdom literature
of ancient Egypt, such as the Instruction of Ptahotep, whereby husbands are directed to care
for, provide for, and to lend to their wives their generative energy.46
In summary, the ancient
Egyptian cosmologies describe a rich society whereby divine forces are eternal and must be
upheld by all, most of all the Pharaoh.
40
“The Cosmology of Heliopolis”.
41
“The Cosmology of Thebes”.
42
“The Cosmology of Memphis”.
43
Redford, The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 2, 319.
44
“The Cosmology of Heliopolis”.
45
Dawson, “Reversal of gender in ancient Egyptian mythology”, 3.
46
Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, 88.

9. Bibliography
Callender, Gae. “The Middle Kingdom Renaissance”. In The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt,
edited by Ian Shaw, p. 137 – 171. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Colless, Brian E. “The Cosmology of Heliopolis. Accessed November 3, 2021.
https://sites.google.com/site/collesseum/heliopolis.
Colless, Brian E. “The Cosmology of Memphis. Accessed November 13, 2021.
https://sites.google.com/site/collesseum/memphis.
Colless, Brian E. “The Cosmology of Thebes. Accessed November 14, 2021.
https://sites.google.com/site/collesseum/thebes.
Dawson, Ashley N. “Reversal of gender in ancient Egyptian mythology: Discovering the
secrets of androgyny”. Oglethorpe Journal of Undergraduate Research 1, no. 1 (2013):
1 – 8.
Diggle, James, et. al. The Cambridge Greek Lexicon, vol 1: A – I. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2021.
Frankfort, Henri. Kingship & the Gods: A Study of Ancient Near Eastern Religion as the
Integration of Society & Nature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1948.
Holland, Glenn, S. Gods in the Desert: Religions of the Ancient Near East. Lanham, MD:
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2009.
Jamison, Stephanie W. & Brereton, Joel P. The Ṛgveda: The Earliest Religious Poetry of India,
vol. 1. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Janzen, Mark D. “The Iconography of Humiliation: The depiction & Treatment of Bound
Foreigners in New Kingdom Egypt”. PhD diss., University of Memphis, 2013.

10. Leeming, David A. Creation Myths of the World: An Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-
CLIO, 2009.
Lichtheim, Miriam. Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, vol. 1: The Old &
Middle Kingdoms. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2006.
Mackenzie, Donald. “Egyptian Myth & Legend”. Accessed November 13, 2021. http://public-
library.uk/ebooks/31/75.pdf.
Morenz, Siegfried & Keep, Ann E. Egyptian Religion. London: Taylor & Francis, 2004.
Murray, Margaret A. Egyptian Religious Poetry. London: John Murray, 1949.
Nuzzolo, Massimiliano & Krejčí, Jaromír. “Heliopolis & the solar cult in the third millennium
BC”. Egypt & the Levant 27 (2017): 357 – 379.
Palaima, Thomas G. “The Role of the Mycenaean Wanax”. Accessed 8 November, 2021.
https://sites.utexas.edu/scripts/files/2020/05/1995-TGP
TheNatureOfTheMycenaeanWanax.pdf.
Pinch, Geraldine. Egyptian Myth: A Very Short Introduction. New York: Oxford University
Press, 2004.
Redford, Donald B. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt, vol. 2. New York: Oxford
University Press, 2001.
Ruppel, Antonia M. The Cambridge Introduction to Sanskrit. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2017.
Sabbahy, Lisa K. “Background to ancient Egypt”. In Kingship, Power, & Legitimacy in Ancient
Egypt: From the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom, edited by Lisa K. Sabbahy, p. 4
– 28. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.

11. Servajean, Frédéric. “Duality”. In UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, edited by Jacco
Dieleman & Willeke Wendrich, 1 – 5. Los Angeles: University of California Press,
2008.
University College London. “Book of the Dead Chapter 17”. Accessed November 6, 2021.
https://www.ucl.ac.uk/museums-static/digitalegypt/literature/religious/bd17.html.