Ra
(aka Re, Prah)
Ra is the son God from very early times.
He took on many of the attributes and even the names of other gods as
Egyptian myths evolved.
A good example of this is the god Ra and Amun merging to become Amun-Ra
or Ra and Horus combining to become Ra-Harakhty (see below).
Father of the first divine couple, Shu and Tefnut.
Grandfather of Geb and Nut, whose children were Osiris and Isis, Seth and Nephthys.
Called the creator and father of all things, he was chief of the cosmic deities.
Early Egyptian kings alleged descent from him.
The most important Egyptian god during most of Egyptian history was Ra,
the god of the sun.
For the sun itself powerfully represented the stability and underlying rationality
of the universe in its stable and regular journey through the sky during the day
and through the Underworld during the night.
Ra was swallowed every night by the sky goddess Nut, and was reborn every morning.
The painting shows the journey of Ra, traveling through the Underworld in his solar barque,
a journey he undertakes every night.
Ra-Horakhty was a combination of the gods Horus and Ra.
Horus was a god of the sky, and Ra was the god of the sun.
Thus, Ra-Horakhty was thought of as the god of the rising sun.
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