Читать книгу The dawn of astronomy. A study of the temple-worship and mythology of the ancient Egyptians онлайн

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RA. MIN-RĀ. AMEN-RĀ.

I have next to point out that, the sun being very generally worshipped in Egypt, there were various forms of the sun-god, depending upon the positions occupied in its daily course. We have the form of Harpocrates at its rising, the child sun-god being generally represented by the figure of a hawk. When in human form, we notice the presence of a side lock of hair. The god Rā symbolises, it is said, the sun in his noontide strength; while for the time of sunset we have various names, chiefly Osiris, Tum, or Atmu, the dying sun represented by a mummy and typifying old age. The hours of the day were also personified, the twelve changes during the twelve hours being mythically connected with the sun's daily movement across the sky.

SEBAK-RĀ. CHNEMU-RĀ.

We often find Rā compounded with other names, and in these forms of the god we possibly get references to the sun at different times of the year. Amen-Rā, Sebak-Rā, and Chnemu-Rā are cases in point. The former undoubtedly refers to the sun at the summer solstice. Min-Rā is an ithyphallic form.