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

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Protector of millions, deliverer of tens of thousands."

Hymn to Rā-Tmu-Horus—

"Hail to thee of the double horizon, the one god living by Maāt.... I am the maker of heaven and of the mysteries of the twofold horizon."

Hymn to Osiris—

"O Osiris! Thou art the youth at the horizon of heaven daily, and thine old age at the beginning of all seasons....

"The ever-moving stars are under obedience to him, and so are the stars which set."

OSIRIS SEATED.

Hymn to Rā—

"O Rā! in thine egg, radiant in thy disk, shining forth from the horizon, swimming over the steel (?) firmament.

"Tmu and Horus of the horizon pay homage to thee (Amen-Rā) in all their words."

So far we have dealt with the powers of sunlight; but the ancient Egyptians, like ourselves, were familiar with the powers of darkness or of the underworld. The chief god antithetical to the sun was variously named—Sit, Set, Sut, Anubis, Typhon, Bes; and a host of other names was given to him. As I shall show, the idea of darkness was associated with the existence of those stars which never set, so that even here the symbolism was astronomical.