Reading Notes: Ancient Egypt, Part A

The Secret Name of Ra

from Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie

For this week's reading, I am doing the Ancient Egypt unit. I've always had an interest in Ancient Egypt since I was little. I used to watch The Mummy movies that starred Brendan Fraser. And then in middle school I learned about the discovery of King Tut's tomb so that caught my interest even more. 

This one chapter of Part A I really liked because it's about Ra and Isis. In this chapter, the goddess Isis is feeling tired of mankind because she lives with them as a common woman. She wants to be among the powerful gods. She really wants to have power equal to Ra. She wants to know the secret name of Ra that gives him his powers.

- Ra is the Ancient Egyptian god of the sun. 

• He was a strong ruler and divine father. He created many other deities such as Shu, the wind god, and Tefnet, the goddess of moisture and rain. 
• Ra had the ability to basically get what he wanted. If he thought about something, it appeared before him. 
• He also had many names that were not known to other gods or human. He also had one name that gave him his divine power.
• He's believed to have created the world: sky, Earth and the underworld.
• In this story, Ra is stung by a serpent made by Isis using his own saliva. His body starts to burn because of the poison. 
• Isis tries to convince him to reveal his name but he doesn't give in. Eventually he does give in after he can't bear the pain. 

- Isis is known as the goddess of magic, fertility and motherhood. 

• She is also known for healing and birth.
• She healed the sick and protected children. 
• She is an enchantress. 
• In this story, she is envious of the power Ra has and wants to be as equally powerful as him.
• Isis poisons Ra to try to get him to reveal his secret name so she can get that power.
• She tries to trick him by saying that if he gives her his secret name then she can have the power to be able to heal him. 
• Isis succeeds in tricking Ra to give her the secret name. It comes to her in her heart and then she gets the power. 
• She is able to save Ra with the new power she has. 

The goddess Isis. Source: Wikimedia Commons.