Eye of re
| Eye of Re in hieroglyphics | |
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 The mirrored eye of Horus is the eye of Re |
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The eye of Re (also the eye of Aton , eastern eye ) symbolized the sun disk of the sun gods in ancient Egypt , for example Re (also written Ra ), Amun-Re , Re-Harachte and Aton . The corresponding hieroglyph shows the Horus eye mirrored iconographically : From the perspective of the viewer as the left eye; from the point of view of the sun god, however, the right eye.
Myth of the sun's eye
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The text is available in several versions, some of which differ, and in Greek translations. The framework story is embedded in fables , dialogues and long philosophical and theological discussions.
The papyri report on the wearer of the Eye of Re, who is also dubbed a " dangerous goddess ". After an argument with her father Re, she left Egypt and moved to Punt . Laborious negotiations with her and the other gods ensued. After the agreement reached, “the dangerous goddess” went home together with a messenger from Thoth, the god of wisdom .
The myth of the sun's eye shows the different sides of the "dangerous goddess" who first appears as a cat, then transforms into a lioness after a fit of anger and is finally appeased with dance performances and music. In honor of her return to Egypt, her brother, as organizer of the celebrations, gives the new annual event the name Bastet Festival .
Historical reference
The basis of the story is the annually repeating cycle of Sirius , who is equated with the goddess Sopdet . According to the ideas of the Egyptians, the goddess Sopdet moved to the southeast for the duration of her invisibility in the sky. During the seventy days' absence, the people impatiently awaited her return.
On the day of her arrival in Egypt, the heliacal rise of Sirius took place at the same time , who lived in the third millennium BC. The Nile flood , which arrived a short time later, signaled. In this context, the 1st Achet I was considered the ideal beginning of the year.
The priests interpreted the rise in reddish color to the effect that Sopdet returned angry from Nubia and therefore had to be appeased. The further appearance as “epidemic bringer” and “destroyer of enemies” applied to all carriers of the eye of Re, which is why equations were made with Sachmet and Bastet . Memphis is striking as the later hometown of Sopdet, who was venerated there in the Memphite form as a sachmet.
Myth of the heavenly cow
The myth describes the effect of the “eye of Re”, which “on behalf” of the god Re could theoretically be adopted by any other deity. In practice, this assignment was usually only made to the wives or daughters of the sun god. As the “Lady of Heaven”, for example, “Mut-Hathor” automatically assumed the mythological function “Eye of Re”.
“ 2 After he had held kingship, 3 when men and gods were (still) united, 1 it happened that Re, who arose and shone by himself, 5 had grown old. 8 Re recognized the attacks, 9 that people had devised against him. 11 "Call to me my eye, 12 to Shu and Tefnut , 13 Geb and Nut , 14 together with the fathers and the mothers, 15 were with me when I am not (yet) in the Well was located. 42 Know that the people have fled into the desert, 43 for their hearts are in fear of what I told them ”. 44 They (the gods) said in the presence of his majesty (Re): 45 “Let your eye go that it will expose you, 46 who have conspired as villains. 47 There is no eye superior to (your) to strike them for you, 48 may it come down as Hathor ”. 49 After Hathor had killed the people in the desert, Re said to her: 51 “Welcome in peace, O Hathor, 52 who helped the Creator when I came to her.” 53 To which Hathor replied: “As you are I'm alive 54 when I took control of people, 55 it was pleasant for my heart "."
With the elevation to the “Sun Eye ”, “Mut-Hathor” also combined the characteristics of the lion goddess Sachmet and symbolized the uraeus serpent of Re in the form of a lion as the “Eye of Re” . As early as the 11th dynasty, the goddess Mut had the nickname Weret Hekau , which means "the magic realms" and "the uraeus snake" and also refers to the sun's eye.
literature
- Erik Hornung : The Egyptian Myth of the Heavenly Cow - An Etiology of the Imperfect. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1982, ISBN 3-7278-0262-6 .
- Claire Lalouette: La littérature égyptienne. Presses de France, Paris 1981, ISBN 2-13-036971-5 .
- Natacha Rambova, Alexandre Piankoff: The shrines of Tut-Ankh-Amon - Egyptian religious texts and representations. Princeton University Press, Princeton 1977, ISBN 0-691-01818-9 .
Web links
- In the Book of the Heavenly Cow: The Eye of Re
- Depiction of the sun's eye with the feet of a griffin (next to it two serpent-necked panthers while killing a gazelle)
Individual evidence
- ↑ James Henry Breasted: Ancient records of Egypt. Volume 1: The First to the Seventeenth Dynasties. Histories & Mysteries of Man, London 1988, ISBN 1-85417-025-2 , § 441.