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Post by Keith Heitmann on Sept 21, 2004 15:48:00 GMT -5
Ptah -- the first god, who was not created, but simply is -- Ptah brought all things into being just by speaking their names. Builders, architects, sculptors and artists recognize Ptah as their patron. He builds the boats that the souls of the dead use in the afterlife, and he devised the Opening of the Mouth that allows us to live forever.
Middle-class shopkeepers and craftsmen revere Ptah, who is also the patron of Men-nefer. Cities with a lot of commercial and industrial activity should dedicate some worship facilities to Ptah
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Sept 21, 2004 15:49:15 GMT -5
Thoth -- The ibis-headed god of the moon is the wisest of the gods, and their scribe. He created our reality based upon the sacred geometry. Thoth taught men all of the arts of civilization, from writing to music to astronomy and the calendar. The god of balance and harmony, Thoth figures in all of the most important stories about the gods, and always on the side of goodness and justice.
The hidden Book of Thoth contains all the secrets of the gods. This unimaginably powerful source of all magic will bring grief to any human who dares to read it...or maybe make him the greatest magician the world has ever known. Before the dead can enter the afterlife, their hearts are weighed against a feather of truth. Thoth records the results of these judgments.
The patron of scribes, Thoth is especially beloved in the city of Khmun
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Sept 21, 2004 15:49:56 GMT -5
Anubis -- The original Lord of the Dead, Anubis embalmed the slain Osiris so that he could live again, and then handed over his throne when the reborn god could not return to the land of the living. It was Anubis who created the Ritual of Life and taught us the Opening of the Mouth, and it is Anubis' face that our priests wear while they prepare the dead for the afterlife. It is Anubis who weighs the heart of the departed on Ma'at's Scales of Truth. It is Anubis who feeds the wicked to the Devourer of Souls and who leads the righteous to the throne of Osiris, which was once his own. And it is Anubis' sacred jackals that prowl the necropolis in the nighttime.
People feel a particular need to worship Anubis whenever an elite citizen embarks on the journey to the afterlife. Any city with a large necropolis had better show proper respect to Anubis. The people of Asyut claim Anubis as their patron.
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Sept 21, 2004 15:50:34 GMT -5
Bast -- The daughter of Ra, Bast (or Bastet, as she is often called) protects cats, women and children, and guards secrets. We usually associate her with the friendly domestic cat and look forward to her feast day, but in olden times her vicious, avenging nature was foremost, and people pictured her with a lion’s head. Whether from fear of the fiercely protective Bast or from love of the warm and playful Bast, few people would even think of harming a cat.
The Festival of Bast is a really wild time. Party boats covered with flowers carry thousands of drunken men and women (no children allowed!) -- singing and clapping, making music and dancing -- down the Nile in a flotilla of eroticism. When they near a city, the boats draw near the shore while their heavily-perfumed female occupants shout lewd remarks and flash the crowds. They say more wine is drunk on the Festival of Bast than during all the rest of the year, and a surprising number of Egyptians are born nine months after the holiday.
Parents ask Bast for healthy children. She is the patron goddess of Bubastis.
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Sept 21, 2004 15:51:13 GMT -5
Sobek -- Followers of this ancient crocodile god admire Sobek’s strength, speed and ferocity – qualities that Pharaoh himself calls upon to overcome adversity. They say that Sobek created the Nile itself and brings fertility to the land and its people. His worshippers keep tamed, bejeweled crocodiles in temple pools. People understandably have mixed feelings about crocodiles, and many reject Sobek as a dark god, son of Set. These detractors kill his sacred crocodiles, which they believe to be messengers of Set. Sobek bestows sight and senses upon the newly dead. He protects the righteous dead or delivers evil souls to the predations of Set.
Sobek protects Pharaoh from dark magic and other forms of malice. City guards and commanders want to worship Sobek as their patron, and he is revered in Shedyet (also called Crocodilopolis) in the Faiyum.
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Sept 21, 2004 15:51:57 GMT -5
Ma'at -- Eventually, we all enter the Hall of Ma’at, goddess of truth, order and balance. There your heart is weighed against the ostrich feather that Ma’at wears on her head. If your heart is lighter, Horus leads you to meet Osiris, and your eternal life begins. If, on the other hand, your heart is heavy with evil and lies, prepare to meet fearsome Ammut, devourer of souls.
Although she is personified as the daughter of Ra and wife of Thoth, Ma’at is also a force or a principle underlying all reality, and this sense of underlying harmony standing against chaos was her most important aspect.
When crime stalks the city, or raiders rampage through the streets, people beseech Ma’at for justice and order. Ma’at is widely beloved throughout Egypt. She is not the patron of any particular profession, but upholding the principle of Ma’at is Pharaoh’s chief duty to his people.
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Sept 21, 2004 15:52:47 GMT -5
Set -- The god of wind and storms, brother of Osiris and Isis, Set (or Seth) was once the Lord of Upper Egypt, counterpart to Horus, who ruled Lower Egypt. When Set's cult lost favor during the human struggle for unification, Set acquired notoriety as the evil god of desert storms, drought and destruction. Red-haired and crimson-eyed, pale-skinned Set is blamed for ending the golden age when Isis and Osiris lived among men and ruled over Egypt.
Set got Osiris drunk and killed him, then stole his throne and Isis, his queen. War and chaos prevailed until Isis retrieved the body of her dead husband, magically resuscitated his soul, and conceived the child Horus. After a convoluted series of events, Horus beat Set in combat, cast him into the underworld and took the throne. Horus still watches over the living in the person of Pharaoh, while his father Osiris takes care of the dead in the next world. All the while, Set battles Horus for revenge, sowing pain and discord through the land whenever he gets the upper hand. In the end days, Horus and Set will battle one last time. Horus will banish Set forever, Osiris will return to the earth, and all the dead will emerge from their tombs to rejoin the living.
Soldiers and commanders often want to worship Set, the god of conflict and strife. If your army wins a battle, many citizens will feel moved to give thanks to the god. The people of Tanis have made Set their patron, and honor him frequently there... more for his power and his earliest deeds than for his disposition.
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Sept 21, 2004 15:53:23 GMT -5
Hapi -- The river god Hapi was known from prehistoric times in both Upper and Lower Egypt. His name came from the syllable “hap,” which was probably the name of the Nile itself in deep antiquity. “The Lord of the Fishes and Birds of the Marshes” provided these animals along with the very river that sustained Egypt. As a fertility god, Hapi was portrayed androgynously as a blue or green figure with a big belly and a woman’s breasts, and wore the false beard of a Pharaoh.
Hapi came to Egypt each year with the flood waters. People greeted him with sacrifices, offerings and amulets at sacred places all along the Nile. No temples were actually dedicated specifically to Hapi, but he was so universally revered – at least equal to the sun god Ra – that even the heretic king Akhenaton could not suppress his worship.
People in Children of the Nile thank Hapi after an especially good Inundation, and also turn to him in those dire years when the flood fails entirely. Since the rhythm of the Nile’s waters affects everyone’s life, Hapi is known and worshipped throughout Egypt. However, Hapi has no particular cult centers and is not one of the more prominent gods.
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Oct 6, 2004 4:02:54 GMT -5
Amun -- The Hidden One, father to the gods, creator of the world, Amun is revered as the protector of the poor and the weak. Some even say he is equivalent to Ra, another creator, and worship him as Amun-Ra. In fact, these people claim that Amun-Ra is the one supreme deity, of whom all others are but aspects. He is represented physically as the sun or as a man, but differs from other gods in having a hidden, abstract nature, more of a pure holy essence than a real being. Theoretically, Amen-Ra is the pharaoh's physical father, and the king's power derives from Amun-Ra. In reality, the priesthood of Amun-Ra rivals and even threatens the pharaoh's power. This political struggle led to Akenaten's famous ill-fated heretical attempt to overthrow Egypt's religious structure.
The cities of Waset and Henen-Nesu, and peasants everywhere, call Amun their patron. Dedicate more worship facilities to Amun as your population of farmers, laborers, and servants swells.
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Oct 6, 2004 4:03:13 GMT -5
More to come.
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Oct 20, 2004 11:27:11 GMT -5
Hathor -- There are many stories about the very ancient deity Hathor. In one, Ra sent the cow-headed goddess to purge the land of disbelievers. Before she could destroy humanity, Ra changed his mind. To intercept Hathor, he flooded the fields with blood-red beer. The goddess drank her fill and passed out drunk, and humanity was spared. After that incident, Hathor asked to be rewarded with dominion over love, women and fertility -- the aspect for which she's best known.
Every harvest season, some people want to worship Hathor at her annual festival. Entertainers often look to her for inspiration, and dedicate their work to her. She is the patron of Iunet and Itjtawy. All cities of any size should dedicate shrines and temples to support Hathor's harvest festival.
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