Ra on the sun barque with the Bennu Bird
I’m not sure when the ancient Egyptians painted Hieroglyphics if it was their intent for
them to become works of art which would last over the centuries however today one
cannot marvel over both how beautiful and mysterious they are as well as the story they
tell. In the above picture, Ra on the sun barque with the Bernnu Bird, the Egyptians share
both their religious beliefs as well as a story of their ancestry. The Sun God Ra or Re was
closely associated with Ancient Egyptian Creation. More of a myth, it was associated with
the group of Gods, Called the Ennead of Heliopolis. A great sun temple located in the City
of Heliopolis, Egypt, was dedicated to the solar god Ra, and was the home of the Tree of
Life. The Scholar went on to include other mythological deities such as the Goddess
Nephthys who was considered the protector of the Bennu Bird, also pictured. The Bennu
bird was the mythological phoenix of ancient Egypt. It was associated with the rising of
the Nile, resurrection, and the sun. Standing alone on isolated rocks of islands of high
ground during the floods, the heron represented the first life to appear on the primeval
mound which rose from the watery chaos at the first creation. I felt compelled to begin my
analysis of the picture with a brief description because to have not would be the same as
attempting to understand the Christian Bible without first mentioning the Old Testament.