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Ra, the major connection between
Egyptian gods and mother nature. |
pan·the·ism Noun /ˈpanTHēˌizəm/
- A doctrine that identifies God with the universe, or regards the universe as a manifestation of God
- Worship that admits or tolerates all gods
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Variant, individual forms of the sun god Ra from "litany of Ra"
inscribed in New Kingdom tombs exemplify the differentiating
aspect of Egyptian theology. 18th Dynasty. Tomb of
Tuthmosis III, Valley of the Kings, Western Thebes. Egypt.
Egyptian Gods |
Pantheism, the related idea that identifies all aspects of the universe with a god, is a concept that has appealed to a number of Egyptologists since the latter part of the 19th century. These included scholars of the stature of Edouard Naville and James Henry Breasted, who felt that solar pantheism was an important part of ancient Egyptian religion. Yet, more recently several Egyptologists have shown that Egyptian religion exhibits clear traits which deny this equation. These are the self-imposed limitation of Egyptian religion, which clearly did not try to deity every aspect of creation, and limitations in the number and types of forms which even the greatest gods are said to take. As Erik Hornung has written, "Amun may appear in the most various forms, but never as the moon, a tree, or a stretch of water", and this list may be extended considerably. In fact, as Marie Ange Bonheme has put it, the boundaries of the individuality of the
Egyptian gods "forbids certain manifestations so as to prevent a progression toward complete pantheism"; and although the vast number of deities found in Egyptian religion may be reminiscent of pantheism, the resemblance is superficial, as Hornung claims. For the
Egyptians the creator god may have manifested himself in his creation, but he was certainly not absorbed by it.
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