The Story of Ra
Ra, in Egyptian mythology, is the sun god. He is the son of the first divine couple, Shu and Tefnut. His children are Isis, Osiris, Seth and Nephtys. Considered to be king of the gods, Ra was the most powerful of them all. Ra was also often merged with other gods, such as Amun and Horus, creating Amun-Ra and Ra-Harakhte. Legend states that every day, Ra is born, crosses the sky and dies as the sun goes down. But it's not always smooth sailing. On some days, Ra has to face a serpent named Apep. Apep would threaten to swallow the sun, killing Ra during the day and triumphing against him. Most day's Ra wins, but some days, usually when it's stormy or an eclipse takes place, Apep is victorious and swallows up the sun. After each morning ends, he embarks on a journey and takes on the name Auf, meaning corpse, and begins his journey of 12 hours of darkness. During this journey, Auf (Ra) passes through the underworld. While there, his main job is to bring light into the souls of the dead. But after he leaves, they return back into darkness. He is often pictured by having a head of a hawk and a disk on his head, reflecting the sun.
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