The Role of Ra

God Ra riding the Solar boat
God Ra in the underworld: Ra was thought to travel on 2 solar boats called the Mandjet (the Boat of Millions of Years), or aurora boat and the  Mesektet, or evening  boat. These  boats  held  him  on  his  journey  through  the  sky  and  the Duat, the  literal Hades of Egypt. While Ra was on the Mesektet, he was in his ram-headed process.

When God Ra traveled in the sun boat he was companied by individual other deities accepting Sia (percept) and Hu (command) as well as Heka (magic  power).  Sometimes  members  of  the  Ennead  served  him  on  his  journey,  including  Set  who  overcome  the snake Apophis and Mehen who defended against the demons of the underworld. When god Ra was in the underworld, he would visit whole of his varied forms.

God Apophis, the God of chaos, was an great serpent who frustrated to stop the sun boat's journey every night by having it or by checking it in its tracks with a hypnotic stare. During the evening, the Egyptians thought that Ra set as Atum or in the form of a ram. The Mesektet, or the Night boat, would carry him through the underworld and back towards the east in homework for his reincarnation. These myths of Ra presented the sun future as the rebirth of the sun by the sky goddess Nut; thus attributing the concept of rebirth and replacement to Ra and toning up his role as a creator God as well. When Ra was in the underworld, he agreed with Osiris, the deity of the dead, and done it went the deity of the dead besides.

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