MEPX
Chapter 5 of 10All chapters
  1. 1What myths are
  2. 2Greek mythology
  3. 3Roman mythology
  4. 4Norse mythology
  5. 5Egyptian mythology
  6. 6Mesopotamian myth
  7. 7Myths of Asia
  8. 8Africa, the Americas and Oceania
  9. 9Patterns across cultures
  10. 10Myth in the modern world

Chapter 5 of 10

Egyptian mythology

Order against chaos.

Key figures

Ra crossing the sky, Osiris murdered and restored, Isis the great magician, Horus the rightful heir, and Set as disorder. Maat is the principle of balance they serve.

  • The pharaoh was the living link between gods and people.
  • Beliefs varied across three thousand years and many cult centres.

The afterlife

The heart was weighed against the feather of Maat. Funerary texts were practical guides for surviving the journey, not poetry.