The supreme solar deity and creator god. Ra travels across the sky each day in his solar barque and through the underworld each night, battling the serpent Apophis.
Ra is the supreme creator and king of the gods. He travels across the sky in his solar barque by day and battles the chaos serpent Apophis in the underworld by night.
Aspects of Ra
Ra changes forms throughout the day: Khepri (scarab) at sunrise, Ra-Horakhty (falcon) at noon, and Atum (elder) at sunset. All life was believed to have been created from Ra's tears.
Origin Story
Ra emerged from the primordial waters of Nun at the dawn of creation, creating himself. He then created Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture), establishing the cosmos.
Ancient Sources
Original texts with translations - toggle to see the original language
“Worship of Ra when he rises in the eastern horizon of heaven. Hail to you, Ra, in your rising, Atum-Horakhty.”
•Solar sanctuaries of the Fifth Dynasty (Abu Ghurab and beyond)
Festivals & Celebrations
Daily solar barque ritesSed festival (king as Ra's son)
Worship Practices
The king is his son. Morning and evening barques, the benben stone, the sun's twelve night hours. Heliopolis set the theology; later Amun-Ra at Thebes absorbed it without erasing the Heliopolitan cult.
