THE MYTHS OF RE, THE SUN-GOD

In Egypt the cult of the sun-god has occupied a far more important place than it did in the ritual and mythology of Sumer and Akkad. Shamash, (The Sun-god of Akkad) was the guardian of justice. But he never became one of the triad of gods, and he was never associated with myths of creation. Re, according to tradition, was the first king of Egypt and as Atum he was the creator of the world. As its name indicates, the city of Heliopolis was the chief centre of the cult of Re, and it was probably there that cult of Osiris and that of the sun-god merged during the Old Kingdom period. The Horus-falcon that is to be seen protecting the head of the pharaoh Khafre on his statue, shows the identification of Horus with Re and the association of the kingship with Re. The mythology of Re and of Osiris have become completely blended. But there are still some elements of the solar mythology which remain distinct from the Osiris myth.