Egyptian Mythology (introduction)

Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology) with the unification of the Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh.

The ancient Egyptian religion focuses largely on nature, beginning with the worship of animals. Animals were believed to represent the gods, who where imagined by individual tribes in early Egypt. In over time, these sacred gods began to take human form with more distinct characteristics, but most continued to be described with a head of an animal.

Egyptians believed that Earth was a large disc. The flat center was Egypt, and the mountains surrounding Egypt were the rim of the disc. The heavenly skies existed above the disc, and underneath was deep water, the underworld of the Egyptians

There are several creation myths of early Egypt. Some say that the god Ptah created the universe through thought alone, others say that the god Khnum created the disc of the world on a potter's wheel. The most popular myth, though, involved Ra appearing out of chaos and creating the cosmos through the birth of other gods.