The 10 best Egyptian legends, and their explanation

Egypt. Along with the Greek and Roman, it is probably the civilization of the ancient world that most renown it possesses and has generated greater fascination within the territories that surround the sea Mediterranean.

Land of pharaohs and mummies, the Egyptian people enjoy a great variety of myths and legends of great antiquity and that they pretend to give an explanation to the vision of the world of the once powerful empire on the shores of the Nile. That is why throughout this article we will explore the idiosyncrasy of said town throughout a short selection of Egyptian legends.

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A dozen Egyptian legends

Below we offer you a series of ten beautiful stories from the Egyptian civilization, which allow us to briefly visualize the symbolisms, values ​​and ways of approaching the reality of said people and culture.

1. The myth of creation

Like the rest of cultures, the Egyptian also has its own version of the creation of the universe and the world in which we live. In fact, there are three known versions depending on the city that generated it and the deities that he worshiped. One of them is the Iunu, later known as Heliopolis, which is known for being the city in which the cult of the god Ra as a primordial deity arose and prevailed.

Legend has it that at first there was only an immense and infinite ocean named Nun, which remained motionless and totally asleep. Neither heaven nor earth, neither plants nor animals nor man existed. Only Nun, which contained all possible elements. But one day, the world became aware of itself and its situation, giving itself the name of Ra. This would be the first god, who at first was alone in the middle of the ocean. But little by little he began to create: his breath would turn to the god Shu, the air, and his saliva to the god of moisture Tefnut.

He then created an island or land to rest on, which he named Egypt, and being born from the water he decided to create the Nile to feed it. With the elements of the great ocean Ra was creating the different living beings.

Shu and Tefnut, in another point of the Nun, they had sons, the deity Geb from Earth, and Nut, from Heaven. Both sons had relations and his father Shu, jealous, decided to separate them by holding the first under his feet and the second on his head. From the union of both gods the stars and the rest of the deities would be born.

After the creation of him, the god Ra sent one of his eyes to look for his offspring, but said eye would be found to return that the god had grown a new one. Desperate, the eye began to cry, creating its tears to the first humans. The god Ra, seeing his pain, placed it on his forehead: the Sun had been created.

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2. The legend of Sinuhé

Another of the legends of the Egyptian people is found in the legend of Sinuhé, in which we are told of the fear of judgment and suspicion and the desire to return home.

Legend has it that Pharaoh Amenemhet was assassinated by a plot by his servants, his first-born son and most likely his successor absent as he was in the army when his death occurred. Upon Pharaoh's death, messengers were sent to search for him.

One of the pharaoh's trusted men was Sinuhé, who did not know the plot that ended the life of his lord until he heard one of the messengers tell the causes of death to one of the sons of the Amenemhat. Scared and believing that despite having nothing to do with him he was going to be accused of being an accomplice, he made the decision to flee and leave the country.

Sinuhé left the country and into the desert, where he spent days losing his energy to the point of fainting. When he woke up he found himself surrounded by Bedouins, who looked after him. The king of these, Amunenshi, offered to stay with them after explaining the situation to him. The king offered him the hand of his daughter, with whom Sinuhé married and had children, as well as land. He achieved great wealth and fame, also reaching the rank of general and even starring in a conflict. with one of the best warriors in the area who challenged him, managing to beat him thanks to his great cunning of him.

However, as he was getting older, Sinuhé longed for Egypt more and more, praying often to be able to return and die there. Sesostris I, eldest son of the murdered pharaoh, now reigned in his country of origin., after several years of hard fights with his brothers to obtain and maintain power. The new pharaoh was informed of the situation of the old henchman of his father, and sent him to summon him, indicating that he could return and that he knew of his innocence.

Happy and after dividing his goods among his offspring, Sinuhe returned to Egypt to be received by Pharaoh, who made his advisor and gave him a house fit for a prince, as well as a tomb among the family members real. Sinuhé spent the rest of his life in his service, being able to fulfill his wish to die in his native country and with great honor.

3. The legend of Isis and the seven scorpions

Appreciation, hospitality, compassion, and respect are elements that were also present in Egyptian culture and mythology, as we can see in the legend of Isis and the seven scorpions.

Legend has it that the god Seth deeply envied her brother Osiris, who was married to the goddess Isis and would have a son with her, Horus. Seth, seized with hatred and outrage, tried to separate him, and he captured and locked up Isis and Horus in order to harm his brother.

Seeing the situation, the god of wisdom Thot decided to help them, sending seven scorpions named Tefen, Befen, Mestat, Matet, Petet, Mestefef and Tetet to their aid in order to protect them. Isis and Horus escaped, followed by their protectors, and they undertook a long flight until they reached the city of Per-sui. There they found Usert, a woman of good standing and great wealth to whom he requested her help and refuge. However Usert, seeing the presence of the seven scorpions and fearing her attack, closed the door on the goddess and her child.

Isis and Horus continued their way, exhausted, until they finally found a poor woman who, despite the presence of the scorpions, received the deities and sought her help and hospitality. With her protégé safe, the scorpions decided to take revenge on Usert for denying Isis her help. During the night, the seven joined their poisons on Tefen's tail. He entered the woman's house and stung her son, causing him to become seriously ill from the poison. In addition to that, it caused a fire

Usert sought help, desperate at the state of his little one. Her pleas reached Isis, who, seeing that the child was not at fault and feeling sorry for Usert's situation, came to her aid. With the help of his powerful magic, the sky opened and a rain fell that extinguished the flames, and later ordered the poison to leave the body of the minor. Usert's son healed and recovered. The woman, ashamed and deeply grateful, gave her fortune to the goddess and the poor woman who had helped her.

4. Cambyses II's Lost Army

Some of the Egyptian legends refer to the disappearance of enemy armies that dared to attack the lands of the empire. One of them tells us specifically about the lost army of Cambyses II, which truly existed and which also in real life ended up fading away (disappearance that remains a mystery, although there is speculation about different Causes).

Legend has it that the Persian king Cambyses II intended to conquer Egypt. However, the oracle of the Siwa region predicted that if the king tried to conquer said territory he would be doomed, something that made the Persian make the decision to march for it through the White Desert to conquer and destroy the oracle and invade the oasis of Siwa. King Cambyses sent a total of fifty thousand men for this task.

However, the army never reached its destination, vanishing throughout its passage through the desert. One version of this legend tells us that the desert djinns turned them into the strange rock formations that can be seen in the White Desert, while other sources indicate that a large sandstorm caused its disappearance.

5. Pharaoh Dyoser and the rising of the Nile

The Nile was always the main source of water and life in the territory of the Egyptian Empire, providing the majority of fresh water for the region. That is why any alteration that caused a lack of water would pose a great danger, and on the other hand the floods of the river were received as a blessing. That is why the following legend exists.

Legend has it that the people of Egypt had fallen into great disgrace and suffered severe hardships since the Nile did not possess enough water to irrigate the fields, something that had as a consequence the progressive appearance of hunger and despair. Pharaoh Dyoser, deeply concerned, consulted his advisor the great Imhotep regarding a possible solution to solve the water problem and asked him to help him find a solution.

The counselor and magician then went to the temple of the god of wisdom, Thot, investigating the holy books, and after that he went again to the pharaoh. He indicated that the source of the river was between two caverns on Elephantine Island., in which the light that gave rise to the living beings of the world also appeared. Both caves were guarded by the god Jnum, who held the outlet of the water from the nile with his feet, created all beings and made wheat and minerals grow.

Pharaoh came to the island and prayed and implored the god, without getting an answer, until he finally fell asleep. During his dream, the god appeared to him and asked why he was afflicted. The pharaoh indicated his fear of his people and the lack of water and food, to which the god indicated to be angry due to the lack of construction and repair of temples despite the numerous gifts and materials that he provided. After saying this the god Jnum decided to open the door to the waters of the river, which slept in the form of a snake under his sandals. Pharaoh promised to build him a temple on the same island. Finally the god released the serpent, and with it there was a great flood of the river.

Upon awakening, the pharaoh was able to observe that the waters of the river had greatly raised its cause, in addition to that at his feet it rested a tablet with a prayer to the god Jnum that would later be engraved in the temple that, as he promised, he would build later.

6. Ra's secret name

One of the relevant characteristics of Egyptian culture was the great relevance that was given to the name, which According to the beliefs of said people, it gave great power over the person and allows us to understand the interior of said to be. In fact, at birth a person was given up to three names, only one of them being shared at the public level. One of the legends is aimed precisely at speaking on the secret name of one of the main Egyptian gods: Ra.

Legend has it that on one occasion when an old god Ra began to lose power and faculties, the rest of the gods began to desire his power. The god had multiple names, but there was one that was not known to anyone and from which he drew most of his power. The goddess Isis wanted to know this name, because she wanted the throne and gifts of Ra for her future son Horus.

In her wisdom the goddess hatched a plan to get to know that name, the secret and true name of the deity. She began to collect the salivary effluvia of Ra and when mixing them with earth the goddess gave rise to the first of the cobras, to later throw it in the path of her father.

The cobra bit and poisoned Ra, whereupon Isis offered to heal him. in exchange for her telling him what his true and secret name was (hidden even from the gods themselves). The god accepted on the condition that Isis swear not to reveal it to anyone but Horus, something to which he agreed and after which he caused the poison to come out of the god and that he recover. Ra shared her true name with her and hers as her son, thus giving them great power and the future throne of Egypt.

7. The Seven Hathores

She receives the name of Hathor one of the best known deities of the Egyptian pantheon, which is considered the deity of love and joy as well as music and dance. And one of the Egyptian legends that we are going to comment has to do with her seven daughters, who guess and warn of the fate of the newborns and that star in a story in which we can observe the belief of the Egyptians in the strength of a pre-established destiny that cannot be changed despite the own acts.

Legend has it that there was once a pharaoh and his partner who had been waiting for a long time to conceive a child, without any success. After many years praying and trying, the deities decided to grant them a child. When he was born the seven hathores rushed to inform their parents of the future that awaited the baby. However, they predicted that the child would die during his youth at the hands of a terrible beast: a dog, a crocodile or a snake.

In order to try to avoid said ending, the pharaoh built a remote palace in which to keep his son throughout his growth, something that as the child was growing he was seeing as something similar to a prison. The prince asked his father to grant him the wish of having a dog, to which despite some reluctance he ended up giving in, thinking that he could not pose a great danger.

But although the dog and the prince became fond and maintained a close emotional relationship, the young man needed to go out into the world and ended up fleeing the palace with the animal. They went to an unknown city, where the prince met Princess Naharin. This princess was also imprisoned by hers, her own father, who would only let her out of it if someone managed to get to her in one jump. The prince succeeded, and eventually managed to marry said princess and tell her the prediction of her goddesses.

The princess was dedicated thereafter to care for and protect the prince from his fate. She one day managed to kill a snake that intended to kill him, after which she was given to the dog as food. But a short time later the dog began to change and become aggressive, attacking its owner. The young man threw himself into the waters of the river to save himself.

I was in it when a large crocodile appeared among the waters, but fortunately for the prince, he was old and exhausted, agreeing not to devour him if he helped him overcome the waters. After that the young man came to the surface, being again attacked by the dog and having to kill him to defend himself. The prince, seeing the dog dead and having inhabited the snake and the crocodile, thought himself safe. However, while she was celebrating the snake came out of the dog's corpse and bit him, killing him with its venom just as predicted.

8. The death of Osiris

Probably one of the best known myths of Ancient Egypt is the murder of Osiris, the resurrection of him and the birth of Horus, which speak to us of family problems and fratricide as an instrument to achieve power, in addition to the conflict between order and chaos.

The myth tells us that Osiris was initially the governor of the territory of Egypt, being the eldest son of Nut and Geb. His brother Seth had great hatred and resentment, according to some versions, for having had relations with his partner Nephthys, and he decided to take his life. One day, at a party, Seth brought a coffin which the person who would fit in it would stay, only Osiris being the one who could fit inside. After entering the sarcophagus, Seth locked him up and threw him into the river, where he died.

Osiris's wife, Isis, set out to retrieve the body, to which Seth responded by dismembering it and separating the various parts of it. Seth, before the death of his brother, took power. Isis, with the help of other deities, managed to gather all or almost all the parts of the body of her husband and after mummifying him later she returned him to her life. After that she copulated with her husband, a union that would cause the birth of Horus. The return to life of Osiris would bring a change: he would go from being a god of life to being a deity linked to eternal life and the preservation and guidance of the dead in the afterlife.

Likewise, his son Horus and his brother Seth would also fight for the throne for years, with multiple conflicts in which both are injured and being the victor of these Horus, who would obtain the legacy of his dad.

9. The legend of the origin of the Egyptian calendar

The Egyptian civilization already had a calendar that consisted of a total of 365 days, which is the protagonist of another of the great Egyptian myths and legends that we are dealing with in this article.

Legend has it that in the beginning the years only consisted of 360 days. In a stage of creation when Ra ruled, his granddaughter Nut was predicted to have relations with Geb, something that according to the prophecy would result in a son who would take power away from him. The young woman was already pregnant, so in order to avoid it Ra cast a curse of Nut, in such a way that she could not have children any day of the year. The deity was desperate, but the god Thot came to his aid, who devised a method for him to do so.

Thot went to the moon god Jonsu, with whom he proceeded to play by betting time and the moonlight. Thot was winning multiple times, so throughout the game she managed to get enough time to create five days. These days, which were not part of the year, could be used by Nut to give birth to her children. And so the goddess was able to give birth to Osiris, Seth, Isis and Nephthys, of which Osiris would reach the position of his father.

10. The story of the eloquent peasant

There are also some legends or stories that speak to us from the point of view not of the deities and the pharaohs but of the common people and peasantry. One of them is the story of the eloquent peasant, a story that arose at the beginning of the Middle Kingdom.

Legend has it that there was once a poor, honest and hardworking peasant who lived with his family in the oasis of salt. Said peasant needed to travel often to sell different products, and in one of his trips to the market a lieutenant in the area warned her that he should not pass through his property. While both men discuss the animals that transported the goods eat food from the land of the lieutenant, who uses it as an excuse to keep the animals and merchandise that They carry.

Given this, the peasant went to the city of Heliopolis, where the representative of Pharaoh Rensi was seated at that time. There the peasant explained what had happened and protested energetically and eloquently against the corruption shown by the lieutenant. The way of expressing himself caught the attention of Rensi and the pharaoh, lengthening the case excessively with in order to obtain the maximum possible information from the man, as well as before the interest caused by his oratory.

Finally it was decided to do justice, causing his possessions to be returned to him and also that the lieutenant to be his slave and his belongings will also become the property of the farmer.

Bibliographic references:

• Albalat, D. (2006). The Egyptian civilization. Myths and legends. Jornades de Foment de la Investigació. Jaume I. University
• Armor, R.A. (2004). Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt. Editorial Alliance. Madrid Spain.