Amon: Egyptian Mythology

Hercules was the child of Zeus and Alcmena, who was the wife of a well respected Greek warrior. Hera, Zeus's wife despised Hercules because he was living proof of her husband's infidelity. When he was a baby she sent snakes to kill Hercules, which because of his incredible strength he was able to strangle. Hera eventually drove Hercules insane and caused him to kill his family.

Osiris (shown above) the god of the afterlife, or underworld, Osiris was the King of Egypt, murdered by his brother Seth and then resurrected by his sister/ wife Isis as the king of the dead, a king from which every Egyptian hoped to join in the afterlife. Osiris was a god originally connected with fertility, he is known primarily through the story of his death, murdered by his brother Seth over the jealousy of his throne, and

Some Greek deities can also be identified with Egyptian ones, in particular the Greek Dionysus and the Egyptian Osiris. They both preside over fertility, in addition to their other duties. Another similarity is that they are both twice-born. Dionysus was born first from Semele’s womb and then later from Zeus's thigh. Osiris was the son of Geb and Nut and was resurrected by Isis after being murdered by Set. (Livingston, Greek and Egyptian Religious Parallels) Other Gods and Goddesses that are similar include Horus and Apollo, Isis and Demeter, Hathor and Aphrodite, Neith and Athena and Bast and Artemis. (FOOTNOTE GREEK AND EGYPTIAN RELIGIOUS PARALLELS) There appears to be an overlap between many deities in Greek and Egyptian mythologies.

Egyptian Mythology’s creation started with Nu, the dark and swirling chaos before time. Eventually, Atum rose from Nu and created a hill for himself to stand on. He had one eye that would see everything, but was very lonely. Soon after, Atum brought Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of mist and moisture into life. They gave birth to Geb, the earth, and Nut, the sky. Nut would give birth to the sun every night before sunset so the sun would shine through the day, and die at night.

Greek mythology has been passed on and retold over generations. Literature and movies have been created to entertain as well as provide specific themes based off of myths. There are many heroes that mythology talks about and each one has lived an epic life, but there is one famous hero that has been immortalized throughout history. Hercules is the son of Zeus and a mortal named Alcmene. Zeus impregnated her while her husband was away and this is where his story began. Zeus' wife, Hera, found out about the affair and was outrageous about his careless actions. She tried to prevent Hercules' birth; however, when that didn't work she sent snakes to kill the baby. Hercules was too mighty for the snakes and strangled them before they could even hurt him. As stated in this source, "Hera remained angry. How could she get even? Hera knew that she would lose in a fight, and that she wasn't powerful enough to prevent Zeus from having his way. Hera decided to pay Zeus back for his infidelity by making the rest of Hercules' life as miserable as she could" (Crane WEB). Hercules grew up to be a great young warrior and was all around. With this god-like strength, also came an uncontrollable temper that made him react at times without thinking, but later made him realize the wrongdoings of his violence. He later then married a woman named Megara and had two beautiful children. But one day, Hera instilled a fit of rage into Hercules and made him slaughter his family with his very own hands. He was shocked by his actions and asked Apollo for assistance since he was drowning in guilt. Apollo later then gave him specific tasks to help Hercules redeem himself for the bloodshed he caused. The hero was sent to Eurystheus, and under his strict hand, he was to accomplish twelve labors over the next twelve years.

Zeus was not faithful; Hera had a belligerence toward Zeus. She started a revolt against him and planned to kill him. She thought that she could strap him under a tree with some ropes and whip him. It seemed like the plan would work but it only became total chaos. Zeus came back, and punished Hera in a portentous way by hanging her and whipping her. He made her promise not to harm him again.

One day Hera, still wanting to wreak havoc upon Hercules’ life, influenced Hercules to kill his own wife and children. When Hercules came to his senses and realized what he had done, he was overcome with grief. He immediately went to the oracle at Delphi and asked how he could cleanse himself of his sins. The Oracle replied, “You must go to Mycenae and serve King Eurystheus for twelve years. Only by doing this will you ever be free of your pain and guilt” (Richardson and Baxter 10).

“The supreme deity of Greek mythology has his lusty, tempestuous story recast in engaging fashion by Stone”(ProQuest). Zeus was thought of as the father of gods and men. While he did not make them, he protected them, and therefore was considered a father to them. He ruled over the sky and air, and controlled everything that happened in his domains from his throne on Mount Olympus. To gain his throne, he overthrew his father, Cronos, with the help of his siblings, and then dividing up the realms between him and his two elder brothers. Zeus became lord of the sky and rain, Poseidon took the title lord of the sea, and Hades became ruler of the underworld. He then banished his father to the shadowy Tartarus in the underworld. Zeus was the most

The Ancient Egyptian were polytheistic most of the time, which means that they believed in multiple gods. When Akhenaten was pharaoh, the Egyptians were monotheistic, meaning they worshiped only one god. He ended the worship of other gods and claimed that Aten, the lord of all was the only god in Egypt. The Egyptians didn't like this idea, so on their own,

The Egyptian goddess Isis is one of the most imperative goddesses of ancient Egypt, and she stays one of the most famous goddesses of this era. Isis is most renowned for her character as dedicated wife and mother (Cashford & Baring, 1993). In the Osiris myth we can perceive the reckoning following this outline of thinking.

Hercules, or better known as Heracles, was a Greek demigod that is the Son of Zeus and a mortal woman that was named Alcmene. When he was an infant, Zeus's wife Hera was really jealous of Heracles, so she sent two snakes to kill him. She was unsuccessful however, as he enjoyed strangling the snakes to death with one in each arm. He grew to become proficient in the bow and arrow, became a great wrestler, and possess superhuman strength. He later married and had five children. But, Hera tried to strike Heracles with madness and was successful. While Heracles was full with madness, he killed his five children all at once, in one day. When he recovered from his madness, he ventured to Delphi to consult the Oracle. He ordered Heracles to serve

Religion influenced every aspect of the Egyptians life. The Egyptians had a polytheistic view which involved hundreds of various gods and goddesses. Osiris, the fertility god of the Nile, was the most prominent religious figure in ancient Egypt. Egyptians had a myth of fertility and life after death. The myth is that Osiris had been killed by his brother, Seth, who cut his body into pieces and put them all across Egypt. The widow of Osiris found all the pieces and put them in cloth; by doing this he was resurrected so he could father Horus, the Nile floods resumed, and vegetation revived. Because of this Osiris cult, Seth was considered the god of brutality and disorder, and that Osiris was the king of the deceased in the afterlife. It was

Amun-Re is often referred to as the most important and powerful god of Ancient Egypt. Amun-Re was the god of the sun. “Amun-Re is the main name of the sun god, but also has three different names in which describe the phases of life that Amun-Re goes through each day.”(Budge, Pg. 92) When examining the ancient Egyptian god Amun-Re, four main points must be understood, including: the origin of Amun-Re, the characteristics of Amun-Re, how Amun-Re was worshiped, and how Amun-Re impacted Egyptian life.

Hercules marries Megara later, after having proved himself an excellent warrior and she birthed him two daughters. Hera caused Hercules to go crazy, and he killed his wife and daughters. When Hercules finally came to his senses he was distraught, and went to King Eurypterus and requested punishment. King Eurypterus asked the gods to help him come up with a punishment, and Hera is the one that responded to his request.

Additionally, it is even more fascinating that not only do Greek Gods act like human; they also behave like humans: they could love, marry, produce children, and so on. However, there were problems, because although they were gods, they also were given weaknesses of humans, such as jealously, enviousness, spite, et cetera, which created immense problems by the fact that they were Gods with extreme power. Therefore, whenever they act upon hatred, much of their acts were very cruel and inhumane. Moreover, because there was such a large society of Gods, much of the Gods lives were shrouded in chaos and revenge. For instance, as described in the book Myth and Meaning, Hera was attributed towards the peacock for her ego-centric nature towards herself. She, like a peacock, tried to prove to Zeus, her husband, that she was the fairest woman in the land. Zeus, however, preferred to steal away and fantasize with other women. Then Hera, out of jealousy, who could not punish the most powerful God, instead inflicted it against Zeus’ lovers. All in all, Greek Gods and Goddesses look and act like humans would.