Ancient Egyptian Cosmogony - The Origins of the Egyptians 

Are there any gods or myths in Egyptian mythology you would like to know more about?

I would love more material on Mesopotamia. I have heard so little about it, but it seems so important.

This channel has covered so many mythologies I didn’t even know about, so this video makes Egypt feel totally new.

Really been enjoying this series! Would you ever consider covering Uralic or Basque mythologies? I’m guessing they probably also have really old substrata that also show up in other mythologies (for example Asko Parpola’s suggestion that “asura” comes from a Uralic word meaning “lord”) that I’d be really fascinated to learn more about

Annual flooding of the Nile would drive denizens to primordial hills. The Nile had likely been inhabited by hominid ancestors for a million years.

Love your channel! Thanks for putting in the work so we can finally get the straight story.

Only a week or so ago, we were listening to Alice Coltrane's _Ptah, the El Daoud,_ a soothingly beautiful, spiritual album, and here you come today. Thanks for *your* inspiring work!

John I really love your videos, thank you for bringing actual scholarship to people who cannot actively study it via academia and work in the field. You're a hero!

So good! What I enjoy about these myths is that you get an idea of the collective human mind and imagination, and I think it can help aproximate a kind of truth about the meaning of it all. Thanks so much for this content!

So many creation myths in Egypt! Love it 👍

I'd love a video discussing the role of Apep in Egyptian mythology, and any possible provenance shared with chaos serpents in other mythologies. Are we apes just naturally afraid of snakes and that's why they keep appearing in these roles, or is there maybe some older tradition they all stem from?

Another vote for Basque. Mal'ta Buret culture and dogs would be nice, and any of their contacts with the Gravettians.

Excellent video, although there was one very common oversight. Upper and Lower Egypt were two very distinct cultures. They became more homogenized after The First Intermediate Period, but understanding the roots of these cultures is important to understanding differences in their mythology. The Upper Egyptians were most likely Africans moving due to the desertification of The Sahara. They were moving East and then traveled North along The Nile until they ran into The Lower Egyptians. As such, their roots were distinctly African and share the same roots as The Serer culture and religion. The Lower Egyptians came to the Nile Delta from The Levant. It's also likely that there was migration from Anatolia. So The Lower Egyptians would have had heavy Proto-Indo-European influences. These two groups would have also been genetically distinct. We see this in The Papyrus on Ani. His wife Tutu is depicted with light skin while Ani is depicted with dark skin. His funeral is depicted with both light and dark skinned mourners. So when talking about the genetics of The Ancient Egyptians, it's important to know which part of Egypt genetic samples were taken from.

The way you started, I thought you would find the answer would be 42!! Still, I enjoy your videos, they are very well researched and presented - shows good scholarship. Thank you. Looking forward to the next one!

Consider the depth of thought. The ogdoad is quantum foam. An abstract space of forces. Four male/female pairs. I think these pairs are also structured as opposition/complement. A sort of yin yang. Animating principles are anthropomorphized. Depictions use patterns in those, which might be significant. The raise of the Amun pair created a new pair: void. The raise of the Amun is a big bang. Physical reality unfolds. Then it's more problem solving. It must be a dung beetle that pushes the sun forward. Mechanism. They saw it happening; these creatures pushed balls (crap) (from which new life emerged (eggs in dung)). It should be noticed that humans could think of an empty space as an absolute beginning. Then they tried to formulate forces that created reality. It's physics. Sort of. It is not a crazy idea from far in the past. It is how we think today. At the moment of establishment of civilization the philosophy was quite advanced. Humans are apes and had deconstructed the universal principles back to zero, nothingness. Then a logic of continuation was applied: male/female pairs. Then it takes a lot of leaps. These fundamental constructions are interesting and funny. They worked with what they had. On top of a pyramid stands a benben stone. It refers to the first land on which the light rays are cast. At sunrise these peaks lit up first. That's why these pyramids are so big and precise. The creation of the universe. Every day.

I really enjoy your research and work, thank you for sharing with us

This is my new fav channel for falling asleep

Crecganford videos are the ONLY videos i save for the weekend like a reward. Your videos are amazing! I do a little jig when one comes out!

The separation of Earth and Sky is also pretty prevalent in Maori mythology with Rangi and Papa. How the myth made it all the way there must be quite the story ...

I'm sharing this with Jordan Peterson. Your narration is superb.

"... one that doesn't come from a fantasy world." 😂 Dr. White, could you do a video about the Pharoah Akhenaten? I've read articles in big magazines about him, with claims ranging from his monumental but short-lived influence on Egyptian culture, religion, and art, to readings of him as the first genuine monotheist, and wild claims of him as a historical inspiration for Moses or Abraham! Would you be interested in tracing the Pharoah's influences in myth and his revolution for Aten the One God? Would love to hear your perspective!!!

What a way to wake up!! This was great as always! Thank you, Jon!! You’re the man!!

Hope you will do more on Egyptian mythology. This was wonderful.

thank you for this video, It's awesome to learn about myths from around the world.

What strikes me first is the similarity to the Grecian myths detailing the generations of gods: Ouranos to Kronos to Zeus. And their various sub-gods and goddesses. I read somewhere that the importance of Gobekli Tepe is that it represents the moment in time when humanity first shifted from animal gods to human figures. The Egyptians carried a part of that ancient tradition with them in putting animal heads on human figures -- although this may have been an echo of the shamanic practice of wearing an animal skin or head during a ritual of penetrating the other world to receive visions or premonitions.

You are doing an excellent job. Really enjoy all your videos a lot 👏👏👏👌

Fascinating and excellent. Thank you.

Mesopotamia influencing culture of Egypt, including creation myth and pyramids - it's most revealing to me in this video. 🤷‍♂ Thank you, Crecganford.

Absolutely awesome…. I have had a thing about Thoth and Ra and eyes for such a long time and you are confirming my belief of who we are/were/can be as beings of love in alignment with nature and allowing for all possibilities that we work as a whole and that beauty and peace in action is possible whilst living in chaos and madness ❤ thank you

EXTREMELY BEAUTYFULL COSMOGONIC MYTHS FROM ANCIENT-EGYPT INDEED .THE LAST FROM PTAH-ONE ARE MOST FAVORITE TO ME!THANKS FOR THIS INFO, IT WAS VERY INTERESTING AGAIN.

You mentioned Ra rising from the lotus. Is this what is actually depicted in the famous 'Dendera Lightbulb' bass relief?

Awesome job thank you for all your information

Finally you are talking about the Ptah in the room!!! I have been wondering about that strange coincidence for some time now.

Thank you for one more fantastic video.

Need info on Thoth, everything about space & time. Might of discovered something.

Awesomeness!!

Grateful for your endeavors sir. This is the best I can do for now.

Egypt also had influence on mesopotamia too. Creation tales with Gods is egyptian too and brought to near east as well. 6000 years ago.

Hopefully you will cover Anubis he has always been my favorite Egyptian god if you haven't already. Keep up the good work.

My second semester of studying Egyptology (and Latin) starts tomorrow so it's perfect that I found this, really curious who this turns out. But judging from the other videos I watched, I'm sure it's gonna be great. :)

The earth and sky embraced each other closely, husband and wife, but were separated. Indonesia has a similar story, but adds that rain began as the tears of the sky, sad that she was separated from her husband. In some African myths they say the sky was low to the ground, so that men could reach up and take pieces of it. But it was taken away out of reach. The Bible says that rain did not exist at first. Then it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, and only after that did rainbows appear. Presumably the sky would have seemed much closer to the ground, if there had been a permanent layer of clouds that had never before been dissipated. The Flood was also the point at which the human lifespan was drastically decreased. Modern science says that the primary cause of aging is cellular damage from the sun's free radical radiation, which may have been filtered by the layer of clouds. Egyptian stories agree that those who lived before did not age and die like us. Where else could those gods continue to survive, and have longer lifespans, without direct sunlight and its radiation? In the underworld, the vast system of underground tunnels and chambers beneath the ancient cities. But maybe some people began to worship the sun, since the old gods were afraid of it.

Thanks!

On lunch break. Off this weekend and will catch up on all the videos I have missed with English Breakfast Tea

ty for the info.

Anciant Egypt, possibly my First love If a five year old can feel such a feeling

I named a place on a hexmap for a dnd setting Crecganford. It is a place people go to commune with spirits in search of truth and understanding. Many spells of divination can be cast there more easily and it is easier to commune with the spirits of forgotten lore. I know it may be silly. But I have used your videos as inspiration for creating mysterious lore for quite a while now and your work is far more important than that. But I enjoy your videos for many other reasons too

Been watching since the day, well done on you silver RU-vid button 💪

Thank you.

I think that these creation motifs are under-used in tracing human history. I had no idea about this area of study until this channel. Combined with archeology and genetics, it provides even more evidence in tracing humans throughout history.

When i studied mythology the egyptian creation myth in the text book was the one where creation is done through "self love" Where is that one from?

Thank you

Always love your content, Jon! Would love to hear you talk about why cats were so important to Egyptian religion. I saw a post about the first known named cat as "Nedjeh" (sweetie). Curious, me being a cat person. And I suppose conversely, were dogs revered?

I absolutely love your channel ❤

Thanks

This channel is excellent!

0:20: ! The secrets of ancient Egypt hold the key to the creation of life, the universe, and everything. 4:45: 🌍 The Egyptian creation myth begins with the reunion of Shu and Tefnout, leading to the birth of Geb and Nout, and the subsequent separation of earth and sky. 9:35: 🌅 The myth of the creation of Memphis involves Ptah, the first artisan, emerging from the primordial waters of chaos. 14:20: 🌞 The Heliopolitan myth describes the creation of the universe and the importance of solar theology. 19:09: 🔑 The myth of Thoth and the tradition of Ptah in ancient Egypt. 23:29: 🌊 The Enuma Elish and the Heliopolitan creation myth have similarities in the motif of the primordial waters and the formation of land. 28:22: 🌍 Ancient Egyptian beliefs about creation and the cosmos. Recap by Tammy AI

Beautiful stories, they feel true in some weird way.

I dropped some earlier comments. Amun and Bennu (phoenix) can be seen as one thing. It's a chicken or egg thing. That's the fundamental problem here. Something has to create the cosmic egg. The bird shrieks and Amun is the shrieker. The first sound. Then the egg in the ogdoad with its four m/f pairs, with Amun/Amunet. Then the egg breaks and a new reality emerges. It is the past, a golden age, but Amun/Amunet are at work, hidden in the background. Bennu has the quality of returning.

I wish they would go deeper. There has to be a way to get past the water levels at the Osirion for example. There is more down there I know it.

E-books I have read, free from Project Gutenberg: - Creation Stories: - Sir E. A. Wallis Budge - Legends of the Gods Chapter I (Seems close to the Heliopolitan relatef here.) Sir E. A. Wallis Budge - The Literature of the Ancient Egyptians Chapter VI General Stories: - W. M. Flinders Petrie - Egyptian Tales, Translated from the Papyri First series, IVth to XIIth dynasty W. M. Flinders Petrie - Egyptian Tales, Translated from the Papyri Second series, XVIIIth to XIXth dynasty

really good

I've read that the story of Marduk and Tiamat was relatively recent, to promote the dynasty in Babylon, which postdated Akkad and Sumer in Mesopotamia, and would have been written much later than Egyptian myths. Is there earlier evidence of Tiamat in earlier Mesopotamian traditions? I've read that Tiamat can refer to the sea but also a monster, so might it be related to serpent stories from Africa or India instead?

It's so interesting to see how similar these myths are in disparate regions. Isn't it time we all adopted the religion of love? We are all the same. These myths prove it.

The frustrating thing about mythology is that realization that you have started watching it 75% of the way through the movie, is some ways, and 99% of the way through in others. We see Mesopotamia and Egypt interacting before 4000 BC, but have almost no idea what their mythologies were before 2500 BC. We see evidence of a few gods, like An, Ninlil and Inanna pictograms existing in 3100 BC, but no idea what they represent or their mythologies. We have no creation stories from Mesopotamia before about 1100 BC. These Egyptian stories and their prehistoric interaction with Mesopotamia make me wonder if, like the Egyptian creation stories, An was originally a lone creator formed out of the formed from the waters of chaos and Ki, his consort, came later, or Ki, Ninlil and Ninmah all diverged from a single unknown mother goddess who came about later after An.

so he sneezes and names it Shu... like "AT-SHU!!" then he names boogers and mucus tefnutz. I mean, this is comedy gold.

You study the writings, but there is full off graphic descriptions in tombs and monuments. Its a hard work i know ...! Im trying but its my first video, it would be nice watch your version ! 👍

thank you for always addressing Graham Hancock as a joke

Oh my goodness!! I'd never heard this creation myth - but the way you tell it makes it feel personal! Like it must surely be my own! My old Scottish ancestors must have turned over in their graves! Thank you!! So magnificent! Dr. Fischer

And we get to the question who influenced Mesopotamians and their myths?

When I hear the beginning description of non I can't help but think of the universe before the Big Bang if you take the rest of the story imagery and not take it literally but more as a metaphor it sounded pretty much like the current mainstream theory of the Big Bang

Sounds like Early Egyptians origin story is a major volcanic eruption. I've always speculated the pyramids were made to represent mountains or volcanos. Kilimanjaro, Maru, and Monduli share similar spacing, but Kilimanjaro would have erupted 360,000 years ago so that seems unlikely.

In the beginning there was watery chaos and then the first land appeared called Punt in the shape of a pyramid.

Bennu (Earth diver) is an aspect not mentioned (in the myth of Heliopolis). This bird flies over the primordial waters and its call manifests the first phenomena. The benben (first land). We can see a relation in these names. Ben means manifest or placement. Bennu seems to mean repeatingly manifesting. Benben (double = emphasis) seems to mean very manifested. The later phoenix myth seems to have its root here (returning bird). We can find traces of Ptah being the creator of aspects of the ogdoad and ennead. Interesting aspect. I suspect that there was an attempt to fuse the several myths. Egypt seems to be a Mediterranean culture. There is a lot of fuzz about the blackness of Egypt. Recent DNA research seems to indicate that today's Egyptians have a stronger relation with sub Saharan Africa than the old Egyptians. Though Egyptians may have been African a.f., the cultural influences are dominated by the Levant, as is the DNA connection, which might have come from Egypt in a deep past. River deltas have always been the soil for cultural powerhouses. I think that the Nile was colonized from there after the Sahara became a desert, millennia before the development of Egypt. Where do myths come from? Certainly the deep ancient stories are being carried forward for a very long time. But Egypt is also a translation of that landscape. The life giving water cutting through the desert, from south to north. Egypt is great for study because of its weird isolation (though trade and connections of the ancients is generally underestimated). It brings an interesting clarity. Though this situation has also been a death trap. The drought in the first intermediate period was truly hell on earth. Complete decimation. This brutal suffering was an ultimate shock and disillusion. This too has shaped the ideas of forces and the perspectives on evil. In this sense Egypt was created several times.

23:35 obvious common origin of these stories is that the primordial being contains "T". How can this be accidental? I would even see (though it is a stretch) that Atum and Marduk shares the same origin as the Creator deity (soundwise I could imagine how one developed from another, or how both had the common origin). I would also see Marduk as a relative to Mars - pugnacious god of war.

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I would like to know who the Anunnaki were/are and what’s the book of Enki. Do you have anything on that topic?

I bet your kids absolutely adore your bedtime stories!!

Everyone went there to learn the esoteric knowledge of the universe

my personal believe is that COSTUME OF NIRVANA (to achieve by denial of pleasure and mummification process holiness with one, origin) have both bases of wester belief systems, first achieving after life with process of mummification than later achieving same with denial of pleasure.? So origin of both systems should be practice of both in one costume. And most interesting thing to me is that, "gods" worshiped people who achieved status of nirvana lived on Tallest MOUNTAINS so they fit in middle phase systems, in between, roughly speaking?

It's interesting the interactions of mythologies; The Ten plagues of the Torah's Exodus reflects the Ennead (9+Horus/Pharoah), effectively it's a tale of YHWH's defeat of the gods of Egypt. I wonder how other mythologies spoke of their conflict/interactions? I know the Greeks and Romans often just said that the other gods were simply other manefestations, yet Assyria seems to have seen them as figures to force into submission (although perhaps we don't have myths from there as the empire didn't last long?)

Jon: What's your opinion of the theories that the Pyramids (well, the Sphynx, at least) were built much earlier, at a time when the region still experienced a lot of rainfall? I kind hate that the Graham Hancock types have grabbed hold of that idea so hard, because at its core the arguments about the erosion patterns on the Sphynx seem to have some real merit, and I haven't heard any real rebuttal yet - mostly just experts waving the idea away and saying "No, you're wrong because we're authorities." Poor Graham - I've watched a few of his videos, and he can start out making a semi-convincing case, but then he just can't seem to help stumbling off into the weeds.

It's strange because we're in a time of technical change and the world changes fast. Has it always been thus?

The hermopolitan myth is the more atlantic one ;)

you bring up the term "At" for order really got me thinking of the Buddhist term Atman, like the word Buddha or enlightened ones something like that. Basically I'm just asking if you've seen any connections between the Egyptian and Buddhist histories?

The actualization of potential is Infinite and the potential for actualization is Infinite, because only Eternity can fully embrace Infinity. That which is, that is nothing in particular (actual), is by definition everything in general (potential).

For all that stuff in them sands, Id expect this subject to be a bit longer

Ptah was also associated with fire and metal, something he appears to have in common Yahweh.

So where's the part where they play magical card games

Ball lightening. You gotta look up Martin fleischmann memorial project

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I always thought it was Amun-Ra who cleaved the heavens from the earth. First time I'm hearing it was Atum-Ra.

Jon, to understand what you're saying. Atum is, "Adam". Nun is, "Night", as well as the word, "nothing", at the same time. Coughed is spoken, sneezed is like a bull, angry. I know over 100K words from Egyptian to coniform, the hieroglyphs are like baby writing. The wheat and barley are people, not food. Silver is a word that means, "good word of mouth", to have been/or be spoken highly of. So, like you said, he sneezed, I said which is like a bull, angry, which is to say that the Lion was created which caused moisture which is tears. The description of the divine deities are seasons of types of people, which the 1 created 2, the 2 created 4, the 4 created 8, and only doubles to 8. The main 4 are the 4 rivers, Lion, Lamb, Man and Eagle, sometimes known also as Lion, Unicorn, Man, and Serpent. These when combined are 12, 12 Elders, or 12 Seats, or 12 Cosmoses, or 12 Universes, or 12 thrones.

I appreciate very much the reduction of ai images 🙏

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Splendid...many thanks... already with the first three creations, it become obvious for me,how much was transferred into the bible... "GOD over the waters of NUN, speaking and making the sun..."... didnt know this, thanks for the wisdom you brought to me...thx

Interesting that a cough and a sneeze brings forth a couple gods, but tears bring forth numerous mortals 🤔

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Tefnut being moisture is an outdated belief. In modern egyptology she is more commonly associated with fire.

I believe you must like one russian author Vladimir Propp. His topic is fairy tails but what I like is his very scientific decomposition of fairy tails. So this author outlines a complex composition and multilayerness of fairy tails. And for sure written myth or a fairy tail of the later civilizations (e.g. Egypt) will inevitabley contain tons of later additions and missinterpretationen of certain old practics. On the other hand they contain information about their contemporaty system of believes.

Tell us about hathor