Ra (Pronounced Rah) (Rê and later Amun-Ra; reconstructed as *ri:ʕu) is the ancient Egyptian sun god. He is a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion by the fifth dynasty. Identified primarily with the mid-day sun, though he was said to be the sun in one form or another at all times. The chief cult centre of Ra first was based in Heliopolis (ancient Inunu) meaning “City of the Sun”. In later Egyptian dynastic times, Ra was subsumed into the god Horus, as Re-Horakhty (and many variant spellings). He commanded sky, earth, and underworld. He was associated with the falcon. Pharaohs were considered to be the children of Ra.

According to E. A. Wallis Budge, he was the one god of Egyptian monotheism, of which all other deities were aspects, manifestations, phases, or forms. Ra itself, however, was also a monotheistic god. A Hymn to Rah (approx. 1370s BC) was written to stress the pantheistic nature of Rah to combat encroaching polytheism. In it, several deities are described, not as beings in their own right, but certain forms of Rah. For example:

“Praise be unto thee, O Ra, thou exalted Power, who dost enter into the habitations of Ament, behold [thy] body is Atum.”
“Praise be unto thee, O Ra, thou exalted Power, who dost enter into the hidden palace of Anubis, behold [thy] body is Khepera.”

Ra is most commonly pronounced ‘rah’. It is more likely, however, that it should be pronounced as ‘rei’, hence the alternative spelling Re rather than Rah. It is not known for sure what Ra’s name means, but it is thought it may be a variant of or linked to ‘creative’, if not an original word for ’sun’. As his cult arose in the Egyptian pantheon, Rah often replaces Atum as the father, grandfather and great-grandfather of the deities of the Ennead, and becomes the creator of the world. Ra then was seen to have created Sekhmet, who becomes Hathor, the cow goddess, after she has sufficiently punished mankind as an avenging Eye of Ra, and so he is often said to be the father of both and brother to the god, Osiris. Nearly all forms of life were supposedly created by Ra, who called each of them into existence by speaking their secret name. Eventually, humans were created from Ra’s tears or sweat, leading to the Egyptians calling themselves the “Cattle of Ra.”

Source: Wikipedia

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