Egyptian mythology centers on maat, the cosmic balance the gods worked to preserve against chaos. The sun god Ra sailed his solar barque across the sky each day and battled the serpent of darkness each night, embodying the eternal renewal that defined Egyptian belief.
The grandest story belongs to Osiris, the king murdered by his jealous brother and restored by his devoted wife to reign over the dead. From this myth came Egypt's promise of resurrection and its deep concern with proper burial and judgment in the afterlife.
These deities and their kin belong to the Ennead, the founding pantheon of Heliopolis whose generations link sky and earth to the gods of kingship and the tomb.
