BOOK VI - The Incarnation of the Aeons

© Copyright Zac Sawyer 2016

© Copyright Peter Crawford 2014

THE INCARNATION OF THE AEONS

The earlier we go back in time the easier it has been for non-material entities to take upon themselves 'physical' form, and effectively 'incarnate' on the earth plane.

The word aeon, (also spelled Æon) originally meant "life", "vital force" or "being", -  it is a Latin transliteration from the koine Greek word ὁ αἰών (ho aion), from the archaic αἰϝών (aiwon). The Æons are emanations of the ONE (see Cosmogenesis). 

The Æons task was to nurture sentient beings, who would eventually be able to develop the occult faculties which would enable them to obtain a complete, and permanent, vision of the Cosmos.
The material plane on which the Æons were required to work, however, had been corrupted by a powerful Æon, known subsequently as the Demiurge, who had acted against the Will of the One.
This was possible because the  Æons, and other entities, including the sentient physical being of the Earth plane, had been allowed the possibility of free will - being able to choose their destinies.
Despite the corrupt nature of the Earth plane, however, the greatest of the Æons had formed, in their own spiritual likeness, a race of beings - known to themselves as the 'Noble Race'.

The Aeons, anxious to assist the 'noble race', incarnated through a 'gateway in the stars'.
They appeared in the Nile Valley which they considered the most suitable area for the development of a stable and settled culture.

At that time the climate in Egypt ('the land of Kem' as the area was later known) was far more equitable than it was in later times, with abundant grassland and moderate rainfall.

The Egyptians were, understandably, overawed by the presence of the Aeons who, even in human form, were viewed as 'superhuman' and referred to as 'Neteru'.

Neteru

The Egyptian nṯr, has been loosely translated as "god", and its feminine form nṯrt, "goddess".

Scholars have tried to discern the original nature of the gods by proposing etymologies for these words, but none of these suggestions has gained acceptance, and the terms' origin remains obscure. The hieroglyphs that were used as ideograms and determinatives in writing these words show some of the characteristics that the Egyptians connected with divinity. The most common of these signs is a flag flying from a pole; similar objects were placed at the entrances of temples, representing the presence of a deity, throughout ancient Egyptian history. Other such hieroglyphs include a falcon, reminiscent of several early gods who were depicted as falcons, and a seated male or female deity. The feminine form could also be written with an egg as determinative, connecting goddesses with creation and birth, or with a cobra, reflecting the use of the cobra to depict many female deities.
The ancient Egyptians distinguished nṯrw, "gods", from rmṯ, "people", but the meanings of the Egyptian and the English terms do not match perfectly. The term nṯr may have applied to any being that was in some way outside the sphere of everyday life. Deceased humans were called also nṯr because they were considered to be like the 'gods', whereas the term was rarely applied to many of Egypt's lesser supernatural beings, which modern scholars often refer to as "demons".

Confronting these blurred distinctions between gods and other beings, scholars have proposed various definitions of a "deity". One widely accepted definition says that a deity has a cult, is involved in some aspect of the universe, and is described in mythology or other forms of written tradition. According to a different definition nṯr can be applied to any being that was the focus of ritual. From this perspective, the "gods" included the king, who was called a 'god' after his coronation rites, and deceased souls, who entered the divine realm through funeral ceremonies. Likewise, the pre-eminence of the great 'gods' was maintained by the ritual devotion that was performed for them across Egypt.

Various Æons taught the Egyptians many cultural and technological skills, and tried to reveal to them certain teachings relating to the occult sciences - however, as time passed many of these teaching became misinterpreted and corrupted.

Evidence of the teachings of the Æons may be found in various Ancient Egyptian texts, including 'The Pyramid Texts', 'The Book of Pylons' (also known as the 'Book of Gates'), and the 'Book of the Dead' (more correctly known as "Book of Coming Forth by Day").

for more information about Egyptian texts click below

THE BOOKS OF ANCIENT EGYPT

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Icarnated Æons possess terrible superhuman powers.
They had the appearance and sensation of transcendent health and vigor, and it was difficult for a sentient, material being, even though advanced in occultism, to support the presence of an Æon for any length of time.

Funeral of the Apis Bull,

The incarnated Æons also invoked in those sentient, material beings who had any connection with them various psychic phenomena, including theomorphic and zoomorphic halucinations.
Such hallucinations were responsible for the representations of the Neteru (Æons) as animal forms, or human forms with animal heads.

After the Æons ended their direct association with the culture of Ancient Egypt, the ancient Egyptians developed animal centered cults related to their misapprehension, and their fading memories of the the Æons.
These cults included the cult of the Apis Bull, the Mnevis Bull, and cults relating to cats (Bast), crocodiles (Sobek), scarab beetle (Khepri), lions (Sekhmet), the ibis and baboon (Thoth), Falcons (Horus), and many others.

THE AEON RA

© Copyright Peter Crawford

The Æon that the ancient Egyptians called Ra was seen as a solar deity.
By the Fifth Dynasty this Æon had become a major god in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the midday sun.
The meaning of the name is a variant of words meaning 'creative power' and 'creator'.
The major cult centre of Ra was Heliopolis (called "Place of Pillars", in Egyptian), where he was identified with the local 'sun-god' Atum.
In later Egyptian dynastic times, Ra was merged with the 'god' (Aeon) Horus, as Re-Horakhty ("Ra, who is Horus of the Two Horizons").
He was believed by the Egyptians to rule in all parts of the created world the sky, the earth, and the underworld.
He was associated with the falcon or hawk.
When in the New Kingdom, the concept of the 'god' Amun (the hidden, ineffable ONE) rose to prominence he was fused with Ra as Amun-Ra.
The cult of the Mnevis bull, an embodiment of Ra, had its centre in Heliopolis and there was a formal burial ground for the sacrificed bulls north of the city.
The Egyptians eroneously believed that all forms of life had been created by Ra, who called each of them into existence by speaking their secret names.
To the ancient Egyptians, the sun represented light, warmth, and growth.
This made the sun 'deity' very important, as the sun was seen as the ruler of all that he created.
The sun disk was either seen as the body or eye of Ra.

The Æon Ra

The Æon Ra was thought by the ancient Egyptians to travel on two solar boats called the Mandjet (the Boat of Millions of Years), or morning boat, and the Mesektet, or evening boat.
These boats were believed to take him on his journey through the sky and the celestial Duat.
While Ra was on the Mesektet, he was in his zoomorphic ram-headed form.
When the Aeon Ra travelled in his sun boat he was believed to be accompanied by various other 'deities' (archons) including Sia (perception) and Hu (command) as well as Heka (magic power).

The Mesektet or Night Boat

Apophis, the 'god' of chaos, (an incarnation of the demiurge) was seen as an enormous serpent, who was believed to attempt to stop the sun boat's journey every night by consuming it or by stopping it in its tracks with a hypnotic stare.
During the evening, the ancient Egyptians believed that Ra set as Atum, or in the zoomorphic form of a ram.
The Mesektet, or the Night boat, would carry him through the underworld and back towards the east in preparation for his rebirth.
These myths of Ra represented the sun rising as the rebirth of the sun by the sky 'goddess' Nuit; thus attributing the concept of rebirth and renewal to Ra and strengthening his role as a creator god as well.
When Ra was in the underworld, he was believed to merged with the Aeon Osiris, the 'god' of the dead, and through it became the 'god' of the dead as well.

The Æon Ra
© Copyright Peter Crawford

The Aeon Ra was represented in a variety of forms by the ancient Egyptians.
The most usual form was a man with the head of a hawk and a solar disk on top and a coiled serpent around the disk.
Other common forms are a man with the head of a beetle (in his form as Khepri), or a man with the head of a ram.
He was most commonly featured with a ram's head in the Duat.
In this form, Ra is described as being the "ram of the west".
In some ancient literature, Ra is described as a king with golden flesh, silver bones, and hair of lapis lazuli - which is a reference to the great Æon's original incarnated form.
At the time of the New Kingdom, the worship of Ra had became more complicated and grander.

The Æon Ra

The walls of tombs were dedicated to extremely detailed texts that depicted Ra's journey through the underworld.
Ra was said by the ancient Egyptians to carry the prayers and blessings of the living with the souls of the dead on the sun boat.
Many acts of worship included hymns, prayers, and spells to help Ra and the sun boat overcome Apophis.
The rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire put an end to the worship of Ra by the ancient Egyptians, and as Ra's popularity died out, the study of Ra became of purely academic interest even among the ancient Egyptian priests.
The Æon Ra, however, had withdrawn from the material plane long before the foundation of Rome - or even the establishment of the Old Kingdom in Egypt.

THE ÆON THOTH

The great Aeon Thoth, himself, was considered by the ancient Egyptians to be one of the most important 'deities' of their pantheon.

In their art, the Aeon Thoth was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him.

The Aeon Seshat

Was Sceptre
© Copyright Peter Crawford

Thoth is almost always shown holding a Was Sceptre, which was the emblem of the incarnated Æons (a wand or rod symbolizing power) in one hand, and an Ankh (the key of the Nile symbolizing life) in the other hand.

The Was ("power, dominion") Sceptre is a symbol that appeared often in relics, art, and hieroglyphics associated with the ancient Egyptian religion. It appears as a stylized animal head at the top of a long, straight staff with a forked end. Was sceptres were used as symbols of power or dominion, and were associated with the 'gods', as well as with the pharaoh. In later use, it was a symbol of control over the force of chaos that Set represented.
In a funerary context the Was Sceptre was responsible for the well-being of the deceased, and was thus sometimes included in the tomb equipment or in the decoration of the tomb or coffin. The sceptre is also considered an amulet. The Egyptians perceived the sky as being supported on four pillars, which could have the shape of was sceptres. 
Was Sceptres were depicted as being carried by 'gods', pharaohs, and priests. They commonly occur in paintings, drawings, and carvings of gods, and often parallel with emblems such as the ankh and the djed-pillar. Remnants of real was sceptres have been found, constructed of faience or wood.
The was (wꜣs) is also the Egyptian hieroglyphic character that stands for a word meaning power.

Thoth's feminine counterpart was Æon Seshat, and this Æon was closely associated Ma'at.

Seshat was the Ancient Egyptian goddess of wisdom, knowledge, and writing. She was seen as a scribe and record keeper, and her name means she who is the scribe. She also became identified as the goddess of architecture, astrology, building, and surveying. Mistress of the House of Books is another title for Seshat, being the deity whose priests oversaw the library in which scrolls of the most important knowledge were assembled and spells were preserved. She is also, very significantly, described as the goddess of history.

The Æon Thoth gave to the ancient Egyptians the arts of magic, the system of writing, the concept and fundementals of science,  and the physical and moral (i.e. Divine) law

The ancient Egyptians also associated the Æon Thoth with the moon.

The ancient Egyptians also credited the Æon Thoth as the author of all works of science, religion, philosophy, and magic, and the ancient Greeks further declared him the inventor of astronomy, astrology, the science of numbers, mathematics, geometry, land surveying, medicine, botany, theology, civilized government, the alphabet, reading, writing, and oratory. They further claimed he was the true author of every work of every branch of knowledge, human and divine.

The ancient Egyptians gave the Æon Thoth many titles, including "Scribe of Ma'at (see below) in the Company of the gods (Neteru)," "Lord of Ma'at," "Lord of Divine Words," the Great god (Neter) in the Temple of Abtiti," "Twice Great," "Thrice Great, "Three Times Great," and also "The Timeless"

Maat or ma'at (thought to have been pronounced *[muʔ.ʕat]), also spelled māt or mayet, was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also personified as a 'goddess' (Æon) regulating the stars, seasons, and the actions of both mortals and the neteru, who set the order of the universe from chaos at the moment of creation. The earliest surviving records indicating Maat is the norm for nature and society, in this world and the next, were recorded during the Old Kingdom, the earliest substantial surviving examples being found in the Pyramid Texts of Unas (ca. 2375 BCE and 2345 BCE). Later, as a goddess in other traditions of the Egyptian pantheon, where most goddesses were paired with a male aspect, her masculine counterpart was the ÆonThoth, and their attributes are the same. After the rise of the Æon Ra they were depicted together in the Solar Barque. After her role in creation and continuously preventing the universe from returning to chaos, her primary role in Egyptian mythology dealt with the weighing of souls that took place in the underworld, Duat. Her feather was the measure that determined whether the souls (considered to reside in the heart) of the departed would reach the paradise of afterlife successfully. Pharaohs are often depicted with the emblems of Maat to emphasise their role in upholding the laws of the Creator.

THE ÆON HORUS

The Aeon Horus

Horus the Falcon
© Copyright Peter Crawford

The Æon who had the greatest influence over ancient Egyptian was the Aeon whom the Egyptians called Horus, in hieroglyphic form ḥr.w; meaning "falcon".

Additional meanings include "the distant one" (a most suitable name for all the Aeons) or "one who is above".

The Greeks called the Aeon Horus Ὧρος Hōros.

This Aeon, wishing to extend his influence over the Egyptian people, taught that new incarnations of Horus succeeded the deceased Pharaoh on earth in the form of new Pharaohs.

Cleopatra on the Horus Throne

The Aeon Horus
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In reality the Aeon, during what was termed the Old Kingdom, guided the Pharaohs, who were permitted to 'channel' some of the wisdom of the great Aeon - and this accounts for the 'Pyramid Texts', and the superior culture and civilisation of the Old Kingdom when compared to later periods of Egyptian history.

It is from this fact that the Egyptians developed the concept of the 'Horus Throne', meaning the throne of the Pharaohs - the throne of Egypt - a conceit that lasted until the end of the Ptolomies.

The Wedjat
© Copyright Peter Crawford

The Eye of Horus is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and royal power granted by the Neteru, and in particular the Aeon Horus.

In the Egyptian language, the word for this symbol was "Wedjat".

Horus was also said to be a god of war and hunting.

The Horus falcon is shown upon a standard on the predynastic Hunters Palette in the "lion hunt".

Thus he became a symbol of majesty and power as well as the model of the Pharaohs, and the Pharaohs were said to be Horus in human form.

Horus is also a pre-eminently celestial Neter - both solar and lunar - although the solar aspect predominates.

THE ÆON ISIS

The Aeons Isis and Horus

The Æon Isis (Ancient Greek: Ἶσις, original Egyptian pronunciation more likely Aset) is a neter incarnated in female form represented in Ancient Egyptian religious beliefs, whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world.

She was worshipped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the patroness of nature and magic.

The Aeon Isis Enthroned 

Isis was often depicted as the mother of Horus, the hawk-headed god of war and protection.

Isis was also known as protector of the dead and 'goddess' of children.

The Aeon Isis 
© Copyright Peter Crawford

Significantly, he name Isis means "Throne".

Her headdress is a throne.

As the personification of the throne, she was an important representation of the Egyptian Pharaoh's power.

The Pharaoh was depicted as her child, who sat on the throne she provided.

Her cult was popular throughout Egypt, but her most important temples were at Behbeit El-Hagar in the Nile delta, and, beginning in the reign with Nectanebo I (380–362 BCE), on the island of Philae in Upper Egypt.

The Hieroglyph of Isis
© Copyright Peter Crawford

In the typical form of her myth, Isis was the first daughter of Geb, god of the Earth, and Nut, goddess of the Sky, and she was born on the fourth intercalary day.

She married her brother, Osiris, and she conceived Horus with him.

Isis was instrumental in the resurrection of Osiris.

The Egyptian myths realting to  Isis became very important during the Greco-Roman period. For example it was believed that the Nile River flooded every year because of the tears of sorrow which Isis wept for Osiris.

Osiris's death and rebirth was relived each year through rituals.

Hellenistic Isis

The worship of Isis eventually spread throughout the Hellenistic and Greco-Roman world, continuing until the suppression of paganism in the Christian era.

The popular motif of Isis suckling her son Horus, however, lived on in a Christianized context as the popular image of Mary suckling the infant son Jesus from the fifth century onward.

When the cult of Isis became widespread temples to Isis began to be built outside of Egypt.

In many locations, devotees of Isis considered the local goddess to be Isis, but under a different name.

Thus other Mediterranean goddesses, such as Demeter, Astarte, and Aphrodite, were identified with her.

Throughout the Greco-Roman world, the cult of Isis became one of the most significant of the mystery religions, and many classical writers refer to her temples, cults, and rites.

During the formative centuries of Christianity, the religion of Isis drew converts from every corner of the Roman Empire.

In Italy itself, Egyptian religion was an important force.

At Pompeii, archaeological evidence reveals that the cult of Isis was prominent.

In Rome, temples were built and obelisks erected in her honour.

In Greece, traditional centres of worship in Delos, Delphi, Eleusis and Athens were taken over by followers of Isis, and this occurred in northern Greece as well.

Harbours of Isis were to be found on the Arabian Sea and the Black Sea.

Inscriptions show followers in Gaul, Spain, Pannonia, Germany, Arabia, Asia Minor, Portugal and many shrines even in Britain.

Serapis

Harpocrates

Temples to Isis were built in Iraq, Greece and Rome, with a well preserved example discovered in Pompeii.

On the Greek island of Delos a Doric Temple of Isis was built on a high over-looking hill at the beginning of the Roman period to venerate the familiar trinity of Isis, the Alexandrian ''manufactured god' Serapis, and the Harpocrates (a form of the Æon Horus).

The creation of this temple is significant as Delos is particularly known as the birthplace of the Greek gods Artemis and Apollo who had temples of their own on the island long before the temple to Isis was built.

The cult of Isis and Osiris continued up until the 6th century CE on the island of Philae in Upper Nile. The Theodosian decree (in about 380 CE) to destroy all pagan temples was not enforced there until the time of Justinian. This toleration was due to an old treaty made between the Blemyes-Nobadae and Diocletian.

Temple of Isis - Philae
© Copyright Peter Crawford

The Aeon Isis 
© Copyright Peter Crawford

Every year they visited Elephantine and at certain intervals took the image of Isis up river to the land of the Blemyes for oracular purposes before returning it.

Justinian sent Narses to destroy the sanctuaries, with the priests being arrested and the divine images taken to Constantinople.

Philae was the last of the ancient Egyptian temples to be closed.

Little information on Egyptian rituals for Isis survives; however, it is clear there were both priests and priestesses officiating at her cult throughout its history.

By the Greco-Roman era, many of them were considered healers, and were said to have other special powers, including dream interpretation and the ability to control the weather, which they did by braiding or not combing their hair.

The latter was believed because the Egyptians considered knots to have magical powers.

The Incarnated Aeon Isis

In art, originally Isis was pictured as a woman wearing a long sheath dress and crowned with the hieroglyphic sign for a throne.

After she assimilated many of the roles of Hathor, Isis's headdress was replaced with that of Hathor: the horns of a cow on her head, with the solar disk between them.

Usually, however, she was depicted with her young child, Horus (the Pharaoh , with a crown, and a vulture.

Most often Isis is seen holding only the generic ankh sign and a simple staff, but in late images she is seen sometimes with items usually associated only with Hathor, the sacred sistrum rattle and the fertility-bearing menat necklace.

In 'The Book of Coming Forth By Day' Isis is depicted standing on the prow of the Solar Barque with her arms outstretched.

Plutarch, a Greek scholar who lived from 46 CE to 120 CE, wrote Isis and Osiris, which is considered a main source about the very late myths about Isis

In it he writes of Isis, describing her as: "a goddess exceptionally wise and a lover of wisdom, to whom, as her name at least seems to indicate, knowledge and understanding are in the highest degree appropriate..." and that the statue of isis in Sais carried the inscription "I am all that has been, and is, and shall be, and my robe no mortal has yet uncovered." - which is a suitable inscription for all the great Aeons.

The Roman writer Apuleius recorded aspects of the cult of Isis in the 2nd century CE in his book 'The Golden Ass'.

He gives the mighty Æon the following statements:

'I am nature, the universal Mother, mistress of all the elements, primordial child of time, sovereign of all things spiritual, queen of the dead, queen of the ocean, queen also of the immortals, the single manifestation of all gods and goddesses that are, my nod governs the shining heights of Heavens, the wholesome sea breezes. Though I am worshipped in many aspects, known by countless names ... some know me as Juno, some as Bellona ... the Egyptians who excel in ancient learning and worship call me by my true name...Queen Isis.'

After the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, and the Hellenization of the Egyptian culture initiated by Ptolemy I Soter, Isis eventually became known as 'Queen of Heaven'.

THE ARCHON SETH

Set or Seth was the incarnated δημιουργός ( Archon Demiurge), whom the Jews later called 'Yaweh'.

The Demiurge

Incarnated as Seth

His purpose was the disrupt the work of he Aeons.

The Ancient Egyptians, not understanding the differentiation between the Aeons and the Archon Demiurge believed the Archon to be a god of the desert, storms, and foreigners.

In later myths he was also the god of darkness, and chaos.

In Ancient Greek, the god's name was given as Seth.

In Egyptian mythology, Seth is portrayed as the usurper who killed and mutilated the Aeon Osiris. Osiris' wife, the Aeon Isis, reassembled Osiris' corpse and embalmed him.

The Aeon Horus sought revenge upon Set, and the myths describe their conflicts.

The death of Osiris and the battle between Horus and Set is a popular theme in Egyptian mythology. Set's female personification was Nepthys.

The myth of Set's conflict with Horus, Osiris, and Isis appears in many Egyptian sources, including the 'Pyramid Texts', the 'Coffin Texts' (Book of the Dead), the Shabaka Stone, inscriptions on the walls of the temple of Horus at Edfu, and various papyrus sources.

The Chester Beatty Papyrus No. 1 contains the legend known as 'The Contendings of Horus and Set'. Classical authors also recorded the story, notably Plutarch's 'De Iside et Osiride'. These myths generally portray Osiris as a 'wise god', king, and bringer of civilization, ruling with Isis.

Set was envious of Osiris, and killed and dismembered Osiris. Isis reassembled Osiris' corpse and embalmed him

The Æon Osiris

As the archetypal mummy, Osiris reigned over the Duat as a king among the spirits of the dead. Osiris' son the Æon Horus was conceived and incarnated by Isis with Osiris' corpse.

Horus naturally became the enemy of Set, and the myths describe their conflicts.

It has also been suggested that the myth may reflect historical events.

According to the 'Shabaka Stone', the Aeon Geb divided Egypt into two halves, giving Upper Egypt (the desert south) to Seth and Lower Egypt (the region of the delta in the north) to Horus, in order to end their feud, however, according to the stone, in a later judgement Geb gave all Egypt to Horus.

The Pyramid Texts present the Pharaoh as a 'fusion' of the two entities.

Evidently, Pharaohs believed that they balanced and reconciled competing cosmic principles. Eventually the 'dual-god' Horus-Set appeared, combining features of both entities (as was common in Egyptian theology, the most familiar example being the Æons Amun and Ra becoming Amun-Ra).

Later Egyptians interpreted the myth of the conflict between Set and Osiris/Horus as an analogy for the struggle between the desert (represented by Set) and the fertilizing floods of the Nile (Osiris/Horus).

During the Second Intermediate Period, a group of Semetic foreign chiefs, known as the Hyksos (literally, "rulers of foreign lands"), gained the ruler-ship of Egypt, and ruled the Nile Delta, from the city of Avaris.

Not surprisingly they chose Set, originally Upper Egypt's chief 'god', the 'god' of foreigners (Semitic mixed-race groups) and the 'god' they found most similar to their own chief 'god' (the Demiurge), as their patron, and so Seth became worshiped as the chief 'god' once again.

Hyksos King Apophis 

The Hyksos King Apophis worshipped Seth in a monolatric manner: "He chose for his Lord the god Seth. He didn't worship any other deity in the whole land except Seth."

When Ahmose I overthrew the Semetic Hyksos, and expelled them from Egypt, Egyptian attitudes towards Asiatic foreigners changed, and royal propaganda discredited the period of Hyksos rule.

The founder of the nineteenth dynasty, Ramesses I came from a military family from Avaris with strong ties to the priesthood of Seth. Several of the Ramesside kings were named for Seth, most notably Seti I (literally, "man of Set") and Setnakht (literally, "Set is strong").

 Ramesses II

In addition, one of the garrisons of Ramesses II held Set as its patron deity, and Ramesses II erected the so-called 'Four Hundred Years' Stele' at the city of Pi-Ramesses, commemorating the 400 year anniversary of the Seth cult in the Delta.

Seth also became associated with foreign 'gods' during the New Kingdom, particularly in the Delta.

Seth was also identified by the Egyptians with the Semetic Hittite deity Teshub, who was a storm 'god' like Seht.Set, who had traditionally been the 'god' of foreigners, thus also became associated with foreign oppressors, including the Semetic Assyrian and Persian empires.

It was during the time that Seht was particularly vilified, and his defeat by Horus widely celebrated.

Set was the killer of Osiris, having hacked Osiris' body into pieces and dispersed it so that he could not be resurrected.

The Greeks later linked Seth with Typhon, because both were evil forces, storm deities, and sons of the Earth that attacked the main 'gods'.

THE EGYPTIAN 'GOD' AMUN

Egyptian God Ammon

The incarnated Æons taught the rulers of the Egyptian state about the existence and nature of the ONE.
The later Pharaohs and priests, long after the Æons had departed, reinterpreted the teaching of the Æons, and these teaching became inevitably corrupted.
Amun (Ammon - Greek Ἄμμων Ammon) was a corruption of the concept of the ONE which originated in the Egyptian city of Thebes.
With the 11th dynasty (ca. 21st century BC), the neter Amun rose to the position of patron deity of Thebes, replacing the neter Monthu.
After the rebellion of Thebes against the Semitic Hyksos, and with the rule of Ahmose I, Amun acquired national importance, expressed in his fusion with the Sun god, Ra, as Amun-Ra.
Amun-Ra retained chief importance in the Egyptian pantheon throughout the New Kingdom (with the exception of the "Atenist heresy" under Akhenaten).

Temple of Amon - Luxor

Amun-Ra in this period (16th to 11th centuries BC) held the position of transcendental, self-created creator deity "par excellence".
His position as 'King of Gods' developed to the point of virtual monotheism where other 'gods' became manifestations of him.
With Osiris, Amun-Ra is the most widely recorded of the Egyptian 'gods'.
As the chief 'deity' of the Egyptian Empire, Amun-Ra also came to be worshipped outside of Egypt, in Ancient Libya and Nubia, and as Zeus-Ammon came to be identified with Zeus in Ancient Greece.

Amun is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts. Amun represented the primordial concept or element of air or invisibility, and hence the name Amun (written imn), meaning "hidden" - which, of course, is one of the primary characteristics of the ineffable ONE.

In areas outside of Egypt, where the Egyptians had previously brought the cult of Amun, his worship continued into Classical Antiquity.

In Nubia he remained a national deity, with his priests, regulating the whole government of the country via an oracle, choosing the ruler, and directing military expeditions.

Greek God Ammon

In Libya there remained a solitary oracle of Amun in the Libyan Desert at the oasis of Siwa.

The worship of Ammon was introduced into Greece at an early period, probably through the medium of the Greek colony in Cyrene, which must have formed a connection with the great oracle of Ammon in the Oasis soon after its establishment.

Ammon had a temple and a statue, the gift of Pindar (d. 443 BC at Thebes in Greece), and another at Sparta, the inhabitants of which, as Pausanias says, consulted the oracle of Ammon in Libya from early times more than the other Greeks.

Alexander the Great
wearing the Rams Horns of Ammon

At Aphytis, Chalcidice, Ammon was worshipped, from the time of Lysander (d. 395 BC), as zealously as in Ammonium.

Pindar the poet honoured the god with a hymn.

At Megalopolis the god was represented with the head of a ram (Paus. viii.32 § 1), and the Greeks of Cyrenaica dedicated at Delphi a chariot with a statue of Ammon.

Goa'uld System Lords
© Copyright Peter Crawford

Such was its reputation among the Classical Greeks that Alexander the Great journeyed to the Siwa oasis, after the battle of Issus and during his occupation of Egypt, where he was declared "the son of Amun" by the oracle.

Alexander thereafter considered himself divine.

Even during this occupation, Amun, identified by these Greeks as a form of Zeus, continued to be the principal local deity of Thebes.

The worship of Amun, the 'hidden one', was the nearest that human sentient being have come to a true worship of the ineffable ONE.

There is no connection between the Æons and the fictional Goa'uld, as featured in the film and television series relating to Stargate. Both the Goa'uld and the Æons are taken to be 'gods' by those who come into contact with them, however, the Goa'uld's intention is to deceive and convince others that they are'gods', whereas the Æons are simply mistaken for 'gods'.

THE DEMIURGE IN EGYPT

© Copyright Peter Crawford

Eventually the Aeons left Egypt - but the people remained true to the 'gods'.

The Demiurge, however, was intent on 'corrupting' the Egyptian people.

 Amenhotep IV

He used dæmons to enter into members of the Egyptian aristocracy, including the family of the Pharaoh, including  Amenhotep IV.

Under the influence of the dæmons Amenhotep IV became convinced of the sovereignty of one 'god' - the Demiurge.

Of course the Demiurge refused to reveal his name - just as he did with the Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Therefore, Amenhotep referred to his 'new' 'god' as the 'disk of the sun' - which the Egyptians referred to as the Aten.

The full title of Akhenaten's god was "Ra-Horakhty who rejoices in the horizon, in his Name as the Light which is in the sun disc." (This is the title of the god as it appears on the numerous stelae which were placed to mark the boundaries of Akhenaten's new capital at Akhetaten, modern Amarna.) This lengthy name was often shortened to Ra-Horus-Aten or just Aten in many texts, but the god of Akhenaten raised to supremacy is considered a synthesis of very ancient gods viewed in a new and different way. The god is also considered to be both masculine and feminine simultaneously. All creation was thought to emanate from the god and to exist within the god. In particular, the god was not depicted in anthropomorphic (human) form, but as rays of light extending from the sun's disk.

Smenkhkare
(wrongly identified as Tutankhamun)

Smenkhkare

Initially he was prepared to allow the continuation of the sacred rites of the 'Neters', but later, under the influence of the Demiurge, he attempted to eliminate the recognition of all spiritual entities apart from the 'Aten'.

Eventually, Akhenaten became so obsessed with his supposed understanding of, and belief in his new 'god', that he left his royal capital, Thebes, and created a new capital in the desert that he named  Akhetaten (the Horizon Aten)

Akhenaten was not the only member of the dynasty who was affected by the Demiurge's attack.
After the end of the co-regency with Amenophis III, Akhenaten had a  co-regency with Smenkhkare (Living Image of Re), who was half-brother to Tutankhaten, and son of Amenophis III

Smenkhkare's rise to power came by marrying Akhenaten's oldest daughter, Meritaten.

He ruled alone between 1337 and 1336 BCE.

Howard Carter opens the
Tomb of  Tutankhamun

Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter
Luxor - West Bank

On the death of Smenkhkare, probably the best know Pharaoh in human history came to the throne, (best known because of the intact discovery of his tomb by the Egyptologist Howard Carter).

Howard Carter (9 May 1874 – 2 March 1939) was an English archaeologist and Egyptologist who became world famous after discovering the intact tomb of 14th-century BC Pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Biban al Maluk -  Valley of the Kings - on the West Bank at Thebes (Luxor) Egypt. On November 4, 1922, Howard Carter found steps that led to Tutankhamun's tomb (subsequently designated KV62) (the tomb that would be considered the best preserved and most intact pharaonic tomb ever found in the Valley of the Kings).

This was Tutankhaten (Living Image of Aten) - (later called Tutankhamun - Living Image of Amun), half brother to Smenkhkare.

Tutankhaten

Tutankhaten and the Aten

Tutankhamun was the son of Akhenaten (formerly Amenhotep IV) and one of Akhenaten's sisters.
He ascended to the throne in 1333 BC, at the age of nine, taking the throne name Nebkheperure.
When he became king, he married his half-sister, Ankhesenpaaten.
In his third regnal year, Tutankhamun was advised to revers several changes made during his father's reign.
The ban on the cult of Amun was lifted, and traditional privileges were restored to its priesthood.
The capital was moved back to Thebes, and the city of Akhetaten abandoned.
This is when he changed his name to Tutankhamun, "Living Image of Amun".
Tutankhamun initiated building projects, in particular at Thebes and Karnak, where he dedicated a temple to the 'god' Amun.
Many monuments were erected, and an inscription on his tomb door declares the king had "spent his life in fashioning the images of the 'gods'".
The traditional festivals were now celebrated again, including those related to the Apis Bull, Horemakhet, and Opet.
Always in poor health, Tutankhamun died at the age of nineteen as a result of complications resulting from an accident while riding in a chariot.

Pharaoh Ay

Despite his apparent restoration of the the 'gods', and in particular, Amon, Tutankhamun and his wife, and many members of his court (including Ay, his chief minister) stayed loyal to the Demiurge Aten.
This trend was continued when Ay came to the throne on the death of Tutankhamun,  by marrying Tutankhamun's widow, Ankhesenamun.
Ay held the throne of Egypt for a brief four-year period, although he was a close advisor to three of the Pharaohs who ruled before him, and was the power behind the throne during Tutankhamun's reign.
Ay's prenomen - Kheperkheperure - means "Everlasting are the Manifestations of Ra" while his birth name Ay it-netjer reads as 'Ay, Father of the God.'
Not taking a name including a reference to Amun, Ay continued to reverence the Demiurge Aten.

Pharaoh Horemheb

Pharaoh Horemheb

He was the last of the Demiurge's Pharaohs.

Horemheb (meaning Horus Rejoices) was the last Pharaoh of the 18th Dynasty, (ruling for 14 years).

He was not related to the preceding royal family, and was of common birth.

Before he became Pharaoh, Horemheb was the commander-in-chief of the army during the reigns of Tutankamun and Ay.

After his accession to the throne, he reformed the state, and it was under his reign that official action against the preceding Amarna rulers began.

Horemheb, because he was unrelated to the royal family, was able to finally break the power of the Aten, and return Egypt to the Æon 'Neters' - the ancient 'gods'.

Because the ancient Greeks were almost pure Aryan (Aryan being the Æon's 'noble race'), when the Æons chose to incarnate in Greece they met with greater success.

To the ancient Greeks the Æons appeared as normal human beings, but exhibiting a perfection a physical form.

The result, of course, was the flowering of Greek and Hellenic art, (which today is mainly preserved as sculpture as most Greek painting - apart from decorative pottery - has not survived)

To the early Greeks the Æons represented the spiritual powers underlying various forces and aspects of nature - for example Zeus as the storm, Poseidon as the sea and earthquake, Helios as the sun, Artemis as the moon.

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NEW

   

An 'adult' illustrated novel - the plot of which revolves around the prophecy about four Emperors and a slave-boy - given by the oracle of Apollo - the Cumeaen Sybiland the intervention of a 'servant of the Aeons' - Faunus - and his  feathered companion, the owl 'Glaux'

Written and illustrated by

Vittorio Carvelli

   

48 Chapters of the

'THE STORY of GRACCHVS'

have already been posted

please note this story features some scenes of explicit sexuality and extreme violence

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© Copyright Peter Crawford