Framed into the water of chaos, the beginning was nothing but just darkness engulfing every space available. The world was nothing but an infinite expanse of dark and engulfing waters named nun. The nun was personified as the four pairs of male and female deities, each of which represented one of the principles that characterized chaos namely, invisibility, infinity, directionless, and darkness. By an effort of himself was created the first god Atum, who was later majorly worshipped in the lower metropolis of Egypt. He was the one responsible for the introduction of order in the world and was also the creator of heavens and Earth which was seen as a sacred landscape that was visualized as a resonating structure along with the sky and was a representation of purity. As the lord of heavens and the Earth, he wears the double crown of upper and lower Egypt and also carries an ankh and scepter as pigmentation of royal authority. Atum was seen as the light brought in the world and thus is also known as the great sun god Ra being born from the egg which came to existence from nothing.
Ra went on to create two of his offspring Shu and Teftnut, who eventually went on to become each other’s consorts. Shu symbolized and represented dry air which could also be considered as a thick dry blanket of gases as depicted in Big bang theory while Teftnut represented moisture or the first water molecule to be formed. In some verses, Teftnut also represents wet corrosive air. The twins were to be thought of as two major principles of human lives: life and justice.
Shu and Teftnut had two children Geb and Nut, the personified gods of land and sky. When they were born, a prophecy had made its way that the twins shall bear the series of valiant children who shall throw Ra out of his reign and shall mark as the new beginning. Enraged by the prophecy, Ra ordered his children Shu and Teftnut to never let Geb and meet, and thus air takes its place between the land and sky. Geb is portrayed as dry land while Nut is portrayed as a woman with night sky and stars on her body. Also, Ra placed the curse on Geb, that she shall never be able to bear any children on any day in the year. Miserable with her tragedy, Geb approached the god of knowledge who was otherwise known to be born from the lips of Ra and also was a lover of Geb. Thoth was well versed that Ra’s decision once spoken could never be taken back, but there was no problem to which his knowledge could accept defeat. He then went to the moon god Khonsu, the offspring of Amun and Amaunet, two of the eight ogdoads, and challenged him to a contest at draughts. They went on playing rounds and rounds of the game and always Thoth won. The stakes grew higher and higher, but Khonsu risked the most, for it was some of his own light that he risked and was losing it.
At last, Khonsu was done with the game and refused to play anymore. Then Thoth the god of judgment and wisdom accumulated up the light which he had procured and made it into five extra days which were thereafter were set between the end of every ongoing year and the succeeding one. The year consisted of three hundred and sixty days before, but then after five days added, which were not included in any year, were afterward held and henceforth celebrated as days of the festival in old Skandia. But, since then, due to his defeat in the match with Thoth, Khonsu the moon has been deprived of enough light to shine throughout the month thus diminishes into darkness and then rejuvenates to his full glory again; for he had been trying to make up for the lost light needed to make five full days.
On the first day of these newly shaped, Osiris, the eldest son of Nut, came into life, and the second day was intended to be the birthday of Horus. On the third day the second son of Nut was born, Set, the lord of evil, who nevertheless creates ripples and family disruption in the future, but also as timely seen to be a defender in Ra’s boat throughout his journey through the day and night maintaining the Maát, the order and keeping Apophis the chaos personified as a snake in restraint. On the fourth day her daughter Isis first was welcomed to the world, who is known for the dedication of her love to her consort and a motherly figure, and her second daughter Nephthys consort to the Set but having a great bond with her sister eventually assists her on her journey was born on the fifth. In this way, the curse of Ra was both served and yet defeated, for the days on which Nut gave birth to her children belonged to no year. These new generations of gods went on to create their own reign and had their own tales of valiance, conspiracy, bravery, and infidelity.