The Egyptian Books of the Dead and the Myth of Ra

Homework due Thursday, 8/13/09: Closely re-read the Myth of Ra

Class activities today: We looked at several images from the Egyptian Books of the Dead and other tomb paintings and discussed the different symbols and hieroglyphs that we recognized in them. The classes talked about the Egyptian view of the afterlife and speculated about connections between the artwork and spiritual beliefs. Many students were able to identify symbols they were already familiar with from previous explorations of Egyptian culture.

The classes broke into smaller groups to read and discuss "The Myth of Ra." Each group was instructed to come up with three questions about the myth. Some common questions included: - Why did Isis want to know Ra's secret name?

- Did Isis want to kill him?

- How did the humans make Ra angry?

- How could Ra travel through the body of Nut, the sky goddess?

- How was Ra created?

Activities for tomorrow: Read and discuss questions about the myth, practice pantomime, start working on writing simple myths.