sun boat

sun boat

sun boat It was a divine vehicle depicted in an early

cosmogonic myth, the mode by which the god RÉ, or

the sun itself, traveled through the sky into the realms

of night. The sun deity, whether personified as Ré or in

his original form, was thought to travel across the sky

on this vessel. Sometimes the boat or bark was shown

as a double raft. On his journey, Ré was accompanied

by the circumpolar stars or by his own double. Sometimes

he rowed the boat himself, sometimes he moved

by magic. Heka, MAGIC, accompanied the sun in most

myths.

The ENNEAD of Heliopolis was composed of gods

who also accompanied the sun in its daily journey. The

SOULS OF NEKHEN and the SOULS OF PE were mentioned

in some myths as riding in the vessel daily. In some

early depictions, the boat was a double serpent, its two

heads forming the prow and the bow. The sun boat had

many adventures during the day, and at night it faced all

the terrors of the darkness, when the dead rose up to

the vessel through the waters. When the sun was associated

with the cult of Ré, the boats were given specific

names.