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====The Heliopolitan Creation Myth====

The third and probably the most important of all the Egyptian cosmogonies was were the Heliopolitan creation myth. The Heliopolitan myth was developed at an early time in pharaonic history in the city of Heliopolis (Egyptian “Iunu,” biblical “On”), which was the cult center of the sun-god Atum. There are plenty of references in the <i>Pyramid Texts</i> to Atum and the Heliopolitan version of creation.  Theologically speaking, the Heliopolitan myth was the most straightforward and concrete of the cosmogonies, as it involved Atum emerging from a primordial mound and then creating the first four generations of male-female pairs, which became known as the <i>Ennead.</i> Creation in this myth, therefore, was the result of pure will and is a process with a definite beginning and end. The way in which How Atum created the Ennead is described in numerous “Utterances” of the <i>Pyramid Texts</i> as both physical and sexual.

Atum then created Geb (earth) and his consort Nut (sky) before creation Osiris (Underworld/kingship) and Isis (Magic/Queenship) and Seth (Chaos) and Nephthys (Queenship). The Heliopolitan mythic cycle is considered to have been completed by the end of the Fifth Dynasty (2494-2345 BC) . <ref> Tobin, p. 240</ref>However, although its influence resonated throughout all periods of Egyptian history.

Elements of the Heliopolitan myth permeated Egyptian theology for centuries, namely , in three primary ways. First, the idea of the afterlife was implied in the Heliopolitan myth through Osiris. The cult of Osiris increased in importance and popularity as Egyptian history progressed, eventually eclipsing Atum and the solar-cult on many levels. The idea of divine kingship was also inherent in the Heliopolitan myth. Osiris was the original god of kingship , and after he was slain by Sethslew him, the position passed to his son Horus, who became a substitute for his father in the Heliopolitan myth. <ref> Wilkinson, p. 79</ref> Atum was also directly associated with kingship in a number of the Utterances from the <i>Pyramid Texts</i> and in art was also depicted in human form, usually wearing the Double Crown of Egyptian kingship. <ref> Tobin, p. 246</ref>

Finally, the Heliopolitan cosmogony had a profound influence on ancient Egyptian solar theology. Atum’s solar and generative attributes are clearly depicted in texts and art as life -giving, both in the creation and daily life. Eventually, Atum began to be associated with another sun-god, Re, in a syncretic union. The <i>Pyramid Texts</i> describe Re as the rising sun and Atum as the setting sun, with the two traveling together on the “Solar Barque” through the nighttime hours.

Re finds you on the banks of the sky as a waterway-traveller who is in the sky: ‘Welcome, O you who have arrived’arrived, ’ say the gods. He sets his hand on you at the zenith of the sky; ‘Welcome, O you who know your place’place, ’ say the Ennead.

By the New Kingdom, Re was one of the most important gods in the Egyptian pantheon and had even eclipsed Atum at Heliopolis. <ref> Wilkinson, p. 101</ref> Despite Atum being subsumed by Re, for all of the reasons discussed above , the Heliopolitan myth remained the most important essential cosmogony throughout ancient Egyptian history.