MYTHOLOGY and LEGENDS around the WORLD The Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt and Africa Edited by Joanne Randolph
Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends The most well-known African myths and legends are probably those from ancient Egypt These myths explained the origins of the Egyptian people and culture as well as explaining natural phenomenon The sun and the Nile River are the two major natural features that impacted their lives most so the Sun God Ra was a prominent figure in Egyptian myth as was Osiris the god of death and rebirth For the Egyptians Osiris is the Nile wrote Plutarch a Greek historian who lived from around 46 to 122 CE Other African cultures had their own myths Like Egypt’s mythology these other African myths often helped ancient people make sense of their lives their environment and natural phenomenon Let’s take a look at some ancient Egyptian and African myths Opposite Egyptian pyramids were built to house the dead and help their souls reach the afterlife They were mostly built for the ruling people called pharaohs Ancient Egyptian Myths and Legends 5 1
