A long time ago, many millions of years ago, there was Chaos - an endless and bottomless ocean. This ocean was called Nun.
He was a gloomy sight! The petrified cold waters of Nun seemed to be forever frozen in motionlessness. Nothing disturbed the peace. Centuries and millennia passed, and the Nun Ocean remained motionless. But one day a miracle happened. The water suddenly splashed, swayed, and the great god Atum appeared on the surface.
- I exist! I will create the world! I have no father and no mother; I am the first god in the Universe, and I will create other gods! With incredible effort, Atum broke away from the water, soared over the abyss and, raising his hands, cast a magic spell. At the same moment, a deafening roar was heard, and Ben-Ben Hill rose from the abyss amid the foamy spray. Atum sank down onto the hill and began to ponder what he should do next. I will create the wind - this is how Atum thought. Without wind, this ocean will freeze again and remain motionless forever.
And I will also create a goddess of rain and moisture so that the water of the ocean will obey her. And Atum created the wind god Shu and the goddess Tefnut - a woman with the head of a fierce lioness. This was the first divine couple on earth. But then a misfortune happened. Impenetrable darkness still shrouded the Universe, and in the darkness of Chaos Atum lost his children. No matter how much he called them, no matter how much he shouted, deafening the watery desert with crying and lamentations, the answer to him was silence.
In complete despair, Atum tore out his Eye and, turning to him, exclaimed: “My Eye!” Do what I tell you. Go to the ocean, find my children Shu and Tefnut and return them to me.
The eye went into the ocean, and Atum sat down and began to wait for his return. Having finally lost all hope of seeing his children again, Atum shouted: “Oh woe!” What should I do? Not only did I forever lose my son Shu and my daughter Tefnut, I also lost my Eye! And he created a new Eye and placed it in his empty socket. After many years of searching, the Faithful Eye finally found them in the ocean.
As soon as Shu and Tefnut stepped onto the hill, the god rushed to meet them in order to quickly hug them, when suddenly the Eye, all ablaze with rage, jumped up to Atum and angrily croaked: “What does this mean?!” Was it not at your word that I went to the Ocean of Nun and returned the lost children to you! I have done you a great service, and you... “Don’t be angry,” said Atum. “I will place you on my forehead, and from there you will contemplate the world that I will create, you will admire its beauty.” But the offended Eye did not want to listen to any excuses.
In an effort to punish God for betrayal at all costs, he turned into a poisonous cobra snake. With a threatening hiss, the cobra swollen its neck and revealed its deadly teeth, aimed straight at Atum. However, God calmly took the snake in his hands and placed it on his forehead. Since then, the snake eye has adorned the crowns of gods and pharaohs. This snake is called a uraeus. A white lotus grew from the waters of the ocean. The bud opened, and the sun god Ra flew out from there, bringing the long-awaited light to the world.
Seeing Atum and his children, Ra began to cry with joy. His tears fell to the ground and turned into people. .
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru