CC Unit 3

Indra

-Chief warrior god -Zeus-like god -Vritra, a gigantic serpent, swallows all the water. -Indra shoots him with his bow and arrow allowing the water to come out of his stomach.

Pharaoh

-Combined man and god -Son of the sun god Re

Confucianism

-Dominant until the arrival of Communism. -Focused on: a ritual, filial piety, education.

Zhou Dynasty

-Families adopted hereditary surnames. -Worshiped Tian (Heaven)

Agni

-God of fire -lord of the household (hearth fire) -eater of corpses (cremation) -reborn each day

Sarasvati

-Goddess of creation -Symbolized by peacock

Plutarch

-Greek writer in early Roman empire. -Wrote this account of the origin of the Pharaoh's rule in "On Isis and Osiris". -In this account, Nut has multiple pregnancies with different fathers.

Rudra

-He is double-sided: he can burn or cool. -He's linked to Shiva. -Age of destruction lasts over 4 billion years -Parvati (wife)

Lakshmi

-Hindu goddess of fortune and prosperity -Devotee to Shiva -Tried to cut off one of her breasts but Shiva stops her -She turns one of her breasts into a fruit tree -She is often shown sitting on a lotus blossom

Dharma

-In Hindu belief, a person's religious and moral duties -In Vedic texts, Dharma was called Rita

The Battle Between Horus and Seth

-Isis hides Horus, but Herut, the snake, kills Horus. -Isis resurrects Horus. -Seth finds Osiris' coffin and chops him up into 14 pieces. -Isis and Nephthys reassemble Osiris. -They bury him where he becomes the 1st mummy. -Horus leads Isis and Nephthys to the underworld to Osiris. -Isis and Nephthys resurrect Osiris. -Horus gives Osiris his eternal eye. -Horus later becomes king of Upper and Lower Egypt. -Horus defeats Seth and keeps him prisoner. -Isis orders Horus to put down his weapons and Seth flees. -Horus cuts off Isis' head. -Thoth gives Isis a cow head.

Heliopolis' Ennead Continued

-Nut then births two set of twins: Osiris (male); Isis (female); Set (male); Nephthys (female). -Osiris and Isis fell in love in the womb. -Seth and Nephthys were hostile from birth. -Osiris was eldest, destined to rule Egypt. -Osiris becomes first Pharaoh.

Zoroastrianism

-One of the first monotheistic religions, particularly one with a wide following. It was central to the political and religious culture of ancient Persia. -Ahura Mazda: Chief God -Angra Mainyu: Satanic figure

Heliopolis

-Original material, called Nun -watery abyss, dark, chaotic energies from which all things come -it was symbolized by Apep or Apophis, a great serpent -primeval mound of Earth emerges -first god takes the form of a bird -Atum was lonely which led to him creating the gods. -His sweat becomes gods. -His tears becomes humans.

Pangu Myth

-Pangu imposes order. -Pangu's own body provides particular natural formations. -A monster-giant, Gong-gong, almost destroys the natural environment. -Mother Earth, called Nugua, restores order to the world.

Egyptian Beliefs

-Polytheistic -Potential immortality of the human being who died -Upon death, humans leave visible world for another world

Nut's Multiple Pregnancy

-Re and Nut -Geb and Nut -Thoth and Nut

Taoism

-Return to rural simplicity. -Humanity should live in harmony with nature. -Yin and Yang should be in equilibrium.

The Nataraja

-Sacred dance performed by Shiva -Metaphor for the world as we know it -Shiva is temporarily occupied

Vishnu

-Sky god who "crosses the universe in 3 great strides" -Krishna (human form) -Rama (most famous form; Ramayana) -blue skin -Lakshmi (wife)

Isis

-Symbolic Mother Goddess of living things. -Loving, loyal wife of Osiris; nurturing mother of Horus. -Isis rears Horus in hiding in a Marsh, secretly from Set.

Mahaisvaras

-The 3 great Gods -Brahma, Shiva, Vishnu -They account for cycles of creation and destruction

Reincarnation/Samsara

-The human soul, atman, is eternal, but the body, carna, is subject to birth and death -Different kinds of yoga helps the soul -Raja (meditation) -Moksha is enlightenment that releases the atman (soul) from the cycles of birth and death

Ennead Version of Heliopolis

-There are 9 Gods in this more complex version from Heliopolis. -Ra-Atum arose on the primeval mound. -Births Shu (god of air) and Tefenet (goddess of moisture). -Shu and Tefenet, his children, get lost exploring dark Nun. -Ra-Atum's fiery divine Eye leads them back. -Ra-Atum then weeps: his tears become the first humans. -Shu and Tefenet mate and produce: Geb and Nut. -Geb, the earth god; Nut, the sky goddess. -Geb and Nut embrace so closely nothing can exist. -Nut conceives but cannot give birth (Gaia and Uranus). -Shu their father intervenes and holds Geb and Nut, Earth and Heaven, apart.

Soma

-both plant and nectar of gods. -a kind of elixir that can grant immortality.

Brahma

-creator god -also named Isvara (human forms) -4 faces -Male gods (devas) -Female gods (devis) -Sarasvati (wife) -Born from golden cosmic egg that creates the world

The Desert

-environmental threat -hot, dry wasteland

Thoth

-father of Isis -scribe of the law -Weighed people's hearts against a feather, if their hearts were lighter than a feather, then the person would become immortal. If the heart was heavier, then he would give it to a jackal. The person would then remain dead forever.

Ptah

-god of craftsmen -fashioned the gods out of metals -his name means "opener" -creator of Atum

Varuna

-god of order and creation -disciplines those breaking cosmic laws.

The Nile

-nourishing lifeblood of Egypt -fertile farms, vegetation along the banks, supporting human and animal life

Atum

-ruled over the creation, rising from and sitting upon the primordial mound

Tauroctony

A depiction of Mithras, the sun god, killing a sacred bull

Avatar

A representation of a Hindu god or goddess in human or animal form.

Brahman

A single spiritual power that Hindus believe lives in everything

Nut (Heaven) Arches over all creation

During Day, heavenly bodies stravel over her body; Nut swallows Ra (Sun) each evening, giving birth to him each morning

Mitra

God of the oath

Maat

Goddess of truth and justice

Mithraism

Mystery religion based on worship of the sun god Mithras; it became popular among the Romans because of its promise of salvation.

Garuda

Mythical sunbird and the vehicle of Vishnu

Vedas

Ritual texts, originally orally composed, then written down in Sanskrit (Indian language).

Horus

Son produced magically by Isis after Osiris dies.

Hermopolis

city, sacred to Thoth, associated with Ogdoad (8 deities)

Karma

law of cause and effect

Ramayana

one of two classical Hindu epics telling of the banishment of Rama from his kingdom and the abduction of his wife by a demon and Rama's restoration to the throne

Shakti

the female principle of divine energy that lures men to take action

Pyramids

tombs for Pharaohs, family, priests, and officers