Re, << ray >> , also known as Ra (rah), was the sun god and the most important god in the mythology of ancient Egypt. He was a popular god often merged with other Egyptian deities. Usually, he is shown as a man with the head of a falcon, crowned with the disk of the sun and the uraeus, a cobra symbol. He is also shown as a child rising from a lotus, a falcon, a cat, and a scarab.
There are more myths and legends about Re than about any other Egyptian god. Some tell about the creation of the world and describe his daily rebirth and perilous journey through the sky and the underworld. Other myths tell about Re’s ruling on earth as king, and about his becoming the father of three pharaohs.
Heliopolis was an early center for the worship of the sun god. There Re assumed many of the characteristics of Atum, an early sun god said to have created the world. By Dynasty V (about 2450-2325 B.C.), Egyptians regarded the sun god as their chief deity. From that time, every Egyptian king was given the title “son of Re.” When other gods were later considered universal rulers, they absorbed Re’s solar nature and had his name joined to theirs, as in Amun-Re and Sobek-Re.
