solar cult 385come and go, while the pyramids and the temples sur-
vived and flourished. In their own eras, they were the
protectors of the past.
Alexander the Great’s retinue taught the native peo-
ples that their ancestors were wise in adopting their own
defensive modes. The young conqueror was crowned as a
true pharaoh, but those who followed him had no inten-
tion of reviving the past on the Nile. The Ptolemaic
Period (304–30 B.C.E.) was another time in which the
rulers and the average citizens had little or no impact
upon one another.
In ALEXANDRIA, the new capital, the Ptolemies ruled
as Hellenes, transporting Greek scholars, ideals, and even
queens to the Nile to support their rule. Positions of
power and trust rested in the hands of Greeks or Hell-
enized Egyptians, and the nation became involved in
Mediterranean affairs. In religious matters, the Greeks
upheld the old traditions but introduced Greek deities
and concepts. Even the royal cults of the rulers assumed
the rigid and formalized Hellenic styles.
The Egyptians were also isolated to the traditional
courts and laws of the nation. Ptolemaic law was directed
toward the Greeks, while the juridical system traditional
to the Nile Valley was maintained at local levels. The peo-
ple seldom saw Greeks or Ptolemaic representatives, and
their private lives went on with stability and calm. The
pattern had been set, and it would prove successful when
the Ptolemies gave way to Rome.
Octavius, who became AUGUSTUSand first emperor of
Rome, understood the potential and the achievements of
the Egyptians and took possession of the Nile Valley. For
the empire, Egypt became the “bread basket” from which
emperors fed their imperial subjects and also the strategic
gateway to the Red Sea and the spices and trade of the
east. While inhabitants of one of the most important
provinces in the empire, Egyptians went on with their
lives and lived as they always had, dependent upon the
abundance of the Nile.
Sohag See ATHRIBIS.
Sokar (Seker) An ancient Egyptian god of the Mem-
phite necropolis from predynastic times, he was actually
a spirit guardian of the tombs but was elevated in rank
after 3,000 B.C.E. He was united with PTAHand depicted
as having come from that deity’s heart and mind as a force
of creation. When the cult of OSIRISdeveloped a triune
deity, Osiris-Ptah-Sokar emerged. That trinity is called
Osiris-Sokar-Asar in some lists.
Sokar’s theophany was the hawk, and his shrine and
sacred bark date to the period before the First Dynasty.
He is represented in reliefs as a pygmy with a large head
and heavy limbs, wearing a beetle on his head and stand-
ing on a cabinet, with hawks in attendance. Sokar repre-
sented darkness and decay. The dead remained with
Sokar until RÉ’s light awakened them. The feast of Sokar
was celebrated in the fourth year of the Second Dynasty
(2770–2649 B.C.E.) and is noted in the PALERMO STONE.
One of his litanies was included in the RHIND PAPYRUS,
and he was the patron of the necropolis district of MEM-
PHIS. In the New Kingdom Period (1550–1070 B.C.E.)
Sokar regained popularity. In his statues the god was
fashioned as a hollow mummy, containing copies of the
BOOK OF THE DEADor corn kernels. He was called “He
Who Is Upon His Sand,” a reference to his desert origins.Sokar Boat (Seker Boat) It was the Hennu, a bark
mentioned in the BOOK OF THE DEAD. The vessel was
designed with a high brow, terminating in the head of a
horned animal, usually a gazelle or oryx. The Sokar Boat
had three oars. In the center was a funerary chest with a
cover surmounted by the head of a hawk. The chest
stood upon a base with curving ends, and the entire
structure rested upon a sledge with runners. The PYRAMID
TEXTSdepict the Sokar Boat, and sanctuaries were erected
for such vessels in Lower Egypt.Soknoknonneus He was a mysterious crocodile deity
popular in the Faiyum region in the later eras of Egypt. A
temple to Soknoknonneus was reportedly erected in the
FAIYUMbut has now vanished. He was originally called
Soknopaiou-Mesos and was revered as a form of SOBEK.solar boat They were crafts meant to convey the kings
to paradise and to carry deities. Examples of such vessels
were buried in great pits beside the pyramids. The god
RÉ’s bark, used in his daily travels, was also a solar boat.
Such vessels became elegant symbols of Egypt’s cultic
rituals.
See also BARKS OF THE GODS; SUN BOAT.solar cult It was the state religion of Egypt, which can
be traced to predynastic periods (before 3,000 B.C.E.) and
was adapted over the centuries to merge with new beliefs.
RÉ, the sun god, accompanied by HORUS, the sky god,
constituted the basis of the cult, which emerged in
HELIOPOLIS. Other Egyptian deities were also drawn into
the solar religion: THOTH, ISIS, HATHOR, and WADJET.In
time OSIRISwas linked to the cult as well. The rulers of
the Fourth (2575–2465 B.C.E.) and Fifth (2465–2323
B.C.E.) Dynasties particularly revered the cult and erected
many sun temples in that epoch. From the reign of RA’
DJEDEF(2528–2520 B.C.E.) the rulers declared themselves
“the Sons of Ré,” and the solar disk, emblem of the sun,
became the symbol of these pharaohs.
The social implications of the cult were evident in
the PYRAMID TEXTS, which date to the Fifth and Sixth
Dynasties. In them Ré calls all Egyptian men and women
to justice, equality, and the understanding that death
awaits them all in time. Even in the New Kingdom Period