At first we should notice that every civilization has it's creation myths and like other creation myths, Egypt's is complex and offers several versions of how the world unfolded. The ancient Egyptians believed that the basic principles of life, nature and society were determined by the gods at the creation of the world. It all began with the first stirring of the High God in the primeval waters.
The creation myth is recounted in the sacred hieroglyphic writings found on pyramids, temples, tombs and sheets of papyrus.
As we mentioned there're several versions of the creations myths in ancient Egypt, but today I'll focus in these article on the Heliopolis creation myth.
The First god
According to the Heliopolitans, the first act of creation occurred when the sun god Atum, "lord of Heliopolis", emerged from the chaotic darkness of Nun the Primeval ocean as a mythical Bennu bird (similar to phoenix). He flew to Heliopolis, an ancient city near Cairo, where, at dawn, he alighted on the Benben, an obelisk representing a ray of the sun. After fashioning a nest of aromatic boughs and spices, he was consumed in a fire and miraculously sprang back to life. The capstone placed at the top of an obelisk or a pyramid is associated with the Bennu. Called apyramidion or the Bennu, it is a symbol of rebirth and immortality.
Atom's Progeny
Atum spat or masturbated, producing air personified as Shu and moisture personified as Tefnut. This may seem impossible but Atum was a bisexual god. He embodied both the male and female aspects of life. Therefore, his semen contained all that was necessary to create new life and deities. The Egyptians called Atum "Great He-She" and his name meant "the complete one".
The siblings Shu and Tefnut mated to produce the earth personified as Geb and the nighttime sky personified as Nut.
Geb and Nut produced four offspring: Osiris and Isis represent fertility and order, while Set and Nephthys represent chaos to balance out Osiris and Isis.
After conceiving four children (Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, and Seth), Geb and Nut became separated by their father Shu, the god of the air. Nut is often shown arched over Geb with the sun traveling along her body. Beyond Nut's body lies Nun and nonexistence.
In another version of the creation story, the city of Hermopolis, in Middle Egypt, substituted the Ennead with a group of eight deities called the Ogdoad " the eightfold ".
It consisted of four pairs of gods and goddesses symbolizing different aspects of the chaos that existed before creation. The goddesses were depicted as snakes and the gods as frogs. Their names were Nun and Naunet (water), Amun and Amaunet (hiddenness), Heh and Hauhet (infinity), and Kek and Kauket (darkness).
The Sun God's Eye
The sun god, Re (a form of Atum), ruled over the earth, where humans and divine beings coexisted. Humans were created from the Eye of Re or wedjat (eye of wholeness). This happened when the eye separated from Re and failed to return. Shu and Tefnut went to fetch it, but the eye resisted. In the ensuing struggle, the eye shed tears from which humans were born.
The familiar eye motif is an enduring symbol for the creator, Atum, for Re and for Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis. It represents the power to see, to illuminate and to act. The act of bringing the eye back to the creator was equivalent to healing the earth – the restoration of right and order. Maintaining right and order to prevent the earth from falling into chaos was central to the pharaoh's role.
Another version of the creation myth states that the wedjat simply wandered off, so Re sent Thoth, the moon god, to fetch it. When it returned, the eye found that another eye had taken its place. To pacify the furious eye, Re placed it on his brow in the shape of a uraeus (a cobra goddess), where it could rule the whole world. Pharaohs wore the uraeus on their brows as a symbol of protection and to show that they were descended from the sun god.
Notes:-
The word "Ennead" is a Greek word which means a group of nine.
Heliopolis also a Greek word that means the City of the sun, it's the ancient Egyptian city of "Iwnw". The modern name of this city is "Ain Shams" the Arabic term which meaning the eye of the sun.
