Sexual behaviour and homosexuality?

[Rennie`]

queenofgames1990

Sex was very common in religion back then. One version of creation was of Atum, where he *cough* "played" with himself, and created Hermopolis. There's another version where he sneezed, but it's not as common. Also, in several tombs and scrolls, it shows Nut over Geb, and often Geb has, well, you can guess that.

There's also the story of Osiris's "member", where he was killed by Seth and his body chopped to pieces. Isis, his wife, gathered the pieces and put them back together, did the horizontal tango with him, and became pregnant with their son. There's another version where he also "played" with himself, or with Isis as a sparrow flying over him as he's doing it.

There are sooooo many versions to every Egyptian mythology that it gets confusing, lol. For example when Horus and Seth were in war with eachother for 80 years, the Egyptian version says that Horus was sexually harrased but in the Greek version no sexual activity is mentioned, in fact, it just sounds like a battle.

I think this was why I found this so bizzare. I was only told the clean, Greek version of this, not the Egyptian inuendo version whee I read it myself (you should have seen my face!).  

[WebenBanu]

Rennie`

I was only told the clean, Greek version of this, not the Egyptian inuendo version whee I read it myself (you should have seen my face!).

LOL! Yes, I wish I'd been able to see this!

Hm, I wasn't aware that there was that much of a difference! I usually avoid Greek sources and read Egyptian versions whenever I can... so this is very interesting to me! Of course, there were many different versions throughout Egyptian history as well- so perhaps the Greeks were simply recounting the version which they had encountered? LOL, hopefully anyway! wink But the Egyptians didn't seem to feel that all the different versions of their myths were problematic- more likely than not, they viewed the diversity of their mythic history as a rich heritage.  

[Hellenistic Wisdom]

What an informative and interesting thread... Are any of you anthropologists? You all seem to know so much!  

[Curiously Fruity]

Thank the Gods this is true. Being a homosexual myself it's always been a worry. But honestly, while investigating this religion it never crossed my mind.

And the mention of the Declaration of Innocence got me wondering, so I looked it up and I found incorrect translations. Right after I read that WebenBanu said homosexuality wasn't a problem with the Egyptians I found a translation that said the exact opposite. However, I trust WebenBanu over that. razz She has credibility in my eyes.  

[Jareth Lover 16]

Kem Pet Unsu

Sex was very common in religion back then. One version of creation was of Atum, where he *cough* "played" with himself, and created Hermopolis. There's another version where he sneezed, but it's not as common. Also, in several tombs and scrolls, it shows Nut over Geb, and often Geb has, well, you can guess that.

There's also the story of Osiris's "member", where he was killed by Seth and his body chopped to pieces. Isis, his wife, gathered the pieces and put them back together, did the horizontal tango with him, and became pregnant with their son. There's another version where he also "played" with himself, or with Isis as a sparrow flying over him as he's doing it.

The version that I find to be most common is where Isis finds the pieces of Asar(Orisis) minus the part mentioned and the part was...reconstructed from an oblisk and Isis revived him-as a hawk-long enough to conceive their son, Horus. Yes, I know it seems to be quite similar but I wanted to tell what I have most often heard.  

[Rennie`]

Kegome14

Kem Pet Unsu

Sex was very common in religion back then. One version of creation was of Atum, where he *cough* "played" with himself, and created Hermopolis. There's another version where he sneezed, but it's not as common. Also, in several tombs and scrolls, it shows Nut over Geb, and often Geb has, well, you can guess that.

There's also the story of Osiris's "member", where he was killed by Seth and his body chopped to pieces. Isis, his wife, gathered the pieces and put them back together, did the horizontal tango with him, and became pregnant with their son. There's another version where he also "played" with himself, or with Isis as a sparrow flying over him as he's doing it.

The version that I find to be most common is where Isis finds the pieces of Asar(Orisis) minus the part mentioned and the part was...reconstructed from an oblisk and Isis revived him-as a hawk-long enough to conceive their son, Horus. Yes, I know it seems to be quite similar but I wanted to tell what I have most often heard.

There are always two versions to each story, Greek and Egyptian. The Egyptian version is usually alot more sexual and sickening (ie Horus being sexually assulted by Seth) whilst the Greek side make it more cleaner.

When I went to Egypt last year the Egyptologist told us the Greek version, mainly because there were quite alot of children around and some of the temples we visited were built in Alexandra's rein.  

[Dusty Stranger]

Well, back in those ages, (This is the same for about any of the great civilisations) They never thought much of modesty. They wanted power over another. Lot's of slutty looking dresses were worn by powerful, rich women, while the poor took whatever they could find. They would not think much of this sexual behaviour. They would see it as just another hug. While today, we see things differently, and we are extremely critical of every aspect of it. It's strange but it's different now. My religion of Islam has many of the women wear scarves and such to cover most of their body. They do that for what they see as Modesty. No complaints here, they look good! Cute in whatever way they want to be, but that's not the point.  

[lovekaren89]

why were they lik that?
well its a primitive instinct that everyone has and i guess they embraced it more  

[WebenBanu]

lovekaren89

why were they lik that?
well its a primitive instinct that everyone has and i guess they embraced it more

The question is more of why are we not like that? And the reason is mainly because the Judeo-Christian family of religions involved a great deal of sexual repression. Not to criticize anyone or anything, but it's just to say that before those religions came onto the scene most cultures tended to view sexuality as the origin of life, and therefore a postive, even sacred thing. It was a gift, and since it was enjoyable as well then all the more reason to celebrate it! blaugh The physical world- particularly in Egypt, or other cultures which had immanent (present in the world) concepts of deity- was not viewed as dirty, inferior, or something to be saved from or escaped. It was also a gift: the masterpiece of the gods and an important part of life, and so aspects of the physical world such as our bodies were not considered disgusting or unclean as they are in many modern cultures.

When the Judeo-Christian family of religions started to spread, they carried with them a distaste for the physical world and the human condition in general. People were born in sin, lived in sin, and only achieved salvation after death when they finally got to leave the place. God was not a part of this world- having left it a long time ago and currently residing in some far off spiritual paradise- and everything which was not of the spirit was compared to dust. Dirt. Filth.

So that is why, in countries with a strong Jewish, Christian, or Muslim presence it is generally considered the moral or righteous thing to do to attempt to hide or downplay the presence of our physical nature, and particularly sexuality. Now, they are not the only religions which teach a sort of liberation from the physical world, but since the others do not have as much of a presence here that is why I mention these primarily- they are more relevant to your question here. The Egyptians, however, viewed the gods as being a part of both the physical and spiritual worlds, and so it is not unusual to find both physical and spiritual metaphors for the creation of those worlds and the major events which happened in them.^_^  

[Champagne Jane]

to add to the sex part

( more like masterbation)


the creation belif is that the primortial god put his phallus in his fist and ejaculated the twin gods which then formed everything  

[WebenBanu]

Yep, that's one of them!

Personally, my favorite creation myth is the one from Khmunu (a.k.a. Hermopolis)- in the great primordial sea, Djhwty (Thoth) gathered together a group of gods now known as the Ogdoad. There were four gods and four goddesses, each linked to a key aspect of potentiality and creation. The male gods took the forms of frogs, the females were snakes; their names were Nun and Naunet (the primeval waters), Heh and Hauhet (eternity), Kuk and Kauket (darkness), and Amun and Amaunet (wind, but also an idea of hiddenness and power). Under Djhwty's direction, these eight gods began to sing, and the vibrations of their song were woven into an egg, which was laid upon the mound of creation. Djhwty spoke a Word of tremendous power, shattering the egg- from which our world of form and light, identity and life was born.

But now I'm getting off subject.^_~  

[EtSh Cool]

All of you shut up , that's my country you're talking about , if all the Egyptians were homos then we wouldn't be here today xp  

[evolvingwolf]

EGYPTIAN 4 EVER

All of you shut up , that's my country you're talking about , if all the Egyptians were homos then we wouldn't be here today xp

Chill darling! The main idea for this thread isn't to insinuate that Egyptians are homosexual, but merely to discuss the presence of homosexuality among the gods to express a dominate roll within Their society. It isn't even really considered homosexuality within these myths. If anyone offended you, I am willing to apologize for them. This thread wasn't meant to insult, but merely discuss the Gods curious nature. ^_^  

[Beautiful Propaganda]

Dusty Stranger

Well, back in those ages, (This is the same for about any of the great civilisations) They never thought much of modesty. They wanted power over another. Lot's of slutty looking dresses were worn by powerful, rich women, while the poor took whatever they could find. They would not think much of this sexual behaviour. They would see it as just another hug. While today, we see things differently, and we are extremely critical of every aspect of it. It's strange but it's different now. My religion of Islam has many of the women wear scarves and such to cover most of their body. They do that for what they see as Modesty. No complaints here, they look good! Cute in whatever way they want to be, but that's not the point.

I'm pretty sure they dressed like that because it was the African desert. Hot weather doesn't exactly mix well with lots of layers. razz  

[NekoMimi916]

I agree with Banu on this- yes, I am a 16 year old and want to "wait till marriage", but I still think people freak out too much over sexuality and sex in general. I think this is why I'm borderline atheist, probably always will be. *But I still support others being religious. Why else am I so obsessed with mythology and write manga about it, ne???*
On that note, I'm a big LGBT supporter. Some of my closest friends are homosexual and it don't bother me. I totally support em. I mean, seriously, why is someone "sinning" when their sexuality is usually not in their control??? I ask this a lot, BTW.
But yah, thanx for bringin this up, guys! It's an important issue that must be adressed!!!!

WebenBanu

lovekaren89

why were they lik that?
well its a primitive instinct that everyone has and i guess they embraced it more

The question is more of why are we not like that? And the reason is mainly because the Judeo-Christian family of religions involved a great deal of sexual repression. Not to criticize anyone or anything, but it's just to say that before those religions came onto the scene most cultures tended to view sexuality as the origin of life, and therefore a postive, even sacred thing. It was a gift, and since it was enjoyable as well then all the more reason to celebrate it! blaugh The physical world- particularly in Egypt, or other cultures which had immanent (present in the world) concepts of deity- was not viewed as dirty, inferior, or something to be saved from or escaped. It was also a gift: the masterpiece of the gods and an important part of life, and so aspects of the physical world such as our bodies were not considered disgusting or unclean as they are in many modern cultures.

When the Judeo-Christian family of religions started to spread, they carried with them a distaste for the physical world and the human condition in general. People were born in sin, lived in sin, and only achieved salvation after death when they finally got to leave the place. God was not a part of this world- having left it a long time ago and currently residing in some far off spiritual paradise- and everything which was not of the spirit was compared to dust. Dirt. Filth.

So that is why, in countries with a strong Jewish, Christian, or Muslim presence it is generally considered the moral or righteous thing to do to attempt to hide or downplay the presence of our physical nature, and particularly sexuality. Now, they are not the only religions which teach a sort of liberation from the physical world, but since the others do not have as much of a presence here that is why I mention these primarily- they are more relevant to your question here. The Egyptians, however, viewed the gods as being a part of both the physical and spiritual worlds, and so it is not unusual to find both physical and spiritual metaphors for the creation of those worlds and the major events which happened in them.^_^