Ra was the chief god of ancient Egypt, the great god of the sun. The Egyptians believed he was responsible for keeping the world alive. He was usually shown as a man with the head of a falcon, with a glowing sun disc balanced on top of his head like a crown.
According to the Egyptian myths, Ra sailed across the sky every single day in a magical boat called the “solar barque.” This boat carried the sun from sunrise on the eastern horizon all the way to sunset in the west. Then it disappeared into the underworld for the night.
The night journey was the scary part. The Egyptians believed an enormous evil serpent named Apep was waiting in the darkness to swallow the sun boat. Ra had to fight Apep every single night with the help of other gods. Every sunrise was proof that Ra had won again. The pyramids were partly built to honor him.
