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The sun, as the giver of light, warmth, and growth, was observed rising behind the eastern hills (its birth) and setting behind the western hills (its death). It became a symbol with significant meanings in ancient Egyptian art, appearing in various forms. It appeared in the form of "Khepri," representing the sun at sunrise; as the god "Ra", representing the sun at noon, whom the ancient Egyptians considered the sole creator of the universe; and as "Atum," representing the sun at sunset. The sun also appeared as the "Winged Solar Disk," a symbol of the sun god whose worship center was Ain Shams, and as "Aton," one of the manifestations of Ra in the solar disk¹. In the era of King Akhenaten, Aton was venerated as the sole deity. These forms, along with other symbols in ancient Egyptian art, played a crucial role in Egyptian civilization. These symbols emerged when the ancient Egyptians struggled to understand natural phenomena, leading them to express these concepts symbolically to make sense of them. A symbol became a physical representation of an abstract idea, but it could never replace the concept it symbolized; it was always an auxiliary to what it pointed to. These symbols were capable of merging and intertwining, creating complex and intricate forms. The myth, with its symbolic elements, was an attempt to understand and adapt to the surrounding nature and its phenomena. The ancient Egyptians used symbols and myths to embody and express their imaginative concepts and emotions. Some of the mythological symbols associated with the sun in ancient Egyptian art include the falcon symbol "Horus," the left eye of the god "Ra," which is the moon, the serpent symbol (the cobra), the scarab symbol (the dung beetle), the ankh symbol (the key of life), the scepter "Was" symbol, the "solar boats" symbol, and "the lotus flower" symbol.
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