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Ra, or as he is more properly known, Amen-Ra, was the Egyptian ruling god, as well as the god of the Setting Sun, juxtaposed with Horus, the god of the Rising Sun.Amen-Ra's name means something along the lines of "Hidden" or "What is hidden." This interpretation of his name signifies that he was far above all other things on Earth: he was never seen by anyone, neither mortal nor god. This meaning of his name signifies that he was thought to be so high above the other gods that even they could not see him, putting them, in Ra's eyes, on the same level as the mortals. The "hidden" meaning of Amen-Ra's name has also been taken to mean that he symbolizes the mystery of creation, and how no one knows who created existence, as he served the role of the Great Creator in Egyptian texts.
As the Egyptian religion developed over time, Ra, like most of the major Egyptian gods, acquired several facets of his being. Thought to have originally been only a god of the Sun, he later became the god of creation, and the ruling god of Egypt. As the great creator god, he who created all matter in the universe and brought existence into being by his own will, Ra was also portrayed as the father to all the primary deities of the Egyptian religion, and the husband (or at the very least, lover) of all the primeval female goddesses, who gave birth to the gods that became the bulk of the Egyptian pantheon.
Amen-Ra was portrayed in Egyptian mythological artwork in five different forms. First, he was shown as a man seated upon a throne, holding in one hand a scepter, and in the other hand the symbol of life. Second, as a man with the head a frog; when shown like this, Ra's female counterpart was depicted as a woman with head of the uraeus (a symbolically significant serpent). Third, Ra was portrayed as a man with the head of the uraeus; when depicted as such, his female counterpart was depicted as a woman with the head of a cat. Fourth, Amen-Ra was sometimes depicted simply as an ape. The fifth and last form Amen-Ra was depicted as was a lion crouching on a pedestal.
As the Great Creator and one of the Sun gods, it would be expected that Ra would be placed as the highest ranked Egyptian god. This makes sense not only because Ra was the creator of everything, but also because the Sun was placed in such a high position of importance to the Egyptians because it had very strong control over much of their lives.
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