Side by side, from the sources
Khepri vs Ra
These two are identified with one another in the record, which is not the same as being the same figure. Morning and midday phases of the same sun; Atum is the third.
Deity · Egyptian · c. 2600 BCE
Khepri
also called Khepera, Kheper
The sun at dawn, in the form of a scarab beetle rolling it up over the horizon — one of the three daily aspects of the sun, and a pun on the word for coming into being.
- Alignment
- Disputed
- Rank
- The Morning Sun
- First attested
- The Pyramid Texts · c. 2350–2100 BCE
- Named there as
- Khepri
- Texts naming it
- 3
- Powers attributed
- 2
90attestedEgyptian
Deity · Egyptian · c. 2600 BCE
Ra
also called Re, Amun-Ra
The sun, who sails the sky by day and the underworld by night, fighting off Apep at every crossing.
- Alignment
- Disputed
- Rank
- Sun God
- First attested
- The Pyramid Texts · c. 2350–2100 BCE
- Named there as
- Re
- Texts naming it
- 2
- Powers attributed
- 3
60attestedEgyptian
Where do they actually overlap?
Texts naming both
Powers credited to both
Common questions
Are Khepri and Ra the same figure?
These two are identified with one another in the record, which is not the same as being the same figure. Morning and midday phases of the same sun; Atum is the third. ColossiansOne records the link rather than asserting the identity: where texts disagree about whether two names denote one figure, the disagreement is what gets shown.
Which is older, Khepri or Ra?
Both are first attested in the same period, around c. 2600 BCE.
Do any texts name both Khepri and Ra?
Yes — 2 texts name both. A single text naming both figures is the strongest evidence available here that its author treated them as distinct, whatever later writers did with the pair.