 The first divine act is the creation of the cosmos , described in several creation myths . They focus on different gods , each of which may act as creator deities . The eight gods of the <unk> , who represent the chaos that <unk> creation , give birth to the sun god , who establishes order in the newly formed world ; Ptah , who embodies thought and creativity , gives form to all things by <unk> and naming them ; Atum produces all things as <unk> of himself ; and Amun , according to the myths promoted by his priesthood , preceded and created the other creator gods . These and other versions of the events of creation were not seen as contradictory . Each gives a different perspective on the complex process by which the organized universe and its many deities emerged from undifferentiated chaos . The period following creation , in which a series of gods rule as kings over the divine society , is the setting for most myths . The gods struggle against the forces of chaos and among each other before withdrawing from the human world and installing the historical kings of Egypt to rule in their place . 
