Egyptian God Ra - The Sun God
As with other ancient Egyptian gods, Ra changed form according to the time of day: Khepri - This is the form Ra took in the morning, in which he becomes the God of the Scarab beetle. The mythology behind this came from observing the dung beetle laying its eggs in the dung, then rolling it into a ball. The ball was round, radiated heat, and then gave life to the new beetles. It resembled the sun to the ancient Egyptians' eyes. When Ra was Khepri, he was depicted as having a Scarab as a head! 
Ra of Midday - He was his own self at this time, which is usually depicted in the shape of a man with a falcon head.
This can be confusing since Horus was also depicted as a man with a falcon head... ...but Ra wore a sun disk encircled by a cobra on his head, while Horus wore a crown. Atum - In the afternoon, Ra took the shape of the God Atum who is the original creator of the universe. Other than these 3 main manifestations, Ra was also crossed with other deities such as Horus (to form Herakhty), Amun (to form Amun-Ra), and also Khnum (the Ram-headed God which was his evening manifestation). Confusing I know... but wait till you read about Horus. If ever was a more complicated and eternally shape-shifting deity, it would be him!
Ra's Function and WorshipOne of Ra's main roles was that of creator. He is said to have created the Gods and universe out of the dark waters of chaos. See the Egyptian Creation Myth. Another important role was steering the solar boat that carried the souls of the dead through the underworld.His cult center was at Heliopolis, where his assimilation with the god Atum was at the head of the great Ennead of Heliopolis. The Temple at Karnak, one of the most impressive temples of ancient cultures, is dedicated to Amun-Ra. All in all, his worship was one of the strongest and longest - with a prominent place in tombs and religious scripts such as the Pyramid Texts and the Book of the Dead. The worship of the Egyptian God Ra, which began sometime around the 4th and 5th dynasties, finally came to an end when Christianity came to Egypt during the time of the Roman Empire.
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