The Egyptian gods Belong to an elaborate system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed a fundamental part of the society of the Ancient Egypt . This system was based on the interaction of the Egyptian people with a large number of deities that were thought to be involved and in control of the forces of nature.
Prayer and tributes were efforts aimed at winning the sympathy of the gods and being able to count on their favors. The main religious figure was the Pharaoh , Who was believed to have divine ties because of his position. It served as an intermediary between the people and the gods, maintaining the obligation to carry out rituals and offerings so that the almighty maintain, instead, order in the universe.
A very relevant aspect of the Egyptian religion was funeral practices. The Egyptians insisted on ensuring the survival of their souls after death, building tombs that filled with goods and tributes to preserve the bodies and spirits of the dead.
The Egyptian religion developed for more than 3,000 years. Beliefs varied over time, while some gods grew in popularity and others fell. In some epochs certain gods took more importance than the others.
There are many written materials and monumental works as a reminder of ancient Egyptian religion and mythology. Its influence on ancient and modern cultures is significant throughout history. Many of the Egyptian gods were related to specific regions of Egypt, where worship to them was more important.
The number of Egyptian deities or gods that are recorded is very large and difficult to establish accurately. Some Egyptologists believe that there may be more than 1,400 deities mentioned in historical documents.
Below you will find a list of the main Egyptian gods and a brief explanation of their origin and influence.
Main deities of Egypt
1- Nut
It was the mother goddess of Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephythys. He was often represented in human form. His body, elongated, symbolized the sky.
Each of its members represented a cardinal point, while its body stretched around the earth. Nut swallowed the sun every sunset and parted it again at the next dawn. It can be found drawn on the roofs of the tombs, inside the coffins and on the temple roofs.
2- Shu
This god was the husband of Tefnut and the father of Nut and Geb. Together with his wife, they were the first gods created by Atum.
Shu was the god of air and sunlight. He was usually portrayed as a man wearing a pen-shaped headdress. The main function of Shu was to hold the body of the goddess Nun and thus to separate the sky from the earth.
3- Geb
God the father of Osiris, Seth and Nephythys, had no cult of its own. Being a god of the earth, it was related to fertility and it was believed that earthquakes were a consequence of their laughter.
4- Ammit
He was a female demon of ancient Egypt. His body was part lion, hippopotamus and crocodile. He was considered a funereal deity. He inhabited the Egyptian underworld called Duat. Ammit was not worshiped, but feared for everything she represented.
5- Am-heh
It was a minor god of the underworld, whose name meant"devourer of millions"or"devourer of eternity." He was depicted as a dog-headed man inhabiting a lake of fire.
6- Anat
Egyptian goddess of war who had several temples in her honor. Pharaoh Rameses named his daughter Bint-Anat (daughter of Anat).
7- Amun
Also known as Amen or Ammon. This god was the chief deity of Thebes. He became the patron of the pharaohs of this city, where he was placed on the highest level of the pantheon, along with the god Ra.
The combination of both gods gave rise to the god Amun-Ra, the so-called king of gods. He was represented with human form who carries a crown with two feathers.
8- Anubis
This god was the protector of the dead, he was represented as a man with a jackal's head. He was the son of Seth and Nephythys.
Its cult was located in Cynopolis, city called at the present time the Kes. It was related to the process of mummification and the preservation of bodies after death. Anubis was responsible for bringing the dead to their final judgment.
9- Bastet
Typically depicted as a cat-headed woman, this goddess was originally an avenging lioness who evolved into the goddess of pleasure.
Around his temple lived many cats, that were mummified when dying. In modern times a cemetery of mummified cats has been discovered in the region.
10- Bat
Egyptian goddess represented as a woman with a human face. His ears were cow's and horns too. It is thought that it may have been later replaced by the goddess Hathor.
11- Bes
Unlike other gods, Bes was represented with his face facing the front, contrary to most of the Egyptian gods who were drawn in profile.
His figure was that of a grotesque dwarf with his tongue out. It was related to fun and entertainment, but also as a guardian god of childbirth. It was believed that Bes drove the demons away at night and protected people from dangerous animals.
12- Buchis
In Egyptian mythology, this god was the manifestation of the warrior god Montu. His effigy was that of a wild bull, with a white body and a black face. The bulls born in the region where this god was worshiped, were considered sacred and were mummified when dying.
13- Hapi
He was the god of the Nile River flood. He was depicted as a man with a prominent belly, with large breasts and a headdress made of aquatic plants. It was believed that it lived in the caves of the first cataract of the river and its cult developed around Aswan.
14- Hathor
This goddess was the daughter of the god Ra and was considered the patroness of women, love, beauty, pleasure and music. She was represented regularly in three different ways: as a cow, as a woman with cow's ears or as a woman wearing a hat with cow horns.
In this last representation, he usually held the sun between his horns. Hathor had a dark side, for it was believed that his father, Ra, had sent her to punish the human race for their misbehavior. Hathor did so terrible a mischief that his father, horrified, made her return after deceiving her by making her drink beer mixed with blood and poison.
15- Heh
In Egyptian mythology, it was the divine representation of eternity. His name means"without end." His graphic representation was through a frog or a man with a frog's head.
16- Horus
This god was the son of Osiris and Isis and the mortal enemy of the evil god Seth. He was depicted as a hawk or as a hawk-headed man. Sometimes he was pictured like a boy with curls sitting on his mother's lap.
He was the god of heaven and the protector of kings. There are many legends about his battles with Seth, who murdered his father and usurped his throne. Finally Horus managed to defeat Seth and became the king of Egypt.
17- Imhotep
He was an Egyptian mathematician, who served as chancellor of the pharaoh during the Third Dynasty. He was one of the few plebeians who were granted divine status.
The tomb he built to be his last dwelling was hidden and to this day, despite his efforts, he could not be found. It is believed to be somewhere in Saqqara.
18- Ishtar
She was the goddess of fertility, love, war, sex and power. She was the daughter of Anu. Its symbol was an eight-pointed star. It is believed to be the divine personification of the planet Venus.
19- Isis
A fundamental figure in the mythology of the ancient world, Isis was the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. He was associated with funeral rituals and is said to have created the first mummy with the dismembered remains of Osiris.
After resurrecting to Osiris, gave life to Horus, reason why also considered to him the goddess of the life, the healing and a protector of kings. He was represented with a throne in the head and sometimes breastfeeding the little Horus. For the ancient Egyptians, Isis represented the ideal wife, loving, devoted and affectionate.
20- Kek
This god was the embodiment of the concept of darkness in ancient Egypt. He was seen as an androgynous god and his female form was called Keket. In some respects, their two forms represented night and day. They were drawn with a snake head.
21- Khepri
This god was related to the beetle, as this insect formed spheres of dirt on the ground, something that the ancient Egyptians considered the way the sun moved through the sky. Khepri symbolized creation and rebirth. His graphic representation was that of a beetle-headed man.
22- Khnum
It is one of the oldest Egyptian gods, originally considered the source of the Nile River.
It was thought that he was the creator of the bodies of human children, those who made with mud and then deposited in the womb of their mothers. He was also called the"divine potter." His graphic representation was a man with a goat's head.
23- Khonsu
The ancient Egyptian god of the moon. Its name means"traveler", perhaps related to the trip that the moon makes through the sky at night. This god played a leading role in the creation of life and creatures. He was depicted as a hawk-headed man wearing a full-moon hat.
24- Ma'at
This was the Egyptian goddess of truth and justice, representative of the fundamental harmony of the universe. She was shown as a sitting woman carrying an ostrich feather on her head.
On some occasions, he was represented by only the pen. Its power controlled the seasons of the year and the movement of the stars. She was the patroness of justice and the symbol of ethics in ancient Egypt.
The great vizier responsible for the court was called the Priest of Ma'at. This goddess was responsible for the final judgment after death. The heart of the dead was heavy with the feather of his head in the Hall of Two Truths. Ammut, the devourer of the dead, fed on those who failed the test.
25- Mehen
This Egyptian god was represented by a serpent, he was considered a protective deity that curled around the sun king Ra during his nocturnal descent.
Montu 26
It was a warrior god who reached that level during the Egyptian Eleventh Dynasty. He was related to the king Montuhotep, who reunited to Egypt of the North and South after the war.
27- Mut
This goddess was part of the Theban trilogy. Daughter of Ra, wife of Amun and mother of Khonsu, was the vulture goddess. She was depicted as a woman in a long, colorful dress wearing a vulture hat, accompanied by a double crown.
28- Nefertum
In Egyptian mythology, it was first a lotus flower that existed during the creation of the world and arose from the source of life. This god was also called"he who is beautiful"and"lily of the sun". He was considered to be the son of the creator god, Ptah, and of the goddess Sekhmet. He was typically depicted as a young man with blue flowers on his head.
29- Nephthys
Daughter of Geb and Nut, sister of Isis, wife of Seth and mother of Anubis, this goddess was represented like a woman accompanied by the symbols of a palace and a basket on its head.
She was also known as"lady of the mansions"or"lady of the palaces". He was so upset by the murder of Osiris at the hands of Seth that he helped his sister revive Osiris. Next to Isis, she is considered the protector of the dead. No temples dedicated exclusively to this goddess have been found.
30- Osiris
It was originally a god linked to the growth of crops. He was the first mythological king of Egypt and one of the most important gods. It was believed that it was he who brought civilization to the human race.
He was murdered by his brother Seth, brought back to life by his wife Isis and became the lord of the underworld and the chief judge. He was usually depicted as a mummy holding a staff and a whip.
On his head was a white crown, surrounded by two feathers. The color of his skin was blue, the color of death. In some representations, his skin was black, like fertile soil; Or green, representing the resurrection.
31- Ptah
He was the creator god. It was believed that he had given birth to the world from his thoughts and words. He was depicted as a mummy with his hands protruding from between the bandages and holding a staff.
Her head was shaved and she wore a cap. This god was related to the craftsmen. The priest of his temple was called the Great Leader of the Craftsmen.
32- Ra
At times also known as Re, this supreme god was the sun and was represented as a man with a hawk's head, crowned with a solar disk and a sacred serpent.
Each night, at dusk, he went down to the underworld, where he was depicted with a ram's head. Every day, Ra traveled through the sky, in the form of the sun and sailing on a raft.
Every night he descended to the underworld, where he fought against the forces of chaos. Every dawn was reborn. The Egyptian kings claimed to descend directly from Ra and were therefore called"Sons of Ra". The main center of his cult was at Heliopolis.
33- Renenutet
Goddess of nutrition and harvest. She was worshiped during the time of the harvest and was presented with tributes and sacrifices.
34- Seshat
She was the goddess of wisdom and writing. She could be seen in graphic representations as a book writer. She was also known as the goddess of architecture, astronomy, astrology, construction, mathematics and statistics.
35- Sobek
It was a crocodile god. Represented as this animal in an altar or a man with a crocodile head who wore a headdress in the shape of the sun. In the temple of Kom Ombo, where he was worshiped, there was a pit with sacred crocodiles. Some of these mummified animals can still be found today.
36- Seth
Also known as Set, Setekh, Suty and Sutekh, he was the son of Geb and Nut, brother of Osiris. He was the god of darkness, chaos and confusion. He was portrayed as a monster-headed man.
Sometimes he was also represented by a hippopotamus, a pig or a donkey. Seth murdered his brother and usurped the throne of Egypt. Most gods hated him. Horus finally defeated Seth in what was considered the eternal battle of good versus evil.
37- Sia
It was the pervasive embodiment of perception. This god had a connection with writing and, when represented in an anthropomorphic form, he was seen carrying a papyrus. It is believed that the god Atum created Sia and Hu from his blood shed when he cut his own penis, a possible allusion to circumcision.
38- Taweret
In Egyptian mythology, this was a goddess of childbirth and fertility. He was depicted as a hippo with female feline features and crocodile tail. She was also commonly referred to as"lady of the sky,""lady of the horizon,""she who stirs water,"or"lady of pure water."
39- Tefnut
This goddess was the wife of Shu and mother of Nut and Geb. She and her husband were the first gods created by Atum. She was the goddess of moisture and corrosion and was depicted as a lioness or as a woman with a lion's head.
40- Thoth
This was the Egyptian god of writing and knowledge. He was depicted as a bird-headed man, holding a scribe pen and a tablet. The Greeks associated it with Hermes and attributed to it the invention of science and writing.
In many graphical representations he can be seen performing mathematical calculations. Thoth was a very old god and occasionally served as intermediaries between gods. It was related to the moon.
In some illustrations he is seen wearing a headdress with the moon. One of his main functions was to take note of the works of the dead during his final judgment.
41- Tutu
This god was represented as a winged lion, with the head of a man and also other heads of hawk and crocodile.
42- Unit
This goddess was represented with woman's body and horse's head.
43- Wadj-wer
This deity was the personification of the Mediterranean Sea. It appears illustrating the walls of some funeral temples, as in the pyramid of Sahure.
44- Weneg
It is a deity of heaven and death in ancient Egyptian mythology. It was said that it protected the land and its inhabitants from the arrival of"great chaos."
References
- Ancient Egyptian religion. Taken from wikipedia.org.
- Gods and godesses. Taken from ancientegypt.co.uk/.
- Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses. Taken from discovering egypt.com.
- List of Egyptian deities. Taken from wikipedia.org.