Temples to Isis have been found all over the ancient world from Pompeii through Asia Minor, throughout Europe, and into Britain. She is depicted as a woman holding the Was sceptre and ankh and a staff adorned with ribbons but is also shown with a bow and arrows and an axe representing the military might of Thebes. Amunet - The female counterpart of Amun, member of the Ogdoad. In the same way that she could bring the desert winds, she could deflect them, and the same with pestilence; just as she had brought the plague, she could cure it and was known as "Mistress of Life" in this capacity (and so was frequently invoked in healing spells and incantations by ancient doctors). She was later absorbed into Hathor. Apis - The Divine Bull worshipped at Memphis as an incarnation of the god Ptah.
Serket was almost certainly an early Mother Goddess, and her later role as protector against venomous creatures (especially scorpions) and guardian of women and children reflects those characteristics. Naunet is his female aspect and consort. Hathor, for example, was a goddess of music, dancing, and drunkenness but was also understood as an ancient Mother Goddess, also associated with the Milky Way as a divine reflection of the Nile River, and, in her earlier incarnation as Sekhmet, as a destroyer. For political and religious reasons, for example, the Theban god Amun, who was considered the most powerful deity in the New Kingdom, was united with Ra, a sun god whose cult dated to the beginnings of Egypt. "Egyptian Gods - The Complete List."
Thoth - God of writing and wisdom, truth and integrity, one of the most important deities in the Egyptian pantheon worshipped from the Predynastic Period (c. 6000-3150 BCE) on to the Ptolemaic Dynasty (323-30 BCE), the last to rule Egypt. Khonsu replaced the earlier god Montu as son of Mut and also took on his protective qualities. Hatmehit (Hatmehyt) - She was a fish goddess worshipped in the Delta region of Mendes. Sah - An astral god, personification of the constellation Orion, usually paired with Sothis (Sopdet) as representations of the astral forms of Osiris and Isis. She is further identified as the consort of Bes, the dwarf god of childbirth, sexuality, humor, and war. Neper predates Osiris and may have been one of the earlier gods who prefigure the Osiris Myth. She arose from the totemic symbol of the nome (province) of the region around Mendes, which was a fish. Bunson writes, "Through animism humankind sought to explain natural forces and the place of human beings in the pattern of life on earth" (98).
Our latest articles delivered to your inbox, once a week: Our mission is to engage people with cultural heritage and to improve history education worldwide. It is not surprising then that there were over 2,000 deities in the Egyptian pantheon. He was the creator-god and the patron deity of crafts and craftsmanship. In a number of inscriptions throughout Egypt's history Neith is referred to as the "Mother of the Gods" or "Mother of All" and is among the earliest examples of the Mother Goddess figure in history. The belief in a life after death gave rise to an understanding of supernatural beings who presided over this other realm which connected them to the earthly plane seamlessly.
Ptah was originally the figure who stood on the primordial mound of the ben-ben at the creation of the world. She is the patron goddess of brewers. His statuary, along with another god named Tabo, has often been found near doorways giving rise to the interpretation that he was a guardian god. Atum (Ra) - The sun god, supreme lord of the gods, first god of the Ennead (tribunal of nine gods), creator of the universe and human beings.
Serket (Selket, Serqet or Serkis) - She was a protective and also an important funerary goddess probably originating in the Predynastic Period (c. 6000-3150 BCE) and first mentioned during the First Dynasty of Egypt (c. 3150-2890 BCE). She and Tefnut then mated and gave birth to Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) who Atum pushed high apart from each other, providing a place for humans to live. We use cookies to personalize content and ads and to analyze traffic on our website. Ancient History Encyclopedia. He was a desert god who brought the evil winds of the dry lands to the lush Nile Valley and was associated with foreign lands and people. Mark, published on 17 April 2016 under the following license: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike. Peak - Known as "Peak of the West", the personification of the highest peak of the cliffs which overshadowed the Valley of the Kings and worshipped by the workers at Deir el-Medina as a protective power. In this capacity, she is linked to the inundation of the Nile. He was worshipped as early as the Old Kingdom (c. 2613-2181 BCE) and continues to be referenced through the rest of Egypt's history, especially through protective amulets and tomb inscriptions. She holds a writing implement in her right hand and the notched palm stalk representing the years' passage in her left. by Osama Shukir Muhammed Amin (CC BY-NC-SA), by Trustees of the British Museum (Copyright), by The Trustees of the British Museum (Copyright). She cared for people in life and appeared to them after death to help guide them safely to paradise. She blessed people with success owing to her ability to see both past and future.
The sun god Ra broke from the darkness every morning in his great boat, bringing the light, and many of the gods watched over the people by night as the stars. Depicted as a child with a sistrum.
Mist was attributed to him as "Lakes of Shu" and the clouds as "Bones of Shu" and he was also associated with light and brightness. Ptah began as a local god in Memphis but as the influence of Memphis expanded over Egypt, he became popular elsewhere as well. Balance was an important concept to the ancient Egyptians and the numbers two, four, and eight figure significantly in representations of the deities (as do three, six, and nine). When the gods finally died, after millions of years, human beings would die with them and all of human history would be rendered meaningless. He is depicted as a jackal, sometimes wearing a scarf with a falcon before him. Isis returns Osiris to life but, because he is incomplete, descends to the underworld as Lord of the Dead. Set was originally a hero-god who drove away the serpent Apep (Apophis) from the barge of the sun god and killed it nightly. The Greenfield Papyrusby The Trustees of the British Museum (Copyright). Humans were then placed in a womb from which they were born on earth. The gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt did eventually die and it did not even take millions of years. When Ra became tired of the sins of humanity, he sent Sekhmet to destroy them. This aspect was referred to as Isis-Shentayet. The return to the state of wholeness, of the many combining back into the One, was considered inevitable. Hathor was most often portrayed as a woman with cow horns featuring uraneus (Wadjet and sun disc). Andjety - Early god of fertility associated with the city of Busiris (Andjet). In iconography she appears like either of these two but with a crocodile head. Jupiter-Amun - The Roman version of Zeus-Amun, king of the gods, worshipped at the Siwa Oasis in Egypt. Khenmu (Khnum) - Also known as "The Great Potter", Khenmu was an early god of Upper Egypt most probably from Nubia originally.
In time, these spirits understood through animism became anthropomorphized (attributing human characteristics to non-human things). His priests kept live crocodiles in the temples who were fed lavishly on the best cuts of meat and treated better than many human beings of the time. As a fertility goddess, she was further linked to the Nile River and the inundation and so with Hapi, the god of the fertile mud of the Nile.
He also attended the “Weighting of the Heart” ceremony in the afterlife. He evolved from a god of agriculture and growth to the god of craftsmen and guardian of the Memphis necropolis after Osiris became more popular. Shu gave to the early world the principles of life while Tefnut contributed the principles of order. Thank you! His son became the king of Egypt, while Osiris became the king of the dead and the judge of the underworld. In the story of the creation of the world, Atum is angered by the intimate relationship between Geb (earth) and Nut (sky) and so separates them, declaring that Nut may not give birth to her children on any day of the year. He was the son of Tasenetnofret, a local goddess of Kom Ombo who was a manifestation of Hathor. Ogdoad - The eight gods representing primordial elements of creation: Nu and Naunet (water); Heh and Hauhet (infinity); Kek and Kauket (darkness); Amun and Amaunet (hiddenness, obscurity). Supreme king of the gods in some periods, though originally a minor fertility god. Renpet - A goddess who personified the year. When the sacred bull died it was mummified with the same care given a king. Her name means "Mistress of the Temple Enclosure" or "Mistress of the House" referring to a heavenly house or temple. He is always shown in a front-facing position of protection watching over his charges. Depicted as a strong young man with the sign of the desert over his head.
She was widely venerated throughout Egypt. As protector of the divine king, Sed was associated with justice and so linked to the goddess Ma'at. The rise of Christianity meant the end of ancient Egyptian religious practices and a world imbued and sustained by magic. Kherty reigned over the entrance and hallways leading to the Hall of Truth while Osiris had reign over the Hall and the Field of Reeds. Wadjet was worshiped as a cobra and was often included in royal insignia as a symbol of sovereignty over Egypt. The stars then were called "Followers of Osiris" who sailed across the night sky in accordance with divine pattern. The symbol of the ouroborus, the snake swallowing its own tail, representing eternity, comes from this connection of the serpent with creation and the divine. The dead were greeted by other deities when they arrived in the afterlife and were then brought to the Hall of Truth for judgment by Kherty.
The word means "that which is straight" and the concept of harmony infused every aspect of an Egyptian's life. Qudshu (Qadesh) - Syrian goddess of love, consort of the war god Reshep, assimilated into Egyptian worship during the New Kingdom (1570-1069 BCE).
The invisible spirits which inhabited the universe were given form, shape, and names and these became the deities of ancient Egypt. Tayet (Tait) - Goddess of weaving who provided the clothes for the king. Sky Bull - The deity who presided over the heavens and the afterlife as a protector, also known as "Bull of the West" for his association with the afterlife. He was also sought in protection against magic spells cast by one's enemies and possibly against demons or ghosts. He presided over the north, had the form of a baboon, and was watched over by Nephthys. A freelance writer and former part-time Professor of Philosophy at Marist College, New York, Joshua J.
Amenet (Amentet) - A goddess who welcomed the dead to the afterlife with food and drink. Her association with measurements eventually made her the patroness of builders, architects, and those who dealt in accounting for cattle, other animals, and captives seized in war. Sothis - The personification of the star Sirius (the "dog star") whose appearance heralded the annual inundation of the Nile. Ancient History Encyclopedia. Of the Five Pillars of Islam, prayer, pilgrimage, fasting, and alms-giving were all practiced millennium before by the ancient Egyptians in the worship of their gods. Serket was a scorpion goddess depicted as a woman with a scorpion on her head and arms outstretched in a protective pose. Thank you!
Scholar R. H. Wilkinson notes how "a number of Egyptian texts show that although the gods were not considered to be mortal in the usual sense, they could nevertheless die" (20). She undoubtedly was featured in stories of the Distant Goddess, as deities associated with the Eye of Ra usually are, but no stories have been found thus far. Her name means "Powerful" and is usually interpreted as "The Female Powerful One". Forty-Two Judges - The Forty-two deities who presided with Osiris, Thoth, and Anubis over the judgment of the soul in the afterlife.