Mallory Hogan December 10th, 2012 History 2 Major Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Egypt*

Name of Deity What the Deity Rules Description Image

Amun

The king of the gods in the New Kingdom. Temple: Karnak. Animals: Goose and ram. He associated with Re and became known as AmnumRe.

He is portrayed as a ram, as a man with a ram's head, or with a beard and a feathered crown.

Anubis

A mysterious canid funerary deity of ancient Egypt. Anubis is an extremely ancient deity. Became popularly known as the son of Osiris.

Son of Osirus and Nephys, definitely canid and most likely a jackal or a wild dog

Bast (Bastet)

The Egyptian cat-headed goddess, Bastet was strictly a solar deity until the arrival of Greek influence on Egyptian society, from the 2nd Dynasty (roughly 2890-2686 BCE), was the "Daughter of Ra, sent out specifically to lay waste to the enemies of Egypt and her gods.

Bastet was originally portrayed as either a wild desert cat or as a lioness, and only became associated with the domesticated feline around 1000 BCE.

Hathor

Hathor was a preDynastic goddess who gained enormous popularity. Hathor was a feminine goddess. If Horus was the god associated with the living king, Hathor was the god associated with the living queen. Also, her cult flourished in Ta-Netjer

Her name is translated as "the House of Horus"Hathor's symbology included such items as sistra (a type of rattle), the horns-andsundisk headdress. She was also shown as a hippopotamus, a falcon, a cobra, or a lioness

Horus

The name "Horus" is a general catchall for multiple deities, the most famous of whom is Harseisis In all the Horus deities the traits of kingship, sky and solar symbology, and victory reoccur. Horus can be seen at the top of the serekh of early kings.

Horus deities are frequently depicted as hawks or hawkheaded men, though some are represented as fully human. Horus can be seen at the top of the serekh of early kings

Isis

One of the most popular goddesses in Egypt. Possibly she was originally the personification of the throne. In the Osiris myths she searched for her husband's body, who was killed by her brother Seth. She retrieved and reassembled the body, and in this connection she took on the role of a goddess of the dead and of the funeral rights.

Isis was depicted as a woman with the solar disk between the cow horns on her head. Or, crowned with a thrown, but also with the child Horus sitting on her lap. A vulture was sometimes seen incorporated in her crown.

Ma'at

An Egyptian goddess who personified the concepts of truth, cosmic order and justice. This concept was needed to Egyptian life and the rule of the Pharaohs. The Kings portrayed themselves constantly as "Beloved of Ma'at" and upholders of the universal order. This role was established by Horus, who defeated the god Seth. Also, the Feather of Truth, which was Ma'at's symbol.

Judges in both human and divine spheres were known as representatives of Ma'at. She is also a woman wearing a crown surmounted by a huge ostrich feather. Her totem symbol is a stone platform or foundation, representing the stable base on which order is built.

Osiris

Osiris was the Egyptian god of the underworld, although he was also worshipped as a fertility, resurrectionand vegetation god. He was married to Isis, a sky goddess. He was father to Horus, the god of sky, and protector of the dead. Osiris was killed by his brother Seth. Seth took the body and chopped it up into many pieces, and scattered them throughout Egypt. Isis foundthe pieces and put him back together.

In his original form, a greenskinned man dressed in the raiment of a pharaoh. Following the Legend of Osiris, he appears as a green-skinned man in the form of a mummified pharaoh. He is often depicted wearing the atef crown with a pair of ram horns at its base. He is depicted as a mummified man with only his hands free to grasp a sceptre composed of the symbols of life and stability. He is also typically shown wearing a skullcap and standing on the plinth-shaped hieroglyph that is part of the namefor Ma'at, the goddess of fundamental

Ptah

Ptah is the creator-god of Memphis, the city that served as the capital of the ancient Egypt for most of its history. A patron of craftsmen, Ptah's name means "Creator". Ptah is one of several Egyptian deities attributed with a myth about fashioning creation.

Ra

The most important of the Egyptian gods, the personification of the sun. He created himself from a mound that arose from the primeval waters of Nun or out of a primordial lotus flower. He then created Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture), who in turn engendered the earth-god Geb and the sky-goddess Nut. Re was said to have created humankind from his own tears.

truth. Re was usually portrayed as a man with the head of a falcon, crowned with the sun disc encircled by the uraeus.

Set (Seth) The ancient Egyptian god of chaos, the embodiment of hostility and even of outright evil. He is also a god of war, deserts, storms, and foreign lands. As the god of deserts he protects the caravans which travel through the desert, but he also causes sandstorms which bring him into conflict with the fertility god Osiris. Seth killed his brother and scattered the remains all over Egypt. Despite his reputation, Seth has some good characteristics. He protects the sun barge of Re during its nightly journey through the underworld and he fights the snake-like monster Apep.

Seth was portrayed as a man with possibly the head of an aardvark. He had a curved snout, erect square-tipped ears and a long forked tail. Animals sacred to this god where the dog, the jackal, the gazelle, the donkey, the crocodile, the hippopotamus, and the pig.

Thoth

Thoth was the god of wisdom, inventor of writing, patron of scribes and the divine mediator. As with most Egyptian deities there were many different stories regarding the parentage of Thoth. Many sources call him the son of Re. Thoth was also a lunar deity, and whatever form he took he wore a lunar crescent on his head.

He is most often represented as a man with the head of an ibis, holding a scribal palette and reed pen. He could also be shown completely as an ibis or a baboon.

*There are many other Egyptian gods and goddesses in addition to these. Choose three more to name and describe on the next page. Khnum An ancient Egyptian creatorgod who fashioned the bodies of both gods and mankind upon his potter's wheel. He is represented as ram-headed

Tawaret

"The Great One". A very popular Egyptian hippopotamus goddess of childbirth. She is a domestic deity who is portrayed on beds and on pillows. Pregnant women commonly wore amulets bearing the goddess's image. Taweret assists women in labor and wards off demons (hence her scary appearance). She was often found in the company of the dwarf god Bes. Hapy was especially important to the ancient Egyptians because he brought the flood every year. The flood deposited rich silt on the banks of the Nile, allowing the Egyptians to grow crops.

Head of a hippopotamus with the arms and legs of a lion, the back and tail of a crocodile, and the breasts and stomach of a pregnant woman.

Hapy

Hapy was portrayed as a plump man with a beard, a large belly, and a crown of aquatic plants.