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Ancient Egypt
GODS AND GODDESES
Ra
Sun God: Sun worship and
pyramids
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The sun was just as important as the Nile in
the Egyptian times.
It was believed that the goddess Nut gave birth
to the sun in the morning and swallowed it at
night.
The sun was so important in the Egyptian times
that it was known as a god called Ra.
He was the most important god of all gods.
Anubis
God of Embalming: Mummies
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Anubis chief of all the dead. He looked over
all dead mummified Egyptians.
He also invented the mummification process.
He had a human body with a black jackals
head. His ears were pointed and prickled.
Sometimes embalmers wore Anubis masks
when at work.
Osiris
First pharaoh and tamer of the
land: Farming
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Egyptians believed that the God known as
Osiris was the first pharaoh.
He taught the early Egyptians to farm. He
turned deserts into cropped lands where
animals could graze.
Osiris was chief god of the underworld.
In most images he is seen on mummies
bandages
Bes
God of family and health: The
Egyptian home
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Bes protected the home and was God of family
life.
He was favoured by pregnant woman and
woman who hoped to be pregnant.
His image was painted on to bedroom
furniture to ensure a good nights rest and to
protect you from nightmares.
Ma‘ at
Goddess of truth: The weighing of
the heart
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Ma‘ at was the patron saint of judges so they
often wore her as part of their uniform.
She was known as the woman who wore a
feather on here head and often wore a dress
that was patterned with feathers.
Ma’ at was the one who made sure that the
seasons changed, the stars moved and the
gods and humans were in harmony.
Thoth
God of wisdom: Writing and
scribes
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Thoth was usually shown as a man with the
head of a ibis bird but could be shown as a
total ibis bird or a baboon. Both were sacred
to him.
In temples dedicated to him thousands of ibis
were bred in captivity and most were
mummified.
At the temple Hermopolis, there is a cemetery
for mummified baboons buried in tunnels.
Ptah
The creator god: Craft
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In the beginning Ptah created the world and
molded the other gods out of precious metals
such as gold and silver. This is how he became
patron saint of craftsmanship.
He was worshiped in a place in northern Egypt
called Memphis. There he became chief god
and had a great temple named after him.
He then married Sekhmet a terrifying goddess
with the head of a lion. Her name means ‘the
powerful one’ and she haunts those who are
Amun
King of the gods: Karnak temple
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Amun is one of the greatest gods of the
Egyptian era.
By the time the new kingdom had been built
he was king of all gods. His most important
temple, at Karnak, made lots of money and
soon became the richest in the land.
It was said that Ra and Amun joined forces
and were sometimes called Amun-Ra.
His name means ‘the hidden one’.
Hathor
Goddess of festivals: Music and
feasting
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Hathor has one of the best loved goddess of
all time. This is because she was associated
with Love, happiness, music and festivals.
She was described in three different ways: A
woman wearing a head dress of a sun disk
with two cow horns either side of the sun disk;
A woman with little cow ears sticking out of a
curly wig or a cow.
She was mother to pharaohs and they were
sometimes called ‘son of hathor’
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Seth
Wicked god of the sky: Crime in
ancient
Seth was the most evil Gods of all the Egyptian Gods.
Seth is the god of Chaos, confusion and violent weather.
In Egyptian times Seth murdered his brother, Osiris, and
then scattered the pieces all over the land.
He appeared with a forked tail with cloven hooves with
large pricked ears, a snout and a monstrous head.
Although he sometimes took the shape of frightening
animals.
Khnum
God of the river Nile: Religion and
the river
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The river Nile was essential to the Egyptians for
survival because in the Egyptian times it barely
ever rained so it was main source of water.
Every July the Nile would overflow and both sides
would be covered in a thick black mud. This was
called Inundation and was so vital it had its own
god.
Khnum was in charge of the river and Inundation.
Inundation was so important because if it did not
happen all crops would die.
Horus
God of kingship: Government and
administration
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Horus had a mother and father called Isis and Osiris and
is often shown as a child.
He became divine protector and god of every pharaoh.
He was closely linked with the pharaohs in whose hands
the administration of the whole land of Egypt was placed.
In a battle a between Horus and his uncle Seth, Horus’s
eye was torn out, shredded and thrown in the sea. Thoth
retrieved and fixed the eye. He then gave the healed eye
to his dead father. He then tried to heal his father with
the eye. It was a symbol of healing and power.
There are
many amazing
stories about
the gods but
I'm just going
to tell you
about my
favourite.
Long ago Seth killed his
brother so his cousin,
Horus, set him a challenge
of racing in stone boats.
Seth made a fine but heavy
boat which sank
immediately. Horus was a
bit more clever he made a
boat out of wood and made
it look like stone. He won
and Seth was sentenced to
the skies were he became
God of thunderstorms.
I hope you enjoyed my slide show
References
McCall Henrietta, Gods & Goddesses in the Daily Life of the Ancient Egyptians, 2002, Hodder Wyland.
Ashworth Leon, Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, 2006, Evans publishing Group.