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Anubis.. Almost always portrayed with the head of a jackal, Anubis was one of the most highly respected Gods of Egypt. As Egypt's god of cemeteries and embalming, he opened the roads to the afterlife. Anubis was one of the oldest dieties. When the role of God of the dead was taken over by his father Osiris, Anubis became closely linked with mummification itself. Anubis became known as the protector of royalty even after death. He conducted the dead to the judgement halls of the underworld. |
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Amun.. His name means "hidden one" or "invisible one," and in his original form Amun was known to the people of Thebes as a god of the air and also of war. In keeping with this mysterious nature, his statue in the local temple was kept covered in a shroud. Amun became the god of the royal residence of Thebes. Over time he became known as the god of the empire, credited with uniting Egypt, and eventually as the creator of all things. It was said that Amun had shaped his own egg, giving birth to himself and later to all the other gods. The priests of Egypt's other gods were not happy with this idea and the powerful priests of Ra saw to it that their god was merged with Amun, and out of this process came Amun-Ra, King of the Gods. |
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Hathor.. Hathor was a beloved Goddess of the Egyptians in life as well as death. She was the patron goddess of the Theban city of the dead, and she was often depicted as a cow partly hdden in a papyrus thicket nead the foot of the western mountain in Thebes. She was most revered as a goddess of childbirth and fertility, of trees, and of happiness, love, dancing, drink and joy. She was also the goddess of the sky: in fact, many Egyptians believed she WAS the sky. More commonly, she was worshipped and loved as the goddess of beauty and joy. |
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Horus.. Originally Horus was a great sky god, depicted as a magnificent falcon. But when he was made the state god of Egypt, the priests of Ra claimed that their god should be worshiped as the highest deity. Ultimately, a compromise was reached among the competing priests: Horus was merged with Ra to become a new god: Ra-Hor-Akhty, or Ra and Horus of the Two Horizons. He was later merged with the son of Isis and Osiris, who was also Horus. Horus was known for his rivalry with Seth, who was the murderer of his father. Seth was constantly after Horus. They finally met in a bloody battle where Seth gouged out Horus' eyes which were restored by the goddess Hathor. |
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Isis.. Powerful and gentle, adventurous and nurturing, Isis was probably the most beloved of Egypt's gods. She was the sister and wife of Osiris. And she opened the path to rebirth by bringing her husband back from the dead. Eventually, Isis was revered as the universal mother goddess and as the goddess of childbirth, healing and magic in particular. She was also believed to have civilized Egypt, taught agriculture and medicine to its people, and given them the institution of marriage. |
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Osiris.. The Egyptians believed that Osiris had been the first king of Egypt, teaching his people agriculture, justice, and worship of the Gods. He was married to his sister, Isis. But one day, his evil brother, Seth, became jealous and killed him. Eventually Isis, with the help of Thoth, brought life back into the body of Osiris. But he was too weak to come back to earth and was left with the fate of ruling the underwold and his son, Horus, took his place as king of sunny Egypt. Osiris became the Egyptian's symbol of rebirth. |
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Ra.. Ra was the sun god. He was the most important god of the ancient Egyptians. The ancient Egyptians believed that Ra was swallowed every night by the sky goddess Nut, and was reborn every morning. The ancient Egyptians also believed that he travelled through the underworld at night. In the underworld, Ra appeared as a man with the head of a ram. |
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Seth.. Seth represented everything that threatened harmony in Egypt. He was the brother of Osiris and Isis, as well as the brother/husband of Nepthys. He murdered his brother Osiris, then battled with his nephew Horus to be the ruler of the living. At certain times in the history of ancient Egypt, Seth was associated with royalty. |
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Thoth.. Many Egyptians believed that after death they would come face to face with the great god Thoth. This god of writing and numbers would present as the Clerk of the Court of Judgement, calmly recording whether or not their human hearts were heavy with bad deeds or light enough to ensure a safe entry into the underworld. Thoth was also a moon god, known as Beautiful of Night. In addition, he was the messenger of the gods and most important, the god of all things intellectual. He was the god of scribes, the god who invented numbers and made mathematical calculations. He was the god who literally controlled time. |
