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The Gods of Ancient
Egypt
The
majority among us represent ancient Egypt as the country of the Gods, Kings
and Priests. During three thousand years of Egyptian civilization, many
temples arose to be dedicated to the Gods. These sanctuaries however
were reserved for the Kings and the Priests; the population was only very
rarely allowed to enter at the time of the worship for they were not
considered as pure and consequently were likely to desecrate the places.
The people however had the right to take part in certain ceremonies the
purpose of which was to meet the statues. Each temple had a statue
representing a God and at the time of the ceremonies these statues were
carried in procession or travelled in a boat towards another temple.
The worship
of the Gods was more
important than the myths, the narratives concerning the mythology are alas
very rare. They began being recorded from 2000 BC but little was
preserved. Pictorial representations are precious information but very
little are representative of the mythological events. The myths were thus
pieced together from indirect sources like the funerary texts, the ritual
one and anthems for the divine worship and the magic texts.
To
give you an idea of the diversity of the Egyptian Divinities, here a list of
the Principal Gods and Goddesses. There are two kinds of divinities, those
associated with an area (marked *) and the others that are widespread
throughout the country.
Amon*:
The God associated with Thèbes. It is represented in human form or sometimes
with the head of a ram. It has as a wife, Mout with whom it had a son:
Khonsou. Together, they form a divine triad.
Anubis:
Funerary God having the appearance of a jackal. It is Osiris the embalmer.
It supervises the mummification of the mortals and protects the tombs.
Aton*:
This God resembles a solar disc and gives life, thanks to the hands which
are at the end of its rays. It became single under the reign of Akhenaton.
Atoum*:
God of Héliopolis. It has a human form and
symbolizes the setting sun.
Bastet*:
Goddess adored in the Delta with Bubastis. It can have the head of a she-cat
or lioness.
Bes:
Monstrous dwarf and grimacing. It protects pregnant women.
Geb*:
God with human form that belongs to the divine procession created by Atoum,
in Héliopolis. Geb (ground) was separated from Nout (sky) by Chou.
Hapy:
It has an appearance characterised by hanging udders. It is this God who
causes the rising of the Nile (source of life) since his cave is close to
Aswan.
Harpocrat:
Child of Isis and Osiris. It is represented like a naked child, with a braid
of hair and a finger on the mouth.
Harsaphes*:
God with head of ram. It is closely related to Rê,
Osiris and Amon.
Hathor*:
Goddess with the horns or head of cow. It is the Goddess of the love,
intoxication, joy, and music. It has as an emblem
the sistre (musical instrument). The Greeks assimilated it to Aphrodite.
Horus*:
God of the sky, child of Isis and Osiris and enemy of Seth, it has the
appearance of a falcon or just the head of it. It
is capped with a double crown.
Imhotep:
Child of Ptah and Khredou, he is the deity civil servant of Djoser. He is
also owner of the scribes, healer, wise, genius magician and architect.
14. Isis:
Wife and sister of Osiris. This maternal Goddess or ‘Large Universal Mother’
and carries the hieroglyph of her name on her head.
Khnoum*:
God ram or with head of ram. It models men on a potter's wheel. He is also
the guard of the sources of the Nile.
Khonsou*:
Child of Amon and Mout. It has the appearance of a man with head of falcon
or like a child, cranium shaved, with a braid on the side.
Maat:
Girl of Rê. It personified with truth and justice in the shape of a seated
woman carrying a feather of ostrich on the head.
Montou*:
God falcon or with head of falcon. Warlike God with solar disc and two
feathers.
Must*:
Wife of Amon and mother of Khonsou. It has the appearance of a vulture.
Neith*:
Divinity of the Delta, represented in the shape of a woman carrying the
crown of low Egypt.
Nekhabet*:
Goddess represented like a vulture. It protects high Egypt.
Nephthys:
Sister of Isis, Osiris and Seth. It is sometimes the mother of Anubis. It
carries a small house on its hairstyle.
Nout:
Divinity of the sky. Sister and wife of Geb (ground). Represented in the
shape of a woman curved above the ground which it touches of its hands and
its feet, whereas the sun moves on its body.
Osiris:
Represented in the shape of a mummified king, wrapped in a shroud and capped
white crown, he is the God of Death.
Ouadjet (Outo)*:
Goddess cobra, protective of low Egypt.
Ptah*:
Represented in a mummified human form, he is the creator of the world by the
thought and the verb. It constituted a divine triad with Sekhmet and
Nefertoum, his son.
Rê*:
He is the solar God. It has a solar disc on a head of falcon. During the
day, it travels in the sky and in the evening in a boat.
Sekhmet*:
Warlike Goddess with head of lioness. It was often venerated with the entry
of the desert.
Seth*:
One placed it like a guard at the prow of the solar boat. It is represented
like a man with head of animal. It has long ears and a bent muzzle. It is
assimilated to the Syrian God, Baal.
Sobek*:
God crocodile or with head of crocodile.
Taoueret:
A Mixture of hippopotamus and woman, with the legs of a lion and the tail of
crocodile. It protects the pregnant women.
Thot*:
God with head of Ibis. It carries the instruments of a scribe. It is
sometimes represented in the form of baboon. The inventor of the writing and
figures, he is the owner of the knowledge. The Greeks compare him to Hermes.
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