TOPAncient Egyptian Deities

TOPAncien= t Egypt= ian Deities

<= /o:p>

APEDEMAK * BASTET * ISIS * NEPHTHYS * HATHOR * SET

HEQET * HORUS * OSIRIS * THOTH * PTAH * ANUBIS

TEFNUT * SOBEK * NEITH * RA * MAAT

AAPEP<= /span>

He was the snake god (Apophis= in Greek). He snatched the souls of the dead between one life and the next. Th= ose swallowed entered a state of non-existance until rescued by other gods. Each time Aapep was kill= ed the captured souls were released to the underworld. He lay in wait for Ra (the = Sun) each day but the other gods killed him so Ra could escape. Top

AMMUT

She was the corpse-eater and ate the hearts of the wicked. She stood by the scales which weighed the souls of the Dead. She had a crocodile head, a lion's body and the back legs of a hippopotamus. <= /b>Top

AMUN

He was a god of the air and protector of the area around = Thebes. When Thebes became the = capital, the cult of Amun was promoted to a higher level= and he becomes the supreme god. He now assumed the powers and myths of other go= ds (e.g. the Sun god Ra being renamed Amun-Ra). The priests of the temples of Karnak and Thebes promoted th= is cult with great vigour. He had a special significanc= e at festivals, particularly the annual festival of the N= ile. The ram headed god accompanied the pharaoh (Amun-Ra's son and ruler of mortals) in the royal barge. Top

ANUBIS

The jackel headed god, origin= ally the god of putrefaction - scavenger of the burial grounds. He was the son o= f Osiris and Nephthys. His = role changed to that of protector of the dead in the Underworld. He supervised t= he weighing of the hearts in conjunction with Osiris. During the embalming ceremony, priests wore a jackal-mask to signify the presence of Anubis. He was also the god of emba= lming. Top=

BASTET=

The cat-headed goddess of fertility = and daughter of Ra. She was associated = with luck and childbirth. She was particularly worshipped in the town of Bubastis in the Nile Delta. There are many examples of the mummific= ation of cats in ancient times. Top

BENUBIRD

This bird was according to accounts the first living thing flying out of the light and landing in darkness. It's cry was also the first sound made. It was worshipped at Heliopolis and in art is shown as a yellow wagtail or Nile heron. A parallel is oft= en made with the phoenix flying out of the fire. Top

BES

He was the god who protected houses and families. He was a bandy-legged dwarf with big ears and was armed with a knife and sa (magic noose) to bind e= vil spirits before they could attack. He also played many musical instruments to lull his enemies into submission. Bes statues w= ere put on doors and elsewhere to ward off evil spirits. Top

DUAT

This was the home of the Dead but not an Underworld but rather a canyon in Heaven. It was fashioned by the Sun-chariot as it travelled the sky. This place was not accessible to h= umans as it was too steep to climb. = Top

ENNEAD

The name given to the gods worshipped at Heliopolis,= Ra the Sun (his manifestation as Amun) and his eight l= ineal descendants. Grouped into four pairs of one male and one female in each. Osiris and Isis, Set and Nephthys, Geb and Nut, Shu and Tefnut. Top

GEB

The earth god, brother of Nut (sky) = and son of Shu and Tefnut. Both siblings were locked together at birth and Ra their grandfather ordered Shu to separate them forcin= g Nut up to the sky and Geb down to the earth. Top

HAP

Symbolised by a bull, Hap was the power of the god P= tah. He was the messenger between the gods and mortals, carrying the gods messages to Earth and travel= ling with each soul as it makes its journey from one world to the next. <= /b>Top

HAPI

The god of the Nile, h= e was a fertility god. He ensured the waters were fertile and the floods were controlled. He had no temples of his own but his image appears in many of t= he other temples. Top=

HAPY

A god of embalming and his image is seen on the canopic jars used in the process. His responsibility = was to look after the lungs. Top

HATHOR

She was the wife of Horus she guided deserving souls past the island of fire to Orir= is' court. She entertained Ra on his nightly journey through the darkness. She = is shown as a golden-horned cow and was worshipped as the goddess of love, mus= ic and childbirth. Her centre of worship was Dendera. Top

HEQUET

She was a frog-headed goddess and existed in the primordi= al mud prior to creation. She assisted at the rebirth of Horu= s and thus achieved immortality and a goddess of childbirth. Her image on jewellery became a lucky charm for pregnant women. Top

HORUS

The son of Isis and Osiris and he battles with Set following the murder of Osiris= by Set. Set gouged out his eyes and his sig= ht was returned to him by Hathor (or by Thoth) according to some accounts. Where the account credits Thoth with restoring his si= ght - he only restores one eye with the other eye becoming the Moon. The c= ult of Horus promoted the udja= t (eye) which became a good luck charm. Top

IMHOTEP

One of the few mortals to become a g= od. He supervised the construction of the Step Pyramid for the pha= raoh Djoser. He was deified as a god of healing. He inspired a mystery-cult which claimed magic and the ability to raise the de= ad. Top

ISIS

She was the daughter of Nut and Geb<= /span> and sister of Osiris, Set and Nephthys. She is a goddess of life and earth, parallel to Osiris= who ruled the Underworld. She was worshipped particularly in the Delta area= and was considered as the Great Goddess as opposed to just another deity. The c= ult of Isis popular from 1BC to the Christia= n era in the fourth century believed she was the most powerful goddess due to the fact she was supposed to have tricked Ra into giving her his true secret na= me and powers. Top

KHEPRI

He was an early creator god who took the form of the scar= ab beetle. Later Khepri was identified with Ra the= Sun and renamed Khepra who rolled the sun across th= e sky. Top

KHNUM

One of the early creator gods and he moulded gods and mortals on the potter's wheel and then gave them life. He was ram-headed and worshipped at Esna. He was the h= usband of Heqet the frog goddess and helped Hapy in controlling the levels of the Nile. Top=

MAAT

The goddess of truth and daughter of Ra and she wore a si= ngle ostrich-feather in her crown. She symbolised ju= stice and on earth the pharaoh administered in her name. In Heaven her laws gave stability to the whole universe. Top

MAHAF

He was Ra's boatman in the Underworld guiding the boat through the canals of darkness delivering him safely to the world of light.= Top

MESKHENT

She was the goddess of childbirth assisting mothers in labour and helping souls in their rebirth to the afterworld. She also chose the correct destiny for each child. <= span style=3D'font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Top

MIN

He was an ancient desert god and a protector of hunters a= nd travellers. His weapon was the thunderbolt and he is associated with war and creation. He was also the god of fertility and sex.= Top

MUT

She was Amun's queen and moth= er of Khonsu, the god of the moon. She represented womanly dignity but there are no myths associated with her so she is associated with other gods such as Bastet and Hathor for example. Top=

NEPHTHYS

Daughter of Geb= and Nut and sister of Isis, Osiris and Set. = She was Set's consort but seduced Osiris by getting= him drunk and later giving birth to Anubis. She was= a funerary goddess and her overall role is sketchy. Top

NEFERTUM

He was the son of Ptah and Sekhmet and was the sacred blue lotus (a symbol of se= a and sky) from which Ra rose each morning as if from a bed. Top

NEHEBKAU

Despite his fearsome appearance of a snake's head, human = body and scorpion's tail, he was a benign god and welcomed the newly arrived pharaoh's to the Underworld. He was seen as a charm against snake and scorp= ion bites. Top=

NEIT

She was a creator-goddess, a warrior and hunter. She crea= ted gods, mortals and animals but was never admitted to other myth-cycles and always seen as an outsider. Top

NUN

Nun (male) and his female counterpart Naunet were two aspects of the primeval ocean. Some accounts say they engendered <= span class=3DSpellE>Atum who then went on to create the gods. All temple = pools and Underworld rivers were sacred to them. Top

NUT

The sky goddess and daughter of Shu and Tefnut and sister= of Geb. Both we= re separated at birth with Nut becoming the sky-arch which Ra was later to tra= vel in his Sun-ship from horizon to horizon each day. Top

OGDOAD

The name given to the group of eight gods worshipped at <= span class=3DSpellE>Hermopolis (Khemenu), the= place where the world came into existence. Nun and Naunet, Kek and Keket, Amun and Amaunet, Heh and Hehet. They all came together to form the egg = from which Ra was hatched. Top

OSIRIS

Son of Nut and = Geb, brother of Isis, Ne= phthys and Set. He showed mortals how to rule and respect the gods. He was ruler of the Underworld and along with Isis his cult became the most popular in the Mediterranean world. He was murdered by Set and Isis= tried to retrieve his body and put life back into it. Isis became pregnant with Osiris's seed before his t= otal demise producing Horus who would battle on agai= nst Set according to the celebrated myth. Top

PTAH

Son of Nun and Naunet, he was= a creator god and chief god of the pantheon of gods worshipped at Memphis. In art he= is shown as a priestly figure or sometimes as a blacksmith or metal worker. He became god of all skills and crafts and guardian of all knowledge. Top

The supreme god and sustainer of lif= e. Originally he was god of Heliopolis but as his cult grew he subsumed other gods in particular the cult of Atum in = Thebes. Ra as light, gathered all the brightness and mad= e it into himself with Aapep who denotes darkness al= ways tries swallow the light. Ra the Sun made his daily journey across the sky f= rom horizon to horizon which is well known. Top

SEKHMET

Daughter of Ra, she was lion-headed and carried a fire-spitting cobra. When placid she was calm and dignified but when angry = she transformed into the eye of Ra and became a war-goddess, attacking Egypt's enemies. Sometimes no= t even Ra could control her. Top

SERAPIS

In ancient times he was a fertility god but following Alexander the Great's devotion to him, a cult t= hen developed. He was said to cure all illness and gave those who worshipped hi= m an easy passage from life to death. Top

SERQET

She was one of Isis's serving maids and helped put Osiris's body toge= ther after being killed by Set. She was scorpion-headed and warded off evil spir= its. She became chief embalmer of entrails. Top=

SESHAT

She was the god of writing and wife of Ptah. She noted the passage of time and the movement of the stars. She oversaw the blueprints for temples and other items both on Earth and in Heaven. She kept all types of records. = Top

SET

Son of Geb and Neb, he was a storm-god. He assumed the shape of many animals as he was born without a definat= e shape due to his restlessness. Ra made him watchman on the prow of his Sun-= ship but he became jealous of the gods and killed Osiris and fought a long battle with Horus until he was finally humbled. Top=

SOBEK

A crocodile-god, he was worshipped in cities that depende= d on water, such as the oasis city of Arsinoe (Crocodilopolis), where the reptiles were kept in pool= s and adorned with jewels. Hundreds of the animals have been found mummified. He = was worshipped to placate his sacred animals (the crocodiles). He was portrayed= as a man with the head of a crocodile, or sometimes simply as one. In the Book= of the Dead, he assists in the birth of Horus and = helps to destroy Seth. He also retrieved the Four Sons of Ho= rus from the waters of Nun was the request of Re. Top=

TAWERET

She was the wife of Set and she was as benign as Set was savage. She was the goddess of childbirth and had a hippo's head and the bo= dy of a pregnant lioness and a crocodile's tail. She married Horus who won her from Set during the great cosmic dual. Top

TEFNUT

She was the daughter of Atum = and sister of Shu. She mated with Shu to create Geb (Earth) and Nut (Air). She is sai= d to have disageed with Ra and left Egypt for Nubia but was enticed back by Thoth. Sometimes she is sho= wn as a lioness or a snake. Top

THOTH

The god of wisdom, truth, magic, mus= ic and writing. He was the son of R= a - Ra being the Sun and Thoth being the Moon. In a= rt he is shown as a baboon-headed man. He possessed part of Ra's intellegence. Top=

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