TopHome * Background Info * What's New * ESI * Articles * Contacts * Photo's * Humour * Egyptian Rulers * Ezine * Links

Ancient Egyptian Deities














He was the snake god (Apophis in Greek). He snatched the souls of the dead between one life and the next. Those swallowed entered a state of non-existance until rescued by other gods. Each time Aapep was killed 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


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. Top


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 gods (e.g. the Sun god Ra being renamed Amun-Ra). The priests of the temples of Karnak and Thebes promoted this cult with great vigour. He had a special significance at festivals, particularly the annual festival of the Nile. The ram headed god accompanied the pharaoh (Amun-Ra's son and ruler of mortals) in the royal barge. Top


The jackel headed god, originally the god of putrefaction - scavenger of the burial grounds. He was the son of Osiris and Nephthys. His role changed to that of protector of the dead in the Underworld. He supervised the 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 embalming. Top


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 mummification of cats in ancient times. Top


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 often made with the phoenix flying out of the fire. Top


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 evil spirits before they could attack. He also played many musical instruments to lull his enemies into submission. Bes statues were put on doors and elsewhere to ward off evil spirits. Top


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 humans as it was too steep to climb. Top


The name given to the gods worshipped at Heliopolis, Ra the Sun (his manifestation as Amun) and his eight lineal 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


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 forcing Nut up to the sky and Geb down to the earth. Top


Symbolised by a bull, Hap was the power of the god Ptah. He was the messenger between the gods and mortals, carrying the gods messages to Earth and travelling with each soul as it makes its journey from one world to the next. Top


The god of the Nile, he 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 the other temples. Top


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


She was the wife of Horus she guided deserving souls past the island of fire to Oriris' 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, music and childbirth. Her centre of worship was Dendera. Top


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


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 sight was returned to him by Hathor (or by Thoth) according to some accounts. Where the account credits Thoth with restoring his sight - he only restores one eye with the other eye becoming the Moon. The cult of Horus promoted the udjat (eye) which became a good luck charm. Top


One of the few mortals to become a god. He supervised the construction of the Step Pyramid for the pharaoh Djoser. He was deified as a god of healing. He inspired a mystery-cult which claimed magic and the ability to raise the dead. Top


She was the daughter of Nut and Geb 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 cult of Isis popular from 1BC to the Christian 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 name and powers. Top


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


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 husband of Heqet the frog goddess and helped Hapy in controlling the levels of the Nile. Top


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


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


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. Top


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


She was Amun's queen and mother 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


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


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


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 scorpion bites. Top


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


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


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


The name given to the group of eight gods worshipped at 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


Son of Nut and Geb, brother of Isis, Nephthys 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 total demise producing Horus who would battle on against Set according to the celebrated myth. Top


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 life. 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 made it into himself with Aapep who denotes darkness always tries swallow the light. Ra the Sun made his daily journey across the sky from horizon to horizon which is well known. Top


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 not even Ra could control her. Top


In ancient times he was a fertility god but following Alexander the Great's devotion to him, a cult then developed. He was said to cure all illness and gave those who worshipped him an easy passage from life to death. Top


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


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


Son of Geb and Neb, he was a storm-god. He assumed the shape of many animals as he was born without a definate 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


A crocodile-god, he was worshipped in cities that depended on water, such as the oasis city of Arsinoe (Crocodilopolis), where the reptiles were kept in pools 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 Horus from the waters of Nun was the request of Re. Top



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 body of a pregnant lioness and a crocodile's tail. She married Horus who won her from Set during the great cosmic dual. Top


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


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

Ref. Home * Background Info * What's New * ESI * Articles * Contacts * Photo's * Humour * Egyptian Rulers * Ezine * Links