Egyptian Gods

Prof. Cindy Ann Nieves12 Grade

English CourseMetropolis High School

10/18/2012

Amun The Hidden One

Cult Center: Thebes, the temples of Luxor and Karnak.

Attributes: Early, a god of air and wind. Later, a fertility god. The Creator of all things. During the New Kingdom he became "The king of the gods". He was said to be able to assume any form he wished, with each of the other gods being one of these forms. From the eighteenth dynasty on he was a national deity. Through political means managed to assimilate many lesser gods.

Representation: A bearded Man wearing a cap surmounted by two tall plumes. A ram, a ram headed man, or a ram headed sphinx.

Relations: Self created at the beginning of time. Believed to be the physical father of all Pharaohs.

Other Names: Amon, Amen, Amen Ra, Amon Re

AnubisGuardian of the Underworld

Cult Center: Thinis, Lycopolis, quickly spreading throughout Egypt.

Attributes: Guardian of the Necropolis (cemetery). He was the guide of the dead as they made their way through the darkness of the underworld. As a patron of magic, it was believed he could foresee a persons destiny, in this role he was the announcer of death.

Anubis was the patron of embalming. He was also the keeper of poisons and medicines. He provided unguents and rare herbs to help Isis and Nephthys with the embalming of Osiris. Anubis then performed the funeral of Osiris, which would be the model for all funerals to come. As he received the mummy into the tomb, he performed the 'Opening of the Mouth' ceremony.

AnubisGuardian of the Underworld

In the "Hall of Maat", Anubis appears on behalf of the deceased. It was Anubis who saw that the beam of the great scale was in the proper position as he supervises the weighing of the heart of a deceased person against the feather of Maat.

The god of knowledge, Thoth, records the results. It is also Anubis that protects the dead from Ammut, the 'Devourer'.

Representation: A man with the head of a jackal. A dog or a jackal.

Relations: Son of Nephthys and Osiris, some believe him to be the son of Seth. Later adopted by Isis.

AmmutThe Devourer.

Cult Center: A female demon, she is found in The Book of the Dead, She plays an important role in the Hall of Maat.

Attributes: We find Ammut during the judgment of the deceased, when his heart is weighed against the feather of Maat. It was Ammut who would devour the souls of those who's hearts proved heavier than Maat. This was a terrifying prospect for the ancient Egyptians. It meant the end of existence. They would never meet Osiris and live forever in the Fields of Peace.

Representation: A combination of the head of a crocodile, the middle of a lioness and the hind quarters of a hippopotamus.

Other Names: Amam, Am-mit.

BastetThe Tearer.

Cult Center: Bubastis in the Delta.

Attributes: As a sun goddess she represents the warm, life giving power of the sun. Her cult appears as early as the Second Dynasty. Like a cat, she was admired for her agility and strength. Bast defended Ra against the serpent Apep.

Representation: A woman with the head of a domesticated cat, sometimes holding a sistrum.

Relations: Daughter and wife of Ra, mother of Khensu and Maahes.

Other Names: Bast.

HathorLady of Heaven

Cult Center: Dendera and throughout EgyptAttributes: .Because her worship stretches back to

pre-dynastic times, we find Hathor identified with many local goddesses, and it can be said that all the goddesses were forms of Hathor.

At times we find her playing the role of a sky-goddess, a sun-goddess, a moon-goddess, a goddess of the east, a goddess of the west, a goddess of moisture, a goddess of fertility, an agricultural goddess, and a goddess of the underworld.

HathorLady of Heaven

Hathor was the goddess of joy, motherhood, and love. She was considered the protector of pregnant women and a midwife. She was the patron of all women, no matter their station in life.

As the goddess of music and dancing her symbol was the sistrum. As a fertility goddess and a goddess of moisture, Hathor was associated with the inundation of the Nile.

In this aspect she was associated with the Dog-star Sothis whose rising above the horizon heralded the annual flooding of the Nile. In the legend of Ra and Hathor she is called the "Eye of Ra."

In later times, when the Osiris cults gained popularity, her role changed. She now welcomed the arrival of the deceased to the underworld, dispensing water to the souls of the dead from the branches of a sycamore and offering them food.

Hathor was also represented as a cow suckling the soul of the dead, thus giving them sustenance during their mummification, their journey to the judgment hall, and the weighing of their soul.

In the Late Period, dead women identified themselves with Hathor, as men identified with Osiris. . .

HathorLady of Heaven

• Representation: Hathor was originally worshipped in the form of a cow, sometimes as a cow with stars on her. Later she is represented as a woman with the head of a cow, and finally with a human head, the face broad and placid, sometimes she is depicted with the ears or horns of a cow.

• She is also shown with a head-dress resembling a pair of horns with the moon-disk between them. Sometimes she is met with in the form of a cow standing in a boat, surrounded by tall papyrus reeds.

• As the "Mistress of the Necropolis" she is shown as the head of a cow protruding from a mountainside. In this case she wears a menat necklace, which is a symbol of rebirth.

• Relations: Daughter of Nut and Ra. Wife of Ra, mother of Ihy. Many legends portray her as the mother of Horus the Elder. Other as the wife of Horus of Edfu, The fruit of this union was Horus the Younger

HorusHe who is above.

Cult Center: Throughout Egypt.

Attributes: The name Horus comes from the Egyptian word Hor, which translates as 'face'. We find him worshipped as Mekhenti-irry which translates as 'He who has on his brow Two Eyes', the sun and moon representing his eyes. On nights when there is no moon we find him worshipped as Mekhenti-en-irty, 'He who on his brow has no eyes', in this form he was considered the god of the blind.

The followers of Horus invaded Egypt in pre dynastic history, at this time he was venerated as a victorious warlord. He became a part of the state religion and was associated with the sun god, Ra. Horus was so important to the state religion that Pharaohs were considered his human manifestation and even took on the name Horus.

HorusHe who is above.

In the more popular religious beliefs of the Osiris cults he was the son of Osiris and Isis. The avenger of his father's murder and the model of a dutiful son. It is in these stories that we find him doing battle with his uncle, Seth.

Representation: You will find different Representations of Horus that fit with the different names that are listed below, however, the most common is a falcon or falcon headed man.

Other Names: Haroeris (Horus the Elder) An early form of Horus. He was a god of light. His eyes

represented the sun and the moon. He was also the brother of Osiris and Seth. Sometimes he was the son, or the husband of Hathor.

Horus Behudety In the form of Horus of Edfu, he represented the midday sun. This Horus was worshipped in the western Delta and later, as his cult spread south into Upper Egypt, a cult center was established in Edfu. Horus of Edfu fights a great battle against Seth and an army of conspirators. He is pictured as a winged sun-disk or as a hawk headed lion.

HorusHe who is above.

Harpokrates (The infant Horus) As a child he represented the new born sun and was often pictured being suckled by Isis. he was usually represented as a seated child, sucking his thumb, his head was shaved except for the sidelock of youth. Even as a child, he wore the royal crown and uraeus.

IsisThe Throne.

Cult Center: A temple is dedicated to her on the Island of Philae, near the first cataract. She is revered throughout Egypt.

Attributes: Isis is one of the earliest and most important goddess in ancient Egypt. She was regarded as the feminine counterpart to Osiris, a role she probably occupied before the dawn of dynastic Egypt. No other Egyptian deity has stood the test of time as well as Isis. Her cult was not extinguished with the other Egyptian gods, but was embraced by the Greeks and Romans, her worship has even lasted into the present day.

She was revered by the Egyptian people as the great mother-goddess and represents the maternal spirit in its most intimate form. She is often seen suckling a young Horus. In the Osiris legend she is seen as a dutiful wife, a grieving widow and as a protector of the dead.

IsisThe Throne.

As a winged goddess she may represent the wind. In the Osiris legend there are references to Isis wailing and moaning like the wind. She is also continually travelling up and down the land in search of her lost husband. Upon finding Osiris' body, she takes the shape of one of the swiftest birds, a kite.

Flapping and darting above his dead body she wails in mourning. She restores life to Osiris by flapping her wings and filling his mouth and nose with air.

Isis was a great enchantress, the goddess of magic. Together with Thoth, she taught mankind the secrets of medicine. She was the embalmer and guardian of Osiris. She is often rendered on the foot of coffins with long wings spread to protect the deceased.

IsisThe Throne.

Representation: A woman wearing on her head the hieroglyphic symbol of her name, which represents a throne or seat. Often seen wearing horns and a solar disk on her head. Sometimes she is pictured with wings, It is noteworthy that she is one of only a few deities that we find with wings in ancient Egyptian mythology.

Relations: Daughter of Nut and Geb. Sister of Osiris, Nephthys, and Seth. Wife of Osiris. Mother of Horus.

OsirisKing of the Dead.

Cult Center: Busiris, later Abydos.

Attributes: Supreme god and judge of the dead. The symbol of resurrection and eternal life. Provider of fertility and prosperity to the living.

Representation: A bearded man wearing white mummy wrappings. Wearing the atef crown and holding the symbols of supreme power, the flail and crook. His skin is green to represent vegetation or red to represent the earth. See also the Osiris legend.

Relations: Son of Geb and Nut. Brother of Isis, Nephthys, and Seth and in some myths he is brother of Horus. Husband of Isis and father of Horus. Father of Anubis by Nephthys.

RaFather of the gods.

Cult Center: Heliopolis and throughout Egypt. Attributes: From very early times Ra was a sun god. He took on many of the

attributes and even the names of other gods as Egyptian myths evolved. A good example of this is the god Ra and Amun merging to become Amun-Ra or Ra and Horus combining to become Ra-Harakhte. Since Ra was a god of great antiquity, there are far to many stories connected with him to relate them all. I will relate some that I find interesting, including the legend of Ra and Hathor.

One legend states that each day, Ra was born and began a journey across the sky. Ra was believed to travel in the Manjet-boat. or the 'Barque of Millions of Years'. He was joined on this daily journey by a crew of many gods . The Manjet-boat would sail through the twelve provinces, representing the twelve hours of daylight.

At the end of each day Ra was thought to die and embarked on his night voyage. For this journey he was called Auf, which means 'corpse'. Ra sailed in a boat called the Mesektet-boat or night-barque on his journey through the twelve hours of darkness.

RaFather of the gods.

It was not always smooth sailing on these ships. During the day Ra had to defeat his chief enemy, a serpent or snake named Apep. A great battle was fought between Ra and Apep, and Ra was usually victorious, however on stormy days or during an eclipse the Egyptians believed that Apep had been victorious and swallowed the sun.

Because no wind blows in the Underworld, Auf (Ra) had to rely on various unfriendly spirits and demons to help tow his barque along the river in the underworld. Auf's main job in the Underworld was to bring light to the souls of the dead as he passed through their realm. After his departure these souls fell back into a lonely darkness. The Underworld of these early solar myths was a very different place then the fields of peace that we find in the Osiris cults of the later periods.

RaFather of the gods.

Representation: He is often pictured as a hawk or as a hawk headed man with a solar disk encircled by a uraeus on his head. He is often pictured wearing the double crown of upper and lower Egypt.

Relations: Father of the first divine couple, Shu and Tefnut. Grandfather of Geb and Nut, whose children were Osiris and Isis, Seth and Nephthys.

SekhmetMighty One.

Cult Center: Memphis.

Attributes: A sun goddess. She represents the scorching, burning, destructive heat of the sun. She was a fierce goddess of war, the destroyer of the enemies of Ra and Osiris. Her temper was uncontrollable. In the legend of Ra and Hathor, Sekhmet's anger became so great, she would have destroyed all of mankind if Ra had not taken pity on us. He tricked her by dyeing beer blood-red which she drank believing it to be human blood and became drunk. She soon forgot her anger and we were saved from destruction.

Representation: A woman with the head of a lion.

Relations: Daughter of Nut and Geb. Wife of Ptah, mother of Nefer-Tem

Other Names: Sakhmet, Sekhet, Nesert.

SethThe Lord of Upper Egypt.

Cult Center: Ombos.

Attributes: Early in Egyptian history, Seth is spoken of in terms of reverence as the god of wind and storms. He was even known as the Lord of Upper Egypt. Horus being the Lord of Lower Egypt. It was Seth who stood in the front of the solar barque to defended the sun god Ra from his most dangerous foe, the serpent Apep. At this time, he seems to have had no conflicts with the cults of Isis or Osiris. In fact, he was part of the same family of gods, and married to his twin sister, Nephthys.

However, it appears the followers of Seth may have resisted the followers of Horus and the First Dynasty pharaoh, Menes, when he united Upper and Lower Egypt. This struggle for control of Egypt seems to be reflected in the mythology. At this point, Seth is portrayed as questioning the authority of his brother, Osiris. The Osiris cults took this opportunity to discredit the followers of Seth; he was now considered to be Osiris' evil brother.

SethThe Lord of Upper Egypt.

And the story was told that Seth was evil since birth, because he ripped himself from his mother's womb by tearing through her side. In the Osiris legends, it is Seth who tricks and murders Osiris. He is also the antagonist of Horus. By the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, Seth was the embodiment of evil. He was depicted with red eyes and hair. The ancient Egyptians believed red represented evil.

Representation: Man with the head of an unknown animal. Some times he takes the form of a crocodile. He is represented as a hippopotamus or a black pig in his battles with Horus.

Relations: Son of Geb and Nut. Brother of Isis, Nephthys, and Osiris. The husband of Nephthys or sometimes the husband of Taurt.

Other Names: Set, Suetekh.

ThothThe Great Measurer.

Cult Center: Eshmunen or Hermopolis.

Attributes: Thoth was a moon god who played an important role in the Osiris legend and the judgment of the dead in the Hall of Maat. Thoth was said to be mighty in knowledge and divine speech. The inventor of spoken and written language. As the lord of books he was the scribe of the gods and patron of all scribes.

He is credited with inventing astronomy, geometry, and medicine. Thoth was the measurer of the earth and the counter of the stars, the keeper and recorder of all knowledge. It was Thoth who was believed to have written important religious texts such as The Book of the Dead. In this text, he appears in the Hall of Maat as a scribe holding a writing reed and palette to record the results of the weighing of the deceased's heart against the feather of Maat.

ThothThe Great Measurer.

Representation: A man with the head of an Ibis. An ibis or an ape. A dog faced ape. He is often seen wearing a lunar disk and cresant on his head or the Atef crown.

Relations: Self conceived at the beginning of time. Husband of Maat. Brother and some times husband of Seshat.

Other Names: Tehuti.

SobekHe who causes to be fertile.

Cult Center: Crocodilopolis in the Faiyum, after the Twelfth Dynasty he was worshipped everywhere with cult centers at Kom Ombo, Thebes and at Lake Moeris.

Attributes: Admired and feared for his ferocity. At the command of Ra, He performed tasks such as catching with a net the four sons of Horus as they emerged from the waters in a lotus bloom. Sometimes identified with Seth when Seth took the form of a crocodile. It is said that in the Osiris legends, Horus takes the form of a crocodile in order to retrieve the parts of Osiris's body that were cast into the Nile by Seth.

SobekHe who causes to be fertile.

Representation: A crocodile, a mummified crocodile or as a man with a crocodile-head. Sometimes wearing horns like those of Amon-Ra, and the solar disk.

Relations: Son of Neith of Sais.

Other Names: Sebek, Sebek-Ra, Sobk, Suchos, Sobki or Soknopais.

NeithGreat Goddess.

Cult Center: Sais in the western Delta

Attributes: Neith was a goddess of the hunt. She may have also been a war goddess. Her worship dates from pre dynastic history. In early times she was called 'mother of the gods' and 'Great Goddess'. She was considered the guardian of men and gods.

Later, Neith was seen as a protector of the dead, she is often seen standing with Nephthys at the head of coffins. Or assisting Isis, Nephthys, and Serqet to guard the Canopic jars. As 'Opener of the Ways', she was a guide in the underworld, a female Anubis. In the Eighteenth Dynasty she took on the attributes of Hathor, as a protector of women. As a creative deity she was said to be the wife of Khnum at Elephantine. She was appealed to for her wisdom as an arbitrator during the great quarrel of Horus and Seth.

NeithGreat Goddess.

• Neith assumed the role of state deity during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, when the kings of Sais repelled the invading Assyrians and reunited Egypt. This period lasted for about a century and a half and the tendency in art and religion was to try to regain the glories of the past. This was a suitable time for the worship of an ancient goddess.

• Representation: Neith was pictured as a woman wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt, holding a bow and crossed arrows. Her cult sign was a shield and crossed arrows. Occasionally she was represented as the great cow, mother of Ra.

• Relations: Varied with time period. Mother of Sobek, Isis, Horus and Osiris. Or mother of Ra. The pharaoh Nectanebo II of the Twenty-sixth Dynasty, claimed her as his Mother. Wife of Khnum.

References

• http://www.egyptartsite.com/index.html• Google.com