Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Egyptian Religion

Amon

• Amon was one of the most powerful gods in ancient Egypt.

• He was the god of the city-state of Thebes.

• When combined with Ra, he was then called Amon-Ra.

Anubis

• God of embalming and the dead

• Since jackals were often seen in cemeteries, the ancient Egyptians believed that Anubis watched over the dead.

• Anubis was the god who watched over the process of mummifying people when they died.

Atum

• Atum was a creator god.

• Egyptians believed that Atum was the first god to exist on earth.

• Believed he created all the other gods

Bastet

•Bastet was a protective goddess.

•She was usually seen as a gentle protective goddess. She also sometimes appeared with the head of a lioness to protect the king in battle.

•The cat was a symbol of Bastet. Egyptians made many statues of cats to honor her.

Hapi

• Hapi was the god of the flood

• Hapi was especially important to the ancient Egyptians because he brought the flood every year.

• The flood deposited rich silt on the banks of the Nile.

Hathor

• Hathor was a protective goddess. She was also the goddess of love and joy.

• Hathor was connected with foreign places and materials. For instance, she was the goddess of the desert and the turquoise mines in the Sinai.

Horus

• Horus was the god of the sky.

• He is probably most well-known as the protector of the rulers of Egypt.

• The Egyptians believed that the pharaoh was the 'living Horus'.

Isis

• Isis was a protective goddess.

• She used powerful magic spells to help people in need.

• Isis was the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus. Since each pharaoh was considered the 'living Horus', Isis was very important.

Khepri

• Khepri was a god of creation, the movement of the sun, and rebirth.

• The ancient Egyptians believed that the beetles just appeared from nowhere- as they believed that their creator god had appeared from nowhere. 

• Also connected with the sun god Ra who pushed the sun through the sky every day.

Ma’at

•Ma'at was the goddess of truth, justice, and harmony.

• She was associated with the balance of things on earth.

•The vizier who was in charge of the law courts was known as the “priest of Ma'at.”

Osiris

• Osiris was the god of the dead, and ruler of the underworld.

• Osiris was a also a god of resurrection

• Egyptians believed that Osiris gave them the gift of barley, one of their most important crops.

Ptah

• Ptah was the god of craftsmen and architects.

• Chief god of the city of Memphis.

• He was believed to determine the individual destiny of the artists near Thebes.

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.

Sekhmet

• Sekhmet was the goddess of war and destruction.

• Having once unleashed her powers for the destruction of mankind, the Egyptians feared her.

• Egyptians built statues of her and tried to please her daily to save themselves from her destruction.

Seth

• Seth was the god of chaos.

• Seth represented everything that threatened harmony in Egypt.

• He killed his brother Osiris, then battled with his nephew Horus to be the ruler of the living.

Sobek

• Sobek was a Nile god.

• Sobek was connected with the Nile, and protected the king.

• Live crocodiles were kept in pools at temples built to honor Sobek.

Thoth

• Thoth was the god of writing and knowledge

• The ancient Egyptians believed that Thoth gave them the gift of hieroglyphic writing. Thoth was also connected with the moon.

Religion

Egyptians could not always predict what each year’s flooding would be like

Believed gods or goddesses controlled nature

Religion

Egyptians believed the sun was a god named Ra who was born each day and died every night

This cycle led them to believe in an afterlife

Religion

Each Egyptian city had one or more special gods or goddesses

As a city gained strength, its god became more important

For example: when the city of Thebes grew powerful, belief in the city’s god, Amon, spread.

They combined Amon and Ra, and considered Amon-Ra the most powerful god

Wrap Up 1

Let’s review the gods and goddesses we have learned about.

Wrap Up 2

Why was religion so important to the ancient Egpytians?

What was the significance of the sun to ancient Egyptians?

Who is Amon-Ra?