Alexis Gero History-Period 2 January 11, 2013 Major Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Egypt*

Name of Deity What the Deity Rules Description Image

Amun

King of the gods. Originally god of the air and wind.

Depicted as a king sitting on his throne wearing a double plumed crown. Shown as a jackal headed man, jackals being found in deserts and/or cemetaries.

Anubis

Bast (Bastet) Hathor

Guides the dead to the Weighing of the Heart. If the heart is light he escorts them to see Osiris; if heavy the soul is destroyed by Ammit. Daughter of Ra; Cat Goddess.

Pictured as a cat headed woman.

Since her name translates to House of Horus and Horus is associated with the living, Hathor is the living queen.

Horus

Son of Osiris; Egyptians believed the pharaoh was the living Horus.

Often depicted as a cow with a sun disk between her horns or a woman wearing horns and a sun disk head dress. Depicted as a falcon or a falcon headed man.

Isis

Isis is the goddess of the dead funeral rights.

Shown as a woman crowned with a thrown.

Ma'at

Osiris

Maat the goddess justice and truth. Also represented the harmony and balance of the universe. Osiris, the son and heir of Geb and Nut and became king of Egypt and ruler of the dead.

Pictured as a woman with wings or just as a bird. Shown as a king holding a crook and flail.

Ptah

Patron and creator god of Memphis.

Depicted as a mummified man, his hands grasping a scepter. Pictured as a hawk headed man.

Ra

God of the sun.

Set (Seth)

God of deserts, storms, chaos, and trouble.

Thoth

God of wisdom, inventor of writing, and patron of scribes.

Depicted as a big eared, imaginary creature that looked something like a donkey. Shown as an ibisheaded man holding a scribal palette or completely as an ibis or baboon.

*There are many other Egyptian gods and goddesses in addition to these. Choose three more to name and describe on the next page. Bes
Protector of pregnant women and children. Shown as a dwarf wearing a plumed crown and sometimes the skin of a feline animal. Pictured as a naked woman covered in stars and held up by Shu. Man lying below the arch of the sky goddess Nut (shown above). Sometimes shown as a goose.

Nut

Ancient sky-goddess, personification of the sky and the heavens. God of the Earth and husband of Nut.

Seb (Geb)