EGYPT

PART 6:
GODS OF EGYPT
9 T H
A N C I E N T W O R L D H I S T O R Y

M R . M E L V I N R O D R Í G U E Z R O D R Í G U E Z
EGYPTIAN
GODS
• We know of their stories and
rituals dedicated to them
through sacred texts
• The stories mirror or explain
cycles of nature
• The gods represent forces of
nature or abstract concepts
like death or knowledge
MAAT

• The Egyptian principle of order,

truth, peace and justice
• It’s also the name of the goddess
that oversaw this principle
• It’s also the name of a ceremony in
the afterlife, where the heart of a
dead person was weighted against
a feather. If the hear weighted less
than the feather it could move one.
If it weighted more than a feather,
the soul would be consumed by the
demon Ammit
RA
RA
• God of the sun, sky and kings
• Ruler of the sky, the earth and the underworld
• Usually represented as a man with a falcon’s head
• His symbols include the bull and the beetle carrying the sun
like beetles carry dung
SET
SET
• God of desert, storms, disorder, violence and foreigners
• He is represented as a man with the head of an unidentified animal,
often called the “Set animal”
• After Egypt was conquered by several foreign states, Set, as god of
foreigners, was demonized and his defeat celebrated
• In the Osiris myth, he is the usurper who kills his own brother,
Osiris. Osiris’ son, Horus, then seeks revenge against Set
OSIRIS
OSIRIS

• God of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife and

resurrection
• Often depicted as a green-skinned pharaoh, with the
atef (a feathered hedjet) and a mummified bottom
half
• Brother of Set and husband of Isis
• Judge of the death and Underworld, Osiris also
granted life through the flooding of the Nile
HORUS
HORUS

• God of the sky and kinship

• Often depicted as a man with a peregrine falcon’s head
• The cult of Horus can be very varied, and he is sometimes syncretized
(mashed together) with other deities
• Often associated with Upper Egypt
• In the most well-known myths, Horus is born after his mother Isis
rebuilds the mutilated body of Osiris and conceives Horus, who then
seeks to avenge his father
ISIS
ISIS
• Maternal goddess, who aided the dead
finding their way in the afterlife
• Often represented as a queen
• Although rarely addressed in prayers,
the cult of Isis was long lasting,
spreading from Egypt into the Greek
and Roman world
• Sometimes depicted as having wings,
representative of her restorative powers
as they can fan breath (life) towards the
dead

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ANUBIS
ANUBIS
• God of the dead, mummification,
embalming, cemeteries and
tombs
• Often depicted as a man with the
head of a jackal
• Although his cult was ancient,
widespread and he was often
depicted in paintings, he plays a
small role in the mythical stories
• He is represented as an
embalmer, as the protector of
cemeteries and as the guide in the
afterlife
THOTH
THOTH
• God of the moon, wisdom,
science and writing
• Often depicted as man with the
head of an ibis and sometimes
as a baboon
• He is sometimes depicted as a
force of balance and an arbiter
in the disputes of the gods
BASTET
BASTET
• Cat goddess
• Originally depicted as lioness, Bastet later took on the gentler aspect of
a cat
• Her early cults depicted her a sun warrior goddess and later other
depictions present her as a protector of Ra and kings
• She was also associated with childbirth, fertility and warding off evil
spirits
SOBEK
SOBEK
• Crocodile god associated with pharaonic
power and military prowess
• Often depicted as a man with a
crocodile’s head
• While benevolent and protective, Sobek
was said to be vicious, violent and had a
voracious appetite for food and sex