Ancient Egyptian Mythology

There are many gods that the Ancient Egyptians worshipped and there were so many that it would be almost impossible for someone to count them.

Goddesses

There were not only male gods but there were female gods that were called goddesses.  These Egyptian goddesses most of the time looked like humans but sometimes they would have part human features and then look part like animals.

Some of the animals were jackals, cats, birds and more.  Most of the bodies were always human and it was the heads that would sometimes look like different animals.

Other Religions

There are many religions and some of them only worship one god but in Ancient Egypt, they worshipped many different gods.

Symbols

During the Ancient Egyptian culture, there were symbols that were used to represent things.  Some of these symbols were in the form of hieroglyphics.  These hieroglyphics sometimes were pictures of the Egyptian gods.

• Djed-this was a hieroglyphic which mean stability. This looked like a pillar.
• Scepter-the scepter in Ancient Egypt was meant to have powers that were magical. When this was written down or drawn, it meant that there was a lot of power and authority.
• Ankh-this symbol means that someone will live forever or have eternal life.
• Ka and Ba-this is a picture of a human head that is on the body of a bird. This is a symbol that means the soul.
• Scarab Beetle-This symbol means the creation of a god and it means that they will transform or come back.
• Tree of life-The tree of life symbol means someone that has knowledge or is divine. This is the path of life that the Egyptians should be taking.
• Amun Crown-this symbol was a ram that had the head of a sphinx. This was the symbol that means light and creation.

Famous Goddesses

There are many famous goddesses in Ancient Egypt.  Here are a few that are pretty popular:

• Goddess Isis-Goddess Isis is considered the mother of the gods and goddesses. She is the wife of Osiris and Horus’ mother.
• Goddess Sekhmet-Goddess Sekhmet is called the “Great Lady, beloved of Ptah, holy one, powerful one.” She is the wife of Ptah.  She is the oldest Egyptian Goddess that is recorded.  He was the mother of Nefertum, the God of Sunrise.
• Hathor-She was also known as Athor. Hathor is the Goddess of love.  She was seen as a cow or as a woman and her name means “House of Horus.”  People think that she is the mother of Horus but that is not true.  Hathor had a son named Harsomtus.
• Goddess Nephthys-Goddess Nephthys is the goddess of mourning. She also was the goddess of the rivers, sleeping, nature and the night.  She is known to protect the dead.  Nephthys was the sister of Osiris and Isis and was the wife of Seth.

Famous Gods

There were more gods in Ancient Egyptian culture than there were goddesses.  Some of the famous gods included:

• Amun-the god of air, sky and the sun. He was one of the three gods called “Triad of Thebes.”  He worked with the fertility god, Min and they became Amun-Min when they worked together.
• Amaunet-the god of the air.
• Hehet-the god of eternity.
• Keket-god of darkness.
• Naunet-god of water.
• Aten- was a very famous god. He merged with Ra and they became Amun-Ra.  Amun was a national god of Egypt and people did not like that and wanted to get rid of him as the only god they worshipped.
• Anubis-the god of mummification.
• Horus-Horus was the god of the sky. He was the son of Osiris and Isis.  He was the nephew of Seth.
• Ra-Ra was the god of the sun.
• Thoth-the god of knowledge.
• Osiris-The god of death and the brother of Seth.
• Seth-Seth is the god of chaos.
• Ptah-god of creation and crafting.

 

More Facts About Ancient Egyptian Mythology:

• Atun had the head of a ram and a frog or he was seen as a guy with a double crown.
• Anubis had the body of a person and the head of a jackal. He was found where bodies were buried and carried them to the afterlife, according to legend.
• Horus lost his eye when fighting his uncle, Seth. The “Eye of Horus” became a symbol and it was a powerful amulet or piece of jewelry, that was used to fight off sickness and evil.
• Horus was shown as the body of a man and the head of a falcon.
• Ra was seen as a human with the head of a falcon.
• Thoth is one of the most important gods, he was the god that would keep the universe protected and he would judge people after they died.
• Thoth had the body of a person and the head of an ibis or a bird that is small with a curved beak.
• Osiris was killed by his brother, Seth. He also helps his sister Isis.
• Seth is the god of chaos and was considered an enemy of the Egyptians because he had so many gods that were his enemies. He was colored red and people of Egypt hated people with red skin, and they would kill animals that had red fir.

What Did You Learn?

1. What was important about the religion of Ancient Egypt?  The importance of religion of the Ancient Egyptians was that they worshipped many gods instead of one god like other religions.
2. Who was the god that was the enemy of the people? Seth was the god that was the enemy of the Ancient Egyptians.  People did not like him because he was enemy to so many other gods.
3. Who was the god of the air, sky and sun? The god of the air, sky and sun was the god Amun.
4. Who was the mother goddess? The mother goddess was Isis.
5. Can anyone count how many gods and goddesses there are in Ancient Egyptians history?   They cannot count how many gods and goddess there are because there were too many to count.