Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

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Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
Danny
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Summary ofGods and Goddesses

• History and development of gods spanned over
  3,000 years
• Over the years Gods and Goddesses took on many
  forms and the Egyptian gods were represented with
  human torsos and human or animal heads
• Some gods and goddesses took part in creation,
  some brought the flood every year, some offered
  protection, and some took care of people after
  they died they all had a mission
• The ancient Egyptians believed that it was
  important to recognize and worship these gods and
  goddesses so that life continued smoothly

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AnubisThe Jackal Headed God

• Guardian of the Necropolis (cemetery)
• Guide of the dead
• Could foresee a persons destiny
• Announcer of death
• Patron of embalming
• Keeper of poisons and medicines
• Representation Man with the head of a jackal

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BastetThe Tearer

• Sun goddess
• Represents warm, life giving power of the sun
• Like a cat she was admired for her agility and
  strength
• Bastet defended Ra against the serpent Apep
• Representation A woman with the head of a
  domesticated cat

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HathorLady of Heaven

• Her worship stretches back to predynastic times
• All goddesses were forms of Hathor
• Considered the protectress of pregnant women and
  a midwife
• Patron of all women
• Goddess of music and dancing
• Representation Originally worshipped in the form
  of a cow

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IsisThe Throne

• One of the earliest and most important goddesses
  in ancient Egypt
• No other Egyptian god stood the test of
• time as well as Isis
• She was not extinguished with other gods, but was
  embraced by Greeks and Romans
• Her worship lasted to present day
• Revered by Egyptian people as the great
  mother-goddess and represents the maternal spirit
  in its most intimate form
• Representation A woman wearing on her head the
  hieroglyphic symbol of her name she is
  sometimes pictured with wings

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MaatThe Goddess of Truth

• Represents ideals of law, order and truth
• Maat translates to that which is straight
• Female counterpart of Thoth
• In the hall of Maat the judgement of the dead is
  performed
• Representation Woman wearing tall feather on the
  top of her head

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OsirisKing of the Dead

• Supreme god and judge of the dead
• Symbol of resurrection and eternal life
• Provider of fertility and prosperity to the
  living
• Representation A bearded man wearing white mummy
  wrappings. His skin is green to represent
  vegetation.

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PtahThe Opener

• Represents the sun at the time when it begins to
  rise above the horizon and or right after it has
  risen
• Regarded as a creator god
• Built the boats for the souls of the dead to use
  in their afterlife
• Master of architect and was responsible for
  building the framework of the universe
• Representation Man wrapped as a mummy with a
  shaved head and beard

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RaFather of the Gods

• Ra was a sun god
• Took on many attributes and other names as
  Egyptian myths evolved
• God of great antiquity
• Ancient Egyptians believed Ra sailed the sky in a
  solar boat rising from the underworld in the east
  and re-entering the land of the dead in the west
• Representation Often pictured as a hawk or a
  hawk headed man with a solar disk on his head

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SobekHe who causes to be fertile

• Admired and feared for his ferocity
• At command of Ra, he performed tasks
• It said that in the Osiris legends Horus takes
  form of a crocodile in order to receive the
  parts of Osiriss body that were cast into the
  Nile by Seth
• Representation Mummified crocodile or man with
  crocodile body

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ThothThe Great Measurer

• Moon god
• Played an important role in the Osiris Legend and
  the judgment of the dead in the Hall of Maat
• Inventor of spoken and written languages
• Lord of books
• Representation Man with the head of an Ibis