Egyptian Deities

Aten - God

"Aten" was the traditional name for the sun-disk itself and so the name of the god is often translated as "the Aten".

Aker - God

"One who bends" but he was also known as "Ruti" or "two lions" An ancient Egyptian earth god and the deification of the horizon. He guarded the eastern and western borders of the netherworld and protected the sun god Ra During the late period the two lions were given specific names - Tuau (today) and Sef (yesterday). Initially, Aker was depicted as a narrow strip of land with a human or lion head at each end, but later the strip of land was replaced by the hieroglyphic sign meaning "horizon". The lions are often covered with leopard-like spots, possibly echoing the now extinct Barbary lion

Sopdet (Sothis) - Goddess

("skilled woman", also known as Sothis) represented Sirius, the Dog-Star. Although Sopdet started out as an agricultural deity, closely associated with the Nile, by the Middle Kingdom she was also considered to be a mother goddess. In the First Dynasty ivory tablets Sopdet was depicted as a reclining cow with a unidentified plant-like emblem (possibly representing "year") between her horns. However, she was most often depicted as a woman wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt topped by a star or a headdress with two plumes. Less often, she is portrayed as a large dog, and by the Roman period the hybrid goddess Isis-Sopdet was depicted as a woman riding side-saddle on a large dog. Sopdet was occasionally shown as a male deity. During the Middle Kingdom the male Sopdet was in associated with Horus as one of the gods who held up the four corners of the earth and held Nut (the sky) in place. During the Greek period she was linked to Anubis as Sopdet-Anubis, possibly because of her canine associations.

Apep (Apophis) - God

(Aapep, Apepi or Apophis) was the ancient Egyptian spirit of evil, darkness and destruction who threatened to destroy the sun god Ra as he travelled though the underworld (or sky) at night. He was depicted as a huge serpent often with tightly compressed coils to emphasis his huge size. In funerary texts he is usually shown in the process of being dismembered in various ways. In a detailed depiction in the tomb of Ramesses VI twelve heads are painted above the head of the snake representing the souls he has swallowed who are briefly freed when his is destroyed, only to be imprisoned again the following night. In an alternative depiction inscribed in a number of tombs of private individuals Hathor or Ra is transformed into a cat who slices the huge serpent with a knife. The serpent was also represented by a circular ball, the "evil eye" of Apep, in numerous temple scenes. Apep was known by many epithets, such as "the evil lizard", "the encircler of the world", "the enemy" and "the serpent of rebirth". He was not worshipped, he was feared, but was possibly the only god (other than The Aten during the Amarna period) who was considered to be all powerful. He did not require any nourishment and could never be completely destroyed, only temporarily defeated.

Iabet - Goddess

(Abet, Abtet, Ab, Iabtet, or Iab) was the personification of the eastern desert, known as Khentet-Iabet ("Before the East" or "Foremost of the East"). Iabet was the goddess of fertility and rebirth. In the Amduat, Iabet is depicted as a woman with her arms by her sides, along with eleven other goddesses, including Neith, Isis and Tefnut, collectively known as "Those who give praise to Ra as he passes over Wernes".

Ihy (Ahy) - God

(Ahy) was known as the "sistrum-player" and was a god of music and musicians. He was depicted as a young boy wearing the sidelock of youth with his finger held to his mouth and a sistrum in his right hand.

Andjety - God

(Anezti, Anedjti) simply means "he who is of Andjet" - the place of the djed (Busiris in the ninth nome of Lower Egypt). Andjety was depicted as an old man bearing all of the emblems of kingship and wearing a crown with two feathers, echoing the Atef crown worn by Osiris who replaced and absorbed both Andjety and the Djed pillar as the focus of worship in Djedu.

Osiris - God

(Asir) He was one of the most prominent gods of the Heliopolitan Ennead, but his worship pre-dated the development of this fairly complex philosophy. Although Atum was installed as the head of the Ennead by the priests of Heliopolis, Osiris was considered to be the king of the underworld, and is the only deity who is referred to simply as "god". The oldest religious texts known to us refer to him as the great god of the dead, who once possessed human form and lived upon earth. Osiris was also a god of agriculture. This may seem rather strange as he was dead, and technically infertile. However, it actually makes a lot of sense when you consider the death and rebirth inherent in the agricultural cycle of planting and harvesting grain. Every harvest, the god was symbolically killed and his body broken on the threshing room floor, but after the inundation life would return to the land and the crops would grow again. Osiris was usually depicted as a mummified king, complete with the ceremonial (curved) beard, crown, flail, and crozier. His skin is generally green or black, to represent the fact that he is dead. He usually wears the white crown of Upper Egypt (the south) or the Atef crown (the white crown with a plume of feathers on each side and a disc at the top). The feathers on the Atef crown are thought to represent Djedu (Busiris), the cult center of Osiris. Osiris is the Greek form of his name. He was known to the Egyptians as Asir (sometimes transliterated as Wsir or Asar). The earliest form of his name used hieroglyphs for "throne" and "eye" leading some to infer that his name means "he sees the throne". It is also possible that the second hieroglyph refers to the great "eye of heaven", Ra. The throne or seat, is the first sign in the name of Aset (Isis), who is the female counterpart (wife and sister) of Osiris. In the late period Osiris was known as Un-nefer, from "un" (to open, to appear, to make manifest) and "neferu" (good things or beauty). He had too many epithets to mention, party because he adopted many of those originally possessed by other local gods whose attributes he assumed over time.

Hedetet - Goddess

Hededet was a scorpion goddess of Ancient Egypt who offered protection against scorpion and snake bites. Because of her skill against snakes, she was considered to be one of the deities who protected her father Ra from the dreaded serpent Apep in the underworld.

Horus the Elder - God

Heru-ur (Har-wer, Haroeris, Horus the Elder) was one of the oldest gods of Ancient Egypt. He was a sky god, whose face was visualised as the face of the sun. As a result his name ("Heru") was sometimes translated as "face", rather than "distant one", and was sometimes modified to "Herut" ("sky").

Imuit - God

Imiut was an ancient god of mummification. His name means "He Who is in His Wrappings". He was not generally depicted in art, instead being represented by the Imuit fetish which was used during the mummification process and may have been linked with his mummy wrappings. He was never a particularly famous god and was pretty much absorbed by Anubis (who took his name as an epithet) and Osiris (who was often depicted with the Imiut fetish).

Heka (Hike) - God

In Ancient Egypt Heka (Hike) was the patron of magic and therefore also of medicine. The Egyptian word for magic was "heka" (which literally means "using the Ka") and Heka was the personification of magic. His name (and the word magic) were depicted as a twist of flax and a pair of raised arms. The flax was often placed with the arms, and was thought to resembles two snakes. According to myth, Heka fought and conquered two serpents, and so two intertwined serpents became symbolic of his power. This symbol is still associated with medicine today. He was generally depicted as a man carrying a magic staff and a knife, the tools of a healer. He occasionally appears as a man holding two entwined serpents.

Kauket - Goddess

In ancient Egyptian mythology, Kuaket (or Keket) was one of the eight primordial elements in the Ogdoad creation myth. She represented darkness in combination with her male aspect Kuk. She was associated with the dusk and given the epithet "bringer-in of the night". Kauket was a fairly obscure deity who was rarely referred to outside of the Ogdoad myths. In fact, she seems to have been considered as a representation of duality ( with Kuk) rather than an distinct goddess. She was depicted as a snake or a snake-headed woman (like the other three female elements).

Sahu - God

In ancient Egyptian religion the "sahu" was the incorruptible soul, but the god Sahu (or Sah - "the hidden one") was also the personification of the constellation Orion. His consort Sopdet (or Sothis), represented the star Sirius (the "dog star") and his son, Sopdu represented Venus.

Isis - Goddess

Isis was her Greek name, but she was known to the ancient Egyptians as Aset (or Ast, Iset, Uset), which is usually translated as "(female) of throne" or "Queen of the throne". Isis was a member of the Helioploitan Ennead, as the daughter of Geb (Earth) and Nut (Sky) and the sister and wife of Osiris and the sister of Set, Nephthys and (sometimes) Horus the Elder. Isis was often represented as a goddess wearing a headdress representing a throne (which was one of the hieroglyphs in her name). She was also frequently depicted as a human queen wearing the vulture headdress with a royal serpent on the brow. In these two forms she occasionally carried a lotus bud or the glyph of the sycamore tree. She was also commonly depicted as a queen or goddess wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt along with the feather of Ma'at. There are also numerous representations of Isis with her son, Horus, which bear a marked similarity to later images of the virgin Mary with baby Jesus. Isis was also depicted as a winged goddess or a kite (one of her sacred animals). In this form her wings spread a heavenly scent across the land and brought fresh air into the underworld. From the New Kingdom she also adopted the vulture headdress with cow's horns on either side of a sun disk between them. Occasionally she was depicted as a cow or a woman with a cow's head. In her form of the snake goddess Thermouthis she was depicted as a cobra crowned with the throne headdress. The Tjet amulet was also known as the "Knot of Isis", "Buckle of Isis", or the "Blood of Isis". Although the meaning of the Tjet is fairly obscure, it is thought that it may have represented a woman's sanitary cloth (hence the connection with blood) or may relate to the magical power in a knot (again linking it with Isis the great magician). The Tjet was used in the funerary rites and seems to have been linked with the ideas of resurection and rebirth.

Ma'at - Goddess

Although she was often personified, Ma'at is perhaps best understood as an idea, rather than a goddess, but she was central to conceptions of the universe, balance and divine order in Ancient Egypt. The name Ma'at is generally translated as "that which is straight" or "truth" but also implies "order", "balance" and "justice". Thus Ma'at personified perfect order and harmony. Ma'at was depicted as a woman wearing a crown with a single ostrich feather protruding from it. She is occassionally depicted as a winged goddess. Her totem was a stone platform representing the stable foundation on which order was built and the primeaval mound which first emerged from the waters of Nun (chaos).

Khnum - God

Khnemu, Khenmu, Khenmew, Chnum) Khnum was originally a water god who was thought to rule over all water, including the rivers and lakes of the underworld. He was associated with the source of the Nile, and ensured that the inundation deposited enough precious black silt onto the river banks to make them fertile. Khnum was also a protective deity of the dead. Spells invoking the assistance of Khnum can be found in the Book of the Dead and on many of the heart-scarabs interred with the dead because it was thought that he would help the deceased obtain a favourable judgement in the Halls of Ma´at. The ram was considered to be a very potent animal, and so Khnum was associated with fertility. His name derives from the root khnem, "to join, to unite," and with khnem, "to build"; astronomically the name refers to the "conjuction" of the sun and moon at stared seasons of the year, Khnum was the 'Father of Fathers and the Mother of Mothers' of the pharaoh. As a water god he was sometimes named "KebH", meaning "purify". He was depicted as either a ram, a man with the head of a ram or a man with the horns of a ram. He was (very rarely) depicted with the head of a hawk, indicating his solar connections. He often wears the plumed white crown of Upper Egypt and was sometimes shown as holding a jar with water flowing out of it indicating his link with the source of the Nile. During the early period he was depicted as the early type of domesticated ram (with long corkscrew horns growing horizontally outwards from his head), but in later times was represented by the same type of ram as Amun (with horns curving inward towards him). Occasionally he was depicted with four ram heads (representing sun god Ra, the air god Shu, the earth god Geb and Osiris the god of the underworld ). In this form he was known as Sheft-hat.

Maahaf - God

Mahaf was the ferryman who captained the boat of Aken as it carried the deceased into the underworld. He also acted as a herald who announced the arrival of the Pharaoh to the sun god, Ra. His name originally meant "the stern is behind him" but due to a similarity in its sound seems to have become "he whose sight is behind him" or "he who sees behind him". As a result he was generally depicted in the Book of the Dead as looking over his shoulder. He was also ocassionally referred to as Herenhaf ("he whose face is behind him").

Naunet - Goddess

Naunet represented the sky over the primeval ocean as the feminine counterpart of Nun (the primeval waters of chaos) in the Ogdoad theology of Hermopolis. She may in fact be a primeaval form of the sky goddess Nut. She was rarely described as a personified deity, and is not often mentioned without her partner Nun although she is sometimes described as the mother of the sun god along with the composite deity Nun-Ptah

Nehmetawy - Goddess

Nehmetawy (Nehmetawi, Nechmetawaj) was a fairly obscure goddess whose name translates as "she who embraces those in need". She was generally depicted as a woman nursing a child wearing a headdress in the form of a sistrum, (associating her with Hathor).

Nephthys - Goddess

Nephthys is the Greek pronunciation of her name. To the Ancient Egyptians she was Nebthwt (Nebhhwt or Nebthet) meaning "the Mistress of the House". The word "hwt" ("house") may refer to the sky (as in Hwt-hor, the "House of Horus" - the name of Hathor), but it also refers to either the royal family or Egypt as a whole. As a result, Nephthys became a goddess of death and mourning. Nephthys was usually depicted as a woman with the hieroglyphs of her name (a basket on top of the glyph representing the plan of an estate) on her head. She could also be depicted as a mourning woman, and her hair was compared to the strips of cloth used in mummification. She also occasionally appears as a hawk, a kite or a winged goddess in her role as a protector of the dead.

Nun - God

Nun was represented as a frog or a frog-headed man (as a member of the Ogdoad) but could also be depicted as a bearded man with blue or green skin (reflecting his link with the river Nile and fertility). In thie latter form he can look fairly similar to Hapi, the god of the Nile, and often appears either standing on a solar boat or rising from the waters holding a palm frond (a symbol of long life)

Renpet - Goddess

Renpet was the ancient Egyptian goddess who personified fertility, spring and youth. She was often known as the "Mistress of Eternity" and her name was used to express the term "year". She is depicted as a young woman wearing a palm shoot over her head. The palm shoot represented "time" and this glyph regularly appears on monuments and documents throughout Egyptian history as the beginning of the phrase recording the regnal year of the pharaoh.

Satet (Satis) - God

Serapis personified divine majesty and represented the sun, fertility, healing and the afterlife. his consort was Isis, the wife of Osiris and the most popular goddess during the Ptolemaic Period. Serapis was depicted as a Greek man with an elaborate Greek hairstyle wearing Greek style robes and a full beard. He often wears a corn modius or sheaf on his head. less often, he is depicted as a serpent in recognition of his connection with the underworld and fertility.

Am-heh - God

The ancient Egyptian God Am-heh was a terrifying god of the netherworld whose name translates as "the devourer of millions". He was depicted as a man with the head of a ferocious hunting dog. Am-Heh lived on a lake of fire, and only Atum was able to repel him. He is sometimes seen as an aspect of Ammit, the personification of divine retribution, as she had his name as an epithet. He has also been linked to the baboon god Babi (or Baba) because of their common interest in human flesh.

Sepa - God

The centipede god Sepa is attested from the Old Kingdom right through to the Greco-Roman Period. Sepa was usually represented as a mummy with the two antena (or horns) of a centipede. Sepa was sometimes given the head of a donkey (possibly to reflect the fact that donkey manure was used to improve the fertility of soil).

Horus - God

The name Horus is Greek. In Ancient Egypt he was known as "Heru" (sometimes Hor or Har), which is translated as "the distant one" or "the one on high"(from the preposition "hr" meaning "upon" or "above"). He was considered to be a celestial falcon, and so his name could be a specific reference to the flight of the falcon, but could also be seen as a more general solar reference. It is thought that the worship of Horus was brought into Egypt during the predynastic period. The Egyptian God Horus was usually depicted as a falcon, or a falcon-headed man. He often wore the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. In anthropomorphic form Horus appears as both an adult man and a child, wearing the sidelock of youth (as the son of Isis). There are also numerous depictions of a Horus the child hunting crocodiles and serpents and amulets known as "cippi" were inscribed with his image to ward off dangerous animals.

Banebdjed - God/Goddess

This name is translated as "the ba (essence or power) of the lord of the Djed" and refers to the notion that the Djed pillar (which represented stability) was thought to be the backbone of Osiris. A person's Ba was not their soul, but their essence (it can be translated as power, effectiveness, reputation or charisma), and the Ba was represented by the hieroglyph for a "ram". As a result, Banebdjed was depicted as a ram or ram-headed man and a living "sacred ram" (thought to embody the god's essence) was worshipped in the city of Djedet (close to Osiris' cult center at Djedu). The rams were mummified and buried with all of the pomp and ceremony of a Pharaoh in their own necropolis. Banebdjed was given the epithets "lord of the Sky" and "lord of life" echoing the titles of the sun god Ra.

Weret-hekau - Goddess

Weret-hekau (Urthekau) was a lion-headed goddess who was also depicted as a snake with the head of a woman. She was the wife of Re-Horakhty and wore his symbol (the sun disc) on her head along with a cobra on her brow. She protected the sun god and acted as a wet nurse for the pharaohs. Her name means "great magician" and she was known as "She Who is Rich in Magic Spells" prompting some to suggest that she was not actually a distinct goddess, but a form of Isis. As she took either the form of a lion or a snake and protected the sun god, she is also associated with Wadjet and Sekhmet and the story of the "eye of Ra".

Horus son of Isis - God

the child was also known as Harseisis or HerusaAset (Horus son of Isis) and Harpokrates or Herupakhered (Horus the Child or Horus the Younger) while still an infant.

Serqet (Selkit) - Goddess

(Selket, Serket, Selqet, Selkit, Selkis) was a benevolent scorpion goddess. She was generally viewed as a protective goddess, but also had her darker side. Serqet was thought to have power over venomous snakes and scorpions, like Meretseger and Isis. Serqet was often shown as a woman with a scorpion on her head, and occasionally as a scorpion with the head of a woman, though this was rare. She was sometimes shown wearing the headdress of Hathor ( a solar disk and cow horns) but it is thought that this was more to do with her association with Isis. From the Twenty First Dynasty, she was occasionally depicted with the head of a lioness and a protective crocodile at the back of her neck. However, the most famous image of Serqet is the golden figure that forms one of the four goddesses protecting Tutankhamun which was found in his tomb.

Tjenenet - Goddess

(Tjenenyet, Tenenit, Tenenet) was the wife of Montu during the Middle Kingdom along with Iunit. Tjenenet was a goddess of brewing and beer and her name may have derived from the word "tenemu" meaning beer. She was depicted as a woman wearing the symbol of a cow's uterus as a headdress, linking her with the goddess Meskhenet and associating her with royal births.

Kuk - God

(Kek or Keku) was one of the eight primordial elements in the Ogdoad creation myth. He represented darkness in combination with his female aspect Kuaket (which is simply the female form of his name). As with the other three male elements, Kuk was depicted as a frog, or as a frog-headed man. Kuk represented darkness, obscurity and night. This darkness was the chaotic darkness which existed before the creation of the world. However, although he was a god of the darkness, he was also associated with the dawn and given the epithet, the "bringer-in of the light".

Kebechet - Goddess

(also known as Qebehet, Kebhut, Kebehut, Qebehut, and Kabechet) the goddess of freshness. She was the daughter of Anubis (Anpu) and his consort Anput and was thought to assist her father in his role as the god of embalming. She was particularly associated with embalming fluid used during the mummification process. Her name includes the root of the ancient Egyptian word "kbch" which means "to offer libations" or "to purify" and the root of the word "wt" which refers to the place of embalming (and appears in Anubis' epithet "imy wt" - he who is in the place of embalming). However, her name also resembles the word "qebeshu", which means "cold water". As a result, her name is usually translated as "cooling water". Kebechet was often depicted as a snake, sometimes with a body of stars. She was also depicted as a woman with the head of a snake. Occasionally she takes the form of an ostrich, linking her to the goddess of Ma´at who represented justice or balance and was involved in the judgement of the dead.

Geb - God

(also known as Seb, Keb, Kebb or Gebb) was a god of the earth and one of the Ennead of Heliopolis. Geb was usually depicted as a man wearing a combination of the white crown and the Atef crown, although he was also depicted as a goose - his sacred animal. When he takes the form of a man he is generally prone (as a personification of the earth) and sometimes coloured green with vegetation growing from his body. As the Earth, he is often seen lying beneath the sky goddess Nut, leaning on one elbow, with one knee bent toward the sky, (echoing the shape of two mountains and a valley).

Khepri (Kepher) - God

(Kheper, Khepera, Chepri, Khephir) was associated with the scarab or dung beetle (Scarabaeus sacer), making him one of the most famous insect gods. The Egyptians watched the scarab beetle rolling dung into a ball and pushing it along the ground to its burrow. The Egyptians made a connection between the movement of the sun across the sky and the movement of the ball of dung pushed by the beetle. The solar connection was enhanced by the fact that the scarab has antenna on its head and when the scarab pushed a ball of dung along the ground, the ball would sit between the antenna in a way that was reminiscent of the solar disc flanked by a pair of horns which was worn by many deities. The word "kheper" means "to emerge" or "to come into being". Khepri was usually depicted as a scarab beetle but occasionally appears as a man with the head of a scarab. There are numerous depictions of Khepri pushing the sun before him and he also appears regularly in a funerary setting riding on a sun barque as he travels through the underworld. Because of his connection with rebirth and the underworld, he occasionally wears the atef crown of Osiris.

Bes - God

(Bisu, Aha) was an ancient Egyptian dwarf god. He was a complex being who was both a deity and a demonic fighter. He was a god of war, yet he was also a patron of childbirth and the home, and was associated with sexuality, humour, music and dancing. Bes was generally depicted as a bearded dwarf, sticking out his tongue and shaking a rattle. He is always depicted facing forwards. This was very rare in Egyptian art and gave him a further link with Hathor who also faces the front. However, unlike the simple beauty of that goddess, Bes is a comical figure with pronounced bow legs, prominent genitals and a tail. He usually wears a plumed crown and the lion or panther skin associated with the "stm" priests. Occassionally he wears the Atef crown and is depicted as a winged deity. There are also a number of amulets and depictions of Bes which only show his head (still facing the front), although most of these date from the Third Intermediate Period or later. Bes was sometimes depicted with feline or leonine features and often sports a long tail prompting the speculation that in earlier times, he was not in fact a dwarf but a lion or cat rearing up on his hind legs. If he did start out as a feline goddess this would give him a further link to Hathor who was herself very closely associated with Bast (a cat goddess) and Sekhmet (a lion goddess) and the "Eye of Ra" (the fearsome protector of Ra). Furthermore, his name may be derived from the Nubian word for cat ("besa") and is written using the determinative for a mammal rather than the determinative of a god or a man (the cow skin). It is equally likely that he was always seen as a dwarf with the strength and power of a cat.

Horemakhet - God

(Harmakhet, Harmachis) or "Horus in the horizon", he represented the dawn and the early morning sun. He was often depicted as a sphinx with the head of a man, a lion or a ram (the latter providing a link to the god Khepri, the rising sun). It is often suggested that the Great Sphinx of Giza is a representation of Hor-em-akhet with the face of the fourth dynasty pharaoh Kafre (Chephren). He was also depicted as a falcon or as a man with the head of a falcon wearing a variety of crowns.

Hemsut - Goddess

(Hemuset) were the Goddesses of Fate, destiny and protection in Ancient Egypt. They were closely associated with the concept of the ka (life force or spirit) and could be seen as the female personification of the masculine ka. They could also be seen as the personification of the creative potential in the primeaval water from which everything was created. They were generally depicted as women bearing a shield with two crossed arrows above it (the symbol of Neith). Occasionally, they were also depicted as kneeling women holding a child in their arms. Acording to the Memphite theology they were created by Ptah but in Sais they were closely connected with Neith who was said to have drawn them from the waters of Nun.

Hapi - God

(Hep, Hap, Hapy) was a water and fertility god who was popular throughout Ancient Egypt. Hapi was the patron of Upper and Lower Egypt. In this capacity he was described as twin deities named Hap-Reset (Upper Egypt) and Hap-Meht (Lower Egypt). These deities were depicted either pouring water from a jug (representing the inundation) or tying together the heraldic plants of Upper and Lower Egypt (the papyrus and the lotus respectively) in a knot which resembled the hieroglyphic word "sema" ("joined"). This role, together with his connection with the Nile and the inundation, made him one of the most popular and powerful deities of Ancient Egypt and yet no temple has been discovered which was specifically dedicated to him. Hapi was depicted as a plump man with large breasts and blue or green skin wearing the false beard of the pharaoh. The female breasts and his skin colour are a reminder that he is a fertility god, while the false beard reaffirms his link to the pharaoh. As the patron of Upper and Lower Egypt and so was often depicted as twin deities; Hap-Reset who wears the papyrus of Upper Egypt on his headdress and Hap-Meht who wears the lotus of Lower Egypt on his headdress. When he is depicted as a single god he often carries both the papyrus and lotus.

Heket - Goddess

(Heqat, Heqet) was a goddess of childbirth and fertility in Ancient Egypt. She was depicted as a frog, or a woman with the head of a frog. The meaning of her name is not certain, but possibly derived from the word "heqa" meaning "ruler" or "sceptre". Frogs symbolised fruitfulness and new life, and it is thought that the her priestesses were trained midwives.

Heryshaf - God

(Herishef, Heryshaf, Hershef) was an ancient creator and fertility god and god of the riverbanks whose name translates as "he who is on his lake". His cult was located at Hwt-nen-nesu (Hnes, Herakleopolis Magna) but he was also referred to as the ruler of Iunu (Heliopolis). He took the form of a king with the head of a long-horned ram. He wore the Atef when he is associated with Osiris and the sun disc when he is associated with Ra.

Hesat - Goddess

(Heset, Hesahet or Hesaret) was a cow goddess of Ancient Egypt who was considered to be the earthly manifestation of Hathor. She was called "the creator of all nourishment" and her name has the same root the word for milk , ("hesa") which was known as the "beer of Heset". She was pictured as a divine white cow, either with a sun disc between her horns or carrying a tray of food on her horns and milk flowing from her udders.

Horakhty - God

(Horakhti, Harakhty), or "Horus of the two horizons", Horus was the god of the rising and setting sun, specifically the god of the east and the sunrise who was worshipped in Heliopolis. He was depicted as a falcon or a falcon-headed man wearing the solar disk and the double crown or the atef crown and the uraeus (royal cobra). Sometimes he was depicted as a falcon-headed crocodile who occassionally wears a sun disc.

Khentykhem - God

(Horus the Elder, Haroeris) was worshiped as Khenty-khem ("foremost of khem"), the patron of the blind.

Anput - Goddess

(Input) was the personification of the seventeenth nome of Upper Egypt. Her name is merely the female version of the name of her husband, Anubis ("t" is the feminine ending and Anubis was known as Anpu or Inpu to the Egyptians) and she is not often referred to except in relation to the seventeenth nome. However, Anput was thought to be the mother of Kebechet the goddess of purification. She was depicted as a woman wearing a standard topped by a jackal, or as a large black dog or jackal. Probably the most notable example is that of the triad of Menkaure, Hathor, and Anput. She was occasionally depicted as a woman with the head of a jackal, but this is very rare.

Khonsu - God

(Khons, Chons, Khensu) was a god of the moon and time. He was usually depicted as a young mummiform man in the posture of a mummy. In his role as the young son of Amun he generally wears the sidelock of youth and the curved beard of the gods. He often wears a full lunar disc resting in a crescent moon as a headdress and carries a crook and flail in his hands (linking him with the pharaoh and Osiris). Ocassionaly he bears a staff topped by the Was (representing power) or the Djed (representing stability). He generally wears a loose necklace with a crescent-shaped pectoral and a counterpoise in the shape of an inverted key-hole. In his mummiform aspect he looks so similar to Ptah that the only way to tell them apart is to check his necklace as the counterpoise worn by Ptah is a different shape. Khonsu could also be depicted as a falcon-headed man, but unlike Horus or Re his headdress is sometimes topped by a lunar, not solar symbol. Like Thoth he was associated with the baboon, but was only rarely depicted in this form. During the later period he may be depicted on plaques as fully human or in his falcon-headed form, together with his parents Amun and Mut, He may also be depicted standing on the back of a crocodile, like Horus. As "Khensu, the chronographer" he wears the solar disk on his head and holds a stylus in his right hand. Khonsu was also a great lover of games, especially senet. He was also frequently recorded playing a game of Senet against Thoth.

Maahes (Mihos) - God

(Mahes, Mihos, Miysis, Mysis) was a solar war god who took the form of a lion. His name can be translated directly as "(one who can) see in front". However, the first part of his name is also the first part of the word "ma" (lion) as well as the verb "maa" (to see) and it is spelled with the symbol of a sickle for the sound "m", linking it with the word Ma´at (truth or balance). As a result, another possible translation is "True Before Her" (referring to Ma´at). However, Maahes was rarely referred to by name. Rather he was usually referred to by his most common epithet, "The Lord of the Massacre". He was given a number of other bloodcurdling epithets including; "Wielder of the Knife", "The Scarlet Lord" (referring to the blood of his victims) and "Lord of Slaughter". Yet, he was not seen as a force of evil. He punished those who violated the rules of Ma´at and so promoted order and justice. Thus he was also known as the "Avenger of Wrongs" and "Helper of the Wise Ones". The Greeks associated him with the Furies (who were also potentially dangerous but not specifically evil) and gave him their epithet "The Kindly One," Maahes was often depicted as a lion-headed man carrying a knife and wearing the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, the atef crown or a solar disk and Ureas (royal serpent). Less often, he was depicted as a lion devouring a victim.

Mut - Goddess

(Maut, Mwt) was the mother goddess of Thebes. She was either depicted as a woman, sometimes with wings, or a vulture, usually wearing the crowns of royalty - she was often shown wearing the double crown of Egypt or the vulture headdress of the New Kingdom queens. Occasionally she was depicted as a male, in part because she was "Mut, Who Giveth Birth, But Was Herself Not Born of Any", and in part due to the superstitious belief that there were in fact no male griffon vultures (the male is almost identical in appearance to the female). In later times she was shown as woman with the head of a lioness, a cow or a cobra as she took on the attributes of the other Egyptian goddesses.

Min - God

(Menew, Menu, Amsu) As time progressed, he was given a human form and represented by the Min standard which resembles a double-headed arrow on a hook. Alternatively, Min initially represented the constelation Orion and was thought to control thunder and rain (linking him to Set). This connection with Orion also linked Min with Horus because the three were depicted with their arms raised above their head (a pose linked to the "smiting" pose of the pharaoh) and later provided a connection with Osiris. He was a god of the Eastern Desert, and a god and patron of traveling caravans. He offered protection to travellers and traders and was also worshiped by the miners and masons who worked around the Wadi Hammamat. In this area, he was known as "Min, the (foremost) Man of the Mountain". His association with the desert led to an association with foreign lands and with the god Set. Although he was associated with the desert, he was a god of fertility and sexuality. He was also a lunar god (relating him to moisture and fertility) and was given the epithet, "Protector of the Moon". The last day of the lunar month was sacred to Min and by the Ptolemaic period, he was patron of the fifth month of the Egyptian calendar (called Tybi by the Greeks). Min was generally depicted as a mummiform human wearing a crown with two large feathers (like that of Amun). In his right hand he holds a flail up above his shoulder. His skin is black (linking him to fertile black soil). Occasionaly he wears a red ribbon which may represent sexual power. When he takes the form of Amun-Min, he sometimes wears a sun disk between the two feathers on his headdress. In both Akhmin and Coptos he was worshipped in the form of a white bull (representing virility) known as "Bull of the Great Phallus" and in Heliopolis he was associated with the Mnevis bull cult.

Montu- God

(Mentu, Monthu, Mentju, Montju, Menthu, Ment, Month, Mont, Minuthi) was a solar hawk god and a god of war. His name is thought to derive from the term for a nomad. Montu was often depicted as a man with the head of a falcon wearing a headdress of two long plumes, a solar disk and the double uraeus (like that of Amun). He is generally armed, but uses a variety of weapons. Because of his links to the bull cults he was also depicted with the head of a bull (wearing the same headdress).

Meretseger - Goddess

(Mertseger, Merseger, Mereseger) was the goddess of the necropolis at Thebes. Her name means "She Who Loves Silence". Meretseger was usually depicted as a cobra or a cobra with the head of a woman, although sometimes she takes the form of a snake with three heads (a woman, a cobra and a vulture). She occassionally appears as a woman or a woman with the head of a cobra, although this is fairly rare.

Meskhenet - Goddess

(Mesenet, Meskhent, Mesket, Meshkent) was a goddess of childbirth, a divine midwife and protector of the birthing house. Her name means "birthing place" and she was generally depicted as a birthing brick with a human head, or as a woman wearing the headdress of a cow's uterus.

Sekhmet - Goddess

(Sakhmet) is one of the oldest known Egyptian deities. Her name is derived from the Egyptian word "Sekhem" (which means "power" or "might") and is often translated as the "Powerful One" or "She who is Powerful". She is depicted as a lion-headed woman, sometimes with the addition of a sun disc on her head. Her seated statues show her holding the ankh of life, but when she is shown striding or standing she usually holds a sceptre formed from papyrus (the symbol of northern or Lower Egypt) suggesting that she was associated primarily with the north. She was also known as the "Lady of Pestilence" and the "Red Lady" (indicating her alignment with the desert) and it was thought that she could send plagues against those who angered her.

Nefertum - God

(Nefertem, Nefertemu) was the god of the lotus blossom who emerged from the primeaval waters at the beginning of time, and a god of perfume and aromotherapy. He was also linked to rebirth, both as a personification of the newborn sun and as the patron of many of the necessary ingredients of the mummification process. Nefertum was usually depicted as a beautiful young man wearing a lotus headdress, sometimes standing on the back of a lion. He occasionally wears a headdress with two plumes and two necklace counterpoises which were symbols of fertility associated with Hathor (who in turn was closely associated with both of the goddesses described as his mother - Sekhmet and Bast). He was sometimes depicted as a man with the head of a lion or as a reclining lion or cat. In this form he was associated with the lion god Maahes who may have been his brother, but may also have been an aspect of Nefertum. As the newborn sun he was generally depicted as a beautiful baby sitting in or on a lotus bud. He was known as "He Who is Beautiful" and "Water Lily of the Sun" and was held in great affection.

Nekhbet - Goddess

(Nekhebet, Nechbet) was the patron of Upper Egypt, appearing as one of the "Two ladies" in the Nebty name of the pharaoh (with her counterpart Wadjet). She was often called "Hedjet" (White Crown) in reference to the crown of Upper Egypt and regularly appears as a heraldic device representing Upper Egypt. She was also a protector of royal children and, in later periods, of all young children and expectant mothers. She was generally depicted as a woman wearing the crown of Upper Egypt or the vulture headdress. However, she was also depicted as a woman with the head of a vulture, or as a snake or vulture with the White Crown on her head. When she takes the form of a vulture, she often spreads her wings in protection and bears the "shen" and (sometimes) the feather of ma'at in her talons. She was often shown with Wadjet and when in human form she and Wadjet can only be distinguished by their crowns. Occasionally she was depicted suckling the pharaoh or as a cow (as an aspect of Hathor).

Neith - Goddess

(Nit, Net, Neit) was an ancient goddess of war and weaving. She was associated with two different emblems; a shield crossed with two arrows, or a weaving shuttle. It seems that the crossed arrows was her symbol during the predynastic period when she was considered to be a goddess of hunting and war known by the epithet, "Mistress of the Bow, Ruler of Arrows". The crossed arrows also formed the emblem of the town of Zau (Sais) and the name of the nome of which her city was the capital. Neith was usually depicted as a woman wearing the Red Crown of Lower Egypt, but was occasionally depicted as a cow in connection with her role as the mother of Ra (linking her with Hathor, Hesat and Bat). Her name links her with the crown of Lower Egypt which was known as "nt" . However, her name is also linked to the word for weaving ('ntt') and to one of the words used for water ("nt").

Nut - Goddess

(Nuit, Nwt) was the personification of the sky and the heavens. She was a cow goddess who adopted some of the attributes of Hathor. When Ra became tired of ruling, she up into the heavens on her back in the form of a cow. However, she generally takes the form of a naked woman covered with stars, holding her body up in an arch, facing downwards. Her arms and legs were the pillars of the sky, and hands and feet were thought to touch the ground at the four cardinal points on the horizon. Geb is often depicted beneath her (sometimes ithphallyically). She was just portraid as a woman wearing one of the hieroglyphs that made up her name, a round Egyptian pot.

Ptah - God

(Pteh, Peteh) He was a god of rebirth who was sometimes credited with creating the Opening of the Mouth ceremony which restored life to the deceased (although it is also associated with Anubis and Wepwaet). He was also the patron of the second month of the Egyptian calendar, called Paopi by the Greeks. He was depicted as a mummified man with unbound arms holding a staff incorporating the ankh (representing life), the was (representing power) and the djed (representing stability). He usually stands on a plinth which was also one of the hieroglyphic symbols used to write the name of Ma'at (who represented order or justice) and was the same shape as a tool used by stonemasons and architects to form a straight edge. When he is depicted as Ptah-Sokar-Osiris he wears a sun disk with twisted rams horns and long plumes or the "atef crown". Statues of him in this form often included a copy of spells from The Book of the Dead. The origin of Ptah´s name is unclear, but it is often suggested that the correct translation is either "opener" (because of his link with the ceremony of the Opening of the Mouth) or "sculptor" (because he was a god of craftsmen and creation).

Qetesh - Goddess

(Qedesh, Kadesh, Qetesh, Qudshu) She was a goddess of nature, beauty and sexual pleasure. Qadesh was originally depicted as a naked woman standing on the back of a lion (outside Egypt it is sometimes a horse) with a crescent moon on her head. After her adoption into the Egyption pantheon she was more commonly depicted wearing the headdress of Hathor or a pair of cows horns and a sun disc (also linked with Hathor and the "Eye or Ra") and a tight-fitting sheath dress. She was often shown holding snakes or a papyrus plant (representing Reshep) in her right hand and lotus flowers in her left hand. Like Bes and Hathor, she is always pictured facing forward rather than in profile. Her name is possibly related to the hebrew word "qedesh". The meaning of the word is problematic. It is often translated as "holy woman" and (according to some) refers to the sacred prostitutes of the cult of Asherah known as Quedeshot (the Semitic nature goddess who was associated with Hathor in Egypt).

Ra (Re) - God

(Re) was the primary name of the sun god of Ancient Egypt. He was often considered to be the King of the Gods and thus the patron of the pharaoh and one of the central gods of the Egyptian pantheon. He was also described as the creator of everything. Ra was an ancient god, but not the oldest of the gods; the first references to Ra date from the Second Dynasty.

Reshep - God

(Resheph, Rahshaf, Rasap, Rashap, Resep, Reshef, Reshpu) was a Syrian plague and war god whose worship in Egypt dates from around the Eighteenth Dynasty. In Egypt he was known as "Lord of the Sky" or "Lord of Eternity" and an area of the Nile valley was renamed the "Valley of Reshep". It is thought that his name originally derived from the hebrew for "flame" or "plague". Reshep was depicted as a man with a Syrian style beard brandishing a mace or axe above his head. He generally wears the crown of Upper Egypt with the addition of a gazelle skull at the front and a ribbon at the back.

Seshat - Goddess

(Sesha, Sesheta or Safekh-Aubi) was a goddess of reading, writing, arithmetic and architecture who was seen as either the female aspect of Thoth, his daughter or his wife. She was also given the epithet "Mistress of the House of Architects" and from at least the Second Dynasty she was associated with a ritual known as "pedj shes" ("stretching the cord") which was conducted as part of the foundation rituals when erecting stone buildings. The "cord" refers to the mason's line which was used to measure out the dimensions of the building. She was depicted as a woman wearing a leopard skin dress (as worn by Sem preiests) wearing a headdress composed of a flower or seven pointed star on top of a pair of inverted horns. She was ocassional called "Safekh-Aubi" (or "Safekh-Abwy" meaning "She of two horns") because of this headdress, although it is also suggested that "Safekh-Aubi" was in fact a seperate (if rather obscure) goddess. However, others have suggested that the horns were originally a crescent moon, representing her husband (or alter ego) Thoth. Finally, it is sometimes suggested that the "horns" actually represent a bow. Unfortunately there is no clear evidence to confirm which view is correct. Her headdress also represents her name which was not spelled phonetically (the semi-circular breadloaf and the seated woman are both female determinatives).

Sopdu - God

(Soped, Sopedu) was a god of war associated with the eastern borders and the eastern Desert, known as the "lord of the east". He was also thought to protect the mouth of the deceased. His name was written with the hieroglyph of a thorn and can be translated as "skilled man" or "skilled ones". However, it could also mean "sharp ones". The sign itself was called "the tooth" by the Egyptians giving his name a possible third meaning of "the teeth". He was generally depicted as a crouching falcon or as an Asiatic warrior wearing a shemset girdle, a crown with two tall plumes and carrying an axe.

Shu - God

(Su) was the god of light and air and as such personified the wind and the earth's atmosphere. As the god of light he represented illuminated the primordial darkness and marked the separation between day and night and between the world of the living and the world of the dead. As the god of air, he represented the space between the earth and the heavens, and gave the breath of life to all living creatures. As a god of the wind, sailors invoked him to provide the good wind to power their boats. Shu was one of the Ennead of Heliopolis His name is thought to be derived from the word for dryness "shu", the root of words such as "dry", "parched", "withered", "sunlight" and "empty". However, it is also proposed that his name means "He who Rises Up". He was generally depicted as a man wearing a headdress composed of ostrich feathers carrying a Was sceptre (representing power) and an Ankh (representing the breath of life). Alternatively, he wore a headdress of a single ostrich feather (like that of Ma´at) which represented the breath of life. Occasionally, he wore a sun disk on his head due to his connection with the sun god. His skin was often painted black, possibly to represent his connection with Nubia or to emphasise his role in the rebirth of the sun god. He is commonly shown standing on the body of Geb with his arms raised to support Nut. When he is linked with his wife Tefnut, he often appears as a lion and the two were known as the "twin lion gods". Less often he is given the hind parts of a lion and the body and head of a man.

Tayet - Goddess

(Tait) was an ancient Egyptian goddess of weaving and the patron of weavers and those involved in the ritual of mummification. It is thought that her name derives from the word "shroud". She was thought to craft the woven bandages used during the mummification process which were sometimes referred to as "the land of Tayet".

Taweret - Goddess

(Tawret, Taueret, Tawaret, Taurt, Thoeris and Toeris, Ipy, Ipet, Apet, Opet, Reret) was an ancient Egyptian patron of childbirth and a protector of women and children. She was associated with the lion, the crocodile, and the hippo; all animals which were feared by the Egyptians but also highly respected. She was depicted as the combination of a crocodile, a hippo and a lion. However, unlike the composite demoness Ammit she had the paws of a lion, the back of a crocodile and the head and body of a pregnant hippo but with the addition of a woman's hair. She often wears a short cylindrical headdress topped by two plumes or the horns and solar disk of Hathor, bearing the "Sa" (representing protection) or the ankh (representing life). Sometimes Taweret was depicted with a crocodile on her back, thought to represent Sobek. Taweret literally means "The Great Female", but she was also known as "Ipet" ("harem") and "Reret" ("the sow"). At one point in history there may have been three variants of the goddess, but soon all were merged as Taweret.

Tefnut - Goddess

(Tefenet, Tefnet) was an ancient Egyptian goddess of moisture, but was strongly associated with both the moon and the sun. She was known as both the left (moon) and the right (sun) "Eyes of Ra" and represented moisture (as a lunar goddess) and dryness (or the absence of moisture, as a solar goddess). Her name means "She of moisture" and its root can be found in the Egyptian words for "moist" and "spit". Tefnut was generally depicted as a lioness or a woman with a lion's head. Less often, she was depicted as a woman. She always wears a solar disc and Uraeus, and carries a sceptre (representing power), and the ankh (representing the breath of life). She also occasionally took the form of a cobra.

Thoth - God

(Tehuty, Djehuty, Tahuti, Tehuti, Zehuti, Techu, Tetu) was one of the earlier Egyptian gods. Although Osiris and Isis were generally credited with bringing civilisation to mankind, Thoth was also thought to have invented writing, medicine, magic, and the Egyptian's civil and religious practices. He was even credited with the invention of music, which was more often associated with Hathor. Thoth was the patron of scribes and of the written word. He was scribe of the underworld who recorded the verdict on the deceased in the hall of Ma'at and was given the epithets "He who Balances", "God of the Equilibrium" and "Master of the Balance". Thoth maintained the library of the gods with the help of his wife, Seshat (the goddess of writing). He was the scribe of the gods, and was often described as the "Lord of the Divine Body", "Scribe of the Company of the Gods", the "voice of Ra" or the "counsellor of Ra" who (along with Ma'at) stood on the sun barge next to Ra on his nightly voyage across the sky. Thoth as a baboon It was said that he was the author of the spells in the "Book of the Dead" and "Book of Breathings" (which was also attributed to Isis) and he was given the grand title, the "Author of Every Work on Every Branch of Knowledge, Both Human and Divine". Egyptian mythology speaks of the "Book of Thoth" in which the god inscribed all of the secrets of the universe. He was most often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis. He often holds a scribe's palette and stylus but could also be depicted with an ankh (representing life) and a sceptre (representing power). Thoth sometimes wore a crescent moon on his head, but was also depicted wearing the Atef crown, and the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. When he was acting as the "voice of Ra", he carried the "Eye of Ra" (a symbol of the power of the sun). Occasionally he was depicted as an ibis, or a baboon. It is thought that the bird was associated with the moon because of its crescent-shaped beak, and the baboon is nocturnal animal which has the peculiar habit of chattering at the sun every day before going to sleep.

Wepwawet

(Upuaut, Wep-wawet, and Ophois) was an ancient canine god whose worship originated in Upper Egypt. His name means "the opener of the ways (roads)". This is thought to refer to the paths through the underworld, but may also refer to the choices or paths taken life as he also seems to have been linked to the power of the living pharaoh. In the "Book of the Dead" and the book of "That Which Is in the Underworld" (Amduat) he leads the deceased through the underworld and guards over them on their perilous journey, but he was also thought to act as a scout for the army, "opening a path" to allow them to proceed. He was generally depicted as a canine or a man with the head of a canine. There is some debate as to whether he is in fact a wolf. Unlike Anubis, he is often depicted with a grey or white head, and the Greeks named Thirteenth nome of Upper Egypt Lycopolis (Wolf town) in his honour. Some scholars argue that he was a jackal and others that he was originally a wolf but was merged with Anubis, and so became seen as a jackal-headed god. He was often depicted alongside the uraeus (royal cobra) and a "shedshed" standard.

Wadjet - Goddess

(Wadjyt, Wadjit, Uto, Uatchet, Edjo, Buto) was one of the oldest Egyptian goddesses. She began as the local goddess of Per-Wadjet (Buto) but soon became a patron goddess of Lower Egypt. By the end of the Predynastic Period she was considered to be the personification of Lower Egypt rather than a distinct goddess and almost always appeared with her sister Nekhbet (who represented Upper Egypt). The two combined represented the country as a whole and were represented in the pharaoh´s "nebty" name (also known as "the two ladies") which indicated that the king ruled over both parts of Egypt. In fact the symbol of the "Eye of Ra" was often called "the Wedjat". Her sacred animal was the cobra, and she was often depicted as either a rearing cobra, a winged cobra, or a woman with the head of a cobra.She was also depicted as a woman wearing the red crown of Lower Egypt. She often appears with her sister Nekhbet who was in as a snake or woman. By the Late Period she was also associated with the ichneumon (a mongoose-like creature). This animal was known for its skill in killing snakes and was also sacred to Horus.The Egyptians placed mummified ichneumon and shrew (small mice) inside statuettes of Wadjet which were interred with the dead. The two animals represented day (ichneumon) and night (shrew). She was also worshipped as a vulture Goddess. In her form of the "eye of Ra" she was depicted as a lion-headed woman wearing a solar disc and the Uraeus (cobra).

Amentet - Goddess

(also known as Ament, Amentit, Imentet and Imentit) was the consort of Aken. Her name means "She of the west". As a goddess of the dead, Amentet is thought to have lived in a tree at the edge of the desert overlooking the gates to the underworld. She was often depicted in tombs and coffins, protecting the dead. However, she was also a fertility goddess. She met the souls of the recently deceased and offered them bread and water before ushering them into the realm of the dead. This sustenance revitalised them and prepared them for the rebirth of their souls and the trials they would face on their way to the "field of reeds" (paradise). She was sometimes merged with Hathor, Isis and Neith, Mut, and Nut. She was also closely related to Nephthys and Ma´at, and according to some myths was the daughter of Horus and Hathor. She was often depicted as a queen occasionally carrying a sceptre and the ankh of life. On her head she wears the sign representing the west (a semi circle on top of one long and one short pole) and a feather and or a hawk. In the depictions in coffins she is often given wings, and in her association with Isis and Nepthys she was depicted as a kite.

Ammit- Goddess

(also known as Ammut and Ahemait) was the personification of divine retribution. She sat beside the scales of Ma'at ready to devour the souls of those deemed unworthy Her name is generally translated as "Devourer", but could also be the chilling "Bone Eater". She was generally depicted as a demon with the head of a crocodile, the torso of a wild cat, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus. However, she also took human form

Anat - Goddess

(also known as Anant, Anit, Anti, Anthat and Antit) was an ancient Canaanite deity who became popular in ancient Egypt towards the end of the Middle Kingdom. Anat was a goddess of fertility, sexual love, hunting, and war, and as such was rather a paradoxical deity. She was considered to be the mother of the gods, but was also known as "the Virgin". She was sometimes known as "the Wanton" (because of her lust for sex and war), the Fairest daughter-sister of Baal, "the Lady", "the Destroyer", "Strength of Life", and "the Lady of the Mountain". She also had a number of epithets which seem to have been peculiarly Egyptian, most notably "Anat-her" ("Agreeable Anat"), "Herit-Anta" ("Terror of Anat") and around Elephantine (first nome of Upper Egypt) the Hebrew "Beth-El" ("House of God"). Like Neith, Anat was often depicted bearing either a spear or a spindle. She was also associated with the precious dye known as Tyrian Purple (which despite the name was sometimes almost blood red in colour) and the murex snail from which the dye was made. She was often accompanied by a lion, her sacred animal. In Egypt she was often given a plumed crown which resembled the White Crown and carried either a spear, battle axe and shield or a scepter and an Ankh.

Anuket (Anukis) - Goddess

(also known as Anket, Anqet, Anjet or Anukis) was a personification of the Nile as "Nourisher of the Fields". She was also a goddess of the hunt and was worshipped as a protective deity during childbirth. Anuket was generally depicted as a woman wearing a tall headdress made either of reeds or of ostrich feathers, often holding a sceptre and the ankh symbol, but was occasionally shown in the form of a gazelle. Her name means "embrace" and may have originally referred the embrace of the waters of the inundation. The Festival of Anuket was held when the inundation began. People threw coins, gold, jewelry, and precious gifts into the Nile to please the goddess.

Menhit (Menhet) - Goddess

(also known as Menhit, Menchit or Menkhet) was a Lion Goddess from Nubia. Her name means "the one who sacrifices" but she was also known as "the slaughterer". She is depicted as a woman with the head of lion wearing a solar disc and the royal Ureas (snake).

Sobek - God

(also known as Sebek, Sebek-Ra, Sobeq, Suchos, Sobki, and Soknopais) was the ancient god of crocodiles. In some areas, a tame crocodile was worshiped as the earthly embodiment of Sobek himself, while in other places crocodiles were reviled, hunted and killed. The strength and speed of the crocodile was thought to be symbolic of the power of the Pharaoh, and the word "sovereign" was written with the hieroglyph of a crocodile. It was thought that Sobek could protect the Pharaoh from dark magic. He was depicted as a crocodile, a mummified crocodile or a man with the head of a crocodile. He often wore a plumed headdress with a horned sun disk or the atef crown (associating him with Amon-Ra) and carried the Was sceptre (representing power) and the Ankh (representing the breath of life). Mummified crocodiles representing the god have been found in many ancient tombs. The Egyptians mummified both infant and mature crocodiles and even interred crocodile eggs and fetuses with the deceased in order to enlist the protection of Sobek in the afterlife.

Sokar - God

(also known as Seker and in Greek, Sokaris or Socharis) was the Memphite god of the dead, but he was also the patron of the workers who built the necropolis and the craftsmen who made tomb artefacts and of those who made ritual objects and substances used in mummification. The meaning of his name is unclear. It may be derived from the term "skr" (meaning "cleaning the mouth") mentioned in the Coffin Texts and in writings relating to the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony (one of the funerary rituals). However, others suggest that it relates to the phrase "sy-k-ri" ("hurry to me") which was the cry for help uttered by Osiris to Isis, and others suggest it means "the adorned one". He was known by the epithet "he of Rosetau". This refers to the area around the Giza pyramids, but also related more generally to any necropolis and to the entrance to the underworld. He is also known as the "lord of the mysterious region" (the underworld) and the "great god with his two wings opened" - referring to his origins as a hawk deity. Sokar-Osiris He was initially worshiped as a totem, and then as a personified hawk or falcon. However, during the Old Kingdom he was generally depicted on a throne with Was (power) sceptre and an Ankh (life). By the New Kingdom he was depicted hawk-headed mummy with a War sceptre (representing power), a flail and a crook. He usually stands on a funerary mound (which may represent the primeval mound) and wears a sun disc, cows horns and the regal cobras (similar to the Atef-crown), although in certain situations he wears the White Crown. As a falcon deity, he is often related to Horus, and wears the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. Ptah-Sokar-Osiris is generally depicted as a mummiform hawk bearing the regalia of kingship. However, he was also represented as pygmy with a scarab beetle on his head (representing Kheper). It is thought that these images of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris were the source of the deity called Pataikos by Herodotus.

Atum - God

(also known as Tem or Temu) Atum was the creator god in the Heliopolitan Ennead. Texts in the New Kingdom tombs of the Valley of the Kings near Thebes depict Atum as an aged, ram-headed man who supervises the punishment of evildoers and the enemies of the sun god. He also repels some of the evil forces in the netherworld such as the serpents Nehebu-Kau and Apep (Apophis). He also provided protection to all good people, ensuring their safe passage past the Lake of Fire where there lurks a deadly dog-headed god who lives by swallowing souls and snatching hearts. Atum is most usually depicted in anthropomorphic form and is typically shown wearing the dual crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. One of the only details that distinguishes him from a Pharaoh is the shape of his beard. He is also depicted with a solar disk and a long tripartite wig. In his netherworld role, as well as his solar aspect, he is also often presented with the head of a ram. He may be seated on a throne but may also be shown standing erect, or even leaning on a staff when his old age is stressed. Atum was also represented by the image of the primeval hill. During the First Intermediate period "Atum and his Hand" even appear as a divine couple on some coffins. He was represented by the black bull Mnewer, who bore the sun disk and uraeus between its horns. The snake, bull, lion, lizard and ichneumon (Egyptian mongoose) are his sacred animals. As an ape, he was sometimes armed with a bow with which to shoot his enemies. In his aspect as a solar deity, he was also depicted as a scarab and the giant scarab statue which now stands by the sacred lake at Karnak was dedicated to Atum. Also, numerous small bronze coffins containing mummified eels, bearing a figure of the fish on the top of the box and an inscription incised on it, attest to yet another zoomorphic incarnation of Atum.

Renenutet - Goddess

(also known as Termuthis, Ernutet, Renenet) was a cobra goddess from the Delta area. She was depicted either as a woman, a cobra or a woman with the head of a cobra wearing a double plumed headdress or the solar disk. She was also depicted with a lions head, like Hathor in her form of the "Eye of Ra". In the underworld she became a fearsome fire-breathing cobra who could kill with one gaze. Her name may derive from the words "rnn" (to bring up, or nurse) and "wtt" (snake), but others have suggest that "rnnt" can mean "fortune" or "riches". A further possibility is that the first syllable is "rn", translated as "name". This would certainly fit with her role in naming children, but those who support this view tend to translate her name as "She who is in the name" which doesn't actually fit the rest of the hieroglyphs. This brings us to a further possibility. Some sources refer to a separate snake goddess named Renenet, who was a goddess of nursing. They may well be one and the same, or they could have become merged over time, but it is also possible that the two have simply become confused by historians.

Shai - God

(also written as Sai, or Shay, and Psais in Greek) was the personification of the concept of fate or destiny in ancient Egypt. His name means "that which is ordained" but is also related to the word "shay" meaning "extent" or "amount". Although genrally "fate" was deemed to be male, there was also a female version of this god known as "shait". Shai was not often depicted in Egyptian art, but when he was it was generally depicted as a male god (particlaurly in scenes of the weighing of the heart). Less often he was depicted as a cobra or a man with the head of a snake or as a birth brick with a human head. Although there was a specific cult devoted to Shai we know little about their activities and no temple so far discovered is dedicated specifically to his worship.

Bast- Goddess

(known as "Bastet" in later times to emphasise that the "t" was to be pronounced) was one of the most popular goddesses of ancient Egypt. She is generally thought of as a cat goddess. However, she originally had the head of a lion or a desert sand-cat and it was not until the New Kingdom that she became exclusively associated with the domesticated cat. However, even then she remained true to her origins and retained her war-like aspect. She personified the playfulness, grace, affection, and cunning of a cat as well as the fierce power of a lioness. She was also worshiped all over Lower Egypt, but her cult was centred on her temple at Bubastis in the eighteenth nome of Lower Egypt (which is now in ruins). Bubastis was the capital of ancient Egypt for a time during the Late Period, and a number of pharaohs included the goddess in their throne names. Her name could be translated as "Devouring Lady". However, the phonetic elements "bas" are written with an oil jar (the "t" is the feminine ending) which is not used when writing the word "devour". The oil jar gives an association with perfume which is strengthened by the fact that she was thought to be the mother of Nefertum (who was a god of perfume). Thus her name implies that she is sweet and precious, but that under the surface lay the heart of a predator. Bast was depicted as a cat, or as a woman with the head of a cat, a sand cat or a lion. She is often shown holding the ankh (representing the breath of life) or the papyrus wand (representing Lower Egypt). She occasionally bears a was-scepter (signifying strength) and is often accompanied by a litter of kittens. Cats were sacred to Bast, and to harm one was considered to be a crime against her and so very unlucky. Her priests kept sacred cats in her temple, which were considered to be incarnations of the goddess. When they died they were mummified and could be presented to the goddess as an offering. The ancient Egyptians placed great value on cats because they protected the crops and slowed the spread of disease by killing vermin. As a result, Bast was seen as a protective goddess. Evidence from tomb paintings suggests that the Egyptians hunted with their cats (who were apparently trained to retrieve prey) and also kept them as loved pets.

Horus Behedet - God

(often known as Behdety) was a god of the midday sun. Horus Behdety was represented as a winged sun disk on temples all over Egypt, just as Ra had apparently decreed. However, he was also depicted as a lion, a lion with the head of a hawk and as a hawk hovering over the pharaoh during battle carrying a flail (representing royal power) and the shen (representing eternity) grasped in his claws. As a hawk he was given the epithet "Great God, Lord of Heaven, Dappled of Plumage". In addition, he was frequently depicted as a man with the head of a falcon wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. In this form he often carries a falcon-headed staff, representing the form he took when he killed set.

Bat - Goddess

(or Bata) was an ancient Egyptian cow goddess associated with Upper Egypt. She was originally a deification of the Milky Way (which was compared to a pool of cows milk). Her name is the feminine form of the word "ba", the name of one of the major elements of the soul. She was associated with the ankh (the symbol of life or breath) and with the sistrum (which was also associated with Hathor.

Kherty (Cherti) - God

(or Cherti meaning "Lower one") was an ancient Egyptian earth god and a god of the underworld who sailed the boat which carried the decased on their last journey. Kherty was depicted as a ram or a man with the head of a ram (representing the "Ba" or soul).

Hatmeyht - Goddess

(or Hatmehit) was a fish-goddess worshipped in the Delta area of Ancient Egypt, particularly in Mendes (Per-banebdjedet or place of Banebdjed). Her name can be translated as "she who is in front of the fishes" or "Foremost of the fish". This could either suggest that she was the most important of the (few) fish cults, or that she was considered to be the oldest fish deity. She was sometimes depicted as a fish (either a dolphin or a lepidotus fish) or a woman with a "Fish" emblem on her head.

Khentiamentiu - God

(or Khentyamentw) was an ancient god of the necropolis at Abydos. The sun set (died) in the west and rose (was reborn) in the east so the name, which means "foremost of the westerners", refers to the dead, not a geographical location. He was depicted as a man swathed in bandages (like the mumiform Osiris) wearing the crown of upper (southern) Egypt.

Amun - God

Amun was one of the eight ancient Egyptian gods who formed the Ogdoad of Hermopolis. He was the god of the air and his consort was Ament (Amaunet). However, during the Twelfth dynasty (Middle Kingdom) Amun was adopted in Thebes as the King of the gods with Mut as his consort. Amun and Mut had one child, the moon god Khonsu. He was also adopted into the Ennead of Heliopolis when he merged with the ancient sun god (Ra) to become Amun-Ra. His name is generally translated as "the hidden one" or "the secret one" and it was thought that he created himself and then created everything else while remaining distanced and separate from the world. Amun was associated with a number of animals, whose form he sometimes took in inscriptions. Originally he was depicted as a goose and given the epithet the "Great Cackler" (like Geb). It was also thought that he could regenerate himself by becoming a snake and shedding his skin. However, he was most frequently depicted as a Ram, a symbol of fertility. He is also depicted as a man with the head of a ram, a frog, an Uraeus (royal cobra), a crocodile, or as an ape. Finally, he is depicted as a king sitting on his throne wearing the double plumed crown (also associated with Min). During the Ptolemaic period images of Amun were cast in bronze in which he was depicted as bearded man with four arms the body of a beetle, the wings of a hawk, the legs of a man and the paws and claws of a lion.

Anhur (Onuris) - God

Anhur (Han-her, Inhert) is often known by his Greek name, Onuris. He was an ancient Egyptian god of war and hunting from This (in the Thinite region near Abydos) who defended his father (the sun god Ra) from his enemies (giving him the epithet "slayer of enemies"). He was one of the gods who stood at the front of the sun god's barque and defended him from Apep His name translates as "he who leads back the distant one" (although another possible translation is "Sky Bearer"). Anhur is generally depicted as a striding king wearing a long kilt decorated with a feather-like pattern, a short wig topped by the uraeus (serpent) and a crown of four tall feathers. In some depictions he holds his spear or lance (leading to the epithet "the lord of lances") above his head (imitating the determinative for words such as "strike") and in his left hand he holds a length of rope that probably relates to his role in bringing the "Eye of Ra" back to Egypt. Occasionally he is depicted without the spear or rope, but often his hands are in the position they would be in if he were carrying them.

Anubis - God

Anubis is one of the most iconic gods of ancient Egypt. Anubis is the Greek version of his name, the ancient Egyptians knew him as Anpu (or Inpu). Anubis was an extremely ancient deity whose name appears in the oldest mastabas of the Old Kingdom and the Pyramid Texts as a guardian and protector of the dead. He was originally a god of the underworld, but became associated specifically with the embalming process and funeral rites. His name is from the same root as the word for a royal child, "inpu". However, it is also closely related to the word "inp" which means "to decay", and one versions of his name (Inp or Anp) more closely resembles that word. As a result it is possible that his name changed slightly once he was adopted as the son of the King, Osiris. He was known as "Imy-ut" ("He Who is In the Place of Embalming"), "nub-tA-djser" ("lord of the sacred land"). He became the patron of lost souls, including orphans, and the patron of the funeral rites. In this respect he overlapped with (and eventually absorbed) the Jackal God Wepwawet of Upper Egypt. Dogs and jackals often patrolled the edges of the desert, near the cemeteries where the dead were buried, and it is thought that the first tombs were constructed to protect the dead from them. Anubis was usually thought of as a jackal (sAb), but may equally have been a wild dog (iwiw) He was usually depicted as a man with the head of a jackal and alert ears, often wearing a red ribbon, and wielding a flail. He was sometimes depicted as a jackal (such as in the beautiful examples from the tomb of Tutankhamun) but only rarely appears as a man (one example is in the cenotaph temple of Rameses II at Abydos). His fur was generally black (not the brown associated with real jackals) because black was associated with fertility, and was closely linked to rebirth in the afterlife. In the catacombs of Alexandria he was depicted wearing Roman dress and the sun disk flanked by two cobras. To the east of Saqqara there was a place known as Anubeion, where a shrine and a cemetery of mummified dogs and jackals was discovered.

Set - God

Seth, Setekh, Sut, Sutekh, Sety) was one of the most ancient of the Egyptian gods and the focus of worship since the Predynastic Period. He was a storm god associated with strange and frightening events such as eclipses, thunderstorms and earthquakes. He also represented the desert and, by extension, the foreign lands beyond the desert. His glyph appears in the Egyptian words for "turmoil", "confusion", "illness", "storm" and "rage". He was considered to be very strong but dangerous, and strange. However, he was not always considered to be an evil being. Set was a friend of the dead, helping them to ascend to heaven on his ladder, and he protected the life-giving oases of the desert, and was at times a powerful ally to the pharaoh and even the sun god Ra. Set was the black boar who swallowed the moon each month, obscuring its light. He was also identified with the hippopotamus, crocodiles, scorpions, turtles, pigs and donkeys - all animals which were considered to be unclean or dangerous. However, he was most often depicted as a "Set animal" or a man with the head of a "Set animal". The Set animal (sometimes known as a"Typhonian animal" because of the Greek identification with Typhon) is a dog or jackal like creature, but it is not clear whether it exactly represented an extinct species, or was a mythological beast uniquely associated with Set himself. He was thought to have white skin and red hair, and people with red hair were thought to be his followers. He was associated with the desert (which takes its name from the Egyptian word "dshrt" - the red place). He represented the fierce dry heat of the sun as it parched the land, and was infertile like the desert. Initially he probably represented the desert near Nubt, but soon he represented all deserts and foreign lands, becoming a god of overseas trade.

Hathor - Goddess

She was known as "the Great One of Many Names" and her titles and attributes are so numerous that she was important in every area of the life and death of the ancient Egyptians. She was a sky goddess, known as "Lady of Stars" and "Sovereign of Stars" and linked to Sirius (and so the goddesses Sopdet and Isis). Her birthday was celebrated on the day that Sirius first rose in the sky (heralding the coming innundation). By the Ptolemaic period, she was known as the goddess of Hethara, the third month of the Egyptian calendar. Hathor was also the goddess of beauty and patron of the cosmetic arts. Her traditional votive offering was two mirrors and she was often depicted on mirrors and cosmetic palettes. Yet she was not considered to be vain or shallow, rather she was assured of her own beauty and goodness and loved beautiful and good things. She was known as "the mistress of life" and was seen as the embodiment of joy, love, romance, perfume, dance, music and alcohol. Hathor was especially connected with the fragrance of myrrh incense, which was considered to be very precious and to embody all of the finer qualities of the female sex. Hathor was associated with turquoise, malachite, gold and copper. As "the Mistress of Turquoise" and the "lady of Malachite" she was the patron of miners and the goddess of the Sinai Peninsula (the location of the famous mines). The Egyptians used eye makeup made from ground malachite which had a protective function (in fighting eye infections) which was attributed to Hathor. She took the form of a woman, goose, cat, lion, malachite, sycamore fig, to name but a few. However, Hathor's most famous manifestation is as a cow and even when she appears as a woman she has either the ears of a cow, or a pair of elegant horns. When she is depicted as entirely a cow, she always has beautifully painted eyes. She was often depicted in red (the color of passion) though her sacred color is turquoise.