Major Gods and Goddesses Scroll down or select an underlined letter to look for the name of a specific god or goddess.       A             Amun or Amun-Re A deity of multiple aspects, Amun was sometimes shown as a ram or goose, but was most often anthropomorphic (human-shaped). The name Amun means “The Hidden One” and was first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts in Dynasty 5 (circa 2500–2350 B.C.). Fundamentally a Creator god, Amun was worshiped as a local deity at Thebes in Upper Egypt during Dynasty 11 (circa 2081–1938 B.C.). By the Middle Kingdom (circa 2008–1630 B.C.), he was called “the king of the gods” and as Thebes rose to power in the New Kingdom (circa 1539–1075 B.C.), he was worshiped throughout Egypt and Nubia. Amun was freqently associated with other deities, most importantly the sun god, Re. As Amun-Re, he may have represented both the invisible power beyond creation and the creative power visible in heat and light.               Back to Top     Aten The Aten referred to both the disk of the sun and the form of the solar god as manifested in the sun disk. King Akhenaten (circa 1352–1336 B.C.) elevated the cult of the Aten within the Egyptian pantheon by closing the temples of other traditional gods and restricting worship to the Aten and the royal family. The Aten was represented as a solar disk with human-handed rays.               Back to Top     Atum In one of the oldest and most important ancient Egyptian creation myths, the Creator god Atum arose in a mound of earth from the primeval waters of chaos (Nun) and brought forth the gods Shu (air), Tefnut (moisture), Geb (earth), and Nut (sky). Atum was shown in the form of a man, a ram-headed man, or as a combination of an eel and a cobra.                     B       Back to Top     Bastet The goddess Bastet was represented as a woman with the head of a lioness as early as Dynasty 2 (circa 2800–2675 B.C.) and by the beginning of Dynasty 22 (circa 945–712 B.C.) was also shown as a cat. The cat form represented the contented goddess, while the lioness form represented Bastet enraged or potentially dangerous.                     G       Back to Top       Geb In Egyptian mythology, the earth god Geb and his sister-wife, the sky goddess Nut, were the children of Shu and Tefnut. After creation, Geb and Nut joined in sexual union, but Atum separated earth from sky by placing the air god Shu between them. Geb is often shown in human form.                     H       Back to Top     Hathor The “mistress of joy, dance, and music,” Hathor embodied the sexual excitement necessary to maintain creation and the ongoing cycle of generation-decay-regeneration. A protective “mother” and nourisher of the gods and humanity, she was also a funerary deity associated with rebirth. Shown as a cow with the sun disk between her horns, she represented fertility and heaven, but she was also associated with the Eye of Re, protecting Egypt and the universal order, or Ma‘at.               Back to Top     Horus (Her or Herew) Horus was most often depicted as a falcon or a falcon-headed man. The cults of several gods named Horus—which means “The Distant One” or “He Who is on High”—became intertwined over time. As Re-Horakhty (“Re-Horus-of-the-Two-Horizons”) he was the sun; as a divine child he was Harpocrates or Horpakhered (“Horus the Child”), representing royal and divine renewal. Son of the god Osiris and the goddess Isis, Horus avenged his father’s murder by Seth, symbolizing the triumph of legitimate rule and of order over disorder.                     I       Back to Top     Isis (Aset) In Egyptian mythology, Isis magically restored her brother-husband Osiris to life after he was murdered by their brother Seth. She was thus seen as a deity with great powers; one of her epithets is “Isis Great of Magic” (Weret-Hekau). The model loyal wife and protective mother, Isis was normally represented in human form, sometimes crowned with the “throne” hieroglyph that is also a writing of her name.                     K               Back to Top     Khonsu At the city of Thebes, Khonsu was considered the child of the god Amun and the goddess Mut. A lunar deity, Khonsu was shown with a falcon or human head and crowned with a crescent moon. He was frequently depicted in juvenile form (“Khonsu-the-Child”), often wearing a tightly wrapped robe symbolizing the potential for life—perhaps this referred to the moon’s cycle of generation-decay-regeneration.                     M       Back to Top     Ma‘at Ma‘at represented the proper interaction among all inhabitants of the universe, mortal and divine; the basis of the Egyptian social order; and the right order of things in heaven, on earth, and in the afterlife. Ma‘at was considered necessary to the preservation of the universe from the chaos that surrounded it. The word ma‘at was written with a feather hieroglyph. Ma‘at personified as a goddess was often depicted with a feather atop her head.               Back to Top     Mut In the New Kingdom (circa 1539–1075 B.C.) and later, Mut and Sakhmet were so closely associated that they were eventually viewed as the same goddess. Mut (“mother”) was usually shown in human form wearing the Double Crown of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, symbolizing her role as protector and conveyor of kingship. She was seen as the divine mother of kings and of the god Khonsu. Sakhmet (“The Powerful One”) represented the more violent or fierce aspect of the goddess. Usually depicted in the form of a lion or with the head of a lioness, she was seen as the protectress of Egypt, of the king, and of Ma‘at, who could destroy what she was meant to protect unless kept pacified. Mut was one of the female consorts of the god Amun, and Sakhmet was one of the female consorts of the god Ptah.                     N       Back to Top     Nephthys (Nebet-hwt) In Egyptian myth, Nephthys helped her sister Isis magically restore their murdered brother Osiris to life. Nephthys was most commonly depicted as a woman wearing the hieroglyphs for her Egyptian name, neb[t] hwt (“Possessor of the Mansion”) atop her head.               Back to Top       Nut The Egyptians believed that the goddess Nut was the sky and the milky way and that she swallowed the sun at sunset. After passing through her body during the twelve hours of night, the sun was reborn from her at dawn. Nut was frequently depicted as a woman arching her body over earth (Geb), with her toes touching the eastern horizon and her arms hanging down to where the sun sets in the west.                     O       Back to Top     Osiris (Wsir) Osiris was believed to have ruled Egypt as a benevolent king. According to Egyptian myth, he was murdered by his brother Seth and magically restored to life by his sister-wife Isis, assisted by their sister Nephthys. Because he had died he could no longer rule on earth, and so became the Lord of the Dead, ruling in the netherworld. All kings were believed to become Osiris after they died. He was often depicted wrapped in mummy bandages, holding a flail—based on a fly-whisk—and a crook, which was the hieroglyphic sign for heka, meaning ruler or scepter.                     P       Back to Top     Ptah An early and chief god of the northern capital of Memphis, Ptah was seen as a divine artist-craftsman. He was a Creator god and, according to different traditions, either fashioned man or created things by speaking their names. He was usually shown in human form, but the sacred Apis bull of the city of Memphis also came to be viewed as a representation of him.                     R       Back to Top     Re A solar and universal deity, Re was a primeval Creator often identified as the lord and father of Ma‘at. The gods Khepri, identified with the rising sun, and Atum, sometimes equated with the setting sun, were joined with Re to represent the daily cycle of creation-degeneration-re-creation. Because the sun was so important as a source of light and life to the Egyptians, they associated many gods with it by linking them to Re.                     S       Back to Top     Sakhmet In the New Kingdom (circa 1539–1075 B.C.) and later, Mut and Sakhmet were so closely associated that they were eventually viewed as the same goddess. Sakhmet (“The Powerful One”) represented the more violent or fierce aspect of the goddess. Usually depicted in the form of a lion or with the head of a lioness, she was seen as the protectress of Egypt, of the king, and of Ma‘at, who could destroy what she was meant to protect unless kept pacified. Mut (“mother”) was usually shown in human form wearing the Double Crown of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt, symbolizing her role as protector and conveyor of kingship. She was seen as the divine mother of kings and of the god Khonsu. Sakhmet was one of the female consorts of the god Ptah, and Mut was one of the female consorts of the god Amun.               Back to Top       Seth (Set) According to Egyptian myth, Seth murdered his brother Osiris and seized the Egyptian throne. He was later defeated by Horus, son of Osiris and Isis, and banished from the civilized world. Seth was depicted as a mysterious animal with the characteristics of several species.               Back to Top     Shu Shu and his sister-wife Tefnut were believed to be the first two deities fashioned by the Creator god Atum. The Egyptians associated Shu with light, air, and life. He was often shown in human form with upraised arms separating earth (Geb) from sky (Nut).                     T       Back to Top       Tefnut Tefnut was the goddess of moisture and heat. She sometimes functioned as the “Eye of Re,” an aspect of the sun god that could be either beneficial or damaging. The least frequently represented of Egypt’s primordial gods, she was shown as either a woman or a lioness.               Back to Top     Thoth (Djehuty) A lunar deity, Thoth had numerous functions, many of them associated with intellectual pursuits such as writing—which the Egyptians believed he invented—and mathematics. His supposed mastery over hieroglyphs and divine words also gave him the status of a great magician. Thoth was often depicted as an ibis or ibis-headed man, but could also take on other forms, such as that of a baboon.