Ancient Egyptian gods
The Egyptians worshipped many gods of varying strength and power. Here are but a few of them that they both feared and revered.
Ra
god of the sun, the king of all gods
'Ra is the most powerful and one of the most important gods in Ancient Egyptian mythology, said to have created everything and is ruler over all of the other gods. The Pharaoh's believed that they were the earthly embodiment of him on Earth, which is why they had so much power and respect across the ancient Egyptian world, and Egyptian's believed that Ra was the most important god of all. Ra is meant to represent all other gods, and all of the other gods should have something to represent him, him being the creator of all things. Ra created humans from his tears.
Ra is often seen in human form with a falcon head, above which is his symbol, the sun disk (see 'Symbols' for more information). He also can be seen as a man with a scarab beetle's head or a ram's head. He has many forms as animals, including a serpent, heron, ram, hawk, lion and a cat. Ra's most revered animal form is the cat, as in that form, he defeated the Lord of Chaos, Aphosis (see below for more), and so the ancient Egyptian's worshipped the cat because of it. He has several children, but his main two are the twin brother and sister Shu, god of the dry air and Teftnut, goddess of moisture and wetness. Ra's job was to sail across the sky with immortal youth to the next world with his solar boat called the 'Barque of Millions of years'. He rose in the east and his boat is called 'Madjet' which means becoming strong, and he is said to die at the end of the day, in the West, leaving the moon up in his place to light the night sky. This is when his boat is called 'Semektet' which means becoming weak in ancient Egyptian. He then sails the underworld during the night, before being reborn in the East once more. This story suggests that this is how day and night work, his boat and himself representing the sun, and the sun 'dying' at the end of the day. During the day he fights with Aphosis, normally depicted in his cat form. |
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Osiris
god of the dead, ruler of the underworld
Osiris, great-grandson of Ra, father of Anubis and Horus, is the king of the underworld and has been through many hardships and has died several times. The Egyptians painted him either green or black to suggest fertility of soil of the Nile and rebirth. He wears the headgear and beard of that of a Pharaoh, and carries a sacred crook and flail. From the feet up he has a mummified form. He is the son of Geb and Nut, god and goddess of the Earth and sky, and has 3 younger siblings that includes Seth, Nephthys and Isis, whom he married. Osiris, who was the eldest, took over the throne from his parents which placed rivalry between him and his brother Seth. Seth married his sister Nephthys.
One day, Nephthys, as the image of her sister Isis, seduced Osiris and she became pregnant and gave birth to Anubis. Seth, who was already angry with Osiris being so popular, now was so angry with him for having a child with his wife that he lured his brother into a coffin in the Nile and drowned him by overflowing it. Now each year the Nile does this, the Egyptians believe that it was representing the hatred of Seth to Osiris. Isis soon found his body, but Seth stole it and cut up his body into pieces and hid them across the desert. For many years Isis searched for her husband's pieces and found all of them except for one, which was swallowed by the Nile Perch (fish). Isis used her magic to bring back Osiris, and together they had a son, Horus.
Osiris died again to go down and take his place as the king of the underworld. He became the god of the dead and took over Anubis's job (who was the current god of the dead) because he was the first god to die. His job is to judge souls of the dead, and those who kept the sacred rituals would rise again with him. He is also believed that he dwelt his time in human form to civilise the cannibalistic Egyptians and was the King there for many years before he moved elsewhere to teach kindness and and give names for many things in other lands.
One day, Nephthys, as the image of her sister Isis, seduced Osiris and she became pregnant and gave birth to Anubis. Seth, who was already angry with Osiris being so popular, now was so angry with him for having a child with his wife that he lured his brother into a coffin in the Nile and drowned him by overflowing it. Now each year the Nile does this, the Egyptians believe that it was representing the hatred of Seth to Osiris. Isis soon found his body, but Seth stole it and cut up his body into pieces and hid them across the desert. For many years Isis searched for her husband's pieces and found all of them except for one, which was swallowed by the Nile Perch (fish). Isis used her magic to bring back Osiris, and together they had a son, Horus.
Osiris died again to go down and take his place as the king of the underworld. He became the god of the dead and took over Anubis's job (who was the current god of the dead) because he was the first god to die. His job is to judge souls of the dead, and those who kept the sacred rituals would rise again with him. He is also believed that he dwelt his time in human form to civilise the cannibalistic Egyptians and was the King there for many years before he moved elsewhere to teach kindness and and give names for many things in other lands.
Anubis
god of embalming and of the dead
Anubis, who is son to Osiris and Nephthys, is the god of mummification or embalming, being the founder of it when he embalmed his dead father Osiris after Seth killed him, so that that he could live again. He has the body of a man and a head of a jackal and carries the sceptre of the gods. Jackals are closely tied to embalming because they often hung around graves and tombs digging up dead bodies to eat, and so the Egyptians created a way to protect the dead from them and to stop the natural decay of normal bodies. The priests who embalm the bodies wear masks of a Jackal, thus turning something once hated into something that has such a sacred meaning.
Before his job as embalming, he was the god of the underworld until his father took over his job. He now does a few different jobs, such as watching the mummification process to make sure that the dead person is being rightfully embalmed and so the soul's ba can reunite with it safely, and he protects the tombs by watching over them. Anubis's main job however, is oversee and monitor the Scales of truth to make sure that people who are worthy don't have an eternal death instead of eternal life (see the 'Afterlife' page for more on this). He was the one that decided whether or not a soul is worthy to move on, and so, controls the Scales of truth.
Before his job as embalming, he was the god of the underworld until his father took over his job. He now does a few different jobs, such as watching the mummification process to make sure that the dead person is being rightfully embalmed and so the soul's ba can reunite with it safely, and he protects the tombs by watching over them. Anubis's main job however, is oversee and monitor the Scales of truth to make sure that people who are worthy don't have an eternal death instead of eternal life (see the 'Afterlife' page for more on this). He was the one that decided whether or not a soul is worthy to move on, and so, controls the Scales of truth.
Seth
god of chaos, deserts, storms and violence
Seth is the son of Geb and Nut, married to his sister Nephthys, and a sibling to Osiris and Isis. He has the body of a man and the head of an imaginary animal that may be a donkey or aardvark and has control over deserts and storms. His glyph in Ancient Egyptian meant 'confusion', 'illness', 'rage', and 'storm'. He is very strong, powerful and strange and causes eclipses and earthquakes He was the benefactor of lower Egypt, and Osiris's son Horus was the benefactor of upper Egypt. They used to work in harmony together and crown the new kings of Egypt together. This didn't last. When Upper Egypt overrun Seth's domain, Seth was classified as the evil enemy of Horus and they had many battles against each other while Seth tried to murder Horus. Seth never had any children and was barren like the desert he ruled, unlike the fertile and growing Osiris.
After this had been going on for a while, the goddess Neith decided to give them something to settle their battles. She suggested that Horus could take the throne and to Seth would be given the goddesses Astarte and Asat. Horus, who was avenging what had been done to him and his father, wanted to exile Seth to the desert, and presented it to the council of gods run by Ra. Most of the gods agreed to this, but Ra said that Horus was too young to rule the throne and couldn't exile anyone. Seth was OK for many years while the trial of him was halted until Isis tricked him into his own judgement. Using her magic and dressing up as a beautiful woman, Seth saw her crying and he asked her what the matter was. She told a story very similar to what Seth had done, killing her husband and trying to kill her son. Seth was outraged and said that someone like that should be destroyed, thus his fate was set, and exiled he went into the desert.
Though Seth did some evil things, he wasn't an evil god that did everything against Ra. In fact, he was considered a strong ally of Ra. He helped people up his ladder on the climb to heaven, is a friend to the dead, and protects the oasis water in the desert to those who needs the water residing in it. Ancient Egyptians also respected the fact that he kept all of the desert dangers inside of the desert. After all, there needs to be some balance of good and evil, and Seth brings some of that evil into balance.
After this had been going on for a while, the goddess Neith decided to give them something to settle their battles. She suggested that Horus could take the throne and to Seth would be given the goddesses Astarte and Asat. Horus, who was avenging what had been done to him and his father, wanted to exile Seth to the desert, and presented it to the council of gods run by Ra. Most of the gods agreed to this, but Ra said that Horus was too young to rule the throne and couldn't exile anyone. Seth was OK for many years while the trial of him was halted until Isis tricked him into his own judgement. Using her magic and dressing up as a beautiful woman, Seth saw her crying and he asked her what the matter was. She told a story very similar to what Seth had done, killing her husband and trying to kill her son. Seth was outraged and said that someone like that should be destroyed, thus his fate was set, and exiled he went into the desert.
Though Seth did some evil things, he wasn't an evil god that did everything against Ra. In fact, he was considered a strong ally of Ra. He helped people up his ladder on the climb to heaven, is a friend to the dead, and protects the oasis water in the desert to those who needs the water residing in it. Ancient Egyptians also respected the fact that he kept all of the desert dangers inside of the desert. After all, there needs to be some balance of good and evil, and Seth brings some of that evil into balance.
Isis
goddess of magic, medicine and symbols
One of the most important goddesses in Ancient Egyptian, she is the daughter of Geb and Nut and is a sibling to Osiris, Seth and Nephthys. She is a great healer and has powerful magic to transform and do good for others. She is like a mother, and is often called 'the mother of god'. Isis means 'throne', which is why she often wears a throne-shaped headdress, but she also can have cow horns with a solar disk above them. Isis's main job was to help people, and she helped the people of Egypt bake, weave and brew beer. She spent most of her time hiding from Seth with her son Horus until he was fully grown up, and she took pity even on Seth when he got beheaded by Horus, and she reversed it using her magic.
Her magic, often used to heal sick and injured, is more powerful than even Ra himself, which makes her very powerful indeed. One of the stories where she seems to get all of her power is actually from Ra. The Ancient Egyptians believed Ra was getting old, and he wasn't doing his job properly. Isis knew that he had a secret name where he gets all of his powers from, and so she crafted a snake from his saliva and made it bite him, which put him in a great pain. Isis then said that she would heal him if he gave her this secret name, which he did. Isis is now said to have control over life and death, is more powerful than all of the other gods, and uses her great powers to benefit the people of Egypt.
Her magic, often used to heal sick and injured, is more powerful than even Ra himself, which makes her very powerful indeed. One of the stories where she seems to get all of her power is actually from Ra. The Ancient Egyptians believed Ra was getting old, and he wasn't doing his job properly. Isis knew that he had a secret name where he gets all of his powers from, and so she crafted a snake from his saliva and made it bite him, which put him in a great pain. Isis then said that she would heal him if he gave her this secret name, which he did. Isis is now said to have control over life and death, is more powerful than all of the other gods, and uses her great powers to benefit the people of Egypt.
Apophis
Spirit of evil and chaos, enemy of Ra
A spirit of evil, Aphosis or 'Apep' is a monster of chaos and a symbol of everything evil. Posing as a giant serpent dripping with poison, he brings fear into the hearts of all Egyptians. Nothing is good about Apep and only brings chaos, misfortune and mayhem. He can be killed, but he always come back as he is essential to keep the balance of the cosmos in bay, but is Ra's deadly enemy. Apep is constantly trying to find ways to trap, kill and hypnotise the true souls on Ra's solar boat. no matter how many times that Apep is killed up there, he keeps coming back for more and trying to be more and more deceitful.
It wasn't just the whole souls on the boat either. Apep was constantly plaguing the Egyptians with trouble with things like earthquakes, storms, darkness, illness and invaders. He was not worshipped by anybody, and much effort was spent trying to ward him off with spells and making a sort of 'voodoo doll', that when melted, would kill him and keep him away.
It wasn't just the whole souls on the boat either. Apep was constantly plaguing the Egyptians with trouble with things like earthquakes, storms, darkness, illness and invaders. He was not worshipped by anybody, and much effort was spent trying to ward him off with spells and making a sort of 'voodoo doll', that when melted, would kill him and keep him away.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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