Religion Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

Creation Story Only the ocean existed at first. Then Ra (the sun) came out of an egg that appeared on the surface of the water. Ra brought forth four children: the gods Shu and Geb and the goddesses Tefnut and Nut. Shu and Tefnut became the atmosphere. They stood on Geb who became the earth, and raised up Nut who became the sky. Ra ruled over all.

Geb and Nut later had two sons, Set(h) and Osiris, and two daughters Isis and Nephthys. Osiris succeeded Ra as king of the earth, helped by Isis, his sister-wife. Seth, however, hated his brother and killed him. Isis then embalmed her husband’s body with the help of the god Anubis, who thus became the god of embalming. The powerful charms of Isis resurrected Osiris, who became king of the netherworld, the land of the dead. Horus, who was the son of Osiris and Isis, later defeated Seth in a great battle and became king of the earth. Other Story- Ra gave birth to himself out of the ocean of chaos. Men are created by Ra’s tears. Humans disappointed Ra so he ordered them all killed. They were, all but a family- Ra felt bad and spared them. - Against Ra’s orders Geb and Nut married and she got pregnant- Ra ordered that she could not give birth any month of the year. Thoth (god of learning) decided to help her out and because he won a bet with the moon, the moon created 5 extra days of light so that Nut could give birth (thus 365 day calendar0

Ra / Re Appearance: A pharaoh wearing a sun disk on his head • almost universally worshipped as king of all the Egyptian gods • he was a sun god that rode a chariot through the sky during the day • he is only god said not to be a part of the earth but ages (grows old) • becomes tired and decides to rule over the sky and leave earth to children Creator of humans- his tears..

Amun • Worshipped at Thebes but by the New Kingdom had become the most prominent god in all of Egypt • closely associated with the ram, symbol of fertility • can appear with various animal heads but when shown as king, he has two plumes and often sits on throne • in New Kingdom, unites with god Re to become Amun-Re • remains independent of the created universe • amun was invisible god but Re was the sun. These two coming together in new Kingdom made him a powerful figure in Egypt

Isis Appearance: a beautiful woman wearing magnificent clothes •called god-mother or giver of life • taught man the secrets of medicine, agriculture, and magic •wife and sister of Osiris and mother of Horus •protector of all females, children, and life •most universally worshipped god of ancient Egypt

Osiris Appearance: green skinned man dressed like a pharaoh. Mummified. Ram horns on hat • Was lord of the earth/agriculture but after being murdered by brother, Set, becomes the god of the underworld and judge of souls •Isis resurrected Osiris using what is now known as the Book of the Dead

Horus Appearance: falcon head on human or body of lion/ sphynx • god of rulers, law, young men, war • Pharaohs were considered to be Horus’ physical manifestation/ avatar • son of Osiris and Isis. • avenges death of father by killing Set. Many manifestations.

Set Appearance: Man with the head of a jackal-like animal • god of winds, storms, chaos, evil, darkness, strength, war, conflict • not really worshipped just a figurehead for all things evil • brother of Osiris and Isis. Killer of Osiris

Anubis Appearance: A man with the black head of a jackal-like animal. He is rarely shown fully-human • very ancient god- was god of underworld before Osiris • He watches over the mummification process to ensure that all is done properly. • He conducts the souls through the underworld, testing them • He places their heart on the Scales of Justice during the Judging of the Heart, and he feeds the souls of wicked people to Ammit ackals would hunt at the edges of the desert, near the necropolis and cemeteries throughout Egypt

Ma’at Appearance: A woman wearing a crown with a huge ostrich feather • maintains the order of the universe. Creates laws and metes out justice • heart of dead is weighed against the feather of Ma’at to judge worthiness • all gods defer to her If the heart was heavy with wicked deeds, it would outweigh the feather, and the soul would be fed to Ammit. But if the scales were balanced, indicating that the deceased was a just and honorable person in life, he would be welcomed by Osiris into the Blessed Land.