Egyptian Gods

Ra The Sun God Ra was drawn with the head of a falcon and a crown that looked like the sun. Ra was the god who controlled the sun and made the moon appear at night. Every day, Ra travelled across the sky, and he went to the underworld and fought chaos each night. He was king of all the other gods. Since the Egyptian pharaohs believed they were gods, they sometimes called themselves “sons of Ra.”

Isis “Mother of God” Isis is shown as a human with a throne shaped crown. She is often shown with wings. She was the wife of Osiris. Isis made the first mummy by putting the pieces of Osiris’ body back together after his death. She also brought him back to life. Isis was a healing god. She was the protector of the pharaohs. Because she gave life and took care of people, she was seen as a mother figure.

Osiris Lord of the Dead Osiris is shown wearing a white crown. His skin can be three different colors – blue shows that he is dead, green shows that he was reborn, and black shows healthy soil. Osiris was the god of crops. He was killed by his brother and Isis put him back together and raised him from the dead. Afterwards, he became the ruler of the underworld.

Anubis Protector of the Dead Anubis was always drawn with the head of a jackal. Anubis judged the dead to see if they could enter the afterlife. He did this by using a set of scales to weigh the person’s heart against the feather of truth. If the person’s heart was lighter than the feather, he could enter the afterlife, but if it was heavier, he would be eaten by the Devourer.

Ma’at Goddess of Justice Ma’at was shown as a human woman with an ostrich feather in her hair. Sometimes she is shown with wings. She was the goddess of truth, justice, and harmony, and she controlled the stars and the seasons. Ma’at’s feather was the feather of truth used by Anubis to weigh the hearts of the dead.

Thoth The God of Knowledge Thoth was depicted with the head of an Ibis. He wears a headdress. Thoth was one of the oldest gods. He was believed to have created writing and calculations, and is often shown writing things down. His most important job was to write down the deeds of the dead when they were being judged by Anubis in the Book of the Dead.

Bastet The Changing Goddess Bastet is shown with the head of a cat. Over time. Over time, Bastet was prayed to as the goddess of many different things – war, fire, protection of homes and families, and cats – before she became known as the goddess of joy. To show their respect and gratitude, many Egyptians left mummified cats at temples to Bastet after their pets died. They thought that she would care for their pets in the afterlife.

Seth The Evil God Seth was shown with the head of an unknown animal. Seth murdered his brother, Osiris, and stole the throne of Egypt. The other gods did not like him because of this. After another god stole the throne, Seth would often travel across the sky with Ra, causing storms and bad weather when he did.