Egyptian Gods A Presentation for Mr. Kahn’s Class

Amun The State God of the New Kingdom Seen as a handsome man with two plumes

Amun Scepter is called a Was, a symbol of domination and power. In his left hand he carries an Ankh, the symbol of life or joy of living.

Anubis The God of the Dead The patron of Emblamers Aided deceased in journey through underworld Seen as a man with a jackal head

Anubis He was the son of Osiris and Nephthys, born of trickery.

Here, Anubis is carrying the Crook and Flail, symbols of a pharaoh’s power. Also, the staff he holds is called the “Staff of creator Ptah.”

Atum He was one of the earliest gods, and supreme among the sun gods. He is seen as a human or as a serpent.

Atum Notice that he also carries the Was scepter and the Ankh. He is also wearing the double crown of unified Egypt, the peshent.

Bastet War Goddess Protector of pregnant women Seen as a woman with a cat’s head

Bastet was sometimes also seen as a cat by itself! She was thought to be a daughter of Ra.

Bes God of the family Seen as part dwarf and part lion

Bes protects the house against evil spirits, snakes, and other misfortune.

Geb Ancient Earth God Seen as a man with a goose on his head

Notice the goose on his head! Also, this is another god holding the Was and the Ankh.

Geb was the earth-god, stretched under the sky, his wife Nut. Nut is held over the earth by their son, Shu, the god of the air.

Hapi God of the Nile Seen as a man holding symbols of abundance

Hapi is shown wearing a crown of aquatic plants. He is also most often shown with a pot-belly!

Hathor The Goddess of the Sky Seen as a woman with a sun disk and cow horns Patron of pleasure and music

The goddess of love, dance and alcohol, she was often depicted as a cow or as a woman with a cow’s head.

Horus The State God of Egypt The Sky God and Living Ruler Seen as a man with a falcon’s head

Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis, and chosen by Geb to be the ruler of the gods, instead of his uncle Seth. See that Horus wears the double crown of the pharaoh.

The Eye of Horus watches over all of Egypt.

Isis Wife (and sister) of Osiris & Mother of Horus Seen as a woman with a throne headdress Protector of the living and the dead

Isis is shown holding an Ankh and the flower scepter, often held by goddesses.

Khepri This unusual god had the body of a man and the head of a scarab beetle.

The scarab beetle is an ancient Egyptian symbol of renewal, rebirth or resurrection.

Khnum Khnum made the bodies of both men and gods on his potters’ wheel.

He is seen as a man with a ram’s head.

Ma’at The Goddess of Truth Seen as a woman with a feather on her head Also seen as a winged woman holding a feather

Neith Protector of canopic jars Seen as a woman wearing a shield crown and holding arrows & bow Patron of war and hunting

Neith is alsoholding an Ankh and the flower scepter.

Nekhbet The Vulture Goddess Seen as a vulture Patron of coronation rituals

Nephthys Sister of Isis, Osiris & Seth Wife of Seth Mother of Anubis

Nephthys’ crown is simple, and has her name in hieroglyphics. Remember, she tricked Osiris ( both her brother and her brother-in-law) into being the father of Anubis.

Nun Nun was here first Water, from which all else came Symbolized by a boat

Nut The sky goddess The wife of Geb, the earth god Mother of Seth, Osiris, Isis & Nephthys.

Osiris God of the Dead Lord of the Underworld Seen as a man in mummy wrapping with a plumed crown

Osiris crown was called the Atef. He carried the crook and flail to symbolize his power as Lord of the Underworld.

Ptah Creator god He is supposed to have made the earth rise up from the waters One of the earliest of the gods

Ra (or Re) The sun god Merged with the other sun-god, Amun, to become Amun-Re The national god from Fifth Dynasty onward.

Ra looks like Horus, but with a Sun-Disk on his head.

Sekhmet The goddess of War and Sickness She is shown as a woman with a lioness’s head and a sun disk. She is sometimes shown with a scorpion on her head!

Seshat The goddess of writing, math & building She is shown as a woman wearing leopard skin with a star over her head.

Seshat was said to be the daughter of Thoth.

Seth The brother of Osiris, Isis & Nephthys. The husband of Nephthys The killer (multiple times) of Osiris

He is seen as a man with the head of the Seth-Animal, an otherwise unidentifiable animal!

Shu The god of the air. The son of Geb and Nut. The brother of Tefnut, goddess of rain.

Shu held his mother, Nut, the sky goddess, over his father Geb, the earth god.

Sobek Seen as a man with a crocodile head He brings fertility to the Nile waters He was the son of Neith

Sobek represented the power and might of the Egyptian gods.

Taweret Protector of women in childbirth Seen as a woman / hippopotamus Had the feet of a lion and the tail of a crocodile

Thoth God of wisdom Seen as a man with the head of an ibis Patron of writing and counting

Thoth saved Horus’ life twice. He also recorded the results of the weighing of the heart against the feather of Ma’at. He presented the results to Osiris for judgement.

These were just a few of the Gods & Goddesses of Ancient Egypt

There were many, many more!

Information for this presentation was from: The Spirits of Nature by Ottar Vendel Ancient Egypt Online Encyclopedia Mythica World Mythology, 2 nd Edition by Donna Rosenberg NTC Publishing, 1994 Images are from: The British Museum