GODS OF ANCIENT EGYPT
Ailuros
See Bastet.
Aker
God of the earth and the dead. Guards the place where the eastern and western horizons meet, as well as the gate through
which the pharaoh enters the underworld. Depicted as a strip of land with both ends forming the heads of a lion or human,
or two lions facing in opposite directions.
Amathaunta
Goddess of the sea.
Amaunet
Mother Goddess and personification of the life-giving northern wind. Pictures as a snake or snake-head wearing the crown
of lower Egypt.
Ament
Goddess who welcomed the spirits of the newly dead at the gates of the underworld with bread and water.
Ammon
See Amun.
Amun
Originally a god of wind and ruler of the air, became the all-powerful sun deity of Thebes and then supreme ruler of the
gods.
Amun-Re
Combination of gods Amun and Re or Ra, used as the name of Amun when he became the national god of Thebes and
Egypt.
Andjety
God of the underworld, responsible for the rebirth of souls in the afterlife.
Anhur
Warrior and hunter god. Personified the royal warriors.
Ankt
Spear-carrying Goddess of war.
Anouke
Elder Goddess of war. Pictured with bow and arrows.
Anti
Guardian deity and god of ferrymen.
Anubis
God of the dead and embalming, and protector of cemetaries and burial tombs. He holds the scales which weigh the hearts
of the dead - if the heart is light, the soul will be taken to Osiris. If the heart is heavy, it will be destroyed. Pictured as a
man with the head of a jackal or dog.
Anuket
Goddess of the Nile river and nourisher of the fields. Pictured with a crown of reeds and ostrich feathers.
Apep
God of chaos, darkness and evil. He battles with the sun god Re to keep the sun from returning to the world on its nightly
journey through the underworld.
Apet
See Taurt.
Apis
Bull god and sacred bull of Memphis.
Arensnuphis
Benign god of Egyptian Nubia and a companion of Isis. Seen as a lion or a man wearing a plumed crown.
Aten
God of the sun and name of the visible solar disc. Aten was, for a time, the only god of Egypt during the reign of
Akanaten, but the land returned to polytheism on the pharaoh's death. Pictured as a solar disc with rays that end in human
hands, holding the ankh.
Atum
Primordial sun god and creator of the world. He is the evening or setting sun.
Ba
Ram god and a god of fertility. Invoked by women in the hopes that he would help them conceive.
Babi
Demonic god said to live on human entrails. He helped to devour the hearts of those deemed unworthy in the ceremony of
the weighing of the heart.
Banebdjetet
Ram god of lower Egypt. Pictured as a man with a ram's head.
Bastet
Cat headed Goddess of Egypt. Often seen as another form of Sekhmet. A solar and later lunar deity.
Bat
Cow Goddess of fertility. Pictured as a cow or as a woman with the ears and horns of a cow.
Bes
Grotesque dwarf god. Said to guard households against evil spirits and misfortune. Also a god of joviality, dancing,
singing and happiness.
Beset
Female version of the god Bes.
Buto
Snake Goddess of the oracle at Buto and protector of the Egyptian royal family.
Chenti-cheti
Falcon or crocodile god.
Chenti-irti
Falcon god of law and order.
Cherti
Ferryman of the dead and protector of the pharaoh's tomb. Pictured as a ram or a man with a ram's head.
Chnum
Ram god who makes the Nile delta fertile and suitable for agriculture.
Chons
God of the moon and the master of time.
Chontamenti
God of the dead and the land of the west. Seen as a dog or dog's head with horns.
Dedun
God of wealth and incense. Pictured as a man or a lion.
Djeheuty
See Thoth.
Dua
God of toiletry.
Duamutef
Guardian of the east and a funerary god. He protected the stomach of the deceased.
Ennead
Council of the gods, specifically those of the Osiris pantheon.
Geb
See Seb.
Hah
God of the sky. He represents the limitless expanse of the sky, and is pictured with his arms spread wide to support it.
Hapi
Personification of the Nile River. Pictured as a fat man to signify abundance. Also, a funerary god and son of Horus.
Protected the lungs of the deceased.
Har-nedj-itef
Form of the god Horus. Protector of the dead.
Har-pa-khered
Horus as a child. Invoked to ward off dangerous creatures. Known as Harpocrates by the Greeks.
Hathor
One of the main Goddesses of Egypt, Hathor is the celestial cow and protector of women and the Queen of Egypt. She is
the Goddess of love, children, pregnancy, dancing, singing, and poetry. She has been associated with many other
Goddesses, including Sekhmet, Bastet, Beb, and Isis. Often pictures as a cow with the sun disk between it's horns or as a
woman wearing a disc and horns headdress.
Hatmehit
Fish Goddess.
Hauhet
Goddess of immeasurable infinity. Often pictured as a frog or a woman with a frog's head.
Hedetet
Scorpion Goddess.
Heh
One of the gods who represented infinity. Pictured as a frog or a man with the head of a frog.
Heket
Goddess of childbirth and protector of the dead. Seen as a frog or a woman with the head of a frog.
Hemen
Falcon god.
Hemsut
Goddess of fate.
Hesat
Cow Goddess and Goddess of milk.
Hez-ur
Baboon god.
Hike
God of supernatural powers. Doctors were called priests of Hike because they invoked the deity during their work.
Horus
Name for a number of gods, all of which invoke the sun, kingship and victory. Horus in his many forms was a protector
and warrior god, and the sun and moon were considered his eyes. He was often pictures as a hawk or hawk-headed man.
Ihu
God of the sistrum, a sacred rattle.
Ihy
Son of Hathor. A god of music and dancing. Pictured as a child holding a sistrum, or sacred rattle.
Imiut
Protective deity of the underworld.
Imset
One of the four protective deities of embalming. Protected the liver of the deceased.
Inmutef
Deity who bears the heavens.
Ipet
Goddess of childbirth and 'mother of the two lands'. Pictured as a hippopotamus.
Isis
One of the most popular goddesses of Egypt. The divine queen and mother of the heavens, both sister and wife to Osiris
and mother of Horus. She was the protector and mother-figure of the pharaohs and the protector of women, children and
sailors. Her worship lasted well into the Roman era, and continues among many Wiccans and Pagans today.
Joh
God of the moon.
Kauket
Primordial who rules the darkness of primal chaos.
Kebechet
Goddess who represents purification through water. A major Goddess of the funeral cult, she is pictured as a snake.
Kebechsenef
One of the four gods of embalming. Protector of the lower viscera of the deceased.
Kemwer
Black bull god.
Khem
God of fertility, agriculture and human reproduction. Pictured as a mummy.
Khentamenti
Ancient jackal-headed god of the dead. Later recognized as Osiris.
Khentimentiu
God who rules the destiny of the dead. Called the 'dog of the dead'.
Khepri
Scarab beetle god. Said to roll the sun across the horizon in the same way that scarab beetles roll balls of dung through the
desert. Symbolized rebirth, renewal and everlasting life. Seen as a beetle, man with the face of a beetle, or man with a
beetle on his head.
Khnum
God who created the bodies of the gods and men on his potter's wheel. Pictured as a ram-headed man.
Kuk
God of the darkness of primal chaos. With Kauket, produces the twilight at the end of the day.
Maahes
God of punishment for transgressions. Invoked to protect the innocent. Seen as a lion or lion-headed man with a knife.
Ma'at
Goddess of truth, judgment and order. She represented the concepts of justice and universal order, and all judges were her
representatives. Pictured as a woman with a large ostrich feather in her crown.
Mahes
God of the summer heat an called 'Lord of the Massacre'. Pictured as a lion or man with a lion's head.
Mehturt
Sky-Goddess. Represents the time of morning and the waters from which Re (the sun) emerged. Seen as a giant cow with
the solar disk between her horns.
Mendes
Nature god.
Menhit
Goddess of war. Seen as a lioness.
Menthu
God of war. Pictured as a man with a falcon's head.
Meret
Goddess of song and rejoicing.
Meretseger
Goddess of the mountain overlooking the Valley of the Kings. Protected the royal tombs from disturbance. Seen as a cobra
or a scorpion with the head of a woman.
Mesenet
Egyptian Goddess of childbirth. She forms the child in the womb and the ka, or spirit, of the child. Also seen as Goddess
of fate or fortune.
Meskhenet
Goddess of midwives and the birth chamber.
Min
God of fertility, vegetation and male virility. Often evoked at the coronation of the pharaoh to ensure his sexual prowess
and production of a male heir. Seen as a man holding a flail in his right hand and his erect penis in his left.
Mnewer
Sacred black bull of the sun. Worshipped for his fertility and oracles. Pictured with the solar disk between his horns.
Mut
Primordial Goddess of the sky and the 'mother of mothers'. Seen as a vulture or a woman with the head of a vulture,
wearing bright red or blue robes.
Naunet
Goddess of the primordial abyss of the underworld. Her male counterpart is Nun.
Nefertem
God of the lotus and the rising sun. Pictured as a man with a cluster of lotus blossoms on his head, sometimes on the back
of a lion.
Nehebkau
Serpent god who guards the entrance of the Underworld and accompanies the sun god Re on his nightly journey through it.
Seen as a snake with human arms and legs.
Neith
Goddess of war and weapons, including the weapons of the hunter. Also the Goddess of weaving, she provided the
wrappings for the mummies' bodies.
Nekhbet
Vulture Goddess of Upper Egypt and protector of the infant pharaoh. She was present at the birth of the future rulers of
Egypt. Pictured on the pharaoh's crown.
Neper
God of grain, particularly barley and wheat.
Nephthys
'Mistress of the House". Goddess who meets and teaches the newly dead, as well as comforting the members of their
family left alive. Also involved with childbirth. Seen as a woman or a Kite (bird).
Nepit
Grain Goddess. Female counterpart of the God Neper.
Nun
God and primeval water that circles the entire world. The most ancient of gods, even Re, the sun, arose from him. Depicted
as a man holding the solar boat above his head.
Nunet
Goddess of the ocean.
Nut
The sky Goddess, and literal personification of the sky and the heavens. Along with her husband, Seb, forms the natural
world. She is the barrier between chaos and the order of the world. Portrayed as a naked woman painted dark blue with
stars on her body.
Osiris
Important god of Egypt. Seen as the god of the dead and the underworld, although worshipped as a god of fertility,
resurrection and vegetation. Married to the sky-Goddess Isis. Killed by his brother Set and chopped into pieces. The pieces
were found by Isis and reformed, and he was mummified and resurrected. Re, the father god, did not allow him to stay in
the land of the living, but sent him to the Underworld to be the god and judge of the dead. Seen as a mummified man.
Pachet
Goddess of the desert.
Petbe
God of retaliation and revenge.
Ptah
A creator god of Memphis, seen as a patron to craftsmen and especially stoneworkers. Pictured as a mummified man with
only his hands free to grasp a scepter.
Qeb
See Seb.
Qetesh
Originally a Syrian Goddess, worshipped in Egypt as a Goddess of love. Possible connection with Hathor.
Ra
See Re.
Re
The most important of the gods in Egypt. The personification of the sun. The actual sun was said to be either his body or
his eye. He traveled in the sun boat across the sky each day, and through the Underworld at night to make a complete
circuit of the cosmos. Sacred god of the pharaohs, who were said to be 'sons of Re'. Pictured as a man with the head of a
falcon.
Renenet
Goddess of plenty and good fortune.
Renenutet
Goddess of the harvest. Could ensure the plentiful production of fields with one look. Pictured as a snake.
Renpet
Goddess of Spring and youth.
Resheph
Warrior god.
Sai
Deity of destiny.
Sakhmet
Also known as Sekhmet. Bloodthirsty and violent Goddess of war and divine vengeance. Re once sent her to slay mortals
who were plotting against him. She so enjoyed her task that she almost slew all of humanity. She was tricked by Re into
drinking a great quantity of beer colored red like blood, and abandoned her slaughter. She is seen as the Goddess who
accompanies the pharaoh into battle, as well as the Goddess of plague and disease. Pictured as a woman with the head of a
lioness.
Satet
Goddess of the flooding Nile and fertility.
Seb
God of the Earth, and husband of Nut. One of the primordial forces of nature, Seb is seen as personifying the earth and
fertility. He was pictured as black and green, the colors of Nile mud and vegetation. Thought to imprison the souls of the
wicked so that they could not ascend to Heaven.
Sebek
Crocodile god, he represented the fertility of the Nile and the might of the pharaohs. Seen as a crocodile or man with a
crocodile's head.
Seker
Funerary god, the patron of craftsmen who create tombs and items used in funeral services. Sometimes seen as a form of
Osiris. Pictured as a man with the head of a hawk.
Septu
God of war.
Serapis
See Apis.
Serket
Scorpion Goddess. Teacher of the dead and protector of the canopic jars which house the bodily organs of mummies.
Pictured as a woman with a scorpion-shaped headdress.
Seshat
Goddess of writing, mathematics, building-schemes, histories and historical records. A daughter of Thoth, she kept the
royal annals of the pharaohs.
Sesmu
God of oil and wine pressing.
Set
God of chaos, hostility and possibly evil. He was a protector of the desert, but caused dust storms that could kill unwary
travelers. Killed his brother Osiris and scattered the pieces of his body throughout Egypt. Later fought Osiris' son Horus,
who vanquished him and became king of the Gods. Seen as a man with a head of indeterminable origin, possibly an
aardvark, or as a dog.
Seth
See Set.
Shai
Goddess of Fate, usually seen with Reneret, or fortune.
Shu
God of air. Father of Nut, whom he holds high above Seb (earth).
Sia
Primeval Goddess embodying the Mind.
Sobek
See Sebek.
Sons of Horus
Sons of the god Horus who assist the dead in their journey to the Underworld. Their heads are on the canopic jars and the
four corners of the sarcophagus. They are Imset, Hapi, Duamutef and Kebechsenef.
Sopdet
Fertility Goddess and the Dog Star, Sirius. With the appearance of Sirius, the Nile floods began and Sopdet became
associated with the fertility of the floods. She was later merged with Isis.
Tanen
See Ptah.
Taouris
Goddess of pregnancy and birth. Pictured as a hippopotamus with a huge belly standing on her hind legs.
Tatenen
Vegetation god and the mound of earth which rose from the primordial waters. Seen as a man with ram's horns and a
crown of feathers. Identified with Ptah.
Taurt
God of good fortune and childbirth. Seen as a hippopotamus with a crocodile's head and lion's feet. Protector of women
before, during and after childbirth.
Taweret
See Taurt.
Tefnut
Goddess of moisture. Produced Seb and Nut with Shu.
Tenenit
Goddess of beer.
Thoth
God of wisdom and the mind, inventor of writing and patron of scribes and scholars. Messenger and mediator of the gods,
he questioned the dead at the Weighing of the Heart. Seen as a man with the head of an Ibis, or as an Ibis or baboon.
Tuamutef
See Duamutef.
Uneg
Plant god.
Un-nefer
Name of Osiris in his capacity as Judge of the Dead.
Unut
Hare Goddess.
Wepwawet
God of the openings and the dead. He opened the way into battle, and opened the way for the dead into the Underworld.
Seen as a jackal.
Wosyet
Goddess protector of the young.