Glossary of Gods and Goddesses

Isis: Sister and wife of Osiris, mother of Horus. Isis is the brightest star in the sky, Sirius, called Soped by the ancient Egyptians. This star disappears behind the sun for seventy days, then reappears to announce the annual Nile flood. Isis was thus identified with the waters of the Inundation that bring dry, dead land back to life. When her husband, king Osiris, was murdered, she found his decomposing body, bound it together with linen strips, and used her magic to bring him back to life in a limited way. Isis' name in Egyptian is Ast which refers to the throne of the king, which she personifies. Besides performing the first mummification, Isis was known for her ferocious dedication to her son, Horus. She upheld his right to rule Egypt against the claims of her powerful brother, Seth or Sutekh. With determination, cunning, and a little magic, she was able to ensure that her son succeeded to the throne of his father. The story of Isis and Osiris, a love story, a story of triumph over death, and the victory of good and right over brute force, became the most popular of Egyptian myths. Thousands of years after the last pyramids were built, Cleopatra VII, the last great queen of Egypt, identified herself with Isis, devoted wife and mother. The cult of Isis survived the annexation of Egypt by the Roman empire, and remained a powerful religion until the rise of Christianity and Islam.
Khnum: The full name of Khufu, builder of the Great Pyramid, was Khnum-khufu - the god Khnum protects him. Khnum, as god of the Nile cataract, controlled the annual inundation of Egypt. He is shown as a man with the head of a ram, or as a ram. He creates human life by moulding each of us on a potter's wheel. His role as creator may reflect the procreative power and strength of the ram.
Maat: Goddess of order, truth, justice, and balance. As the daughter of Atum or Re, she was one of the first forces in the created universe, and helped to bring order out of chaos. Each Egyptian king was duty bound to honour and promote order and justice.
Min: Male fertility god and protector of the mines in the Eastern desert. He is one of the oldest attested Egyptian gods. He is shown as an ithyphallic man with a crown of two plumes, his right arm raised to support the royal flagellum.
Neith: Goddess of the North of Egypt, protector of the king. One of the oldest attested Egyptian deities; her characteristic headgear became the 'red crown' of the kings of Egypt. From the dawn of history in Egypt, powerful women formed their names with hers: Neith-hotep (Neith is content) was the wife of Aha, first king of the First Dynasty; the wife of King Djet, and mother of King Den was named Meret-Neith (beloved of Neith). Neith may have been originally a goddess of hunting, but warfare was also in her sphere. She was a goddess of the living world, of power and politics. Her emblem appears to be two arrows crossed behind a shield. In early examples, though, the shield can clearly be seen to be two elaterid or 'click' beetles, end to end, with arrows crossed behind them. Long after the Pyramid Age, a story was written crediting her with the creation of the universe.
Nekhbet: Vulture-goddess of Upper Egypt. Nekhbet is a mother goddess who protects the king. She represents the White Crown of Upper Egypt, which she sometimes wears. By the Fifth Dynasty, she became associated with royal women; the king's great royal wife wears a vulture headdress.
Nephthys: Daughter of Nut and Geb, sister of Isis, Osiris and Seth. She joined Isis in her search for the body of Osiris, and mourned over his corpse with her. Her name means owner of the palace; she represents the palace itself. A late legend makes her the mother of Anubis.
Nut: The personification of the sky. Nut is honoured as a mother goddess. She was the wife of Geb, and daughter of Shu and Tefnut. her five children are Osiris and Isis, Nephthys and Seth, and Horus the Elder.
Osiris: God of the Dead. Osiris is almost always depicted as a man wrapped in mummy-cloths, his hands protruding from the wrappings to grasp scepters, and a crown on his head. His face can be green, black, or gold. He is a god of agriculture, for his death and resurrection are like those of a seed, cast in to the dark earth, motionless. New life breaks through its husk to push its way to the surface of the earth as a green shoot. Osiris came to prominence in the Fifth Dynasty. He became one of the most important of Egyptian gods because he symbolized the triumph of life over death. (For his story, see Horus and Isis.) In early times, the dead King was associated with Osiris, but in later times in Egypt, every person could join Osiris in the Afterlife, where he ruled as King of the Underworld. He judged the dead, and let no evil person enjoy the pleasures of eternal life. Ptah: Ancient creator-god of Memphis. Ptah is shown as a man wearing a skull-cap, dressed in a tight-fitting robe that may be mummy-wrappings. His hands protrude from the wrappings to grasp scepters. He was the patron of craftsmen. Re: The sun, king of the gods, creator god of Yunu (Heliopolis). Re has many forms, but often appears as a man with the head of a hawk and a sun-disk which is encircled by a cobra. Over time, many other gods were assimilated to him: such as Atum-Re, Amun-Re. Human beings were created from the tears of Re. Renenutet: A mother-goddess often shown with the head of a snake. Her name means ''the one who nurtures." She attended births.
Sakhmet: The name of this goddess means the powerful one. She was the daughter of the sun-god, Re, and the wife of Ptah. She is shown with the head of a lioness and the body of a woman, suggesting her great force and power, and her sometimes dangerous nature. She could both bring plagues and protect people from them. In the Age of the Pyramids, Sakhmet was sometimes shown embracing the king, breathing divine life into his nostrils.
Seth: God of the desert, storm, and chaos. Seth is a strong god whose angry power is part of kingship. Later legends stress his murder of his brother Osiris and his struggle with his nephew Horus over who should be king. The ancient Egyptians believed that both the forces of Law and Order, represented by Horus, and the power of chaos symbolized by Seth, were necessary for kingship. Another way of spelling the name of this god is Sutekh.
Shu: the god of air and light. He is the husband of Tefnut, and father of Geb, grandfather of Osiris. His symbol is an ostrich feather. The pyramid texts suggest that the clouds of the sky are his bones.
Sobek: Shown as a crocodile or a man with crocodile head, Sobek symbolized swift action and violence, and in these aspects could be a god of kingship. He was the son of Neith. Lakes, riverbanks, and swamps were his particular haunts. Ancient Egyptians travelled the Nile for trade, fished in it, and used its waters to irrigate their fields. The crocodiles who lived in the water were a constant presence and danger.
Sokar: A hawk-god, he was the patron of the royal cemetery near Memphis. it is called after him, Sakkara to this day.
Tefnut: Goddess of moisture. Daughter of Atum, wife of Shu. She is one of the goddesses who can be called The Eye of Re. She can be shown as a woman with the head of a lion.
Thoth: A moon god, who was also the god of scribes and writing. As god of scribes, he is associated with justice and truth, and with conciliation. As god of wisdom, he inspired scribes and priests, and presided over sacred, secret, knowledge. His name in Ancient Egyptian may have sounded something like Djehuty. He can be shown as a man with the head of an Ibis. The powerful wings of this bird could carry a king over the celestial river into the Afterlife. Thoth usually wears a crescent moon, supporting a full moon-disk on his head. Perhaps the long beak of the Ibis reminded the Egyptians of the crescent moon, and it's white and black feathers made them think of the patterns on the moon. Two animals were especially sacred to Thoth: the Ibis, and the Baboon. A baboon, sitting up straight, can be an image of Thoth. In the Story of the Eye of Re, Thoth transformed himself into a baboon to follow an angry goddess into Nubia, and told her stories until she returned to Egypt.
Wadjet: Cobra goddess of Lower Egypt. She is one of the king's protectors. It is she who rears up over his brow on the royal crowns and headdresses. As the Uraeus, (iaretThursday, January 13, 2000 in Egyptian) she has the power to blast the enemies of the king.

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