Glossary of Gods and Goddesses

 Amun: Amun is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts, but was not a prominent god during the Age of the Pyramids. His name means 'the hidden one' and he was a god of the atmosphere. Later in Egyptian history, he would become the main god of the empire. Anty: Anty was a hawk god of Upper Egypt. He is shown as a hawk sitting on a crescent moon, or in a boat. He became associated with other hawk-gods, such as Sokar. King Merenre's birth name, Anty-em-saf acknowledges ties between his mother's family and the areas where Anty was a major deity. Anty's name, which refers to his sharp claws, can also be read as Nemty. 

 Anubis: This jackal-headed god looked after the dead, and was in charge of the important task of mummification. Anubis can appear as either a black canine with long sharp ears, or as a man with a canine head. The black colour of Anubis is not natural to jackals or to the wild dogs of Egypt; it may refer to the discoloration of a body after death and during mummification. The black colour also refers to the rich dark soil of Egypt, from which new growth came every year; in similar manner, the dead would come to new life after burial. Dogs, as animal companions, were present in Egypt from the very beginning. Sometimes dogs were buried with their masters. It may have given the Egyptians comfort to think of such an animal as guarding the cemeteries, protecting the dead.

Atum: Self-created creator of the Universe. Alone in Nun (nothingness) he created Shu and Tefnut, air and moisture. His name means 'the complete one.' Atum is usually shown as a king. He can symbolize the setting sun.

Babi is a deity shown in Baboon form, and it's from his name that we get our word for these animals. Babi is ferocious, even blood-thirsty, unlike the usually calm and reasonable Thoth who also appears as a baboon.

Bastet: Cats are very useful animals in a country that depends on grain. The cat's hunting instincts were honoured by the Ancient Egyptians, but so was the cat's gentler side as a warm and loving mother to her kittens. Bastet can be shown as a woman with a feline head. There are disagreements among zoologists as to when these animals first began to live with humans along the Nile, and about which feline became the Egyptian pet. Cats do not appear as household pets during the Age of the Pyramids, though they were very popular animal companions in later times. From about three thousand, two hundred years ago, there are cartoon-like images of cats and mice engaged in human activities; unfortunately we do not know the stories for these illustrations.

Bat: Ancient goddess shown with the horns of a buffalo or cow. Her face appears on the Narmer palette, showing an early association with kingship. Her character and powers were absorbed by Hathor.

Geb: God of Earth, grandson of Atum, husband of Nut. He is often shown as a man reclining on the earth under a starry sky. The goose is his sacred animal.

Hapy: God of the annual Nile flood, the Inundation. Shown as a human man with a crown of plants, and heavy pendulous breasts and a paunch, he symbolized abundance and fertility.  
 

Hathor: Hathor as the royal goddess. Her name means 'House of Horus." Her image could take the form of a cow, a woman with a cow's head, or a woman wearing the horns of a cow. As a motherly cow, she gave the king her divine milk, and protected him as a cow protects her calf. She was the goddess of love, music, singing, and dance. She was one of the most important deities in the Age of the Pyramids, and her popularity continued to the end of Egyptian civilization. In the early economy of Egypt, cows were wealth. A herd of cattle was a beautiful sight because it represented wealth in the form of food, milk, hides, and work, as oxen pulled the ploughs of farmers. Cattle dung was a valuable fertilizer and had many uses in building. The Egyptians admired many qualities in cows, besides their economic benefits. The cow's careful tending of her calf was a model for motherhood. In a time when many women died in childbirth, the ability of cow's milk to sustain a human baby was deeply appreciated.      Cows, like people, love music and will happily listen to a human singing, thus it made sense for Hathor to be goddess of music. The big, gentle brown eyes of cows set a standard for beauty; there are still cultures in the world where to say that a girl is as pretty as a heifer is a great compliment.

Heket: Frog-headed goddess of childbirth. Frogs, who produce vast numbers of tadpoles, were popular as amulets to ensure fertility.

Heh: Shown as a kneeling man grasping two palm ribs, Heh is the personification of eternity. His image was popular as an amulet, wishing the wearer 'millions of years.' Horus: This god is shown as a falcon, or as a man with the head of a falcon. In Egyptian, his name is Her - the distant one. Like the good king who sees everything in his kingdom, the hawk is noted for his sharp vision. The sudden stoop of the hawk, as he leaves the distant sky to attack and capture his prey, is like the quick and decisive action of a king in defense of his country.      Horus is one of the oldest gods of the Egyptians. In the days when powerful leaders were fighting to make one nation out of smaller settlements, the early rulers were called Followers of Horus. On the Narmer palette, the King is shown with a falcon whose one human arm holds a rope that passes through the nose of a defeated rival. The earliest way of distinguishing the name of a king from the names of others was the serekh, which was a rectangle representing the palace of the king, with a hawk on the top.       Originally, there were at least two gods called Horus. One is the fifth child of Nut and Geb, Horus the Elder, and the other is the son of Isis and Osiris. Over time, their stories and attributes came together. An old story tells of how Osiris, king of Egypt, was murdered by his brother, Seth. Seth was very strong and powerful. He took over the country, and ruled well. Isis, the wife of Osiris, hid the child she had born, and raised him in secret. When Horus grew up, he claimed his father's throne. Seth and Horus struggled for the kingship, but in the end Horus' claim, as son of the previous king, was recognized by a court of all the gods, and Horus became king. In Ancient Egypt, each king was Horus. When a king died, Egyptians said that the falcon had flown to Heaven and united with the Sun Disk. The next king then became Horus. Like the Hawk, the king was a fighter, a warrior. This is why Horus, when shown as a hawk-headed man, wears an armored breast-plate.

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