Egyptian Gods

In all, the Egyptians believed and worshipped over 2,000 gods and goddesses.  Below you can find interesting information on some of the more prominent gods and goddesses.

Re

Re, sometimes spelled Ra, was the most important god to the Egyptians because he was the sun god.  He also stood for children, health, life, and many other things.  Re was so important that the Egyptians built a city named after him.  This city had the Greek name of Heliopolis, which means “City of the Sun.”

Osiris

Osiris, in Egyptian known as Oser, was the supreme ruler of the “Underworld” and the king of the dead.  He also is the Egyptian god of nature and of agriculture.  Because of this, his skin is always either green (to represent nature’s fertility) or red (to represent the Earth).  He also was given the symbols of ultimate power – the flail and the crozier.

            Set (Seth) was the Egyptian god of mischief and evil.  He sometimes also represented the wind and desert storms.  He was lord of disorder and was often considered to be the opposite of the god Horus.  His most famous form was a dog, but he could also be seen as a pig or a hippo.  After he came to fame and was worshipped, he murdered his brother Osiris.  Because of this, his punishment was to pull Re’s (the sun god’s) boat across the sky each and every day forever.

           Isis

           Isis was the most famous Egyptian goddess.  She was the wife of Osiris and the mother of the god Horus.  The Egyptians identified Isis with the brightest star, now called Sirius.  Isis (the star) disappears behind our sun for 70 days and then returns to “start” the flooding of the Nile.  Because of this, Isis was also said to be the goddess of the nile.  Also, in the tale “Isis and Osiris,” Isis performed the very first mummification on her dead husband after Horus killed him.  With her magical powers, Isis was able to bring Osiris back to life to a certain extent.  After this, she and Osiris became rulers of the Underworld.

Thoth

Thoth was described as the most intelligent Egyptian god because he was the god of scribes, writing, the moon, and of magic.  He was also the god of the truth and he knew everything dealing with secret knowledge.  Thoth is usually shown as a bird with a crescent moon on his head.

Sekhmet

Sekhmet, god of fires, plagues, and famines, was one of the most popular Gods in Egypt’s history.  She was worshipped extensively throughout all 3,000years of Egypt’s History.  Whenever Re ordered Sekhment and Hathor to destroy all humans who didn’t worship him anymore, they almost killed all humans on Earth.  She also had the power to kill Egypt’s enemies with potent rays of the Sun.  As you can see in the picture above, Sekhmet was often pictured as a lioness with the sun on top of her head.

           Hathor

          The Egyptian goddess of love, music, singing, and dance – Hathor – was most often depicted as a motherly cow.  Hathor was often considered a royal symbol because cows were very valuable in ancient Egypt.  Cows were so highly thought of because their waste could be used as fertilizers, their meat could be butchered for food, and their hides could be used to make clothes.  She, like Sekhmt, was popular until the Egyptian empire fell.

           Anubis

           Anubis was a jackal-headed god who was the deity of mummification.  Besides guarding the dead he protected the dead on their way to the afterlife.  Anubis is shown as a black jackal – which isn’t a natural color of Egypt’s jackals.  Some believe that he was depicted as having black fur because that is the color that the body turns during mummification.

    Wadjet

           One of the oldest gods in all of Egypt’s history was Wadjet.  She was a very powerful goddess who was the symbol of Lower Egypt (the region near the Nile Delta).  She often wore a sun disk on her head like many other gods to symbolize her power.  Like Hathor, she was considered royalty and the protector of the pharaoh/pharaoh’s throne.  Whenever a new pharaoh was elected, he or she had to “claim” the throne from Wadjet.

           Egyptian Mummification

           Mummification in Egypt was considered the most important, sacred thing in a person’s life (or death).  It was so sacred that the Egyptians told no one their ways of mummification.  The only way we know what they did today is from foreign people who observed this ancient process.  Doing this process required many rituals, embalmers, and chemicals.  Many mummies are still preserved very well today – even after thousands of years.

           As soon as a person died, the body was brought to an embalmer immediately.  On average, a single mummification would take 70 days.  To begin this process, many of the organs were taken out of the body.  One of the few ones left in was the heart, which would be used in the journey to the afterlife.  The first organ removed was the brain.  To get it out, embalmers broke the bone in the nose and used a special hook to break down the brain.  Thus, the brain was liquefied.  This liquid brain is now removed and other organs are then taken out.  Why would the Egyptians remove such and important body part as the brain?  Well, in those early years, not much was known about the complex brain – so they did not know all of the functions of it.  Special organs, like the liver and lungs, were then removed and put in canopic jars which kept them safe until the body is cleansed with special palm wine.  Since wine has a lot of alchohol, this would kill much of the remaining bacteria.  After being washed, the body was dried using a special salt – natron – which was obtained in the surrounding lakes.

            The pharaoh in Egypt was the single most powerful person.  The word “pharaoh” itself means “Great House.”  Information on three of the more famous Egyptian pharaohs can be found below.

           King Khufu is most famously known for building one of the Wonders of the World – the Pyramid at Giza.  Khufu was recorded as being a nasty, unfair leader – unlike his relatives who were pharaohs before him.  Khufu built this awe-inspiring pyramid to house his mummified body whenever he was deceased.  He even built two smaller, subsidiary pyramids for his two wives.

           Khafre reigned during the very early years of the empire, so not much is known about him.  This is because very little was recorded during these years.  He was the builder of the second largest pyramid and some believe that he even built the sphinx.  There are records that prove that Khafre declared himself that the Sphinx should have his face on it.

            Tutankhamun (Tutankhamen), more commonly known as King Tut, ruled Egypt for a short time – from around 1334 to around 1325 B.C.  His tomb is associated with the fabled Mummy’s Curse.  We know little about Tut except that he died at a very young age.  Some suspect foul play was involved – possibly murder.  Homicide is the most popular theory, though, there is a sufficient amount of evidence to suggest that his death was caused by an infectious cut.

    The Pyramid at Giza

           The only original Wonder of the World still standing is the Great Pyramid of Giza.  This pyramid was originally 481 feet high, but due to erosion, it now only stands at 451 feet.  This enormous structure consists of over two million blocks – each weighing in at over two tons.  The points (tips) of the pyramid are accurately aligned with the directions North, South, East, and West.  The Great Pyramid at Giza was built by the pharaoh Khufu to serve as a tomb for him after his death.  Some people still speculate that this pyramid was not built as a tomb, but for other things.  Some think that it was actually built to be an ancient observatory, while others think that aliens from outer space built it on Earth.  However, evidence still clearly points that humans built this magnificent piece structure.  Within the heart of this monument lies the sarcophagus of King Khufu himself.  This inner chamber which contains his body is formed of bricks – bricks so perfectly put in place that a card cannot fit in between them.  As with the whole pyramid itself, this inner chamber is aligned with the cardinal directions.

           The Sphinx at Giza is probably the most famous structure of Egypt.  The Sphinx has the head of a man, the wings of a bird, and the body of a lion.  The word “sphinx” itself means “strangler” and was given that name by the Greeks.  Whenever this monument was discovered by Napoleon, it was almost completely covered in sand.  Because of this, the Sphinx was preserved for many, many more years than it should have.  Thankfully, because of the sand, this monument is still present today.  Current restoration teams now have the challenge of keeping it from being eroded further; none of the past attempts have worked so far.  King Khafre was believed to have built this structure because the face of the Sphinx looks much like his.  It is built of sandstone and is about 250 feet long.

           The Curse of the Mummy

           The fabled “Curse of the Mummy” is disputed among scientists all around the world.  Some claim that the strange events were caused by a curse set upon King Tut’s tomb by ancient magicians, while some claim the events are mere coincidence.  This is how the story goes…  On the outside of King Tut’s tomb was an inscription in Egyptian that meant, “Death shall come on swift wings to him who disturbs the piece of the King…”  In 1891, a British archaeologist – Howard Carter – was interested in searching for Egyptian kings’ tombs.  However, he lacked enough financial backing, so he seeked help.  Some time later, he found an Englishman named Lord Carnarvon.  Lord Carnarvon agreed to fund the young man's expense.  Some years later, Carter found the tomb of King Tut and, with Carnarvon, opened the tomb.  Inside they discovered the sarcophagus of the king with some treasures.  After rejoicing greatly with the media, several months passed.  Lord Carnarvon was rushed to the hospital because of a sudden illness.  A few days later he died.  At that exact moment of his death, Lord Carnarvon's dog back in England let out a ferocious howl and then died.  Also at that time, a major blackout occurred in Cairo.  The death of the Lord may have been caused by a scratch on his cheek that became infected.  The strangest part was that King Tut had a scratch in the exact same place.  Many still believe, however, that the curse is not real.