Egyptian gods of death. Male and female ancient Egyptian names

Ancient Egyptian names– these names were used in Ancient Egypt.

Ancient Egypt was a civilization of the ancient world that existed in northeast Africa along the lower reaches of the Nile River. The period of existence of Ancient Egypt is from the middle of the 4th millennium BC. e. to the 4th century AD e.

The history of Ancient Egypt spans approximately 40 centuries and is divided into the pre-dynastic period, the dynastic period, the Hellenistic period (influenced by the Greco-Macedonian culture) and the Roman period (within the ancient Roman state, as a province of the Roman Empire).

Names in Ancient Egypt, like other peoples, they emphasized the individuality of a person, his character and appearance, his devotion to one or another god, the names of animals and plants, the names of objects, professions, as well as names indicating origin from a particular area.

For example, Rahotep - Ra is satisfied, Nefertiti - beautiful.

The most common names were those that included the names of the most important deities: Ptah, Ra, Amon, Horus, Isis, Montu, etc. Such names reflected a person’s hope for God’s favorable attitude toward himself. For example, Djed-Amen-iuf-ankh (“Amon said: he will live”).

Were prophecy names- This is the answer of the oracle deity to the parents’ request.

Were spell names, which protected a person from negative influences, and the protector from which was the deity. For example: Chai-Ise-Imu (“may Isis seize them”).

Some names were used equally for women and men, they differed in the hieroglyph at the end.

As a rule, the Egyptians had two names, both personal. The Egyptians did not have surnames.

Names and words spoken aloud or written on papyrus, the ancient Egyptians attached mystical meaning. They believed that if you know secret name, then you gain power over this person. If you write the name of an enemy, a predatory animal or an evil spirit on a pottery and then break it, you can kill the evil.

The ancient Egyptians received at birth secret name, which was kept secret so that no one could harm the person.

Ancient Egypt left a huge cultural heritage for world civilization.

Male ancient Egyptian names

Abant– Ethiopian warrior

Agenor- Andromeda's groom

Agyrt– Ethiopian warrior

Actor

Agrey

Alexippus- companion of Memnon

Alcyoneus

Amenemhet

Amenhotep– peace, satisfaction, on behalf of the Egyptian god Amun

Amon- Ancient Egyptian sun god, king of the gods and patron of the power of the pharaohs

Ampik– priest of Demeter from Ethiopia, singer

Amphidamant

Amphimedon

Amphiphemid(Amphitemis) - also called Garamant

Anubis- a deity of Ancient Egypt with the head of a jackal and the body of a man, a guide for the dead to the afterlife

Apis

Apopis- brother of Helios, fought with Zeus, Osiris helped him

Arueris– Egyptian deity, elder Horus, called Apollo

Astyages– Ethiopian warrior

Archandr

Atlant– river and mountain in Libya

Outuh(Autuh)

Akhenaten– meaning: spirit Aten

Bebon– one of Typhon’s friends or an epithet of Typhon

Bel- tsar

Brotead

Busiris- tsar

Bucur– Moorish god or hero

Varsutin- god of the Moors

Garamant

Harpocrates– Egyptian god, son of Osiris and Isis, embodies silence

Gelik– Ethiopian warrior

Giant

Gypsum

Gore- Egyptian god and Egyptian pharaoh of the XIII dynasty

Gunei

Danai- King of Libya

Dictys

Diodorus

Doryl– Ethiopian warrior

Eurypylus- epithet of the god Triton

Idmon

Imandes (Ismandes)- Egyptian king buried in the labyrinth near Lake Merid

Imhotep– meaning: he comes into the world

Iopad

Eumolpus

Egypt

Carchedon

Cafavre

Keladon

Kenchris

Kefei

Kinifey

Kinif

Klany– Ethiopian warrior

Knef– deity

Klidon

Klymen

Cleitus– Ethiopian warrior

Clytius– Ethiopian warrior

Korif

Krategon

Livy

Face- King of Libya

Liket

Melanea

Mendez– deity

Menes

Menkheperr

Methion

Memphis

Nasamon

Nile- son of Ocean and Tethys

Niktei- tsar

Niley- warrior born of Nile

Nirey

Nihiy

Nomiy

Audit

Omphalus

Omphis- second name of Osiris

Parammon– Libyan god

Pelusius- name of the prince

Pettal

Pirras

Polyb- King of Thebes of Egypt

Proteus

Raamses- son of the sun god Ra

Ramses- son of the sun god Ra

Ramessu– the same as Ramses

Rahotep

Ret– Ethiopian warrior

Set- name of Typhon

Serapis

Sesostris- semi-mythical king of Egypt

Sirofan– Egyptian who introduced idol worship while mourning his son

Sofak

Tisian– Moorish god or hero

Tanit

Telegon- King of Egypt, King of Memphis

Typhon

Thoth (Teuth)- Egyptian deity

Triton- King of Libya

Tryphon- Egyptian deity

Thutmose- son of Thoth

Tutankhamun– meaning: living likeness of the god Amun

Theoclymenes

Ferodamant (Pheromedont)- Libyan king

Foon (Fonis)- ruler from the mouth of the Nile

Thrasius- a soothsayer from Cyprus. He came to Egypt and predicted to the king that the crop failure would end if the Egyptians slaughtered a stranger every year on the altar of Zeus. King Busiris was the first to kill Thrasius

Fta (Ptah)- Egyptian god, founder of philosophy among the Egyptians

Feskel (Teskel)

Phlegiat

Foakt (Toakt)- squire of the king of the Ethiopians

Khremet- river god

Chromide– warrior

Emafion- son of Typhon and Eos, king of Ethiopia

Endium- Ethiopian king

Erics– Ethiopian warrior

Erith- son of Actor. Ethiopian warrior

Akhenaten– meaning: spirit Aten

Efion (Ethion)- Ethiopian soothsayer

Ahmose- son of the Egyptian God Iah

Female Ancient Egyptian Names

Akakallida

Alkandra– queen

Andromeda- daughter of the Ethiopian king Kepheus and Cassiopeia

Ankhinoya (Ancheroya)

Argithia

Asteria

Afiri- the name of Isis among the Egyptians

Aeria– aerial ground

Bentesicima (Benfesichima)- wife of the Ethiopian king Endius

Bubastide– Egyptian goddess of hunting, fertility, goddess of female chastity

Butoh- Egyptian goddess

Gersa- Danae's wife

Hephaestina

Hypermnestra

Gorgo

Gorgophone

Dido- the king's sister

Eurorrhoya

Iseya

Isis (Isis)- goddess, wife of Osiris, mother of Horus

Ifinoya

Kaliadna

Callirhoe

Cassiopeia- wife of Epaphus, mother of Livia

Carthago- goddess

Kissia

Cyrene

Lamia

Libya

Lisianassa

Megara

Medusa- queen of the Libyans

Melia

Memphis

Mefier

Nate- goddess of war, military strategy and wisdom, patroness of cities and states, sciences and crafts, intelligence and ingenuity

Nephthys- goddess of beauty

Niktimena

Pieria

Polydamna

Sofis (Sotis)- the Egyptian name for the constellation Isis

Tethys

Tingis (Tinga)

Tyria- wife of Egypt

Tritonida- nymph from Libya

Hatshepsut- noble woman

Nefertari- the most beautiful

Nefertiti– beautiful

Phoebe

Theonoia (Theonoia)

Thebe

Thebaid

Khione

Elephantida

Oleg and Valentina Svetovid

Our new book "The Energy of Surnames"

Book "The Energy of the Name"

Oleg and Valentina Svetovid

Our email address: [email protected]

At the time of writing and publishing each of our articles, there is nothing like this freely available on the Internet. Any of our information products is our intellectual property and is protected by the Law of the Russian Federation.

Any copying of our materials and publication of them on the Internet or in other media without indicating our name is a violation of copyright and is punishable by the Law of the Russian Federation.

When reprinting any materials from the site, a link to the authors and site - Oleg and Valentina Svetovid – required.

Ancient Egyptian names. Male and female ancient Egyptian names

On our websites we do not provide links to magic forums or websites of magic healers. We do not participate in any forums. We do not give consultations over the phone, we do not have time for this.

Note! We do not engage in healing or magic, we do not make or sell talismans and amulets. We do not engage in magical and healing practices at all, we have not offered and do not offer such services.

The only direction of our work is correspondence consultations in written form, training through an esoteric club and writing books.

Sometimes people write to us that they saw information on some websites that we allegedly deceived someone - they took money for healing sessions or making amulets. We officially declare that this is slander and not true. In our entire life, we have never deceived anyone. On the pages of our website, in the club materials, we always write that you need to be an honest, decent person. For us, an honest name is not an empty phrase.

People who write slander about us are guided by the basest motives - envy, greed, they have black souls. The times have come when slander pays well. Now many people are ready to sell their homeland for three kopecks, and it is even easier to slander decent people. People who write slander do not understand that they are seriously worsening their karma, worsening their fate and the fate of their loved ones. It is pointless to talk with such people about conscience and faith in God. They do not believe in God, because a believer will never make a deal with his conscience, will never engage in deception, slander, or fraud.

There are a lot of scammers, pseudo-magicians, charlatans, envious people, people without conscience and honor who are hungry for money. The police and other regulatory authorities have not yet been able to cope with the growing influx of "Deception for profit" madness.

Therefore, please be careful!

Sincerely – Oleg and Valentina Svetovid

Our official sites are:

The mythology and religion of Ancient Egypt is very interesting and mysterious. The inhabitants of the country of the pyramids believed in gods, gave them names and painted their images. From this article you will learn the names of the gods of Egypt, why they were feared and respected, loved and revered, and held holidays and celebrations.

A specific god was responsible for each situation or activity. But in general, the detailed Egyptian religion and mythology still attracts the attention of both Egyptologists and lovers of antiquity to this day.

Deities that had a great influence on Egypt are represented here. The secret of the five gods - Ra, Amun, Anubis, Horus and Osiris - is one of the main secrets of Ancient Egypt.

Gods of Egypt: pantheon of the Nile Power

The pharaohs, according to the ancient Egyptians, were also gods. And after death, their bodies were placed in pyramids. The Egyptians believed that with the help of the pyramids, the pharaohs became immortal and went to heaven with the other gods.

The secrets of the gods of Egypt have not been revealed to this day. Egyptologists are literally collecting information piece by piece about the ancient culture and religion of the country of the Great Nile. Thanks to this, you and I have the opportunity to immerse ourselves in the ancient world of pyramids and pharaohs and learn a little about the Egyptian gods.

Below are the names of the gods of Egypt, which were of great importance in the history of the country, as well as their descriptions. The magazine "Secrets of the Gods of Egypt" will give you a more complete picture of the Egyptian pantheon of gods.

Ra

Residents of a sunny country cannot imagine their life without the sun; therefore, the sun god in Egypt is the most revered deity. The sun god in Egypt is Ra. But he did not immediately become dominant.

The cult of his worship originated in the city of Iunu, which was the most important city in the country, and its location was not far from the modern capital of Egypt. The origin of the cult of the god Ra goes back very far into the past; thousands and thousands of years ago the influence of this deity was very strong.

The sun played an important role for the Egyptians, so each period of solar presence in the sky during the day had a specific name. For example, the morning sun was called Khepri, the daytime and bright one, which majestically towered over the country in the middle of the day, was called Ra, and the evening sun, preparing for bed, was called Atum.

There are many versions of the origin of the god Ra: for example, there is a version that the sun god in Ancient Egypt is a golden calf that was born by the Cosmic cow Nut; according to another version, the god Ra appeared from a sacred lotus, which breathed life into him.

Creator of the world

Then Ra created humidity and air - Tefnut and Shu, who were the creators of heaven and earth - Nut and Heb. These gods became the parents of such gods as Set, Isis, Nephthys and Osiris. It was this moment that marked the beginning of the birth of the entire Universe and Egypt.

According to the ancient Egyptians, Ra flew across the sky on wings, and therefore the image of a solar disk with wings was the main symbol of Egypt.

It was also believed that the sun god in Ancient Egypt traveled through the skies in his solar boat, with a retinue of other gods. And with the onset of night, the sun god transferred to another boat - a night one - and continued the journey.

The night journey of the god Ra was fraught with many dangers, one of which was a meeting with a giant snake, Ra's most important enemy. But the sun god overcame all obstacles and dangers every night, and in the morning the sun rose again and illuminated the majestic Egypt.

God Ra greatly influenced the pharaohs. They believed that they ruled according to his laws. If they deviated from the laws of the sun god, then the ruler would face a loss of power. But this could only happen after death. Multiple temples were erected in honor of the sun god.

Most often, Ra was depicted as a man, with the head of a Solol or a ram. But these are not all animals that symbolize Ra; the deity has many different guises.

Amon and the secrets of the gods of Egypt

The majestic and most important deity of Ancient Egypt is the king of the gods and the sun god. He was originally the patron saint of the city of Thebes, but as Thebes developed and grew in influence, Amon became an increasingly important and revered deity.

In the 16th-14th centuries. BC e. Amon merged with the sun god Ra and became the most powerful deity of the entire divine pantheon. Since then, the sun god in Egypt was called Amon-Ra.

Amon-Ra was considered the king of all gods, patron, protector and creator. The pharaohs believed that it was Amun-Ra who helped them rule the state fairly and wisely and defeat their enemies.

The pharaohs themselves were also deified, because they were considered the sons of Amun-Ra. Therefore, pharaohs often bore names that included the name of the deity.

The most beautiful temples were built in honor of the king of the gods, the most famous of which were built in Karnak and Luxor. The most magnificent temple was erected in Karnak, its area is 260,000 square meters. meters. During the festival of the valley, a statue of Amun-Ra was taken out of it, and the god communicated with the people with the help of priests. Many complex issues were resolved that day; Amon-Ra’s decision was not questioned.

The animals of Amon-Ra were the goose and the ram; they personified wisdom and calm. God himself was depicted as a man, wearing a crown and holding sceptres. Sometimes the image of God took the form of a man with the head of a ram. Often the body of Amun-Ra was covered with blue paint, since the value of this paint allowed it to be used only for the most revered gods.

The Story of Anubis

This god was considered the patron of the dead and was depicted as a jackal or dog, as well as a man with a dog or jackal head. During the Old Kingdom, Anubis (originally) was the god of death in Egypt, but over time he became only one of the gods surrounded by Osiris, who took his place.

Anubis was called the god of embalming, and his duties included embalming the body and turning it into a mummy. It was Anubis who made the first mummy; he wrapped the body of his father, Osiris, in a special cloth soaked in a special solution. All the gods of Egypt had a sacred animal, for Anubis it was a dog.

By laying his hands on the mummy, Anubis transformed the deceased into an enlightened one, who was now ready for further life in the afterlife. He escorted the deceased to a special hall, where he was judged and his heart was weighed on special scales.

The main city where Anubis was revered was the city of Kasa. Subsequently, the influence of Anubis spread throughout Egypt.

Origin of Osiris

One of the greatest and most revered gods of Ancient Egypt is the god of the kingdom of the dead. Osiris was depicted as a man whose body was bandaged, like mummies. The god holds scepters in his hands, and his head is crowned with a crown with feathers on the sides.

There are many hypotheses about the origin of this important ancient Egyptian deity, but Egyptologists cannot come to a common opinion.

According to ancient records, the god of death in Egypt - Osiris - is the eldest son of the god Geb and the goddess Nut. The ancient Egyptians considered the birthplace of Osiris to be the desert located west of Memphis; according to the Egyptians, the afterlife began there. Sometimes Osiris was prescribed to be born in the vicinity of the city of Thebes.

A very beautiful myth exists in ancient Egyptian mythology. According to him, Osiris was an earthly god, that is, a pharaoh, and ruled together with his sister and wife Isis. Osiris was revered and respected, and he, in turn, helped and advised people how to farm, grow various crops, and taught them to honor the gods.

Death and Resurrection of Osiris

Everything would be fine, but brother Seth was jealous of Osiris and decided to get rid of him. Together with the conspirators, he imprisoned Osiris in a sarcophagus and threw him into the water of the sacred Nile. But contrary to expectations, the sarcophagus did not drown, but floated with the flow.

Later, Isis found her husband and brother and wanted to bring him back to life, but the insidious Set did not let this happen and cut the body of Osiris into pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. But Isis managed to find all the parts of the body of her husband and brother, unite them and bury Osiris according to customs.

The main city of the cult of Osiris was Abydos, where celebrations in honor of the god were regularly held. Many people gathered at these festivals to honor Osiris. Subsequently, the influence of this god spread throughout the country and beyond.

Gore

He was considered the god of the sky and the sun from the most ancient times, and was depicted in the form of a falcon. Translated, Horus means “height”.

Horus was revered and respected in many areas throughout Egypt, and his fame began in pre-dynastic times. God in the form of a falcon was certainly associated with the sun, his journey across the sky took place in a divine boat, or, according to another version, the god of Egypt Horus fluttered in the skies on his wings.

The Egyptians always associated Horus with the pharaoh; they believed that the ruler was none other than Horus in human form. Thus, using the example of the statue of the great Pharaoh Khafre, you can see that the falcon covers the head of the ruler with its wings. The influence and importance of Horus has never been in doubt, unlike many other Egyptian deities.

The Egyptians combined many different deities in one name, Horus. For example, there was Horus of Bekhdet, who was the son of Ra, the god of the Sun. According to ancient writings, Horus of Bekhdet accompanied his father on his journey across the sky on his boat, while Horus defeated the enemies of Ra.

There was also Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis. He was at enmity with Set, the brother of Isis, who killed Osiris. There is a myth about the Eye of Horus. Set tore the eye from Horus, with which he wanted to resurrect his father, Osiris. But Horus returned his eye and fulfilled his intention. Since then, the “eye of Horus” is a famous Egyptian symbol, which is very often found in texts, drawings, and amulets. The “Eye of Horus” was worn as an amulet; the Egyptians believed that it had protective magical powers.

Horus was mainly depicted in the image of a great bird - a falcon. Or the image of Horus looked like a man with the head of a falcon. One way or another, Horus’s head was always crowned with a red and white crown, which was a symbol of the Upper and Lower Nile.

sacred bull

Apis is the god of fertility in Egypt. Apis was represented in the form of a bull, in turn, the Egyptians worshiped not a mythical animal, but a living one. But in order for a bull to receive such a title, it had to be endowed with certain characteristics, such as black spots on the body or a white triangular spot on the forehead. There were 29 characteristics in total, this number is associated with the days of the lunar cycle.

The bull, which met all the characteristics, truly lived like a god - he had servants and priests who carefully watched every movement of the bull and made their predictions. The bull was well fed and even dressed in elegant clothes. The animal also had its own harem, which contained sacred cows. The sacred bull lived at the temple in Memphis.

After reaching a certain age, namely 25 years, the bull was killed because it was considered old and could not properly perform the functions of a deity. The bull was drowned in a sacred well, and then buried like a person, and of the highest rank. His body was mummified and placed in a special sarcophagus.

Geb

One of the most important gods of the Egyptian pantheon is Geb. He was the son of the wind god Shu and the goddess of water and humidity Tefnut. Also known as the god of fertility in Egypt

Geb decided the fate of the dead in the courtroom of Osiris. He watched as the heart of the deceased was weighed on scales, and if the heart was not pious, then the soul of the deceased fell into the power of Geb.

But still, this deity is not distinguished by ferocity and anger. Geb was a symbol of fertility among the ancient Egyptians. In this regard, often in the images one could see Geb’s body green - the color of the earth and plants.

There is a very beautiful myth about this deity. According to him, Geb and his sister and wife Nut loved each other very much and constantly embraced each other. Ra did not like this very much, and he told the god Shu, his son, about this.

Shu separated Geb and Nut and raised him high above himself. Thus, Geb became the sky, and Nut his goddess, and between them there was always air - the god Shu. Geb missed his beloved very much, and tears flowed from his eyes, which turned into seas and oceans.

Goddess mother

Isis is one of the greatest and most revered goddesses of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. Isis was considered the patroness of motherhood and family, fertility, water, wind, family fidelity, and also the guardian of the dead.

The etymology of the cult of Isis is not yet known; there is a version that she was originally a goddess in the Delta, and later her influence spread throughout Egypt. Isis, moreover, is one of the most ancient deities.

According to the myth of Isis and Osiris, the goddess is searching for the body parts of her beloved husband, whom Set killed. When Isis finds all the parts of the body, she, with the help of Anubis and Thoth, mummifies the body of Osiris and resurrects him. But the revival occurs only for a while, during which Isis manages to conceive a child from Osiris.

Isis gives birth to a son, Horus, whom she hides. When Horus grew up, he fought with Set and won, and Osiris was resurrected.

Isis was associated with the throne of the ruler and was symbolically considered the mother of the pharaoh. There is speculation that her name means "throne", but this is an unproven fact.

Most often, Isis was depicted as a woman, whose head was crowned with a crown, symbolizing the throne. There are also images of Isis with horns and a disk of the sun between them. Another image is of a woman with wings that are pressed to her hands.

In the last period of the history of Ancient Egypt, Isis was depicted as a woman feeding a baby, which meant her son, Horus. The baby was sitting in his mother’s arms.

From people to celestials

Imhotep was a scientist and physician who was deified after his death. Few receive such an honor. And Imhotep became the first to receive the status of a deity without having family ties to the royal family.

Images of Imhotep and information about his family have not survived to this day, and it is also unknown where the brilliant scientist is buried. What is known is that Imhotep had many important titles during his lifetime.

The god of wisdom - Imhotep - was initially revered in the territory of Memphis, but over time his popularity gained momentum and covered the entire territory of Egypt. By the way, the magazine “Gods of Egypt” devotes an entire issue to this character.

Main female deity

Bastet was the goddess of beauty, love and holidays. She was a symbol of feminine grace and beauty. The goddess Bastet was depicted as a cat or a woman with a cat's head. An indispensable attribute of Bastet was the sistrum - a musical instrument.

Cats were considered sacred animals in Ancient Egypt. The Egyptians saw the care of the gods in protecting their houses from rodents. Even the moisture from a cat's nose was considered sacred.

The first large temple in honor of Bast was built in Bubastis; it was then that the cult of the goddess began to flourish, and she took pride of place in the Egyptian pantheon of gods.

In honor of the goddess Bastet, very magnificent celebrations and holidays were held in Egypt. People walked, had fun, sang songs and praised Bastet. She became an international deity.

In every Egyptian home, cats were treated with great honor and respect, and in the event of a fire, for example, cats and other animals were rescued first.

When a cat died, the owner had to bury the body with all honors. And he himself was sad and shaved off his eyebrows in honor of mourning. Thousands of mummified cat bodies were discovered in Bubastis.

Mother of existence - Nut

In Ancient Egypt, Nut was considered the goddess of the sky. The Egyptians imagined her in the form of a naked woman who rose above the ground, leaning on it only with her hands and feet.

Nut's head was turned to the west, and the ancient Egyptians believed that Nut swallowed the setting sun, and in the morning she gave birth, and it illuminated the earth again. The same thing happened with the moon and stars.

The Egyptians believed that a person could also be reborn after death in the form of stars in the sky, so images of the goddess Nut decorated the ceilings of tombs.

During the Old Kingdom, the ceilings of the graves were decorated with images of stars, which were a symbol of the sky and Nut. Later, images of the goddess herself began to be painted on the inside of the sarcophagus lids so that she would ascend the deceased to heaven.

Nut was depicted as a woman. Sometimes certain hieroglyphs were written on her head. Nut was also often represented in the form of a woman whose arms and legs rest on all four cardinal directions. Her body was covered with stars or wings were added to her appearance, which meant the protection of the goddess and the coolness that she gives to people.

Seth as a synonym for devastation

The god of chaos and destruction, Set, is considered one of the main gods of ancient Egyptian history. He was also considered the lord of storms and hurricanes.

Set was the brother of Isis, Osiris and Nephthys, and he was also the husband of Nephthys. The ancient Egyptians did not consider this something abnormal and vicious. But the marriage of Seth and Nephthys was unhappy.

The worship of Seth dates back to ancient times, as evidenced by various historical finds - statues, amulets, images, etc. At the same time, his power and influence spread throughout the territory of Egypt.

Set became the murderer of Osiris, his brother, as a result of which Osiris's son Horus was at enmity with Set for many years. They fought for the royal throne.

According to the records, Set and Horus fought in various battles, which ended either in the victory of Set or in the triumph of Horus. The rest of the gods were tired of this, and they decided to assemble a tribunal, at which each of the opponents spoke out regarding their desire to receive the throne.

The decision declared Horus the winner, and he became the ruler of Egypt. Set had to return the eye of Horus, which he tore out in one of the battles.

As time passed and history changed, Set became more and more cruel and ferocious, and, in the end, began to personify everything evil on earth. Seth committed many blasphemous crimes, which added even more negative qualities to his person.

The image of Seth is a man with the head of an unusual animal, with long ears and an elongated nose. Seth was also depicted as a crocodile, pig, dog or donkey.

The listed gods of Egypt constitute the most famous part of them, but there were many more of them. At the same time, new objects for worship were introduced into the pantheon at the request of the pharaoh.

Even the hierarchy in this sacred matter for the Egyptians also depended on the supreme ruler of the state in the Nile Delta. It is enough to recall the fairly well-known fact of the religious reform of Amenhotep IV, who later became Akhenaten, and replaced Amun-Ra with Aten. The gods of Egypt, the names of these creatures immediately transport you to a fairy-tale world in which you want to stay longer. The science of Egyptology will help with this, which will allow you to learn all the nuances of the divine world of the ancient state of the pharaohs.

And the new idea of ​​the publishing house "Ashet" - the magazine "Secrets of the Gods of Egypt" - will allow you to collect figurines of the most famous celestials of this African country.

Any religion or simply belief appears when a person cannot explain many life events or natural phenomena that are incomprehensible to him. Today science can interpret, if not everything, then a lot. IN Ancient Egypt For clarification, people turned to the gods through their servants on earth - priests. The latter stood guard over the power of the kings. But the ancient Egyptians should not be condemned for this - their faith was subject to the realities of life.

What did the gods of Ancient Egypt “grow out of”?

Religion has been inherent in the social life of society since primitive times. Prehistoric people were just beginning to live in communities, but even then the first beliefs arose, called by some scientists proto-religion. It existed in the form of animism (the soul is an impersonal principle), totemism (the mystical connection between man and animals), fetishism (a certain object will become a mystical force) or magic (all three of the above).

At different times, these beliefs were also inherent in the peoples of Ancient Egypt. The so-called local deities later emerged from totemism. They existed for millennia and disappeared with the development of the Egyptian religion - a system of beliefs and rituals.

The very first deities in these Egyptian lands of northeast Africa, in the minds of the Egyptians, looked like birds and animals. They believed in them because then the main activity was hunting. When the importance of hunting decreased and people began to intensively engage in farming and fishing in the Nile, the heads of some representatives of the fauna that lived there were still “attached” to the human body of the gods.

“Quid prodest” – who benefits from it?

The deities multiplied for a reason. Who needed the ancient Egyptian pyramids, for the construction of which artisans and farmers, as well as slaves, took many years away from their businesses and families? To the pharaohs! As evidence of the power of royal power, that is, the dominant structure in class society. The people eked out a miserable existence and worshiped unknown idols.

And this power had to be constantly supported not only by brute force, but also “spiritually.” The people were constantly convinced that power was created by the gods forever. And they need to obey both the pharaohs and the common people. This was done by the idle priests. Therefore, the Egyptians silently waited for improvements from the gods - from Pharaoh to Pharaoh. From kingdom to kingdom.

Ancient pantheon of northeast Africa

Let's look at what the gods of Ancient Egypt were, their pictures and names, which of them are the main ones, and which are simpler. Their pantheon is quite extensive. There were about one hundred and twenty deities. Of these, local (individual cities, relatively small territories), according to various estimates, are twenty-five. Some of the local gods in different eras of the development of the ancient Egyptian kingdom became national gods, for example, goddesses Amaunet, Amentet, Maat, god Bekh (Buhis). There were also so-called minor gods. For example, Duamutef is an astral deity.

In the above list there is also a category of gods and goddesses where there is no image of them or at least a brief description. For example, the god or goddess Anedzhti, Bata, Bennu, Mafdet, Nebej and others. They are waiting for their researchers.

There were other transitions of gods from category to category. Belief in the famous god Amun originated in the Old Kingdom, when the centralization of the ancient Egyptian state took place. In the Middle Kingdom he turns into a local deity, in the New Kingdom he becomes a national god (18th century BC). At the beginning of our era, he was demoted in “position” by the gods, who by that time had become common in Egypt: “husband” and “wife” Osiris and Isis.

Using the example of the god Amun, we will show how not only preferences for deities changed, but also their type of depiction on stone and in papyri. They are found in the largest quantities on rock paintings, on the sarcophagi of the tombs of many pharaohs and priests. At first, Amon was depicted on them as a man with the head of a frog; in the other two kingdoms, the disk of the Sun was already adorned on his head.

How the gods “competed”

The same natural phenomena were personified by different gods of Ancient Egypt, their pictures and names differed, and what they meant. Let's look at the example of the Sun gods.

The main ones in the hypostasis of the solar gods (mythologization of the luminary) in Ancient Egypt were the named Amon, Ra and Aten. Between them, or other deities, there was, as they now say, fierce competition for the minds of the Egyptians. It was developed, of course, by people, and not by mythological creatures.

Aten was depicted in a then unconventional religious way - not as a man with someone’s head or an animal with a human head. This was the only ancient artistic exception in depictions of the divine pantheon. Aten is a drawing of the solar disk with rays, as modern children like to depict it. Its heyday occurred during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten. The pharaoh in Ancient Egypt was considered the conductor of the idea of ​​​​god on earth. Therefore, the name of God was added to the names of such kings.

Akhenaten recognized the role of only one god, Aten, and under him the cult of dozens of famous gods was stopped. When Akhenaten was replaced in his post by the boy pharaoh Tutankh, he immediately returned polytheism. As a sign of protest, Akhenaten added Amon to his name. Now the entire modern world knows this pharaoh named Tutankhamun.

He paid for the fact that the sun disk was also depicted on the falcon head of this deity. God accompanied any ruling dynasty of pharaoh kings in Thebes.

Suppressed from the pantheon by the god Aten.

The solar deity was Atum. He also had a complex “relationship” with the god Ra from the solar pantheon. Atum moved from local gods to general Egyptian gods. But soon (at that time) Ra ousted him. All the sun gods of Ancient Egypt went the same way. But it was not the gods who competed with each other, but the people in power, as is said about Akhenaten, and religious figures (priests) helped the rise of the gods and their fall.

At this time, the sun god Ra became the main one, whom the ancient Egyptians endowed with the abilities of creating the earth, people, animals and birds, and plants. Ra closes his eyes? This means darkness and night are coming.

Special gods

Let's name the gods that can be translated into separate groups of the pantheon. For example, the Nile River, which is fit to be called the god of fertility and a well-fed life for the Egyptians. The sun has become a deity! The Nile is the nurse and drinker of the Egyptians. If today the question arose about recognizing the Nile as a god, then the prefix “honorable” would be added to it and would be extolled as a god.

This opinion would probably be supported by believers in ten other countries on the African continent, through which an uncontrolled river flows from south to north.

In Ancient Egypt, the Nile flooded and fertilized the land with fertile silt. This turned the sands in the valleys closest to the river into fertile fields. But often in July the Nile overflowed and flooded the crops, dooming the people to hunger. Therefore, the ancient Egyptians came up with a god for the river - Hapi to help them. Hapi is depicted as a man with a woman's bust, which symbolized fertility.

Other gods also strengthen it: Sebek- the god of rivers and lakes, as well as the god of vegetation Osiris. The first was depicted in the guise of a crocodile or a man with the head of this aquatic animal.

But the cruel god demanded abundant and regular sacrifices. The god Hapi failed to tame the Nile before it disappeared from the sky with the introduction of Christianity.

Sebek - God of rivers and lakes.

Osiris also heads a group of twelve gods of the so-called funerary cult of the ancient Egyptians. Five of them are his companions in the afterlife. What kind of god is this? In mythology, he is killed by an envious relative. The goddess Isis, almost like an experienced surgeon, collects Osiris from parts scattered throughout Egypt and buries him. In the afterlife, he was resurrected and became a judge there. Other gods of the cult include Aker, Amentet, Geb and others.

Pharaoh plus god

Over time, the priests formed and disseminated the postulate in society that the pharaohs descended from the gods. After all, mythical deities had the same imaginary families and relatives. And it’s not for nothing that they did this in advance. Already in the Early Kingdom, the pharaoh was perceived as the embodiment of the god Horus, and the human image and its properties were transferred to the deities. Remember the Russian folk tale about Baba Yaga. She is as anthropomorphic as the ancient Egyptian gods. Pharaohs allegedly received magical powers, and commoners were not allowed to approach him.

Tags: ,

Type: polytheism
Peculiarities: deification of animals, developed funeral cult
Cycle of myths: creation of the world, punishment of people for sins, the struggle of the sun god Ra with Apep, death and resurrection of Osiris

Ancient Egyptian religion - religious beliefs and rituals practiced in ancient Egypt from the pre-dynastic period until the adoption of Christianity. Over its many-thousand-year history, the ancient Egyptian religion went through various stages of development: from the Ancient, Middle and New Kingdoms to the Late and Greco-Roman periods.

Early beliefs

The prehistoric tribes of the Nile Valley, like representatives of other primitive cultures, saw manifestations of powerful mysterious forces in all diverse objects and natural phenomena inaccessible to their understanding. A typical form of early religion for them was fetishism and totemism, which experienced various changes under the influence of the population's transition from nomadism to a sedentary lifestyle. The most famous ancient Egyptian fetishes: Imiut, Ben-Ben stone, Iunu pillar, Djed pillar; The common Egyptian religious symbols also originate from ancient fetishes: Ankh, Wadjet, Was.

To a large extent, the beliefs of the primitive Egyptians, as well as their entire lives, were influenced by the Nile, the annual flood of which deposited fertile soil on the banks, which made it possible to collect good harvests (the personification of beneficial forces), but sometimes it caused significant disasters - floods (the personification of destructive forces for humans). The periodicity of the river flood and observation of the starry sky made it possible to create the ancient Egyptian calendar with sufficient accuracy; thanks to this, the Egyptians early mastered the basics of astronomy, which also affected their beliefs. In the first settlements-cities of the Egyptians that emerged, there were various deities, specific for each individual locality, usually in the form of a material fetish, but much more often in the form of an animal - a totem.

Animal cult

The deification of animals in dynastic Egypt took place over the centuries, going back to prehistoric totemism, with which in a number of cases it was very close, actually constituting phenomena of the same order. Nomes and cities were often compared and were associated with their animal gods, which was reflected in their names (see list of nomes of Ancient Egypt), and many hieroglyphs of Egyptian writing were symbols of animals, birds, reptiles, fish and insects, which were ideograms denoting which -or deities.

Pantheon of Gods of Egypt

The ancient Egyptian religion, with all its inherent diversity of gods, was the result of a merger of independent tribal cults.

Appearance

Egyptian gods have an unusual, sometimes very bizarre appearance. This is due to the fact that the religion of Egypt consisted of many local beliefs. Over time, some gods acquired aspects, and some merged with each other, for example, Amun and Ra formed the single god Amun-Ra. In total, Egyptian mythology has about 700 gods, although most of them were revered only in certain areas.

Most gods are a hybrid of man and animal, although for some only decorations remind of their nature, like the scorpion on the head of the goddess Selket. Several gods are represented by abstractions: Amun, Aten, Nun, Bekhdeti, Kuk, Niau, Heh, Gerech, Tenemu.

Deities of Ancient Egypt

God Ptah.

Ptah or Ptah, is one of the names of the Creator God in the ancient Egyptian religious tradition.

God Atum.

Atum (Jtm) is the god of creation in ancient Egyptian mythology. It symbolized the original and eternal unity of all things.

Geb and Nut. (Here the goddess of the cosmos is depicted as a woman, she is curved in the form of a dome, has exorbitantly long arms and legs (supports) and only touches the ground (depicted as a man) with the tips of her fingers and toes. Shu, who separates this pair, also does not look tense under the weight "celestial body")

Geb - Ancient Egyptian god of the earth, son of Shu and Tefnut, brother and husband of Nut and father of Osiris, Isis, Set and Nephthys.

Chickpeas (Well, Nuit) is the ancient Egyptian goddess of the Sky, daughter of Shu and Tefnut, sister and wife of Geb and mother of Osiris, Isis, Set and Nephthys. In the ancient beliefs of the Egyptians, Nut was a heavenly cow who gave birth to the sun and all the gods.

God Shu wearing an elaborate crown with four feathers

Shu - Egyptian deity of air, son of Atum, brother and husband of Tefnut. After the identification of Atum with Ra, he was considered the son of Ra. The veneration of Shu was especially expressive in Letopolis in the delta.

Tefnut , also Tefnet, laudatory name Nubian cat - goddess of moisture in Egyptian mythology. She is also the eye of Ra, in this capacity Tefnut shines with a fiery eye in his forehead and burns the enemies of the great god. In this capacity, Tefnut was identified with the goddess Uto (Uraeus).

God Amon

Amon (Amen, Amun, Imen) - the ancient Egyptian god of the Sun, king of the gods (nsw nTrw) and patron of the power of the pharaohs.
Amun is the god of the sun in Egyptian mythology.

Goddess Mut

Mut , Egyptian goddess (actually “mother”) is an ancient Egyptian goddess, queen of heaven, second member of the Theban triad (Amun-Mut-Khonsu), mother goddess and patroness of motherhood.

God Montu

Montu (mnṯw) - the ancient god of the city of Ermont, in the region of which Thebes rose and became the capital of Egypt, which also revered Montu, hence his traditional epithet - “lord of Thebes”.

God Khonsu

Khonsou - an Egyptian god, revered in Thebes as the son of Amun and Mut, with whom he formed the Theban triad of gods, the deity of the moon. The latter brought him closer to Thoth already during the Middle Kingdom, when he was sometimes called the scribe of truth.

God Ra

Ra(ancient Greek Ρα; lat. Ra) - the ancient Egyptian sun god, the supreme deity of the ancient Egyptians. His name means "Sun". The center of the cult was Heliopolis.

God Osiris.

Osiris (Osiris) (Egyptian wsjr, ancient Greek Ὄσιρις, lat. Osiris) - god of rebirth, king of the underworld in ancient Egyptian mythology.

Goddess Isis.

Isis (Isis) (Egyptian js.t, ancient Greek Ἶσις, lat. Isis) is one of the greatest goddesses of antiquity, who became a model for understanding the Egyptian ideal of femininity and motherhood. She was revered as the sister and wife of Osiris, the mother of Horus, and, accordingly, the Egyptian kings, who were originally considered the earthly incarnations of the falcon-headed god.
Being very ancient, the cult of Isis probably originated from the Nile Delta. Here was one of the most ancient cult centers of the goddess, Hebet, called Iseion by the Greeks.

God Horus

Choir , Horus (ḥr - “height”, “sky”) - the god of the sky, royalty and sun; the living ancient Egyptian king was represented as the incarnation of the god Horus.

Goddess Nephthys.

Nephthys (Greek), Nebetkhet (ancient Egyptian “Lady of the monastery”). Its essence is almost not revealed in Egyptian religious literature. Nephthys was often depicted together with Isis as her opposite and at the same time as her complement, symbolizing inferiority, passivity, and infertile lands.
Nephthys, whose name is pronounced Nebethet in Egyptian, was considered by some authors as the goddess of death, and by others as an aspect of Black Isis. Plutarch described Nephthys as “the mistress of all that is unmanifest and immaterial, while Isis rules over all that is manifest and material.” Despite the connection with the Lower World, Nephthys bore the title of “Goddess of creation who lives in everything.”

Heh in the image of the primordial ocean.

Heh or Huh - an abstract deity of Egyptian mythology, associated with the constancy of time and eternity, the personification of infinity, endless space.

Nun (Ancient Egyptian “nwn” - “water”, “aquatic”) - in ancient Egyptian mythology - the primordial ocean that existed at the beginning of time, from which Ra emerged and Atum began the creation of the world.

God Khnum.

Khnum - creator god, creating man on a pottery disk, guardian of the Nile; a man with the head of a ram with spirally twisted horns.
“Khnum is the god of fertility in ancient Egyptian mythology, the demiurge god who created the world on a potter’s wheel.

God Anubis.

Anubis (Greek), Inpu (ancient Egyptian) - the deity of Ancient Egypt with the head of a jackal and the body of a man, a guide for the dead to the afterlife.

God Set

Set (Seth, Sutekh, Suta, Seti Egyptian. Stẖ) - in ancient Egyptian mythology, the god of rage, sandstorms, destruction, chaos, war and death. However, initially he was revered as the “protector of the sun-Ra”, the patron of royal power, his name was included in the titles and names of a number of pharaohs.

Goddess Hathor

Hathor , or Hathor (“house of Horus”, that is, “sky”) - in Egyptian mythology, the goddess of the sky, love, femininity, beauty, fun and dancing.

Bogiga Bast

Bast or Bastet - in Ancient Egypt, the goddess of joy, fun and love, female beauty, fertility and home, who was depicted as a cat or a woman with the head of a cat. During the early dynasties, before the domestication of the cat, it was depicted as a lioness.

Goddess Sekhmet

Sekhmet (Sokhmet) - patron goddess of Memphis, wife of Ptah. The goddess of war and the scorching sun, the formidable eye of the sun god Ra, a healer who had the magical power to induce diseases and cure them, patronized doctors who were considered her priests. Guarded the pharaoh.

Goddess Neith

Nate - Egyptian goddess of hunting and war, patroness of Sais in the Western Delta. Possibly Neith corresponds to the Carthaginian and Berber goddess Tanit. The cult of Neith was also widespread among the Libyans. Her hieroglyph was one of the signs of their tattoo. Sebek's mother.

God Sebek

Sebek (Sobek, Sobk, Sokhet, Sobki, Soknopais, in Greek Sukhos (Greek Σοῦχος)) - the ancient Egyptian god of water and the flood of the Nile, depicted with the head of a crocodile; it is believed that he scares away the forces of darkness and is the protector of gods and people. Sebek was the patron saint of crocodiles.

God Thoth

That (otherwise Teut, Tut, Tuut, Tout, Tehuti, other Greek Θώθ, Θόουτ from Egyptian ḏḥwty, possibly pronounced ḏiḥautī) - the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom and knowledge.

Goddess Maat

Maat (Ammaat) is an ancient Egyptian goddess who personifies truth, justice, universal harmony, divine institution and ethical norms.

The goddess Isis seated on a throne, bas-relief on the sarcophagus of Ramesses II

About Egyptian mythology

The sources for studying the mythology of Ancient Egypt are characterized by incomplete and unsystematic presentation. The nature and origin of many myths are reconstructed on the basis of later texts. The main monuments that reflected the mythological ideas of the Egyptians are various religious texts: hymns and prayers to the gods, records of funeral rites on the walls of tombs. The most significant of them are the “Pyramid Texts” - the oldest texts of funeral royal rituals, carved on the walls of the interior of the pyramids of the pharaohs of the V and VI dynasties of the Old Kingdom (XXVI - XXIII centuries BC); “Texts of sarcophagi”, preserved on sarcophagi from the Middle Kingdom era (XXI - XVIII centuries BC), “Book of the Dead” - compiled from the period of the New Kingdom to the end of Egyptian history.

Egyptian mythology began to take shape in the 6th - 4th millennia BC, long before the emergence of class society. Each region (nome) develops its own pantheon and cult of gods, embodied in heavenly bodies, stones, trees, birds, snakes, etc.

The significance of Egyptian myths is invaluable; they provide valuable material for the comparative study of religious ideas in the Ancient East, and for the study of the ideology of the Greco-Roman world, and for the history of the emergence and development of Christianity.

Cosmogonic myths

Judging by archaeological data, in the most ancient period of Egyptian history there were no cosmic gods who were credited with the creation of the world. Scholars believe that the first version of this myth arose shortly before the unification of Egypt. According to this version, the sun was born from the union of earth and sky. This personification is undoubtedly older than the cosmogonic ideas of the priests from major religious centers. As usual, the existing myth was not abandoned, and the images of Geb (god of the earth) and Nut (goddess of the sky) as the parents of the sun god Ra were preserved in religion throughout ancient history. Every morning Nut gives birth to the sun and every evening hides it in her womb for the night.

Ancient temple on the banks of the Nile

Theological systems that proposed a different version of the creation of the world probably arose at the same time in several major cult centers: Heliopolis, Hermopolis and Memphis. Each of these centers declared its main god to be the creator of the world, who was, in turn, the father of other gods who united around him.
Common to all cosmogonic concepts was the idea that the creation of the world was preceded by the chaos of water immersed in eternal darkness. The beginning of the exit from chaos was associated with the emergence of light, the embodiment of which was the sun. The idea of ​​an expanse of water, from which a small hill appears at first, is closely related to Egyptian realities: it almost exactly corresponds to the annual flood of the Nile, the muddy waters of which covered the entire valley, and then, receding, gradually opened up the land, ready for plowing. In this sense, the act of creating the world was repeated annually.

Egyptian myths about the beginning of the world do not represent a single, coherent story. Often the same mythological events are depicted in different ways, and the gods appear in them in different guises. It is curious that with many cosmogonic plots explaining the creation of the world, extremely little space is devoted to the creation of man. It seemed to the ancient Egyptians that the gods created the world for people. In the written literary heritage of Egypt there are very few direct indications of the creation of the human race; such indications are the exception. Basically, the Egyptians limited themselves to the belief that a person owes his existence to the gods, who expect gratitude from him for this, understood very simply: a person must worship the gods, build and maintain temples, and regularly make sacrifices.

Atum with double crown

The priests of Heliopolis created their own version of the origin of the world, declaring him the creator of the sun god Ra, identified with other gods - creators Atum and Khepri (“Atum” means “Perfect”, the name “Khepri” can be translated as “The One who arises” or “The One who who brings it into existence"). Atum was usually depicted in the form of a man, Khepri in the form of a scarab, which means that his cult dates back to the time when the gods were given the form of animals. It is curious that Khepri never had her own place of worship. As the personification of the rising sun, he was identical to Atum - the setting sun and Ra - shining during the day. The appearance of a scarab given to it was associated with the belief that this beetle is capable of reproducing on its own, hence its divine creative power. And the sight of a scarab pushing its ball suggested to the Egyptians the image of a god rolling the sun across the sky.

The myth of the creation of the world by Atum, Ra and Khepri is recorded in the Pyramid Texts, and by the time its text was first carved in stone, it had probably been around for a long time and was widely known.

Statue of Ramses II in the Temple of Ptah in Memphis

According to the Pyramid Texts, Ra - Atum - Khepri created himself, emerging from chaos called Nun. Nun, or the Prime Ocean, was usually depicted as an immense primordial expanse of water. Atum, emerging from it, did not find a place where he could stay. That's why he created Ben-ben Hill in the first place. Standing on this island of solid soil, Ra-Atum-Khepri began to create other cosmic gods. Since he was alone, he had to give birth to the first pair of gods himself. From the union of this first couple other gods arose, thus, according to the Heliopolitan myth, the earth and the deities that ruled it appeared. In the ongoing act of creation, from the first pair of gods - Shu (Air) and Tefnut (Moisture) - Geb (Earth) and Nut (Sky) were born. They in turn gave birth to two gods and two goddesses: Osiris, Set, Isis and Nephthys. This is how the Great Nine of Gods arose - the Heliopolis Ennead. This version of the creation of the world was not the only one in Egyptian mythology. According to one legend, the creator of people was, for example, a potter - the god Khnum, who appeared in the guise of a ram - who sculpted them from clay.

Memphis today

The theologians of Memphis, the largest political and religious center of Ancient Egypt, one of its capitals, included in their myth about the creation of the world many gods belonging to different religious centers, and subordinated them to Ptah as the creator of everything. The Memphis version of cosmogony, compared to the Heliopolitan one, is much more abstract: the world and the gods were created not through a physical act - as in the process of creation by Atum - but exclusively through thought and word.
Sometimes the firmament was represented in the form of a cow with a body covered with stars, but there were also ideas according to which the sky is a water surface, the heavenly Nile, along which the sun flows around the earth during the day. There is also the Nile underground, along which the sun, having descended beyond the horizon, floats at night. The Nile, flowing through the earth, was personified in the image of the god Hapi, who contributed to the harvest with his beneficial floods. The Nile itself was also inhabited by good and evil deities in the form of animals: crocodiles, hippopotamuses, frogs, scorpions, snakes, etc. The fertility of the fields was controlled by the goddess - the mistress of bins and barns, Renenutet, revered in the form of a snake that appears on the field during the harvest, ensuring the thoroughness of harvesting. The grape harvest depended on the vine god Shai.

Anubis in the form of a dog. Figurine from the tomb of Tutankhamun

Anubis with a mummy. Painting on the wall of Sennejem's tomb

Myths of the mortuary cult

An important role in Egyptian mythology was played by ideas about the afterlife as a direct continuation of the earthly one, but only in the grave. Its necessary conditions are the preservation of the body of the deceased (hence the custom of mummifying corpses), the provision of housing for him (tomb), food (mortuary gifts and sacrifices brought by the living). Later, ideas arise that the dead (that is, their ba, soul) go out into the sunlight during the day, fly up to heaven to the gods, and wander through the underworld (duat). The essence of man was thought of in the inextricable unity of his body, souls (there were believed to be several of them: ka, ba; the Russian word “soul,” however, is not an exact correspondence to the Egyptian concept), name, shadow. A soul wandering through the underworld is in wait for all sorts of monsters, from which you can escape with the help of special spells and prayers. Osiris, together with other gods, administers the afterlife judgment over the deceased (the 125th chapter of the “Book of the Dead” is specially dedicated to him). In the face of Osiris, psychostasia occurs: the weighing of the heart of the deceased on scales balanced by truth (the image of the goddess Maat or her symbols). The sinner was devoured by the terrible monster Amt (a lion with the head of a crocodile), the righteous man came to life for a happy life in the fields of Iaru. Only those who were submissive and patient in earthly life could be justified at the trial of Osiris, the one who did not steal, did not encroach on temple property, did not rebel, did not speak evil against the king, etc., as well as “pure in heart” (“I am pure , clean, clean,” the deceased asserts in court).

Goddess Isis with wings

Agricultural myths

The third main cycle of myths of Ancient Egypt is associated with Osiris. The cult of Osiris is associated with the spread of agriculture in Egypt. He is the god of the productive forces of nature (in the Book of the Dead he is called grain, in the Pyramid Texts - the god of the vine), withering and resurrecting vegetation. So, sowing was considered the funeral of the grain - Osiris, the emergence of shoots was perceived as his rebirth, and the cutting of ears during the harvest was perceived as the killing of God. These functions of Osiris are reflected in an extremely widespread legend describing his death and rebirth. Osiris, who reigned happily in Egypt, was treacherously killed by his younger brother, the evil Set. Osiris’s sisters Isis (who is also his wife) and Nephthys search for the body of the murdered man for a long time, and when they find it, they mourn. Isis conceives a son, Horus, from her dead husband. Having matured, Horus enters into a fight with Set; at the court of the gods, with the help of Isis, he achieves recognition of himself as the only rightful heir of Osiris. Having defeated Set, Horus resurrects his father. However, Osiris, not wanting to stay on earth, becomes the king of the underworld and the supreme judge over the dead. The throne of Osiris on earth passes to Horus. In another version of the myth, the resurrection of Osiris is associated with the annual floods of the Nile, which are explained by the fact that Isis, mourning Osiris, after the “night of tears” fills the river with her tears.

God Osiris. Painting of the tomb of Sennejem, 13th century BC

Myths associated with Osiris are reflected in numerous rituals. At the end of the last winter month "Khoyak" - the beginning of the first month of spring "Tibi" the mysteries of Osiris were performed, during which the main episodes of the myth about him were reproduced in dramatic form. Priestesses in the images of Isis and Nephthys depicted the search, mourning and burial of the god. Then the “great battle” took place between Horus and Set. The drama ended with the erection of the “djed” pillar dedicated to Osiris, symbolizing the rebirth of God and, indirectly, of all nature. In the predynastic period, the holiday ended with a struggle between two groups of mystery participants: one of them represented summer, and the other winter. Summer always won (the resurrection of nature). After the unification of the country under the rule of the rulers of Upper Egypt, the nature of the mysteries changes. Now two groups are fighting, one of which is in the clothes of Upper Egypt, and the other - of Lower Egypt. Victory, naturally, remains with the group symbolizing Upper Egypt. During the days of the Mysteries of Osiris, dramatized rites of coronation of the pharaohs were also celebrated. During the mystery, the young pharaoh acted as Horus, the son of Isis, and the deceased king was portrayed as Osiris sitting on the throne.

God Osiris. Painting, 8th century BC

The character of Osiris as the god of vegetation was reflected in another cycle of rituals. In a special room of the temple, a clay likeness of the figure of Osiris was erected, which was sown with grain. For the holiday of Osiris, his image was covered with green shoots, which symbolized the rebirth of the god. In the drawings one often sees the mummy of Osiris with shoots sprouted from it, which are watered by the priest.

The idea of ​​Osiris as the god of fertility was also transferred to the pharaoh, who was considered the magical focus of the country’s fertility and therefore participated in all the main rituals of an agricultural nature: with the onset of the rise of the Nile, he threw a scroll into the river - a decree that the beginning of the flood had come; the first solemnly began preparing the soil for sowing; cut the first sheaf at the harvest festival, and for the whole country made a thanksgiving sacrifice to the harvest goddess Renenutet and to the statues of the dead pharaohs after completing field work.

Bastet cat

The cult of animals, widespread in all periods of Egyptian history, left a clear mark on Egyptian mythology. Gods in the form of animals, with the heads of birds and animals, scorpion gods, and snake gods act in Egyptian myths along with deities in human form. The more powerful a god was considered, the more cult animals were attributed to him, in the form of which he could appear to people.

Egyptian myths reflect the peculiarities of the worldview of the inhabitants of the Nile Valley, their ideas about the origin of the world and its structure, which have developed over thousands of years and go back to primitive times. Here are attempts to find the origins of being in the biological act of creation of the gods, the search for the original substance personified by divine couples - the embryo of later teachings about the primary elements of the world, and, finally, as one of the highest achievements of Egyptian theological thought - the desire to explain the origins of the world, people and all culture as a result of the creative power embodied in the word of God.

The gods of Egypt were revered by the ancient peoples not just fanatically, as it may seem now.

Gods are certain creatures, which were trees, streams, mountains, the sun, water and everything else that surrounded man.

The gods were sung in song, worshiped in ritual, actually believed in, loved and largely feared.

History describes many moments in the life of the gods, their reign, family relationships and warriors. We will try to tell you about the most important and significant gods.

List of all gods of Egypt

Aah or Yah(was the god of the moon).

Aker(god of the Earth).

Aken(the boatman who transported the dead to the dungeon).

Amunet(goddess of invisible forces, wind and air).

Amentet(goddess of the kingdom of the dead).

Amenhotep(god of medicine and wisdom).

Amat(she had the image of a terrible monster and was the goddess of retribution for sins committed).

Ammon(king of the gods and sun god).

Anant(goddess of lust, fertility, war and hunting).

Anedjti.

(patron of the dead).

Questionnaire(field feeder).

Apis(had the image of a sacred bull and was considered the god of fertility).

Apophis(a huge snake and enemy of Ra).

Atum(creator god).

Ash(god of the desert and patron of all wanderers).

Banebdjedet(god of fertility).

Bapef(god of grief, suffering and pain).

Baht(cow deity).

Babu(baboon god bringing darkness and gloom).

Ben(god of eternal life in the form of a heron).

Buhis(a bull god with a black head and white body).

Demon(dwarf god who protects from bad spirits).

Infuriating(the demon's wife).

Venet(rabbit goddess).

Geb(earth god).

Gore(falcon god, guardian of the sky).

Dedun(god of incense).

Jabeth(goddess of the desert in the East).

Imiut(the god in charge of embalming).

Imhotep(patron of doctors and healers).

Iunit(patron of the city of Germont).

Iusat(patron of the city of Heliopolis).

Ihi(God is a musician).

Keket(goddess of darkness).

Kebhut(Egyptian goddess).

Cook(god of the night).

Maat(goddess of justice, order and harmony).

Matit(lioness goddess).

Mafdet(goddess of justice).

Mahes(the stern god of warriors and storms).

Menkerot(the goddess who raised those who fell to heaven).

Menket(beer goddess).

Menhit(goddess of protection).

Merimutef(god of the dead, with a ram's head);

Mert(goddess of joy and dancing).

Meskhenet(patron of women in labor).

Mehen(Egyptian god who protected the boat of Ra with the head of a snake).

Mehurt(goddess in the form of a cow who gives birth to rain).

Min(god of productivity).

Montu(a man who has a falcon's head, holds a spear and is the god of war).

Naunet(snake goddess who guards water).

Nebtui(goddess of Latopol).

Nate(creator of people and 7 gods).

Nemti(god of caravan routes and desert).

Nepri(god of grains).

Nefertum(Egyptian god of crop production).

Nekhbet(guarded the pharaohs).

Nehebkau(time keeper).

Nehemetai(anti-theft defender).

Nun(a god who existed before the creation of the world).

Chickpeas(goddess of the sky).

Onuris(god of war and hunting).

Opet(nurse in the form of a hippopotamus).

Panebtavi(had the appearance of a child).

Patek(protector from snakes).

Ptah(created the first gods and the world).

Renenutet(keeper of the harvest).

Reshef(warrior god).

Satis(guardian of the borders of southern Egypt).

Orion(Egyptian god of stars).

Sebek(a crocodile god considered a patron).

Sep(patron of the dead in the form of a millipede).

Sarapis(lord of water, air, fire and earth).

(personified evil and killed Osiris).

Seshat(goddess of writing).

Sia(god of knowledge).

Sokar(god of mourning).

Tait(goddess of sewing).

Tefnut(goddess of moisture).

That(god of writing and counting).

Tutu(a god with the body of a lion, wings, the head of a man and a snake's tail).

Upes(goddess of fire who burned enemies).

Upuat(god in wolf form).

Ha(god of oases).

Hapi(Egyptian god of all the Nile).

Hathor(goddess who gave birth to the sun).

Hauhet(goddess of everything infinite).

Heket(frog goddess who protected fertile lands).

Khepri(god in the form of a scarab beetle).

Khonsou(god of the moon).

Shai(god of grapes and god who determined life expectancy).

Shed(anti-animal advocate).

Shentit(heavenly cow that resurrected the dead).

Shepes(Egyptian god of law).

Sixth(patron of wine and oil).

Shu(god of air).

Yam(god of the seas).

Let's look at the most significant and famous gods in Egyptian history.

Egyptian god Anubis

Anubis considered the gods, not man, to be the judge. At the same time, deity was associated with death.

He appeared to the Egyptians as a certain creature lying on the ground, black and terrible.

The Egyptian god Anubis took the souls of people after their death and was the patron saint of the dead. He was depicted as a man with the head of an animal, usually a wolf, or in the form of a jackal.

That was until it went into the background.

Then Osiris became what Anubis was considered to be, and the slightly modified god was already perceived as an assistant to Osiris, who was entrusted with the responsibility of preparing the body of the deceased, turning it into a mummy with the help of magic.

Egyptian goddess Bastet

Few gods in Egypt symbolized joy and fun, but Bastet was one of them.

She brought light and hope, since positive traits acted that way on the ancient Egyptians.

Bastet had a son, and she herself appeared as a person with a woman’s body, but the head of a cat.

The dawn of the veneration of the goddess occurs in the 10th century before the creation of the world. Since then, she began to be especially revered by the Egyptians.

Almost every home had this animal, fed it first, loved and respected it. To offend the cat meant to offend Bastet.

In addition, annual festivities were celebrated in honor of the goddess, fun gatherings and many other events were held.

Egyptian goddess Isis

This goddess was important to the ancient Egyptians.

The wife of Osiris was personified as a maiden with a sun disk on her head, and cow horns adorned the disk.

Isis contacts Anubis. It is believed that this goddess found the remains of her husband somewhere during her travels around the planet.

He was killed by his own brother, but it is not mentioned whether the goddess took revenge, but they ignore the fact - Anubis took part in the mummification of Osiris.

It is said that this was the first situation when the first mummy was created. After this, Osiris seemed to come to life and even managed to conceive another son.

Egyptian god Osiris

Osiris was the king of the underworld, the god of rebirth. A powerful deity with whom many legends are associated.

The expert version says that Osiris died during the struggle at the hands of Set.

They fought for dominance in the world - Osiris taught people healing skills, told them how to build houses, cities, and how to run a household. this was not part of the plans of Set, the god of the desert, who wanted to rule everything on his own, so that there would be only sand and voids around.

The gods are associated with different events.

It is believed that Osiris was divided into 14 body parts, which were scattered throughout Africa.

Osiris's wife, Isis, put all his parts together and was even able to conceive a child from him after death, whom she safely gave birth to and raised.

Sun God Ra

Ra was embodied in a cat or a large falcon. The Egyptians also depicted him as a man with a large falcon's head.

It was believed that Ra was the god of the daytime sun.

Evening and morning are not his time. Ra was connected with the afterlife, warmed and illuminated the path of the dead, who rushed upward to contact the deities. differed in that it had its own guardian - the fire-breathing snake Uto.

Egyptian god Set

This is the god of chaos, disorder and everything bad that happens around, which leads to chaos.

It was depicted as a creature that has the body of a man, and the head of some mythical entity. It's hard to say whose head it was - perhaps an anteater.

Seth has been portrayed in various ways. Sometimes he took on the appearance of a donkey and other animals. The main difference is the forked tail, which distinguished an ordinary creature from a deity.

It is believed that Set was the brother of Anubis.

Nebethat is a goddess who is both the sister and wife of Set. Seth's appearance was compared to a beautiful male body, with sexuality and masculinity, but at the same time extreme cruelty.

According to legends, the Egyptian god Set killed Osiris, his brother, who tore out his eye and cut it into 14 pieces, and then scattered it across the deserts.

Set was considered the god of the deserts; he was patronized by travelers and nomadic Africans.

Seth had many New Kingdom mistresses and wives.

It was largely based on mythology, beliefs in gods, and patronage of them.

Thanks to the Egyptian gods, according to Africans, it was possible to become healthy, bring a curse on the enemy, protect yourself and loved ones, and gain fertility.

Magic and witchcraft in some way today are based on previously existing activities involving the gods.