Egypt is known to be home to the largest and most complicated gods of any ancient civilization. History has it that, Egypt had over hundreds of gods and goddesses that were worshipped by the Egyptians.
Each god’s features would be very hard to locate or identify. Most of the gods had principles of association; with the sun, the underworld etc. However, it came to a time when the importance of the gods was no longer relevant and a thing of value when Egypt started to evolve. In this article, we have a list of some important and most valuable gods/deities of Egyptians.
11 Most Powerful & Important Egyptian Gods
Osiris
Osiris is one of the popular and most powerful gods of Egypt. It was referred to as the god of the underworld by the people. Osiris also symbolized death, resurrection and the cycle of Nile floods that the people of Egypt trusted for agricultural activities.
According to myth, the god of the underworld was a king of Egypt who was killed and dismembered by his brother called Seth. Osiris ‘ wife is said to have reassembled and brought him back to life allowing them to birth a son called the god of Horus.
He was represented as a mummified king, as he was wrapped all around such that only the left green skin of his face and hands could be seen.
Isis
According to history, the origin of Isis isn’t clear and can’t be traced to any specific town in Egypt. There are also no mentions of her in any earliest Egyptian literature. She grew in popularity over time as she became one of the most valuable goddesses in Egypt.
According to many, she was a devoted and cherished wife of the Egyptian god, Osiris after he was murdered but she resurrected him and took care of their son called Horus(god of Horus). Isis is, however, embodied with the tradition of Egypt as a wife and a mother.
Horus
Horus is portrayed as a man with a falcon’s head or a falcon as a whole. According to history, Horus was a sky god associated with hunting, disquiet and war. He also methodized of divine kingship. According to the Osiris myth, Horus was his son and Isis was magically birthed after Osiris’ murder by Seth, his brother.
However, it is revealed that Horus was brought up to avenge the assassination of his father. Some traditions have it that Horus lost his left eye while fighting with Seth but the eye was magically healed by the god, Thoth.
Seth/Set
Seth was referred to as the god of violence, chaos, storms and deserts. He is the murderer of Osiris according to myth. His physical looks were really a problem for most Egyptologists. He was mostly delineated as a human with a falcon’s head or as a complete falcon (as many suggest).
However, his actual animality is currently not confirmed but most believed he had the looks of a falcon. In his animal form, he has a thin dog-like body and a tail with a tuft at the end. Most scholars claimed that, no such animal ever existed in the history of man.
Ptah
Ptah was perceived to be the head of a triad of gods that were being worshipped in Memphis, Tennessee. The other additional members of the triad were his wife, the lion-headed goddess called Sekhmet and Nefertem who may have been their son.
It is revealed that his official association is said to have been with the ancient builders and craftsmen. Imhotep was deified after his death as a son of Ptah.
Re
Re is one of the gods associated with the sun. He was mostly represented with a human body but with a hawk’s head. It was revealed that Re sailed the sky in a boat every day and passed by through the underworld every night.
That was when he was able to defeat the snake god called Apopis in order to rise again. The god had a cult situated in Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt.
Hathor
Hathor was an Egyptian goddess who was also portrayed as a woman with a cow’s head or as a cow or a woman with cow’s ears. She was embodied with fertility and motherhood. It was believed that at that time Hathor protected women during childbearing. Additionally, the goddess was known as ‘the lady of the west’.
Anubis
Anubis was much interested in caring for the dead. He was mostly represented as a man with a jackal or a jackal as a whole being. His association with death and funerals roused because Egyptians of those days loved to observe jackals scavenging in and around graveyards(cemeteries). Anubis was identified as God of the dead in the old Kingdom (c. 2575–2130 BCE).
Thoth
Thoth was referred to as the god of wisdom and writing. He was portrayed in the form of a sacred ibis, baboon or a man with the head of an ibis. Thoth was believed to have invented languages and hieroglyphic script and served as an adviser and scribe for the gods of the land. Thoth was said to have knowledge of magic and several secrets which were unknown by the other gods.
Bastet
Bastet was a cat goddess which was represented as a woman with a lion’s head or a wild cat. She was mostly represented as a regal-looking seated domestic cat, at times in rings in her nose or ears. In the Ptolemaic times, Bastet is believed to have come to associate with the Greek goddess called Artemis, the divine hunter and goddess of the moon.
Amon/Amun
Somewhere in c. 1539–1292 BCE before the rise to national prominence, Amon also identified as the god Amon was being worshipped locally in the southern city of Thebes. He was the god of air.
His name also means Hidden One. He is, however, represented as a man wearing a crown with two vertical plumes. Amin’s animal symbols were the goose and ram.
