Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
The Top 20 Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
“History would never be forgotten if it were taught as stories.” This is how Egypt became eternal. The ancient Egyptians studied the world around them. They tried to understand how everything worked together.
This is how ancient Egyptians began the study of zoology and biology. They studied the sky, the Nile’s floods, and sunsets. They also looked for an explanation. The Egyptians found it in a great polytheistic system. They built great stories, temples, and valleys. They worshipped gods and goddesses. These gods were responsible for all of Egypt’s blessings.
Ancient Egyptians believed in both good and evil. They accepted this conflict. They worshipped both to create a balanced universe. The ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses were seen as divine beings. They could unlock the mysteries of the universe. They could perform miracles. So, Egyptians honored them. They enshrined them in physical form. You can see this art in Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, and Aswan.
Their lives were devoted to worship. It was a way of life for them. Egypt had about 2,000 deities. Each one represented a part of the environment. Each god played a role in every person’s eternal journey. Magic, or Heka, was an important part of their beliefs. It was a supernatural power that held everything together. Most of these myths were found on the walls of Luxor’s temples. They were also passed down through generations.
The ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses provided people with everything they needed. Each god had a name and unique powers. They had specific features and personalities. They had their own style of clothing and sacred objects. These things impacted Egyptian society. The gods often took on the form of animals. They appeared as a phoenix, bull, cat, crocodile, or hawk. Here are the most famous ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses
The Top 20 Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses:
- Amun, “The Creator God.”
- Atum, “The human form of Sun God Ra.”
- Nut “Goddess of Earth”
- Shu, “God of Air”
- Tefnut, “Goddess of Moisture”
- Osiris, “God of Justice”
- Isis, “Goddess of Motherhood.”
- Horus, “God of Sky”
- Set, “God of Deception”
- Ma’at, “Goddess of Balance”
- Nephthys, “Goddess of Funerals”
- Anubis, “God of Death”
- Hathor, “Goddess of Drunkenness.”
- Bastet, “Goddess of Beauty.”
- Thoth, “God of Intellect”
- Ptah, “God of Memphis”
- Khonsu, “God of Lunar.”
- Khnum, “God of Potters”
- Hapi, “God of Fertility”
- Sobek, “God of the Nile.”
1. Amun, “The Creator God”
Amun is the king of all gods. He is the creator of everything and the ultimate commander of both gods and people. He holds this power in both the living and the dead worlds.
Amun was the patron of Thebes. Even when the god Ra rose to power, Amun’s position remained strong. He even merged with Ra to become the supreme god Amun-Ra, “The Hidden One.” Egyptians worshipped him alongside his wife, the goddess Mut, and their son, Khonsu. This was during the New Kingdom (1570 – 1050 BC).
The priestess’ wife of Amun held an authority equal to that of a pharaoh. Artists usually represented Amun as a human with a double-plumed crown. However, he has also appeared as a ram or a goose, as seen at Karnak.
2. Atum, “The human form of Sun God Ra.”
Atum’s name comes from the verb tm, which means “to finish” or “to complete.” As a result, people see him as the “complete one” and the finisher of the world. He returns the world to watery chaos after the creative cycle ends.
As the creator, he was the fundamental essence of the world. Atum created all deities and things from his own flesh or essence. From the beginning, Atum has been one of Egypt’s most prominent deities. His importance in the Pyramid Texts shows this. In these texts, he appears as both a creator and the king’s father.
In the Heliopolitan creation myth, people consider Atum the first deity. He created himself from the primordial waters while sitting on a mound called benben. He also identified with the mound itself. According to early mythology, Atum created the deity Shu and the goddess Tefnut by spitting them out of his mouth. Atum was born through masturbation, with the hand he used in this act representing the female spirit within him. He has forged a union with his shadow.
3. Nut “Sky Goddess”
“Nut” goddess is the sky. She was a primeval sky goddess who was the mother of Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys and the wife of God Geb, the deity of the Earth.
Nut’s father, Atum, formed her. She and her brother, the soil god Geb, fell in love. They had the four primordial gods. She extended her body over the planet, and each limb represented a cardinal point. She often devoured the sun in the evening and gave birth to the sun at night.
4. Shu, the “God of the Air”
Atum and his sister-wife Tefnut created Shu as one of the first two gods. Shu was the deity of the air, the sun, and the dry air, while his wife was the goddess of wetness. He was portrayed as a man with a plume-shaped hat, which was also the hieroglyph for his name. It was his responsibility to divide the sky from the ground.
5. Tefnut, “Moisture Goddess”
Tefnut, a significant deity within the ancient Egyptian pantheon, personified moisture and corrosive air. Artists typically portrayed her as a fierce lioness or a woman with the head of a lioness. She held a crucial position as the mother of Nut, the sky goddess, and Geb, the earth god, and she was the wife of Shu, the god of air.
According to the Heliopolitan creation myth, the supreme creator god Atum brought both Tefnut and her spouse, Shu, into existence as the very first gods. Together, they formed the initial divine pair, setting the stage for the creation of the cosmos and the subsequent generations of deities. Her dual nature, encompassing both vital moisture and the harshness of dry air, reflected the Egyptians’ keen observation of their natural environment.
6. Osiris, the “Justice God”
Osiris is the great-grandson of Amun and the king of the Underworld. He is one of the five primordial gods and one of the early gods of creation.
Osiris was a fertility god who gained fame, popularity, and influence as a result of the Osiris Myth, in which he was killed by his evil brother Set, “God of the Desert,” and then resurrected by his sister-wife Isis, “Goddess of Motherhood and Healing,” and Horus the Elder, before descending to the underworld and becoming a lord and judge of the dead.
He is the primary judge in the afterlife’s Hall of Truth, weighing the souls of the deceased against a white feather of the goddess Maat, the “Goddess of Truth and Justice.” Osiris is generally portrayed as a mummy with green or black skin, two ostrich plumes, and a beard, wielding a crook and flail of royalty. In Abydos, many ancient Egyptians opted to be buried alongside their worship.
7. Isis, the “Mother Goddess”
Isis, also known as Mut-Netier, “Mother of the Gods” and West-Kekau “The Great Magic,” has evolved into a super goddess with ties to nearly every element of humanity’s existence, death, and time. She was the mother of Horus, the falcon sky deity, and the wife of Osiris, the king of the underworld.
Eset, which means “Goddess of the Throne,” was her name. Due to the Osiris story and her real compassion for other gods and humanity when she appeared to them after death to guide them to paradise, she became the most powerful and famous Egyptian goddess.
She had a tail and a throne on her head, and she was occasionally seen breastfeeding her son Horus. She had a vast, strong cult that was adored in every corner of the globe, from Britain through Europe, Greece, and Rome, to Asia.
8. Horus, the “God of the Sky”
The son of Osiris, the king of the underworld, and Isis, the goddess of maternity and healing, Horus is a mythical sky god. Horus is an avian god associated with the sky, the sun, and the divine force of the skies. Because of the Osiris Myth, in which he faces and destroys his wicked uncle, he is highly renowned and well-known among the Egyptian kings as a symbol of triumph and order, and all the kings thought that they were the embodiment of Horus in life and his father Osiris in death.
Set out to avenge his father and restore Egypt’s rule and tranquility. His emblem is the Hawk, as well as the Wadjet Eye of Horus, which he sacrificed to save his father. Many people mistake him for Hours the ELDER, an early deity of creation. He generally appears as a man with the head of a big hawk or falcon and assumes the form of a giant hawk or falcon.
9. Set “God of Deception”
Set was a god of chaos, disease, and war. He had a monstrous head and a tail. People also called him “The Destroyer” and “the Instigator of Confusion.” People consider him a figure of evil because he assassinated his brother Osiris. After his death, Osiris became the lord of the underworld. This event brought a new era of gloom to Egypt.
Set was also a desert deity. He summoned evil winds to the Nile River to take control of the kingdom. He fought alongside Ra on his solar boat against the snake Apophis.
Set fought his nephew, the sky god Horus, for eight years. This battle took place at the site that became known as the Edfu Temple. In the end, Horus won and became King of Egypt. Set is often portrayed as a red, fox-like creature with hooves and a forked tail. He brings disasters like storms, tsunamis, and volcanoes.
10. Ma’at, the “Goddess of Balance”
Ma’at is the goddess of justice, truth, and cosmic balance, a central figure within the ancient Egyptian pantheon. She represents the fundamental concept of order and harmony that governed the universe and human society. Her influence permeated every aspect of life.
Above all, she personified the essential principle of Ma’at, which Egyptians strove to uphold through their actions. This concept was a key emphasis in their culture, from the pharaoh’s rule to the daily lives of common people. Egyptians believed that maintaining Ma’at ensured the world continued to function properly, preventing chaos and disorder. She was one of the most significant goddesses because she embodied this notion of balance and harmony, without which the world would cease to exist.
11. Nephthys, “Goddess of Funerals”
Nephthys is a funeral goddess. She is the twin sister of Isis, the wife of Set, and the mother of Anubis. People see her as a dark goddess, while her sister, Isis, is a bright goddess of healing and childbirth. Her name means “house mistress.” She is depicted as a woman with a house on her head.
People know her as a friend of the dead because she looks after their spirits. She played an important role in the Osiris Myth. She loved Osiris so much that she disguised herself as Isis to seduce him. This is how she gave birth to Anubis. She told Set where Osiris’ body was, but subsequently assisted Isis in resurrecting his spirit from the underworld, creating the divine birth of God Horus.
12. Anubis, “God of Mummification”
Anubis, the Egyptian god of death and judgment, is one of the most well-known ancient Egyptian deities. People also call him the Mummification God. He guides people through the mummification process. Anubis also guards the king’s mummified body.
He is the son of Osiris and Nephthys. People recognize him as the initial deity of the dead. He leads the souls of the deceased to the Hall of Truth in the underworld. There, they participate in the rite of weighing the heart against the feather of Ma’at. This rite determines their fate in the afterlife. You can see Anubis depicted on temples all over Egypt as a man with the head of a jackal, wielding a staff.
13. Hathor, the “Drunkenness Goddess”
Hathor, also known as the Lady of Drunkenness and the Lady of the Sycamore, is one of Egypt’s most renowned and influential ancient goddesses.
Drunkenness, joy, celebration, women, childbirth, and love were all goddesses to her. She is also a goddess for appreciation and thankfulness. Hathor is Ra’s daughter and Horus’s wife, and she protects paradise from Apep, as well as guiding people to Paradise in the afterlife. She is portrayed as a cow or as a lady with a cow’s head.
14. Bastet, the cat “Goddess of Beauty”
Bastet, a beloved deity in the ancient Egyptian pantheon, is the goddess of cats, fertility, and protection from evil and misfortune. People revered Bastet throughout Egypt and carried her talismans and amulets for good luck. She was the daughter of the sun god Ra.
In 525 BCE, the Persians famously exploited the Egyptians’ deep devotion to Bastet during the Battle of Pelusium. The Persians painted images of Bastet on their shields and drove cats in front of their army. This tactic caused the Egyptians to surrender rather than risk harming the sacred animals and angering their gods. This led to their defeat. Bastet’s legend also inspired the DC Comics character “Catwoman.”
15. Thoth “God of Intellect”
Thoth, a god in the ancient Egyptian pantheon, personified wisdom, knowledge, and truth. He invented writing, becoming the patron of scribes and libraries. People knew him as the “Lord of Time.” According to myth, he added five days to the year, allowing the goddess Nut to give birth to five gods—Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus—without defying the god Ra.
Thoth was a humanitarian for giving humanity the written word. In the afterlife, he recorded the final judgment during the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. Artists often depicted him as a man with the head of an ibis. His female counterpart, Seshat, was the goddess of books and libraries, and some sources call her his wife or daughter.
16. Ptah “God of Memphis”
Ptah, also known as Ptah-Nun or Ptah-Naunet, stands as a foundational deity within the ancient Egyptian pantheon. He is the venerable god of Memphis, the embodiment of truth, and the esteemed creator of other gods. His origins trace back to the First Dynasty period (3150–2613 BC), making him one of Egypt’s earliest and most enduring deities.
People sometimes mistake Ptah for the solar deity Ra due to his creative power. Artists consistently portray Ptah as a mummified man. He wears a distinctive skull cap and holds a scepter of authority. This unique scepter combines three potent symbols: the Was scepter (power), the ankh (life), and the Djed (stability). These symbols collectively underscore his immense divine authority.
Ptah serves as the revered patron deity of sculptors, artisans, and builders. His creative essence inspired countless craftsmen throughout Egyptian history. A fascinating fact further highlights his significance: the name “Egypt” itself derives from the Greek word “Aigyptos.” This word corresponds to the ancient Egyptian phrase “Hat-Ka-Ptah,” which translates to “Temple of the Soul of Ptah.” This linguistic connection demonstrates Ptah’s profound and lasting impact on the very identity of the nation.
17. Khonsu, the “Lunar God”
Khonsu, a prominent deity within the ancient Egyptian pantheon, is known as the God of the Moon and Vengeance. His name means “traveler,” a fitting title for the god who journeyed across the night sky. He is most often depicted as a mummy with a moon disc on his head and a uraeus, a cobra symbol of divine authority. In his hands, he wields the royal insignia of the crook and flail, emblems of kingship and power.
Khonsu was a central figure in the Theban Triad, a family of powerful gods from the city of Thebes. The triad consisted of his father, Amun, the king of the gods, and his mother, Mut, a powerful mother goddess.
People widely loved and worshipped him, especially during the New Kingdom (1570-1050 BC). This popularity stemmed from his perceived supernatural abilities, particularly his power to heal the sick and cast out evil spirits. His narrative and imagery have even inspired modern pop culture, including the Marvel superhero “Moon Knight.”
18. Khnum, “The Potter’s Creator God”
Khnum is the patron deity of potters and anybody who works with clay, as well as the Nile’s major source. He is thought to have originated in Nubia, in Upper Egypt. Khnum is the one who made people out of Nile River clay and then handed them over to Ra, the sun god, to give them life. He is depicted as a ram-headed god of fertility and vigor. Khnum stands out as an important god in the ancient Egyptian pantheon.
19. Hapi, the “Fertility Nile God”
Hapi is a key figure in the ancient Egyptian pantheon, serving as a god of fertility and the Nile River’s silt. He personified the annual Nile flood, a crucial event that ancient Egyptian farmers relied on to grow their crops. Without the flood’s rich, dark silt, agriculture would have been impossible. People depicted Hapi as a man with a large belly and breasts, symbolizing the abundant fertility and prosperity that he brought to the land. His appearance emphasized the idea of nourishment and the bounty of the Nile.
20. Sobek, the “Nile God”
Sobek, the crocodile god, rules the wetlands and marshes. He is associated with untimely death, medicine, and surgery. He is a well-known god in Egyptian mythology, especially in the Old Kingdom. People linked him to reproduction, fertility, and the Nile. They believed the Nile was Sobek’s sweat. This makes him one of the most important deities in the ancient Egyptian pantheon.
His cult kept live crocodiles. We see him as a man with a crocodile’s head. He ruled with ultimate authority from a mythical mountain. Sobek united with the god Ra to form Sobek-Ra and had a strong connection to the Nile.
You can admire artistic depictions of ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses. Explore stunning ancient sites across this civilization. Immerse yourself in a memorable tour of Egypt. You will find great stories to learn and share. Check out our Egypt holiday packages. Plan your trip on a beautiful Nile River cruise. Admire Egypt’s magnificent antiquities.
