EGYPTIAN GODS & GODDESSES By Kayleigh. G

Yo dudes! I’m gonna teach ya what all them Egyptians believed in all them years ago. When they all lived in fear of gods and goddesses, they ruled!

GEEZA GODS

THOTH

Thoth counted the stars, invented hieroglyphics, measured the earth and was the general recorder of knowledge. His beak was a symbol of wisdom and learning. The Book of Thoth contained two incarnations; if you read the first spell aloud, you would be able to have knowledge of every being and bird, and summon the fish in the sea. If you read the second spell, you could bring back the deceased.

OSIRIS Osiris was king of the underworld, master of life and

the spirit world. He was thrown into the Nile alive by his brother Seth, god of chaos, but Isis found his corpse and hid it. Unfortunately, Seth found it and cut it into fourteen pieces so Isis went to search for them. She soon recovered the pieces and Anubis, the jackal-headed god of embalming, gathered up the pieces and brought him back to life long enough for Isis and Osiris to have Horus, before Osiris died for good and was

buried.

HORUS

The falcon-headed god was son of Isis, he was god of the sky and protector of the reigning pharaoh. He carried a charm that could give or take away life. Only pharaohs and gods were allowed these.

ANUBIS Anubis was the mighty jackal-headed god of

embalming . He created embalming to preserve Osiris, the first ever mummy. He made sure that spirits could get to the afterlife safely for he was the “Guide of the Dead”. Unfortunately for him, he was replaced by the god Osiris in the Middle Kingdom. When the Egyptian embalmers mummified a body they wore the jackal-mask to represent Anubis while reading spells to the

dead body to keep evil spirits away.

RA

Ra’s eye was the sun so he was the sun-god. Nut swallowed him every night and gave birth to him every morning, he sails across the sky on his sky boat every day (the reason that the sun moves around the sky.) He battles the Serpent of Chaos, Apep, in the underworld everyday and sometimes invites Seth to help fight it.

SETH

Seth is god of storms, the desert and chaos. He is not a god that appreciates being ignored or avoided, although he has a positive attitude when he is employed by the sun-god, Ra, on his solar boat to repel the Serpent of Chaos Apep. He is portrayed as the usurper who killed and mutilated his own brother Osiris to take his position as “King of the Gods.” Osiris’s son and heir Horus, sought revenge on Seth for the murder of his father and the myths describe their battles. The death of Osiris and the fight between Horus and Seth is a popular theme in Egyptian mythology and resulting in Horus losing his eye, which

was restored and further known as the Udjat eye.

AMUN

Originally, Amun was god of the city Thebes-the capital of upper Egypt in the Middle Kingdom, but people started calling him “god of creation”. By the time of the New Kingdom, he was combined with other powerful gods like Ra, the sun god, and was soon named Amum-ra. Amun is sometimes spelled Ammon. Ammonites are named after him, because his sacred animal is a ram, and

ammonites are shaped like ram's horns. He was the most powerful god of all, “King of the Gods” and many pharaohs took his name.

Y’all enjoy that did ya? Of course ya did! Now me I’m gonna show you some girlie goddesses. Action!

GIRL POWER

NUT

Nut was the sky goddess. She was covered in stars and her body stretched across the sky. Every evening she swallowed the sun god, Ra, and gave birth to him every morning. She was married to Geb, the earth god, and they had Isis, Osiris and Seth.

HATHOR

Hathor was worshipped as the mother goddess of each pharaoh and during their death welcomed them into the afterlife. She was also a goddess of love and fertility. Hathor was worshiped by royalty and common people alike. She was the wife of Horus and together they protected the Pharaoh, often depicted in statues standing beside them.

BASTET

Ra’s daughter, Bastet, was the protector of joy, love, pleasure, pregnant women and the goddess of cats. The Ancient Egyptians had a great respect for cats since they guarded the grain from mice and rats and helped to reduce diseases spread by rats. Mummified cats were left as offerings at Bastet’s temple. When a cat died the family mourned it, shaving their eyebrows as a sign of their grief. If you killed a cat in ancient Egyptian times it resulted in certain death. On stormy days, or during an eclipse, the Egyptians believed that the snake Apep had been victorious and swallowed Ra. Bastet protected her father from this. 

ISIS

Isis was the mother of Horus, daughter of Nut and sister to Osiris. She was the mother to all and goddess of magic, fertility, motherhood, children, love, peace and medicine. Isis used her magic spells to help people in need. She is sometimes shown with her son, Horus, on her lap, this was the first throne that Horus ever sat on and often statues are seen depicting

this.

Whoa! I would NOT like to be Nut. All them stars stuck to ‘er and her body stretched across the sky. And don’t you forget she has to swallow the sun every night and give birth to it every single day, I dunno know how she does it! Anyway... Have to go, I’ve got this adorable niece back at me tomb and she’ll be wantin’ her tea! Oh, and there’s a mini game for you to solve when I go.

MINI GAME

Can you work out what this says inhieroglyphics? Clue: it’s my favourite

godIs it:A) AmumB) AnubisC) Bastet

CORRECT

Well done that ismy favourite god!

INCORRECT

I like this god, but it is not my favourite, try again

Click here to have another go