Egyptian Mythology

Tyson, Velasquez,and Castillo

Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient

Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods

as a means of understanding the

world.

Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses who

were worshiped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals

surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient

Egyptian religion, which emerged along with them sometime in prehistory.

Ancient Egyptian Deities

In different eras, various gods were

said to hold the highest position in

divine society.

Egyptian Base Gods

Osiris: is an Egyptian base god, usually identified as the god of the afterlife, the

underworld and the dead. He was classically depicted as a green skinned man with a

pharaoh's beard, partially mummy wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive crown with two

large ostrich feathers at either side, and holding a symbolic crook and flail.

OSIRIS

Anubis: is the Greek name for a jackal-headed god

associated with mummification and the

afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. He is the son of

Nephthys and Set according to the Egyptian mythology. According to the Akkadian

transcription in the Amarna letters, Anubis' name was vocalized in Egyptian as Anapa. The oldest known

mention of Anubis is in the Old Kingdom pyramid texts, where he is associated with the burial of the pharaoh.

ANUBIS

Horus is one of the oldest and most significant deities in ancient

Egyptian religion, who was worshipped from at least the late

Predynastic period through to Greco-Roman times.

The most commonly encountered family relationship describes

Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris but in another tradition Hathor is

regarded as his mother and sometimes as his wife. Horus served many functions in the

Egyptian pantheon, most notably being the god of the sun, war and

protection.

HORUS

Figure of a Horus Falcon, between circa 300 and circa

250 BC (Greco-Roman).

Courtesy of the Walters Art Museum.

Praised for controlling vermin and killing dangerous snakes

such as cobras, the cat became a symbol of grace and poise. As a revered animal and one

important to Egyptian society and religion, some cats received the same mummification after death as humans. Mummified cats were given in offering to Bastet, who is the Goddess of cats, Lower Egypt, the sun and the moon. In 1888, an Egyptian farmer uncovered a large tomb

with mummified cats and kittens. This discovery outside the town

of Beni Hasan had eighty thousand cat mummies, dating to

1,000th -2,000th B.C.

SIDE NOTE

CATS IN ANCIENT EGYPT

Picture: A bronze statue

of the cat goddess,

Bastet

Bastet also known as baast, ubasti and

Baset refers to a cat goddess of ancient Egyptian mythology

who was worshipped. She was the Goddess of cats, Lower Egypt,

the sun and the moon. Bastet may

have been the most important goddesses

in acient egypt.

BASTET

Photograph of an alabaster cosmetic jar

topped with a lioness,

representing Bast, an

eighteenth dynasty burial artifact from the tomb of

Tutankhamun circa 1323 BC - Cairo Museum

Egyptian Heros?The Egyptians didn't have the same

cosmology as the Greeks and Romans. There are tales of great deeds done

by the Egyptian gods and goddesses, but they aren't the same as the

Heroes and demigods of Greek and Roman mythology.

Most of the Egyptian 'heroes' would have been pharaohs who won great battles or did great things for their country. However there are many

myths.

Creation MythsAmong the most important myths were

those describing the creation of the world. The Egyptian developed many accounts of the creation, which differ greatly in the events they describe. In

particular, the deities credited with creating the world vary in each account. This difference partly reflects the desire of Egypt's cities and priesthoods to exalt

their own patron gods by attributing creation to them. Yet the differing

accounts were not regarded as contradictory; instead, the Egyptians saw

the creation process as having many aspects and involving many divine forces

The sun rises over the circular

mound of creation as goddesses

pour out the primeval waters

around it.Picture

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Hermopolis Creation MythThe creation myth formed in the city of Hermopolis focused on the

nature of the universe before the creation of the world. The qualities of the primeval waters were represented by a set of eight

gods, called the Ogdoad. The god Nu and his female counterpart Naunet represented the inert primeval water itself; Huh and his counterpart Hauhet represented the water's infinite extent; Kuk

and Kauket personified the darkness present within it.and Amun and Amaunet represented its hidden and unknowable

nature, in contrast to the tangible world of the living. The primeval waters were themselves part of the creation process, therefore, the

deities representing them could be seen as creator gods. According to the myth, the eight gods were originally divided into

male and female groups. They were symbolically depicted as aquatic creatures because they dwelt within the water: the males were represented as frogs, and the females were represented as snakes. These two groups eventually converged, resulting in a great upheaval, which produced the pyramidal mound. From it emerged the sun, which rose into the sky to light the world.

Questions?