The Gods and Goddesses
There were hundreds of deities in the Egyptian
pantheon. Here are some who represent the three main categories of
state, local, and household gods.
State Gods GODS OF THE ELEMENTS According to the Heliopolitan cosmogony, Atum (“the Complete One”) emerged from the primeval ocean (Nun) either as the son of Nun or by self-creation to bring forth the world from himself. His first act was to bring into existence the mound (“Island of Creation”) on which he first stood; this was believed to be the location of the later temple of Heliopolis. As the earliest god to be worshiped at this center Atum was later associated with the sun god Re, to become Re-Atum, and was subsequently worshiped as a sun god. Since he was alone in the world, Atum had to create other gods from his own substance, and he proceeded to give birth to his son Shu (god of the air) by spitting him out and to his daughter Tefnut (goddess of moisture) by vomiting her forth. Shu and Tefnut carried on the creative cycle, and from their union a son Geb (the earth god) and daughter Nut (the sky goddess) were born; their arrival completed all the cosmic elements necessary for creation (light, air, moisture, earth, and heaven). Geb and Nut in turn became the parents of two sons, Osiris and Seth, and two daughters, Isis and Nephthys, who were not cosmic deities. These gods made up the Heliopolitan Ennead (group of nine gods); this Heliopolitan cosmogony was the most famous of the creation myths. Osiris married Isis, and Seth became the husband of Nephthys; the mythology surrounding Osiris’s family is one of the greatest religious sources from ancient Egypt. .
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OSIRIS
Although Osiris was one of the greatest gods, the Myth of Osiris is
preserved completely only in Plutarch’s writings, De Iside et
Osiride. This relates how Osiris was an early human king who ruled
Egypt and brought civilization and agriculture to the people.
Murdered by his jealous brother Seth, Osiris’s body was dismembered
and scattered throughout Egypt. Isis (his sisterwife), however,
gathered together and magically reunited his limbs and then
posthumously conceived Osiris’s son Horus. When grown, Horus sought
to avenge his father’s death by fighting Seth in a bloody conflict.
Eventually their dispute was brought before the tribunal of gods
whose judgment favored Osiris and Horus. Osiris was resurrected and
continued his existence in the underworld where he became king and
judge of the dead, while Horus became king of the living; Seth, now
identified as the “Evil One,” was banished. In the Middle Kingdom
the cult of Osiris became widespread and important; it offered
resurrection and eternal life to followers who had lived according
to the rules and emphasized that goodness rather than wealth ensured
immortality. The two great cult centers of Osiris were Busiris and
Abydos, which became a place of pilgrimage. The cult of Osiris had a
profound effect on religious belief and practices, and the triad of
Osiris, Isis, and Horus became a symbol of family virtues. Osiris
and Horus were also directly associated with the concept of
kingship, and Isis became the supreme mother goddess.
. THE GODS OF MEMPHIS Ptah was the creator of the universe and master of destiny according to the Memphite creation myth. He absorbed the functions of all the other gods and established ethics and morals, as well as creating food and drink, towns and buildings, and the forms and images of the gods. He achieved this through divine utterance. He is always shown in completely human form as a mummy. Later he acquired funerary characteristics and was associated with Osiris and with Sokar, the hawk-headed guardian of the Memphite necropolis. He was also worshiped in animal form as the Apis bull. This cult was practiced at Memphis where a bull selected because of its distinctive markings was kept in a sacred stall and, after death, mummified and buried in a special gallery (the Serapeum) at Saqqara. Ptah, however, never received widespread acclaim because his worship lacked a mythology that had popular appeal. Ptah’s wife was the lioness goddess Sekhmet; their son was Nefertem, often shown as a youth seated upon or crowned with a lotus flower. . THE THEBAN TRIAD Amun, chief god of Thebes, was originally one of the eight gods of Hermopolis. His cult increased in importance at Thebes from Dynasty 12, when a temple was built there for his worship. In Dynasty 18, when a family of Theban princes became kings of Egypt, Amun’s cult reached unprecedented status. He became associated with and absorbed the characteristics of Re of Heliopolis to form the deity Amen-Re. Although briefly eclipsed as supreme state god by the Aten toward the end of Dynasty 18, Amun was soon reinstated as the great royal deity who was “Father of the Gods” and ruler of Egypt and the peoples of its empire. The conflict between the status and power of the king and of Amun was never resolved. Amun’s consort Mut had an important center (the Temple of Luxor) near Amun’s great complex at Karnak. Their son Khonsu was the moon god. . THE CULT OF THE ATEN In the reign of Amenhotep IV (Akhenaten), the cult of the Aten (“sun’s disk”) became a form of monotheism; the temples of other gods were closed down and their priests were disbanded. The worship of the Aten was centered at a new capital city, Akhetaten (Tell el-Amarna). Although the doctrine of Atenism included some new concepts, many of the ideas, such as the god’s international role and association with plant and animal life, were developments of earlier beliefs. .
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ASSISTANT GODS
Some deities played important roles as assistants
in the major mythologies. Thoth, the ibis-headed scribal god of
wisdom and writing, had an important cult and creation mythology
associated with Hermopolis. He also featured in the mythologies of
Ptah at Memphis, Re at Heliopolis, and Osiris. In the Osirian
Judgment of the Dead he recorded the verdict of the Negative
Confession. Anubis, the jackalheaded god of cemeteries and
embalming, also assisted at this occasion, weighing the heart of the
deceased in the balance.
. Local Gods Some gods retained only a local importance and were worshiped in temples at particular sites. Sobek, the crocodile god, was a form of Seth and had temples at various places, but particularly in the Fayoum and at Kom Ombo. Montu, the falcon-headed god of war, was worshiped at Armant, but in Dynasty 11 he was elevated to become the protector of the royal line that originated there. These are just two examples of a wide range of local gods. . Household Gods Some deities did not receive temple cults but nevertheless played an important part in protecting and comforting people of all classes. They were worshiped at shrines in the home. The best known are Bes and his consort Tauert. Bes, represented as an ugly dwarf wearing a feathered crown, protected children and women in childbirth; he was the god of marriage and jollification. Tauert, shown as a pregnant female hippopotamus, was a symbol of fecundity and assisted all females (divine, royal, or ordinary) in childbirth. (A discussion of household gods and domestic worship follows later in this chapter.) .
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The Gods and Goddesses
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