Religion in Ancient Egypt: The Gods and Goddesses

(For the rest of this week we will be doing posts about the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon. If there is a particular pantheon you would like to read more about please leave the name of it in the comment section below. We will do our best to bring you more information about the gods and goddesses in the pantheons you are interested in.)

There were an incredible number of Gods and Goddesses in Ancient Egypt, one for almost every situation and place. Many of the Gods began as local deities and were later organised and merged with others to form either a Triad or an Ennead (nine). There were several large schools of theological thought in Egypt, and each proclaimed its superiority over the others. A ruling dynasty would often promote their chief local god to the chief national god. For example, Amun (associated with Thebes) did not become a major deity until the shift of power to Thebes in the Middle Kingdom.

Many of Ancient Egypt’s Gods and Goddesses share characteristics and epithets at different times in history. For example, Sekhmet (the lion Goddess of Memphis), Mut, Tefnut and Hathor are all given the title “the Eye of Ra” and given the task of protecting the sun god. There is often confusion about the different gods known as Horus. For example, Horus the elder was often thought to be the consort of Hathor, while Horus the younger was the son of Isis and Osiris. This is unsurprising given that the Egyptian civilisation survived for over three thousand years, and the religious system was constantly evolving.

To read the rest of this overview about the ancient Egyptian pantheon please click on this link: Ancient Egyptian Pantheon