Egyptian Gods Essay, Research Paper

Egyptian Gods

The earliest tribal gods may have been fetishes connected with nomadic hunting or warrior

people. Their gods became local god and were associated with agriculture. One of the commonest

of the tribal fetishes was the falcon, which later became identified with the sky, maybe because the

falcon was able to fly so high. Horus, was the most powerful of the falcon-deities, his people

probably came from Libya and conquered large parts of Upper and Lower Egypt. At an early

period many falcon-gods seem to have been merged with Horus. Horus people were living

unconnected with each other in different parts of the Nile valley.

The first important gods begin 3100 B.C under Menes or Narmer, the founder of the First

Dynasty and the first King. Menes was a follower of Horus, the falcon-god, and the king of one of

the branches of the followers of Horus which had settled in Upper Egypt, and had become supreme

there.

The Egyptians said that the first creation were the oceans. After that Ra, the sun, came out

from an egg (flower,) it appeared at the surface of the water. Ra worshipped the status of religion,

the god was gradually fused with Amon during the Theban dynasties, becoming the supreme god

Amon-Ra. The earliest predysnastic tribes venerated many deities who were at first emboied in

animals ( such as the sacred cat of Bubastis),but who were later humanized. The most widely

accepted creation myth was that of the great sun god Ra, who appeared out of Chaos to create a

race including Osiris and Isis, and their son Horus. The most important of the many forms of the

Egyptian worship were the cults of Osiris, king and judge of the dead, protector of all; the sun god

Ra (symbolized by the pyramid). The group of Ra, was worshipped at Heliopolis, the center of sun

worship.

Amon, the god of Thebes, was usually shown as human. He was viewed (along with his

consort amenet) as a primordial creation-deity. Up to the time XIIth Dynasty Amon was a god of no

more than local importance, but as soon as the princess of Thebes had conquered their rival

claimants to the rule of Egypt, and had succeeded in making their city a new capital of the country,

their god Amon became a prominent god in Upper Egypt. It was probably under the dynasty that

the attempt was made to assign to him the proud position which was afterwards claimed for him

“king of the gods.” Word amen means “what’s hidden”, “what is not seen”

Amon was represented on five forms

1. As a man, when he is seen seated on a throne, and holding in one hand the scepter, and in the

other symbol of “life”.

2. As a man with the head of a frog.

3. As a man with the head of a uraeus (cobra.)

4. As an ape.

5. As a lion crouching upon a pedestal.

Symbols- ram, goose, bull.

Bes, was the god of music and dance, the god of war and slaughter, and destroying force of

nature. He was also protector of children. Bes is most likely African origin, although some think he is

Semitic (Middle Eastern.) Bes was usually portrayed as a dwarf with a large head. He is bearded

with his tongue sticking out. He has a flat nose, bushy eyebrows and hair, large ears. Around his

body, he wears the skin of an animal and its tall hangs down behind him and touches the ground. He

wears feathers on his head, suggestin an African origin. As a god of music he is sometimes shown

playing a harp. As a warrior he wears a short military tunic and holds a shield and a short sword.

Symbols-Lion knives, bells, drums.

Duamutef is one of the four sons of Horus, he was portrayed as a mummified jackel. Horus,

had a numerous wives and children, and his four sons were grouped together and generally said to

be born of Isis. Duamutef was one. The other three were Imsety, Hope and Oebehsenuef. They

were born from a lotus flower and were solar gods associated with the creation. They were

retrieved from the waters of Nun by Sobek on the orders of Re. It was believed that Anubis gave

them the funerary duties of mummification, the Opening of the Mouth, the burial of Osiris and all

men. Horus later made them protectors of the four cardinal points (north, south, east and west). In

the hall of Ma’at they sat on a lotus flower in front of Osiris. Most commonly, however, they were

remembered as the protectors of the internal organs of the deceased. Each son protected an organ,

and each son was protected by a goddess. Duamutef’s wole was to protect the stomach of the

decreased and was the guardian of the East. He was protected by the goddess Neith.

Geb, was the son of Shu and Tefnut and the brother and husband of Nut. Through Nut he

had four children, Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephtys. Geb, was the god of the earth. even so, Geb

guided the dead to heaven and he gave them meat and drink. it is interesting to note that while in

most cultures the deity associated with the earth and its bounty is a woman (”Mother Earth”,

Demeter of the Greeks, etc…), the Egyptians chose a male for this role.

He is usually as shown as a man wearing either the crown of the North or of the South.

Added is either the Atef crown or a goose. “The Great Cackler” It was said that Geb’s Laughter

was the source of earthquakes. Others images show him lying underneath his wife (Nut, goddess of

the sky) and his father (Shu, god of the air). He reclines on one elbow with a knee and arm in the air.

In this way he Symbolized the valleys and hills of the land, which was called “The House of Geb.”

He is shown either as a dark or green skinned man (the colors of life, the soil of the Nile and

vegetation, respectively) with leaves on his skin.

The religious center of Geb seems to be Heliopolis (Cairo), where he and Nut produced the

Great Egg from which the Sun-god sprang.

Symbols- goose, earth.

Anubis, was the jackal-god of mummification, he assisted in the rites by which a dead man

was admitted to the underworld. He holds the divine sceptre cariied by kings and gods. The god of

embalming is probably associated with the jackel due thei the habits if jackels to lurk about tombs

and graves. One of the reasons the early Egyptians sought to make their tombs more elaborate was

to keep the bodies safe from the jackets lingering about the graves. It is only natural therefore that

god of mummification would be connected with them. By worshipping Anubis, the Egyptians hoped

to invoke him to protect their deceased from jackels, and later, the natural decay that unprotected

bodies endure.

Anubis was the son of Nephrhys: some myths say that his father was Seth and others name

Osiris. One myth says that Nephthys got Osiris drunk and the result was Anubis. Yet another says

she disguised herself as Isis and seduced Osiris and subsequently gave birth to Anubis. Some stories

even suggest that Nephthys’ affair with Osiris was the reason Seth hated and murdered him.

Anubis was worshipped as the inventor of embalming, who has embalmed the dead Osiris

and therefore helping to preserve him that he might live again. Anubis also monitored the Scales of

Truth to protect the dead from deception and eternal death.

Symbols-jackel, embalming equipment, flail, flags.

These different,unique Egyptian gods are Egyptian myhology.

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