Egyptian Mythology Essay, Research Paper

Egyptian religion is very diverse because of the constant growth of religious beliefs over many centuries of new ideas being put in without taking any old beliefs. To the ancient Egyptian people, this diversity of beliefs and gods was acceptable and the people looked to the images of gods as natural, animal and human life. On the top is the god of Heaven, Anum and Enlil, the god of the Sky. They are both supreme gods, king of heaven and earth. They are followed by Enki some name of the mother goddess, and three astral gods Sin (Moon), Shamash (Sun), and the goddess Ishtar (Venus, which is the goddess of love and war).

In Egypt, most of the religious history is written in the form of hymns, charms, spells and other religious tests inscribed on the walls of the tombs and temples, on coffins, statues and papyri. The arliestreligious writings were the Pyramid Texts written on the walls of the burial chambers of the fifth and sixth dynasty rulers within their pyramids. In the Middle Kingdom these were moved from the structure of the tomb to the coffins, so they were called Coffin Texts. In the New Kingdom they were replaced by the Book of the Dead containing 190 chapters which were rolls of papyrus buried with the dead in the coffin.

The Egyptian gods took the form of human behavior. They spoke, had emotions and sometimes went into battle. Some of the Egyptian gods took the form of animals. For example, Anubis as a form of a jackal and Sobek as a crocodile. They occasionally combined human and animal forms in one image such as the gods Horus, shown as a falcon-headed man and Sekhmet, as a lioness headed women.

This unusual aspect of religion created by the Egyptians is due to the fact that Egyptians were able to develop and progress their religion without outside influence. This is because Egypt had rievers which served as natural boundaries surrounding its country preventing other religions from surrounding countries to leak in and influence Egyptians. Egypt s gods covered all the aspects of their own lives which made them more real to the people, which made them accept them and learn to worship them as a part of everyday life. They incorporated the gods in everything they did, and from their point of view, the universe revolved around the gods so to speak.

It doesn’t have to really come from a book or anything, just look at the god and then think of what type of thing it was like in an ancient civilisation.

Ammon was an ancient Egyptian god. He was depicted as a human with a ram’s head. He was one of the chief gods, and was adopted by the Greeks as Zeus and the Roman’s as Jupiter.

In Egyptian mythology, Amset was son of horus; guardian of the south. His canopic jar receives the stomach and large intestines of the dead.

The Ankh was the ancient Egyptian amulet of life. It was usually employed as a pendant for a necklace.

Anubis (Anepo) was an ancient Egyptian god. He was the son of Osiris and Isis. He was depicted as having the head of a jackal. He guided the souls of the dead from this world into the next. He also weighed the actions of the deceased in the presence of Osiris.

Apep was an evil serpent in ancient Egyptian mythology.

Apis were bulls symbolic of Osiris in ancient Egyptian culture. When they reached 25 years of age they were secretly killed by the priests and thrown into a sacred well.

In ancient Egyptian mythology Asmodai (Asmodeus) was an evil spirit who killed seven husbands of Sara but was driven away into the uppermost part of Egypt by Tobias. Asmodai is also represented as the prince of demons who drove King Solomon from his kingdom.

Athor (Hathor, Hat-Her) was an Egyptian goddess symbolized by a cow with a solar disk on its head and haw-feather plumes.

In Egyptian mythology, Ba was the soul, depicted as a bird or a human-headed bird.

Bast was an ancient Egyptian goddess. The cat was sacred to her.

Bes was the Egyptian god of recreation, music and dancing. He was represented as a grotesque dwarf wearing a crown of feathers.

In Egyptian mythology, Bubastis was the daughter of Isis. She was represented as having the head of a cat, the animal sacred to her.

In Egyptian mythology, Duamutef was son of Horus and guardian of the East. His canopic jar receives the lungs and heart of the dead.

In Egyptian mythology, Hapi was personified as the Nile. He was son of Horus and guardian of the North. His canopic jar receives the small intestines of the dead.

Harpocrates was the Egyptian god of silence.

Hekau was a term for the magical formulae used on amulets in ancient Egypt.

Heqt was the frog-headed goddess of ancient Egypt. She was wife of Khnemu. She represented resurrection and was symbolised by a frog.

Horus was the Egyptian hawkheaded sun god, son of Isis and Osiris, of whom the pharaohs were declared to be the incarnation.

Isis was an ancient Egyptian goddess associated with serpents and the color red.

In Egyptian mythology, Khem was the god of reproduction and generation. He was identified as Pan by the Greeks.

Khepera was the ancient Egyptian god of creation who propelled the sun

across the sky.

Khu was the ancient Egyptian term for the soul.

In Egyptian mythology, Maat was the goddess of truth and world order. She was depicted as holding an ankh.

In Egyptian mythology, Memphis was the daughter of Nile. She married Epaphus who founded the city of Memphis and named it after his wife.

The Menat was an ancient Egyptian amulet employed to bring joy and health to the bearer. It represented the power of reproduction.

The Nefer was an ancient Egyptian amulet signifying happiness and good luck. It was made of red stone or red porcelain and was worn from a necklace or a string of beads.

In Egyptian mythology, Neith was the goddess of the heavens.

Nephthys was an ancient Egyptian goddess. Daughter of Seb and Nut, she married Seth.

In Egyptian mythology, Nut was the sky goddess and mother of Osiris by Seb. She was married to Ra, but also took Thoth for a lover.

In ancient Egyptian mythology, Nutpe was the sister and wife of Seb. She was the mother of Isis and Osiris and presided over births and nursing.

Osiris was the Egyptian god of goodness. He ruled the underworld after being killed by Seth.

Pehrer was an ancient Egyptian god.

Qebhsennuf was the ancient Egyptian god of the West. His cannopic jar receives the liver and the gall-bladder.

Ra was the ancient Egyptian god of the Sun. He was complemented by the moon goddess, Osiris and was identified by the Greeks with their own sun god, Helios. He was represented with a hawk’s head, over which is a solar disc. Ra was the son of Neith and married Mut, representing the interaction of earth and sunlight in producing vegetation.

Ranno was the ancient Egyptian god of gardens. he was represented as an asp.

The Sam was an ancient Egyptian amulet for sexual pleasure.

In Egyptian mythology, Sati was the goddess of the lower heavens (the air).

The Scarab was an Egyptian amulet associated with Khepera.

In Egyptian mythology, Seb was the earth god. He was the father of Osiris and the son of Ra. Seb married his own sister, Nutpe.

In Egyptian mythology, Serapis was another name for Osiris, and was known as the judge of the underworld.

In Egyptian mythology, Seth (Set) was the devil and enemy of Osiris. Antelope (symbols of Osiris and Horus) were sacrificed to him.

The Shen was an ancient Egyptian amulet representing the sun’s orbit and symbolizing eternity.

The Sphinx is a monster which appears in both Greek and Egyptian mythology. Both sphinx have the body of a lion and the head of a woman. The Greek sphinx has wings, the Egyptian does not. In Greek mythology, the Sphinx posed a riddle to all who seek to pass. This riddle was at last explained by Edipus, where upon the Sphinx destroyed itself. The Egyptian Sphinx was a goddess of wisdom and knowledge.

The Tet was an ancient Egyptian amulet representing the tree trunk in which the goddess Isis concealed the body of her dead husband.

Thoth was the ancient Egyptian god of wisdom. He was a lover of Nut, and playing draughts with the moon won from her a seventy second part of every day which he compounded into five days which he added to the original Egyptian calendar of 360 days.

In Egyptian mythology, Ubasti was the goddess of the kindly sun, merriment, mental-health, music and dance. The guardian of pregnant women.

The Utchat, or amulet of the eye of Horus was a common amulet in ancient Egypt. Traditionally there were two variations, one facing right and the other left, together representing the two eyes of Horus or Ra and Osiris. The Utchat was generally worn around the neck with the intention of deriving strength, vigor, protection, safety and good health from it.