- Amen-Ra
-- The primordial "Hidden God", he was likened to Re,
the Sun-god. He was considered to be the god of the air or
of fertility, the general source of animate and inanimate
life and is identified with the creator of the universe. He
was married to Mut and their son was Khons. Regarded as the
greatest of all gods, Amen-Ra had the form of a man, though
sometimes given animal features symbolizing his many-sided
character.
- Anubis
-- "The Embalmer", he was the god who watched over the
tombs, guiding souls to the next world and helping them before
Osiris, the god of judgment. He had a human body and the head
of a jackal. He is said to be the son of Osiris and Nephthys.
- Apep
-- The serpent who personified the darkness of night,
he symbolizes the struggle between light and darkness. He
is the monster found in nearly every mythology, who daily
combats with and finally succeeds in devouring the Sun.
- Apis
-- "The Sacred Bull" and a god of strength. Any black
bull found having a white triangle on its forehead was considered
to be the personification of Apis. Priests derived omens from
the bull's behavior.
- Bast
-- She possessed the attributes of the cat and later the
lioness. She symbolizes the mild fertilizing heat of the sun
though she had lunar and fertility associations as well- -
the lunar being a later Greek influence. Also, her son, Khensu,
was a moon-god. Most likely, she was originally a cat totem.
She was worshipped in the form of the cat.
- Geb
-- "The Earth", Geb was in the form of a male.
- Hapi
-- The personification of the Nile in ancient Egypt. Hapi
was important god as the Nile is where Egypt drew her sustenance.
In this aspect, he was beneficent, but he also had a destructive
side due to the flooding waters that the Nile could produce.
He associated with crocodile gods and frog goddesses. Hapi
was depicted as a rotund man with female breasts, a beard,
and a crown of aquatic plants.
- Hathor
-- "House of Horus". Hathor, dating from archaic times
or even pre-dynastic times was the Egyptian goddess and patron
of women, love, and of pleasure. She was referred to as the
Lady of Heaven and Mistress of the Underworld. She is a multitude
of mythological ideas including moon-goddess, sky goddess,
a goddess of the east, a goddess of the west, a cosmic deity,
an agricultural goddess, a goddess of moisture(Moon association),
water goddess and on occasion a solar deity. Hathor is especially
revered as a Moon goddess and the original form she was worshipped
under was that of a cow which is itself a lunar symbol. Later
she evolved as a woman with a head of a cow and finally as
a woman with cow-like features. She is the daughter of Ra
and Nut.
- Horus
-- "King of the Sky", Horus contains the ideas of sky,
Sun, kingship and victory. He was the champion of light against
darkness and he watched over the application of the law--
he was also the "shepherd of the people'. Considered the son
of Ra until later when he became the child of Isis and Osiris,
and husband of Hathor. As the child of Osiris, he avenged
his father's murder and regained his heritage. He had the
head of a falcon/hawk and the body of a man.
- Isis
-- "The Great Magician", Isis used her magical powers
in service of life. She is the Mother as well as the Protectress
of Love and Mistress of Destiny. Isis is credited with reassembling
the thirteen found pieces of Osiris after his murder by their
brother Seth. She was the daughter of Geb and Nut, sister
and faithful and devoted wife of Osiris, and mother of Horus.
Isis was represented as a woman with the solar disk between
the cow horns on her head and also with the child Horus sitting
on her lap. A vulture was sometimes incorporated into her
crown.
- Maat
-- "The Goddess of Heaven". She personifies balance, justice
, fundamental truth and cosmic order. It was she who planned
the definite path of Ra across the sky at the time of creation.
Ma'at was often represented as a woman wearing a large ostrich
feather which formed the hieroglyph of her name in her headband.
- Mut
-- "The World Mother", she is a primordial deity and sky
goddess whose name means mother from which everything originates.
Like Amen-Ra, her husband, she was given various attributes
symbolizing her universal nature. Usually she is represented
wearing the united crowns of North and South and holding the
papyrus sceptre. Her symbol was the vulture and she was portrayed
as one or as a woman with the head of a vulture. She was referred
to as the Lady of Heaven and Queen of the Gods.
- Nut
-- "The Sky". She personified the day sky and the vault
of heaven. She also represented the watery abyss out of which
all things originally came. Nut figured prominently in the
underworld- - the dead relied on her for fresh air. Nut was
portrayed as a naked woman covered with painted stars, held
up by Shu who was her father as well as Geb's. She's the wife
of Geb and mother of Isis, Osiris, Horus, Set and Nephthys.
- Osiris
-- He was the beloved god of vegetation, fertility and
resurrection but he was also worshipped as the God of the
Underworld. He was the husband and sister of Isis and father
of Horus. After his murder at the hands of his brother Seth
and his resurrection achieved by Isis, Osiris became the King
of the Underworld to serve as judge of the souls of the dead.
- Ptah
-- "The Creator of the Earth" who preceded even the Sun.
He created with his heart (intellect and will) and by the
power of his word. He was regarded as a healing god and a
protective spirit, the master of craftsmen and the patron
of metallurgy, construction and sculpture. He was married
to Sekhmet and their son was Nefertum. Ptah was portrayed
as a man swathed like a mummy. He personified the rising sun
at the time it begins to rise above the horizon.
- Ra
-- The great and supreme god associated with the midday
Sun, creation and with resurrection of the chosen ones. An
ancient god who occupied a prominent position at a very early
time in history. Re was usually portrayed with the head of
a falcon and body of a man, crowned with the solar disc.
- Sekhmet
-- "The Mighty One". The female counterpart and wife of
Ptah and mother of Nefer-tem. She inspired fear for she was
a bloodthirsty goddess associated with war and divine vengeance,
however, she also had gifts of healing. She was the personification
of the fierce destroying heat of the sun's rays. She was depicted
with the head of a lioness and the body of a woman.
- Thoth
-- "The Scribe", he was the god of wisdom, inventor of
writing and the patron of scribes. He was also the divine
mediator and messenger of the Gods. He was also present at
the judgment of souls in the Underworld, questioning the dead
and weighing their hearts. Thoth was a lunar deity and wore
a crescent Moon on his head. He is represented with the head
of an ibis and the body of a man, though other times he is
in the total form of ibis or a baboon.
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