Egyptian Mythology

For all of time people have tried to understand why certain things happen. For example, they have wanted to know how the earth was created and why the day changes to night, along with many other things having to do with a wide variety of subjects. Today, people have scientific answers or theories for many of these questions about the world around them. But in earlier times, along with some places in the world today, people lacked the knowledge to come up with these explanations. They therefore explained natural events in stories about gods, goddesses, and heroes. These stories are called myths and the study of myths is called mythology.

In early times every society developed its own myths, which played an important part in the society's religious life. This religious aspect has always separated myths from similar stories, such as legends and folk tales. People may tell legends and folk tales for amusement, without actually believing them. But they usually consider myths sacred and completely true.
Most myths concern divinities (divine beings). These divinities have supernatural powers. Although unlike humans in this way, they are usually very much like humans in other characteristics. They share common emotions such as love and jealousy, and they experience birth and death. In many cases, the human qualities of the divinities reflect a society's ideals. Good gods and goddesses have the qualities a society admires, while evil ones have the qualities it dislikes.

By studying myths, we can learn how different societies have answered basic questions about the world and the individual's place in it. We study myths to learn how people developed a particular social system with its many customs and ways of life. We also study myths to try and understand why people behave as they do. Also myths can help us to compare different cultures to see how they differ and relate to one another. Also myths and mythological characters have inspired masterpieces of architecture, sculpture, painting, music and literature for thousands of years.
Most myths can be divided into two groups: creation myths and explanatory myths. Creation myths are those that try to explain the origin of the world, the creation of human beings and the birth of gods and goddesses. Explanatory myths are those that try to explain natural processes or events and also some deal with illness and death.
Mythical beings fall into several groups. Many gods and goddesses resemble human beings even though they do have supernatural powers. These divinities are called anthropomorphic , from two Greek words meaning, in the shape of man. Another group of mythical beings includes gods and goddesses who resemble animals. These characters are called theriomorphic , again from two Greek words, meaning in the shape of an animal. The last group of mythical beings has no specific name. These beings were neither completely human or animal. An example is the famous sphinx of Egypt, which has a human head and a lion's body. Many myths deal with the relationship between mortals and divinities. Some mythical mortals have a divine father and a mortal mother and are called heroes. Most stories about heroes are called epics , but what is different about myths and epics is unclear.

The Nile River plays an important part in Egyptian mythology. As the Nile flows northward through Egypt, it creates a narrow ribbon of fertile land in the midst of a great desert. The sharp contrast between the fertility along the Nile and the wasteland of the desert became a basic theme in Egyptian mythology. The creatures that live in the Nile or along its banks became linked with many gods and goddesses. The earliest information we have about Egyptian mythology comes from hieroglyphics on the walls of tombs, such as the burial chambers in pyramids.

Following is a list of the Major gods of ancient Egypt:
NUN -is chaos, the original ocean which before the creation lay the germs of all plants and animals. The Egyptians called him the 'Father of the Gods,' but he remained an intellectual concept. He didn't have any temples or worshippers. Sometimes he was found represented as a figure plunged up to his waist in water, with his arms up to support the gods who have issued from him.

ATUM -his name comes from a root which means 'not to be' and 'to be complete' was first a local god of Heliopolis. From early times his priests recognized Atum with Ra the great sun god. Atum was personified as the setting sun and the sun before its rising. His people spread rather widely through Egypt. Atum is always represented with a man's head, wearing the double crown of the Pharaohs. Unmarried, Atum was supposed to have fathered the first divine couple without the aid of a wife.

RA -probably means 'creator's the name of the sun, lord of the sky. Formerly according to the priests of Heliopolis, the sun god was occupied, under the name of Atum, in the bosom of Nun, the original ocean. He created Shu and Tefnut who later gave birth to Geb and Nut, who parented Osiris and Isis, Set and Nepthys. These are the eight great gods." Men and all other living creatures came from Ra's tears." Later when Ra became older he managed to put an end to the bloodshed; for the goodness inside him would not permit him to allow the entire human race to be finished.

KHEPRI -means 'scarab ( beetle)' and 'he who becomes.' For the Heliopolitans he is the rising sun which, like the scarab, comes up from its own substance and is reborn of itself. Khepri was the god of transformation, by which life renewed itself. Khepri is represented as a scarab faced man or as a man whose head is removed by an insect.

SHU -his name comes from a verb which means 'to raise' and can be translated as 'he who holds up.' Shu is the Atlas of Egyptian Mythology and supports the sky. Shu is also the god of air. Shu is always represented in human form. On his head he wears, a distinctive sign, an ostrich feather which is an ideogram of his name.

ANHUR -means 'he who leads what has gone away' it has also been translated as 'sky bearer.' It is believed that the god of Sebennytus symbolizes the power of the sun. He is represented with the traits of a warrior wearing a headdress with four tall straight plumes.

GEB -in reality he was the Earth god. Geb is often represented lying under the feet of Shu. On occasion his head is surmounted by a goose, which is an symbol of his name. Geb was assumed to be the father and Nut to be the mother-of the osirian gods.

OSIRIS - The Egyptian Osiris, was identified by the Greeks and several of their own gods. At first Osiris was a Nature god and took over the spirit of vegetation which dies with the harvest to be reborn when the grain sprouts. Afterward he was worshipped throughout Egypt as god of the dead.

SET -whom the Greeks called Typhon, was the name of Osiris evil brother who finally became the personification of the spirit of evil, in eternal opposition to the spirit of good. He was rough and wild, his skin was white and his hair was red.

HORUS -is the Latin rendering of the Greek Horus and the Egyptian hor. He was the title of the pharaoh in power. He was a solar god and represented by a falcon or a falcon headed god. The worshippers of the falcon must have been numerous and powerful; for it was carried as a natural object on prehistoric standards. The hieroglyph which stands for the idea of 'god' was a falcon on its perch.

HAROERIS -is the Greek rendering of Har Wer, which means Horus the Great, Horus the elder. In the pyramid texts Haroeris is the son of Ra and the brother of Set.

BEHDETY -is another name of the great empyrean Horus. Behdety is usually represented in the form of a winged solar disk; his followers liked to sculpture his image above the temble gates.

HARAKHTES -is the Greek version of Harakhte and means Horus of the horizon. He stands for the sun of its daily course between the eastern and western horizon.

HARMAKHIS -is the Greek version of Hor-m-akhet which means 'Horus who is on the horizon.' It's the proper name of the very large sphinx 60 feet high and more that 180 feet long sculptured nearly
5,000 years ago. He is a personification of the rising son and a symbol of resurrection.

ANIBIS -the Greek version of Anpu, was identified with Hermes, conductor of souls. In pyramid texts Anibis is the 'fourth son of Ra.' Anibis invented funeral rites and bound up the mummy of Osiris to preserve him from contact with the air and subsequent corruption. He was known, therefore, as 'Lord of the Mummy Wrappings.'

UPUAUT - is a wolf-headed or jackal-headed god. Upaut means ' he who opens the way.' He was also worshipped as a god of the dead. He was worshipped as Lord of the Necropolis.

THOTH - he was recognized by the Greeks with Hermes messenger of the gods, and was worshipped throughout Egypt as a moon god. Thoth is ordinarily represented with the head of an ibis. He likes to show up as a bird of this sort, but also at times as a dog-headed ape. Thoth was the keeper of the divine achieves and at the same time the patron of history.In Egyptian mythology Thoth is a scribe, god of knolidge, wrighting.

There are many goddesses in Egyptian mythology. Each goddess has a particular role. The role of each goddess is social or political. The Egyptians believed that if the goddesses were doing well, the people do well, and if they don't do well the people suffer as well. When all is well with people and gods and goddesses, when all is right with universe, Egyptians say maat is good.
Bast or Bastet is the Goddess of Bubasris. Her sacred animal is the cat. The Egyptians liked cats because they had lots of babies, they are strong and they are athletic. Bast is the daughter of the Sun God Ra. Bast protected Ra from the snake-god Apep. She is the delta goddess. Statues and pictures of Bast are of a woman with a cat head. She started at the second dynasty.
Buto is the chief goddess of the delta. Buto is associated with the snake. Buto is the cobra goddess. She protected the pharaoh by spiting poison on his enemies or burning them with her look. In early times her bite could kill the pharaoh. She is queen of all the goddesses. Buto is a symbol of the pharaoh's total power over the to lands.
Hathor is the goddess of joy and love. She is the consort of Horus. Hather's sacred animal is the cow. She was later fused with Isis. Hathor lives in the tree of heaven. She takes care of peoples souls. When a new baby is born she will know what will happen to him.
Isis is the consort of Osiris. She is considered the ideal woman, wife, and mother. She was later worshipped all over the Roman world. She is called the great enchantress because she has magic powers. She is the goddess of medicine. She taught the people how to farm.
Mayat is the goddess of truth justice and order of the universe. Her symbol is the feather. Mayat is responsible for unity and order in the world. Her statue is of a woman with one feather in her hair. When a person dies thier heart was weighed against a feather.
Nut is goddess of the sky. Nut is the mother goddess. Nut is said to be the mother of Ra. Nut's sign is the cow. She creates the darkness. She is the wife of Geb. Nut is the mother of Isis, Osiris, Horus, Set, and Nephthys.
Renenet is the goddess of children. She protects every child at birth. In pictures and statues she is a woman with a cobra's head. She is the goddess good fortune and riches.
Sekhment is the goddess of war. She is the consort of Ptah. She is associated with the lioness and heart of the desert. Sekhment defended divine order. She is called the Mighty One. She brings destruction to the enemies of Ra. She is the Eye of Ra. In pictures and statues she is a woman with the head of a lioness or with a crocodile head, or as the eye of Ra. She represents the burning of the sun.
Tauret is the goddess of childbirth. In pictures and statues she is shown as a hippopotamus. Her name means the Great One. She has the body of a hippo, the legs of a lion, and the breasts of a woman and the tail of a crocodile. She is the protector of pregnant women.
Tetnut is the goddess of moisture, rain, and dew. She is said to share one soul with Shu. She is the symbol of creation. Tefnut has the head of a lion and wears a solar disk. She is a protector of Ra and the pharaoh.


There are many different creation stories spanning over a period of three thousand years. As the Egyptian culture and civilization grew and changed so did the gods, goddess, and creation stories. Some creation stories contradict each other. In every time period, Ra is one of the most important of the gods. The connection of human beings to the sun god, Ra, is through the pharaoh. The pharaoh is said to be the physical and symbolic son of the sun god Ra. As pharaohs changed so did the aspects of gods, goddesses and creation stories. Examples of creation stories follow:

In a very early creation story, Ptah was the creator of Ra the sun god. Ptah's creation started as thought and then became word and finally became flesh. Ptah was the creator of everything. Ptah even created the images of the gods for people to worship.
A different version of the creation story is as follows. At the beginning of time, before the earth, sky, gods, or men had been created, the sun god lived alone in the watery mass of Nun which filled the universe, The sun god created by himself two other gods who he spat out of his mouth, the god Shu who represents air, and the goddess Tefnut, who represents moisture. Shu and Tefnut then had two children, Geb, the earth god and Nut, the goddess of the sky, who had four children. These were Osiris and his consort Isis, and Seth and his consort Nephthys. These nine gods together made up the Great Ennead of Heliopolis, the most important group of gods in the Egyptian Pantheon.

An additional creation story states that in the beginning Geb and Nut were one. Then Shu split them apart. Geb became the earth and Nut became the sky. Ra is reborn every morning. Human beings were created differently than gods and goddesses. The gods and goddesses wept and from their tears human beings sprang.
Another story says that the sun ages over the course of the day. Every morning the sun is a newborn baby. The sun grows older with every passing minute. By noon the sun is a full grown adult. In the afternoon the sun gets older and at sunset, the sun dies to be born again in the new morning. At the death of the sun, as night came, the sun was said to travel in the underworld through the night before rebirth in the morning.

In conclusion, it is important to know that the many divinities of ancient Egypt and the myths about them were not just important to the Egyptians of that time but also had great influences on the mythologies of many later civilizations. During the 1300's B.C., the pharaoh amenhotep IV chose Aton as the only god of Egypt. Aton had been a little-known god worshipped in Thebes. Amenhotep was so devoted to the worship of Aton that he changed his own name to Akhenaton . The Egyptians stopped worshiping Aton after Akhenaton died. However, some scholars believe the worship of this one divinity lingered among the people of Israel, who had settled in Egypt, and became an important part of the religion that was developed by their leader Moses. These scholars have suggested that the Jewish and Christian belief in one God may come from the cult of Aton.