Ancient Egypt Religion

The Egyptians had strong religious beliefs. Two important gods of the Egyptians were Osiris, god of the Nile, and Isis, god of fertility. The Egyptians believed in many gods. They believed that many things held power. They worshipped gods of the stars, stones, and water. Each city had its own god or goddess. The local gods were not worshipped. They were thought of as someone to bargain with for favors. If you wanted your crops to grow, or wanted to heal an illness, you would take food or clothing to the local temple. The priest would take the offering and pray in a special language to the gods.

Aswan - The Temple of Isis

Edfu - The Temple of Horus

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Holy Family

Isis (mother) drawn as a beautiful and graceful woman	Osiris (father) king of the afterlife often shown with face of the reigning pharaoh
Horus (son)  often drawn with the head of a falcon traits - good hunter, can travel very fast

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List of the Most Worshipped Egyptian Gods

 

Ammut - part-crocodile and part-lion - fierce goddess

 

Amun-Ra - most powerful god of Egypt in New Kingdom; bringer of life - sun

	Anubis - jackal-headed god; god of the dead person; guardian of tombs and pyramids
	Bastet - daughter of Ra; head of a cat; goddess of joy

Hathor - cow-headed goddess - goddess of love, joy, women, childbirth, and music; protector of the dead

	Horus - head of a falcon and carried an ankh in his right hand - son of Isis and Osiris who defeated his uncle Seth in battle and became ruler over Egypt; sky god, god of light and heaven
	Isis - symbol is a throne - Osiris's wife and mother of Horus - goddess of maternal love
	Khnum - body of a human and head of a ram; ruled over the dangerous Nile cataracts, or rapids
	Maat - daughter of the sun god Ra; goddess of justice and truth (daughter of Osiris) Egyptians believed that after you died. Osiris and Maat would meet you to weigh your heart. The heart was placed on one side of a scale and Maat's Feather of Truth on the other side. Forty-two gods or goddesses would interview the heart. They questioned it about crimes it may have committed. If the heart was light with no hate, the person would gain eternal life. If the heart was heavy, the goddess Ammut would eat it.
	Osiris - wrapped as a mummy - god of vegetation and the underworld (death)
	Ptah - creator god; invented the arts (local god of the capital Memphis)
	Set [Seth]- god of the desert; brother and murderer of Osiris
	Thoth - head of an ibis (small bird), carried writing tools - god of the moon; god of scribes of writing; god of wisdom
	Tauert - wife of Bes; the hippopotamus goddess
	Sekhmet -head of a lion - goddess of war

Click the images to go to the individual pages.

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