THE 50 MOST IMPORTANT EGYPTIAN GODS AND THEIR STORIES - HISTORY - 2025

The Egyptian gods belong to an elaborate polytheistic belief system and rituals that were a fundamental part of Ancient Egyptian society. This system was based on the interaction of the Egyptian people with a large number of deities who were thought to be involved and in control of the forces of nature.

The Egyptian gods had a series of characteristics that differentiated them from the rest of the other deities. For example, in most cases these entities have traits of certain animals typical of the region's ecosystem; however, they maintain the structure of the human body. For this reason, they are considered theriomorphic deities.

Egyptian mythology is one of the most extensive. Source: pixabay.com

The influence of Egyptian mythology and its gods remained in time for more than three thousand years -although it had a series of variations-, until it was prohibited by Christianity in the year 535. Despite this, the legacy This culture completely marked the knowledge of both the East and the West, which is why it was very important.

Here is a list of the 50 most important Egyptian gods of this ancient culture, detailing their origin and characteristics. We categorize the gods considering the masculine, feminine and other entities of lesser relevance, but in the same way transcendent.

Egyptian gods

Ra

Jeff Dahl

Ra was the god of the Sun and was also properly represented as the Sun. This god is associated with creation since, according to mythology, at the beginning of existence there was only ocean until Ra was born from an egg or a flower (there are two versions).

After this, Ra begat four more gods, two women and two men: Shu, Geb, Tefnet and Nut. Shu and Tefnet created the atmosphere, while Geb transformed into the earth and Nut in the sky. Consequently, Ra is one of the most important gods since he allowed the origin of life.

Geb and Nut -that is, heaven and earth- had two sons and two daughters: the males were Seth and Osiris and the females were Isis and Nephthys. After this Osiris succeeded Ra, occupying his position as "ruler over all things." This generated a strong dispute between the brothers.

Osiris

In hieroglyphs, this god is represented as a pillar that has a series of circular projections of various colors. Osiris was considered like the deity of the death, because it had to watch over the deceased souls; he was also known as the king of the nether world and as the patron of resurrection and eternal life.

According to legend, Osiris had to die every afternoon and then revive in the morning. It is important to note that this god was killed by his brother Seth because he envied him; however, several different versions are known about his death.

The triad of Abydos (Osiris, Seth, Isis)

Osiris and Isis were twin brothers and husbands, while Seth was Osiris's older brother. Seth felt jealous of Osiris when this happened to Ra; For this reason, Seth decided to murder his brother.

According to some versions, Isis found her husband's body in a river or in a desert, and decided to revive it with magic; This is why Isis is considered the goddess of magic.

According to other versions, Isis discovered that Seth had divided her brother into 14 pieces, but she managed to unite them thanks to the help of Anubis and Thot. From the union with the corpse of her partially revived husband, Isis gave birth to Horus.

Horus

Jeff Dahl

It was a solarized deity with the head of a hawk. He was the son of Isis and Osiris; moreover, he was married to Hathor.

It was generally represented in hieroglyphs through a falcon, but this animal was also used for other male gods. His name is considered to mean "the very tall one."

Horus was the god of goodness as well as light. He was one of the most important gods in Egyptian mythology, which is why he was highly revered.

Seth

Seth represented the adversary within the Abydos triad. He is also known as the "lord of the south" and was often represented in a human form, although he also had an animal form that was quite terrifying to the ancient Egyptians.

Seth was honored mainly by soldiers because of his warrior spirit, wild and untamed. Taking into account some writings, it can be established that Seth had extensive powers within the battlefield and was very skilled in the area of ​​archery.

In later decades Seth began to represent all the hardships of man, so his name was avoided and only prayed during some performances of black magic.

Anubis

Jeff Dahl

This deity was usually represented as a man with the head of a black jackal. Anubis was the god of the dead and of mummification, so it was his responsibility to watch over the workshops where embalming was practiced; it also protected the canopic vessels.

Anubis was generalized as the god of the dead since he was in charge of guiding souls through the world of the deceased. Some consider that he is the son of Osiris and that he helped Isis to bury him and embalm him. In fact, prayers were found where Anubis was asked to protect Osiris's body.

Ammon

Jeff Dahl

He was considered as the supreme god within the city of Thebes. When he was depicted in his human version, he had blue skin and wore two long, broad feathers on his head.

For this reason it is also known by the name of the "lord of the head band", since the feathers are held up thanks to a ribbon.

As for its animal representation, this used to be a goose, but later this figure was replaced by that of a ram. Its main function was to protect both the king and all of Egypt. Amun was one of the most popular deities during the course of the New Empire.

Aten

User: AtonX

It was a controversial god since it was imposed by the pharaoh Amenophis IV, who wanted to establish the worship of a single god; therefore he decided to erase other important divinities such as Amun and Osiris. Amenophis IV wanted the Egyptian people to compare him to Aten, so he even changed his name to Akhenaten.

Despite the great buildings of Aten made by Akhenaten in order to erase the other divinities, the Egyptian people remained attached to their traditions, so they never fully accepted this new god.

Consequently, there is little information about this deity and only two temples remain built in his name; These are located in Karnak and Amara. Twenty years after the reign of Amenophis IV, Tutankhamun rescued the cult of the other deities.

Bes

It was an Egyptian god associated with cultural pleasures, which is why it used to be represented dancing and playing an instrument. In the paintings he appears as a man with feline features since he has ears, mane and tail.

He was a home god much appreciated by the people. Taking into account some sources, he maintained loving relationships with Taweret, who was the goddess of fertility, children and childbirth.

Hapi

Jeff Dahl

Hapi was the deity who represented the Nile and was exemplified through a human figure painted with blue and green colors of intense hues. Hapi wore a fisherman's headband at the height of the kidneys and wore a headdress made from aquatic plants.

This god did not enjoy much popularity within the Egyptian culture, reason why little information is had on him. Some consider that he had two wives: Mut and Nekhbet.

Khonsu

Source: Asavaa

This deity is cataloged as a lunar God, and was generally represented with a human form that used a side curl on the head, which showed his youth.

He was also often depicted in the form of a mummy, although years later he was exemplified through the falcon like Horus, Thot, and Ptah. The name Khonsu means "vagabond" or "wanderer."

Khnum

Source: Jeff Dahl

The god Khnum represented the annual flood of the river Nile; Likewise, he was the guardian of the caves where the river originated, according to the tradition of the Egyptian people. This deity had the job of opening the doors of the caverns for the flooding of the river to take place.

Khnum worked together with Satis, who raised the waters during the course of July; and with Anukis, who was in charge of making the waters descend during the month of September.

Satis and Anukis were his two wives. Khnum was exemplified with the ram, although he later took the form of a man with the head of a ram.

Min

Source: Jeff Dahl

It is considered one of the oldest gods in Egyptian mythology. He was usually the patron of those wild men who dwelt throughout the eastern desert.

Ancient prehistoric statues of this deity have been found. In these he can be seen standing with his member erect, which is of gigantic proportions and is held by the god with his left hand.

With his other hand he raised a flagellum; however, later sculptures appeared where he was holding a whip. Some historians claim that Min was identified with Osiris.

Ptah

Source: Kpjas image from the Meyers Lexicon

He was represented as a man who had an unusual beard, as it was yellowish in color. He wore tight clothing and his head was uncovered, although it was later drawn with different royal crowns.

Ptah carries a scepter, which is held in both hands. The feet are shown as if mummified, which implies a very ancient and primitive pictorial tradition.

Ptah is drawn on top of a very particular pedestal that represents justice. This god was the patron of all artisans and his animal was the Apis bull.

Sobek

Source: Jeff Dahl

Sobek was the divinity of water and vegetation. Likewise, it was very loved by the Egyptians and was very important in the cultural sphere.

The animal with which Sobek was represented was the crocodile. When there were many of these animals in the Nile, the Egyptians considered that the harvest of that year would be good.

Various prayers have been found to appease Sobek; However, being eaten by a crocodile was not a bad omen, but on the contrary, it implied that the deceased would be reborn in the afterlife and could access the lands of Osiris.

Thot

Source: Jeff Dahl

This god was very important for the Egyptian culture, as he was considered the inventor of writing; therefore, he was the patron of the scribes.

He was also considered the god of wisdom and science. In addition, he had the ability to measure time and establish the Egyptian calendar. He was the right hand of Ra and delivered the messages to the gods.

The god Thot is represented as an ibis or as a man with the head of an ibis. Due to his wisdom, Thot was the supreme judge during the assembly of the gods, so he had the power to intervene in the funeral ritual in order to record the result after weighing the heart of the deceased.

When an Egyptian wanted to go to Thot it was necessary to go to the priests, who raised many ibis. The interested party had to buy an ibis to fly and then kill it, mummify it and bury it; in this way, the message could reach the deity. Because of this, archaeologists have found several cemeteries filled with these mummified birds.

Egyptian goddesses

Isis

Jeff Dahl

She was the wife and twin sister of Osiris, who represented heaven. Isis is exemplified with wings on her arms, but she can also be found wearing a headdress that resembles a vulture with open wings.

It could also wear lunar horns in which a solar disk appeared; in the same way, paintings were found where Isis appears nursing Horus. Sometimes it is identified with other Egyptian goddesses such as Hathor, so it can wear cow horns on top of a human head.

Isis was the goddess and mother of magic, which is why some Greeks likened her to Demeter. Her temple can be found on the island of File.

Nephthys

She is known as "the lady of the temple" and was associated with the god Seth, although it is not known whether they were married.

It used to be represented with horns and with a disk that indicated that it was the lady of the sunny sky; She could also be observed along with her sister Isis. Nephthys is usually identified with Sekhait, who was the goddess of destiny.

Nephthys and Isis had esteem for each other and there was no rivalry between them, nor between Nephthys and Osiris. On several occasions Nephthys suckled Horus.

According to some documents, this goddess was a concubine of Osiris; Thanks to this union, Anubis was born, who was in charge of caring for and embalming her father's body. However, there are other theories that state that Nephthys was never the mother of Anubis, but only presented him to Osiris.

Bastet

She was the goddess of love and fertility. It was represented by the shape of the cat. As with the god Thot, mummified cats have been found along with some statuettes of these animals. Bastet can be found in Egyptian paintings with a human body and a feline head, wearing a tight dress.

It is generally accompanied by small cats and in some images it can be seen nursing its young.

Hathor

Hathor was the goddess of the sky, although she could also be the goddess of fertility; She is the daughter of the god Ra and was married to Horus. As for her representations, Hathor can be found exemplified in the shape of a cow, carrying the Sun between the horns. It also appears among plants and flowers, and can take human form and cow horns.

Hathor was involved with the celestial tree, since she gave drink and food to the souls of the deceased. Hathor was multiplied into various goddesses, who had the ability to read the future.

Heqet

This goddess is known mainly for her head or her frog shape. During the earliest period, Hequet was associated with Khnum at creation, but later became the protector of birth.

Maat

No machine-readable author provided. Jeff Dahl assumed (based on copyright claims).

Maat was the goddess of truth, order and justice. Interestingly, her name meant "straight", which hints at her personality.

Maat can be found in various representations, sometimes with wings or with other utensils in the hands; However, the emblematic element of this goddess is her headdress, since she wears the “feather of truth” on her head.

Mut

Jeff Dahl

The word Mut means "mother" in the ancient Egyptian language. She was the last wife of Amun and was remembered for being the goddess of war being represented through a vulture, although she can also be found in her human form.

Neith

Jeff Dahl

Neith was the oldest goddess in Egyptian culture. According to legend, this goddess was the mother of Sobek. Her representation was through a woman who wore yellow skin - a color that indicated sex in Egyptian painting - and wore a red crown. It can also appear as a cow.

His hieroglyph consisted of two crossed arrows along with their respective bow. Previously it was believed that these arrows were weaving shuttles but later it was discovered that they were magic knots, which meant that Net was a sorceress like Isis.

Nekhbet

She is also known as the vulture goddess. She was one of the oldest deities in Upper Egypt. It can be seen represented on the king or on the pharaoh while holding some royal emblem, such as a ring.

Likewise, it can appear as a woman wearing a white crown belonging to Upper Egypt; this gave him the pseudonym of "the white one." Nekbet was the wife of the Nile.

Nut

A. Parrot

Nut was one of the goddesses of the sky. She was the mother of the stars, so she was directly linked to the star tree; there it was hidden. In some representations, the members of Nut are formed with the trunks of said tree.

In the pictorial images, Nut can be seen as a large, naked woman, since her back is the one that covers the earth. Nut's husband was Qeb, who is known to have been the god of the earth and is depicted with plants emerging from her body.

Sekhait

It was also known as Sekhatet. It was the goddess of destiny, who carried a feather that directed the course of the world. Her pseudonym was "the one in front of the divine place of books."

He can be found represented wearing a priestly garment along with the pen and an inkwell, which were characteristic elements of his office. Sekhait carried two horns, implying her connection to the afterlife.

Sekhait had the power to write in the celestial tree, where he wrote both past and future events, which allowed to safeguard the knowledge for future generations.

Sekhmet

Source: British Museum

Sekhmet was the goddess of disease and war, whom the priests regarded as a dangerous lioness who could be appeased by fervent prayers. She was a descendant of Ra and was married to the god Ptah, with whom she fathered Nefertum.

Regarding her graphic representation, Sekhmet can be seen as a woman with the head of a lioness, whose headdress is a solar disk and a cobra.

According to Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet was sent to Earth in order to punish those who had the audacity to wash themselves; However, the goddess devoured too many men, so her father Ra feared that she would completely wipe out the human race. Ra ordered him to return to the world of the gods, but Sekhmet refused.

In order to appease his daughter, Ra had to devise a cunning plan: the god decided to place a kind of beer mixed with red food coloring on the ground. Sekhmet believed that the liquid was the blood of her victims, so she drank it. After getting drunk, her father was able to take her and take her with him.

Taweret

Source: Jeff Dahl

Taweret was known to be the goddess of fertility, children and childbirth. It looked fearsome, as its purpose was to ward off evil from both mother and baby.

Taweret was depicted as an upright hippopotamus with lion legs, female arms and breasts along with a crocodile tail.

Generally, his hands held the ankh. Both Taweret and Bes were painted on their headrests and beds, as these deities had to watch over the sleep of the sleepers.

Other important deities

Shu and Tefênet

Source: British Museum, Jeff Dahl

These deities represented the ethereal space that separates the land and the oceans. Shu was represented as a man who raised the heavens by using his outstretched hands or using some pillar of heaven.

Tefênet was his twin sister, as well as his wife. She was the goddess of the sky and was depicted with a lion. She was considered a true daughter of the sun god, so she was associated with Isis. It was also named after the mother of the moon.

Apis

Source: Photographed by Michael Holford. Original artist unknown.

The Egyptian religion began with an animistic basis, so animals were very important to this ancient culture. Generally, the gods were not animals but took characteristics of these living beings; however, the Egyptian people demanded to have a tangible god to worship.

Therefore, the sacred animal of the Egyptians was the Memphis Apis, which consisted of a black bull that had some white markings and a kind of triangle on its forehead. Sometimes she was represented with a beetle on her tongue or with the wings of an eagle.

According to legend, Apis was conceived by a ray of light that descended on a cow, which meant that he was the incarnation of the Sun and that he was associated with Ptah. He was also associated with Osiris.

Apis can also be found in Egyptian paintings wearing a solar disk on its horns, which linked it to some extent with the moon. This bull did not live more than twenty-five years, because when he reached this age the high priests drowned him in a source that had previously been consecrated to the Sun.

After this, the Apis was buried and seventy days later the priests found a new one.

Imhotep

Source: Abbildung aus Meyers Enzyklopädie 1888 - Imhotep Public Domain nach Alter Imhotep

Imhotep was not a deity, but was a pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty; however, this citizen began to be worshiped as if he were a god due to the legacy of his teachings and his wisdom.

As time passed, Imhotep became the patron of the sages and was closely related to the doctors.

Other minor gods

Aken

Aken was the god who was in charge of handling the boat destined to cross the souls through the afterlife.

Fetket

Fetket was the deity in charge of serving the other gods; in other words, he was the servant of the Sun Gods.

Hike

Source: AFF Mariette (1821-1881)

He was a minor god associated with magic and medicine. It was highly appreciated by the common people and by the pharaoh's sorcerers.

Hu

Source:

Hu was the god of the spoken word, which means that this deity represented the oral literature of this civilization. This encompasses all the sayings, traditions, legends and myths of the Egyptians. Furthermore, Hu also represented rhetoric.

Ihy

Kabechet was the assistant of the god Anubis during the transfer of the souls of the deceased through the underworld.

Mehen

Source: Book_of_Gates_Barque_of_Ra.jpg: Unknownderivative work: A. Parrot

He was a lesser god whose job it was to be the defender and guardian of the solar boat.

Mertseger

Source: Jeff Dahl

This deity was intended to protect the Valley of the Kings; that is, the place where the remains of all the pharaohs and other royals rested.

Qadesh

Source: Rama

This goddess represented ecstasy, as well as sexual pleasure.

Shay

Source: Heshbi

This deity was destiny personified, which means that the Egyptians gave an image and a body to this abstract entity. Like Qadesh and the last described gods, she was a minor deity.

Sia

Sia was a deity who, like Shay, sought to personify an abstract concept; consequently, Sia represented the perceptual mind.

The sons of Horus

Source: Jeff Dahl

The sons of Horus were also known as the gods of the viscera, since they were used to shape canopic vases, containers where these organs were stored. In all, Horus had four children.

Tayet

This deity was worshiped mainly by the women of the Egyptian people, as it was the goddess of fabrics.

Yamm

This god was the personification of the fearsome oceans.

Shesmu

Shesmu was a demon god who liked to ruin wine presses.

Know and Seqet

Source: Miguel Hermoso Cuesta; Jeff Dahl

These deities were the personification of insects: Sepa was the centipede god and Seqet was the scorpion goddess.

Reshep

Source: Gilded_Bronze_statuette_.jpg: Elie_plusderivative work: Eli +

Reshep was the god of war, specifically on Syrian territory. Sometimes the gods had their variations depending on the location of the culture, since ancient civilizations also absorbed the traditions and knowledge of neighboring peoples.

Sebiumeker

Source: Akrasia25

Sebiumeker was one of the oldest Egyptian gods who was often credited with procreation. The Egyptians dedicated prayers to him to successfully father children.

Satis

Source: Olaf Tausch

This deity was the god who protected both geographical and political borders and the different eastern territories.

References

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2. (SA) (sf) "List of Egyptian deities". Retrieved on April 1, 2019 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org
3. Albalat, D. (sf) «The Egyptian civilization. Myths and legends". Retrieved on April 1, 2019 from Universitat Jaume: uji.es
4. Arroyo, M. (2006) «Iconography of the Alexandrian divinities». Retrieved on April 1, 2019 from the Liceus Humanities Portal: liceus.com
5. Castel, E. (nd) «Great dictionary of Egyptian mythology». Retrieved on April 1, 2019 from Friends of Egyptology: egiptología.com
6. García, R. (2009) «Mythological Guide to Ancient Egypt». Retrieved on April 1, 2019 from Dialnet: dialnet.com
7. Lysette, K. (2014) «Ancient Egypt». Retrieved on April 1, 2019 from the University of Navarra: unav.edu
8. Swindells, R. (2017) «Myths and legends of Ancient Egypt». Retrieved on April 1, 2019 from Google Books: books.google