Egyptian religion was polytheistic.The Egyptian gods can be understood in terms their cults and in terms of their cosmic dimensions.Most gods had cult places in many Egyptian temples.In most temples one god was linked with other gods.The temple was the resting place of the gods imagined as the image of the cosmos with the god's house.Creations of the Gods is the main topics of Egyptian theology. Several concepts are known tied to a town: Memphis, Heliopolis, Hermopolis. Cosmogony is a mythic tale describing the creations of the world and the settling of the natural elements of the universe. Besides the major cosmological systems there were also minor cosmogonies known to us from quotations to text they syncretized other known systems of the universal Egyptian gods.
Image Of Heaven
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| Ancient Egyptian Gods and Goddesses |
In Egyptian mythology Osiris is believed to the eldest offspring of Geb egyptian god of earth and Nut egyptian sky goddess. He was the husband of Isis, who is the Egyptian goddess of fertility and mother hood and was worshiped as the ideal mother by ancient Egyptians. Osiris was also the father of Horus.Osiris was one of the most important deities of ancient egypt.
Universal Gods
Some Egyptian gods were universal in the sense that there was no particular place with which they were connected, some of the universal gods started as local deities like god Anubis.
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God Ptah at the begining he is the patron of goldsmith sculptors and craftsman, he is considered as the inventor of tehnical skills.He becomes the creative god of Memphis.
Osiris is the god of the dead in the Egyptian mythology.He also represents the yearly revival of vegetation.Egyptians identify himselfs with this god. In the afterworld and to enter to his kingdom because he give a hope of eternal life.
Goddess Isis is wife and sister of Osiris and mother of Horus.
She is universal goddess with many roles who acts in all circumstances in the world of the living as well as in the other world.She belongs to the great Enead of Heliopolis. She is the daughter of Geb and Nut.
Sacred Animals
The Egyptians think that any animal is the receptacle of a part of the divine power.That explains the large number of cults of sacred animals: the Ibis or the baboon god Thot,the cat goddess Bastet, falcon god Horus and the jackal god Anubis etc. are the main ones.
God Anubis presides over the embalming rituals and is the intermediary
between the deceased and the Judgment Hall,the official guardian of
the necropolis.Principal place of worship is Cynopolis in Middle
Egypt.Representation : jackal or man with the head of a jackal.He is
the inventor of mummification ,a technique he invented to save the the
god Osiris who had be murdred by Set.Osiris was brought back to life.
Anubis have a several titles,all in direct relation to his esential
part in survival of the deceased, he is : "the Lord of the Mummy
Wrappings" as "the god of the embalmers, "President of
the Divine Pavilion"which is the name of the building where the
mummification ceremonies take place, "Lord of the Necropolis
" as the quardian of the tombs and the quide to the deceased in
the meanders of the lower world.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nennass1/8168441304/in/set-72157632013662376
Falcon God
The oldest Egyptians concept of god use a falcon or the hawk,he is protector of pharaons.
In the Egyptian mythology many deities are represented as falcons.
One of them is god Horus,who is several gods in one.He is a solar god and regins over the sky. He presented under the form of falcon next gods : Harakhty,Harmakhis,Haroeris,Hurun and after the land unification under the pharaons of Hiearkonpolis the falcon god of this town becomes the royal god. He is the protector of the pharaon who is considered to be the incarnation of god Horus on earth.
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Bastet the cat goddess is the daughter of the sun and eye of the
star.She incarnates the peaceful features of dangerous deities,such as
the lioness Sakhmet.Principal plate of worship : Bubastis in Lower
Egypt.
She appears under different iconographies according which aspect the
artist wanted to emphasize: a mother cat feeding her kittens a cat
sitting up or woman with cat's head.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nennass1/8184053879/in/set-72157632013662376
God Thoth
Egyptian god Thoth has many function and many powers. He is the moon
god, the inventor of writing
and science , the protector of scribes , the master of knowledge,the divine messenger and book keeper.In the afterworld, he is responsible for the proper weighing of hearts and he writes down the verdict on the sacred scriptures.He is sometimes depicted as an ibis and sometimes as a babon.
Cult Center: Eshmunen or Hermopolis.Other Names: Tehuti.
and science , the protector of scribes , the master of knowledge,the divine messenger and book keeper.In the afterworld, he is responsible for the proper weighing of hearts and he writes down the verdict on the sacred scriptures.He is sometimes depicted as an ibis and sometimes as a babon.
Cult Center: Eshmunen or Hermopolis.Other Names: Tehuti.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nennass1/8275988761/in/set-72157632013662376/
Obelisk
Obelisks were prominent in the architecture of the ancient Egyptians,
who placed them in pairs at the entrance of temples. The word
"obelisk" as used in English today is of Greek rather than
Egyptian origin because Herodotus, the Greek traveller, was one of the
first classical writers to describe the objects.The obelisk symbolized
the sun god Ra, and during the brief religious reformation of
Akhenaten was said to be a petrified ray of the Aten, the sundisk. It
was also thought that the god existed within the structure.
Sphinx
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The lion with human head called a sphinx. |
The lion with human head called a sphinx.Sphinx is general the symbol of the king or a sun god.As the incarnation of the pharaon it is supposed to fight against enemies and to protect people.As representative of the sun god on earth it watches over the western regions into which the deceased and the sun leave.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nennass1/8441648405/in/set-72157632013662376/
Goddess Hathor
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Wall fragments of a relief with scenes of goddess Hathor.Goddess with several functions: celestial deity,Lady of Far Lands,Goddess of joy, Mistress of the Theban necropolis,Lady of sycamore.The goddess Hathor has several iconographies: a woman crowned with stylized horns surrounding a solar disc, a woman with the head of cow, or simply a cow. Principal place of worship is Dendera in Upper Egypt.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nennass1/8212925309/in/set-72157632013662376/
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Relief
Wall fragments with scenes of goddess.
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Amulets
These objects are little figurines serving to protect the living and the dead.Living Egyptians wear amulets as pedants and the deceased have them placed in their linen wrappings.They are made of faience,gold,bronze,silver or precious stone.Their either represent divinities or hieroglyphic sings full of meaning: the Kheper - dung beetle or the girdle of Isis - protection or the Ankh cross - life.
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SCARABScarab symbolize a Khepri the creative god in Heliopolis |
Universal Master
In myths the creativ god of the Heliopolitan cosmogony is designated as Universal master - this is the sun god Khepri or Re and is can also be called Atum, Atum-Khepri, Re'-Atum or Re'-Atum-Khepri.Khepri is honored under the form of a dung beetle.He symbolizes the rising sun which is reborn every morning with Atum,the setting sun, and Re' the sun at noon he is considered to be creative god.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nennass1/8187374116/in/set-72157632013662376/
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Ancient Egyptian amulet, The girdle or knot of Isis - Thet/Tyet
The Egyptian goddess Isis protected the dead with a Carnelian stone
amulet named Thet, or Tyet. After being soaked in Ankhami flower water
and placed on the body of the deceased, Isis would grant the person
protection from harm while moving through the afterlife.
http://www.pbs.org/empires/egypt/resources/links.html
ANKH CROSS
Symbol of life and vital breath.
ANKH CROSS
Symbol of life and vital breath.
Ankh cross is often appears at the fingertips of a god or goddess in images that represent the deities of the afterlife conferring the gift of life on the dead person's mummy. The ankh symbol was often carried by Egyptians as an amulet, either alone, or in connection with two other hieroglyphs that mean strength and health.
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