Ancient Egyptian society was deeply rooted in religious rituals and traditions. Ways of life were based mostly on religion. They believed in a large number of gods and goddesses. Worship of deities constitutes the essence of their religious belief.

The gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt were a complex group of beings and ideas. Egyptian Gods tend to stroll around with animal heads, without the matching body. One god can have an enormous number of names, which can be often confusing. The list of gods and goddesses will run to an enormous number of pages. Therefore, only a few are mentioned below.

Amen, also known as Amon was considered as the universal creator. He was sometimes pictured with the head of a ram; sometimes as a man with a crown with two tall straight plumes. Amen, the great god of Thebes was the “hidden god”. His temples were situated at Karnak and Luxor. He was the god of fertility, agriculture, reproduction, and generation.

He was the god of embalming and tombs, protector of the dead, judge of the dead and god of the Underworld. His cult was very ancient. He was a jackal or dog-headed god. He was the god of wisdom, intelligence, death, embalming truth, justice, surgery, medicine, journeys, protection, boats, diplomacy etc.

Cats were worshipped as deities in Egypt. They were considered sacred and even embalmed when they died. Bast was the cat-headed goddess and the mother of all cats. She was also the goddess of sex and fertility. Bast carried a basket in her left hand.She was generally draped is green. She was often portrayed as a lioness, but sometimes with kittens beside her as she was the fertility god. She was the god of fire, moon, childbirth, pleasure, sexual rites, marriage, dance, music etc.

Bes

Bes was a guardian god and was pictured as a leopard skin-clad dwarf with a huge head, prominent eyes and cheeks, a curly beard, and an open mouth with protruding tongue. He was known as the protector of the dead and the protector of people from danger. He was the god of childbirth, dance, music, marriage, and good luck.

Geb

Geb, a fertility deity was the god of earth. Plants grow within his body, the dead are imprisoned inside him, and earthquakes are his laughter. He is more than a god of the surface of the earth, in fact, he is a god of everything contained within the earth.

Hapi

Hapi was pictured as a very fat man with pendulous breasts, dressed like a boatman with a narrow belt around his great belly. Egyptians believed that Hapi lived near the First Cataract on the Isle of Bigeh in a cavern. In June they made offerings to him accompanied by poetic hymns. Hapi was considered as the god of the Nile, crops, fertility, water, prosperity.

Hathor

Hathor was a predynastic goddess who was called “Queen of the west” and “House of the face”. Hathor’s appearance could be a cow-headed goddess or a human-headed woman with horns and cow’s ears. She embodied love, feminity and the joy of motherhood.

Isis

Isis was the supreme Egyptian goddess. She was pictured with dark hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. She was the divine mother of Egyptian pharaohs and Egypt as well.

She was the goddess of marriage and domestic life, the Moon, motherhood, fertility, magic, purification, initiation, reincarnation, success, womanhood, healing, spinning, weaving, advice, divination, civilization, agriculture, the arts, protection, and advice. She was also the patroness of priestesses.

Ma’at

Ma’at or Mayet was the goddess of truth and balance and was called “Lady of the judgment hall”. She was married to Thoth. She was often pictured wearing an ostrich feather on her head while standing or sitting on her heels. Her law governed the three worlds.

Osiris

Osiris was the universal god or the god of nature. He is known as the god who taught mankind the secrets of civilization. He was pictured with a tanned complexion and fair hair. He was shown sometimes standing, sometimes seated on his throne, tightly wrapped in mummy cloth.

Set/Suti

He was the god of the unclean, the terrible desert, the murderer and cruelty, evil, war, and the Underworld. He was known to the Greeks as Typhon. The animal associated with this god had long pointed ears and looked rather like a dog, but the exact animal is not known. Set was the god of revenge, death, cursing, suffering, destruction, and evil.