What are the main Egyptian gods

Except for the Amarna period, in which Pharaoh Akhenaten decreed Aten as the only God, the Egyptians were polytheists, which means that they worshiped different gods whom they worshiped for different purposes. However, throughout the vast history of this ancient civilization, different gods were at the fore as the most important, the pharaoh always being the representative of the deity of heaven on earth, so he was seen by the people as a being of special light and not just as a ruler.

The relationship of the Egyptians with their gods was very close, in them they found the explanation to natural events, to the turns that their own lives took, to various aspects related to the soul and human nature and to many of the things that happened to their surroundings, for this reason they were venerated in sanctuaries and unofficial temples, since only priests could enter the official ones, they prayed to them asking to intercede for them and they performed various types of rituals to get closer to their deities.

Although today we only know a few names, various archaeologists and Egyptologists agree that while this civilization lasted, more than 1,400 figures were venerated, at least that is the information that has been collected through ancient texts. During the more than 3,000 years that this civilization lasted, different deities were at the head, based on that today we can highlight a list with the main egyptian gods.

He is the sun god and one of the best known deities in our time, although before 2,400 BC he was only a minor solar deity. However, from Dynasty V on he was made a major god and in the main protector of the pharaohs.

Represented as a man with the head of a hawk, he was responsible for giving life to everything due to his connection with the sun, which is why the god Ammon, one of the most important in Egyptian mythology, would end up merging with Ra to become the great Amun-Ra.

In addition to being the god of the city of Thebes, “the hidden one”, meaning of his name, he was worshiped for a long time as the supreme creator and the most important deity of the Egyptians, however, as we have explained previously, he would end up being absorbed by Ra and become Amon-Ra.

During an initial period he was known as the god of the winds, that is why many boats had his name on the helm to find protection during their travels.

Osiris is one of the main and most important gods of the Egyptians. According to his father’s decision, this deity should inherit the kingdom of the fertile part of Egypt while his brother Seth he would reign in the dry part, but the latter could not bear the jealousy and envy that this caused him and decided to kill him, cutting his body into 14 pieces that he spread throughout the world. The sister of both, Isis, who would later become the wife of Osiris, was in charge of gathering all the pieces that she found by embalming him to make him resurrect again. It is the first sign of mummification in this culture.

It was believed that once a year Osiris died and rose again, making him the deity of resurrection and of the dead. Due to the responsibility of the Nile floods, he is also a god closely linked to fertility and agriculture.

Sister and wife of Osiris, she is the most important goddess for the Egyptians, the mother of all gods and the giver of life. She was considered the deity of motherhood and births as she was in charge of bringing Osiris back to life after Seth dismembered him.

Represented with the head of a falcon and double crowned, Horus was the god of the sky, the son of Isis and Osiris who had to be hidden by his mother because his uncle Seth also wanted to kill him to prevent him from inheriting the throne. He is considered as the high one, who fights against Seth to avenge what he did with his father, finally managing to kill him and become the god of the world of the living while his father ruled the world of the dead.

Together with his parents, he forms one of the most important triads of gods of ancient Egypt.

Represented both as a man with the head of a jackal and as a jackal, he is the nephew of Osiris and one of the first gods of the afterlife, being known as “the lord of the necropolis”. He is in charge of presiding over the mummification rituals and also of accompany the body of the deceased to the afterlife, guiding him to his final path.

Seth was the personification of evil and destruction in Egyptian mythology, this was mainly because of his decision to kill and dismember his brother. His head of a strange animal reinforced the belief that he was a dark God, however he was also the deity of the desert because it was up to him to reign in the dry part of Egypt.

For a brief period of ancient Egyptian history, he was considered a protector of caravans in the desert, however he was mostly seen as the god of darkness.

His name means the abode of Horus and, together with Isis, he was one of the most revered Egyptian goddesses. She was the wife of Horus and represented many of the good things in life: love, joy, music, dance, so she was very loved by the faithful.

• Apis: solar god of fertility and agriculture, is known as the sacred ox.
• Maat, goddess of justice.
• Bastet, was the goddess of births and pregnant women, with her cat’s head, one of the most revered animals in ancient Egypt, was an important deity.
• Ptah, creator god and main deity of the city of Memphis.
• Toht: god in charge of inventing writing and deity of wisdom.

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