Egyptian Pantheon

"Click" any of the alphabetical icons below to open a Name Index Page of all Egyptian entities beginning with the selected letter.

Egyptian Pantheon Name Index

 Egyptian Mythology was the religion of ancient Egypt. The Egyptian faith was based on a collection of ancient myths, nature worship, and innumerable deities. The religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians were the dominating influence in the development of their culture.

When we try to understand and make sense out of the many Egyptian gods and goddesses, we must keep two things in mind. First, early in Egyptian history Lower, (the north), and Upper, (the south), Egypt were unified under one ruler causing several cultural traditions to "merge" their thinking. Second, because ancient Egyptian civilization existed for more than three millennia, the deities and myths were modified, over time, as a result of new ideas, other cultural contacts, and changing cultural values.

We don't know why the ancient Egyptians chose to associate some of their gods and goddesses with animals or why a certain species came to represent a specific deity. However, we do know that, all of the animals that represented these deities were native to ancient Egypt.

One well known legend in Egyptian mythology is that of the god Osiris. According to the myth, Osiris was the king of Egypt who was killed by his jealous brother Seth. Seth then cut Osiris' body into pieces and scattered the parts throughout Egypt. Osiris had a faithful wife Isis who, along with her sister Nephthys, recovered the pieces of her murdered husband. Using her magical abilities, Isis reconstructed Osiris. But, Osiris could never again live like the other gods. As a result, he ruled as lord of the underworld and was depicted as a mummified king. His son, Horus, became the ruler of Egypt.

Because the legend of Osiris told of rebirth after death, the Egyptians honored him as the god of the dead. During the Old Kingdom Period, Osiris was associated with the deceased Pharaoh in the afterlife. During the Middle Kingdom Period, when funerary rituals became available to much of the population, all individuals became associated with Osiris upon their deaths.

	Web  not-of-this-earth.com