The document summarizes the major gods and symbols of ancient Egyptian religion. It describes the primary sun god Ra and the great Ennead family of gods including Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. It also discusses other important gods like Anubis, Thoth, Ma'at, Horus, Bes, and the Eye of Ra (Hathor, Bast, Sekhmet). Key religious symbols are also outlined such as the ankh, djed pillar, was scepter, crook and flail, and the crowns of Egypt.

1. By Nick Hypki

3. Ra (Re)
• Ra is the god of the sun
• Although there are many
aspects of the sun that are
represented by different
deities and their
composites, Ra is the
primary sun-god
• Thought to be the King of
the Gods

4. The Great Ennead of Heliopolis
Atum
Shu Tefnut
Geb Nut
Osiris Nephthys
Isis Set

5. Atum
• Atum was the • After creating
primeval sun god himself from
who created Nun, he spat out
himself from the Shu and Tefnut
waters of Nun
(primordial waters
of chaos), and
then created all
else

6. Shu
• Shu was the god • Shu and Tefnut
of air gave birth to
• Consort of Tefnut Geb and Nut.
• The feather in his However, Geb
headdress and Nut were
symbolized truth inseparable, so
Atum ordered
Shu to
separate them

7. Tefnut
• Tefnut was the goddess
of moisture
• Tefnut was the mother of
Geb and Nut
• Consort of Shu

8. Nut
• Nut was the goddess of the sky
• Consort of Geb
• Together, Geb and Nut had four children:
Osiris, Set, Isis, Nephthys

9. Geb (Geib)
• Geb was the god of earth
• Consort of Nut
• Geb gave Nut four children
before they were separated
by Shu

10. Shu separating Geb and Nut

11. Osiris
• Osiris was the king of the
underworld
• Associated with the Ma’at, or
the weighing of the soul
• Osiris was also the god of
agriculture and rebirth
• Brother and husband of Isis
• Father of Horus

12. Isis
• Isis had many roles; She was
considered to be a goddess of
fertility, and protector of the
dead
• Sister and wife of Osiris
• Mother of Horus
– After Set had killed Osiris, Isis
had to hide in the swamps of
the Nile River to raise their
son, Horus.

13. Set (Seth)
• Set was the god of chaos and the
desert, which also entailed
infertility
• Brother and husband of Nephthys
• Enemy of both Osiris (for
infidelity), and Horus (his opponent
in the battle for the sky and all of
Egypt)
• Set was not always depicted as
evil, in other variants he helped the
sun-god defeat Apep every night

14. Nephthys
• Nephthys was a goddess of death
and mourning, but was also
considered to be the female
counterpart of Set
• Nephthys also helped represent
the air
• Sister and wife of Set
• It was Nephthys’ infidelity with
Osiris that caused Set to chop
Osiris into pieces and scatter him
across the Nile River

15. Apep (Apophis)
• Apep was the spirit of evil, darkness, and
destruction; He was diametrically opposed to the
sun-god, Ra
• Every night, as the sun-god Ra traversed the
underworld, he would be assaulted by the great
serpent, Apep.

16. Ma’at (Maat)
• Ma’at was more of an
aspect, than a deity. What the
Egyptians called Ma’at, was
morality, or the weight of
one’s soul
• But, Ma’at the deity, was the
goddess of
harmony, justice, and truth

17. Horus
• Horus is the son of Osiris and
Isis, and one of the many
aspects of the sun
• After Set chopped Osiris to
pieces for sleeping with his
wife (Nephthys), Isis gathered
the pieces of Osiris and used
them to create Horus
– Horus later battled with Set to
try and avenge his father, Osiris.

19. Deities are Personifications
• "[Man] understands his gods as
personifications of the principles of Nature;
life and death, generation and production, all
these forces become the deities who rule the
universe. And, as we have seen, the gods of
Egypt were no exception to the rule, but
provide ample demonstration of it." (Shorter
127)

20. Struggle Between Sun-God and Osiris
• “*T+he whole history of the Egyptian religion
may be summarised as a struggle for
supremacy between two great elements of
Nature, the Sun (Ra, Atum, Horus, [Amun])
and the god of the soil, vegetation, and the
Nile (Osiris)." (Shorter 127)

21. Fixation on the Afterlife
• "[T]he majority of an ancient Egyptian's
aspirations were directed not to this life but to
the world beyond the grave. It is true that the
Egyptians wished for the usual amenities of
life, the pleasure, freedom from care, and
length of days which all mankind desire, but
the bulk of their religious activities were
expended on preparation for the day of
burial, and for eternity after that." (Shorter
128)

22. Book of the Dead
• According to the Egyptians, after death, the
dead had to travel through the underworld to
reach Osiris and be judged
• This journey could not be completed without a
set of powerful spells to help them travel
through the gates, and defeat the monsters. This
book was known as the Book of the Dead, or as
the Book of Gates
• These spells were often written on the walls of
the tombs of the dead

23. Post-Mortem Process
• When a pharaoh, or other important person
died, they would be mummified.
• The process of mummification meant:
– Removing the
organs(livers, stomach, lungs, and
intestines), and placing them in their proper
canopic jars
– The body was embalmed, and then wrapped.
– The mummy was finally placed inside the
casket, and put in its proper burial location.

24. The Four Canopic Jars
Four Sons of Horus

25. • The Four Sons of Horus were:
Ismety, Hapy, Duamutef, and
Qebehsenuef. These sons guarded the
canopic jars of the deceased
– Ismety was the human-headed protector of the liver
– Duamutef was the jackal-headed protector of the
stomach
– Hapy was the baboon-headed protector of the lungs
– Qebehsenuef was the falcon-headed protector of the
intestines

26. Anubis
• God of Embalming
• It was also thought that Anubis was
one of the gods that helped protect
the dead
• Along with Osiris, he was
associated with the weighing of the
Ma’at in the underworld
• Anubis is the offspring of the
infidelity between Osiris and
Nephthys that caused Set to
murder Osiris

27. Ammit (Amemet)
• Ammit was the beast that
devoured the souls of the
unworthy
• Depicted as a beast with
the head of crocodile, the
mane and upper body of
lion, and the lower body
of a hippo

28. Weighing of the Soul
The soul was weighed against the Feather of Truth
on the Scale of Ma’at by Anubis

29. Thoth
• God of writing, magic, and medicine
• Recorded all results of the trials in
the Hall of Ma’at, where the dead
were judged in front of Osiris
• Restored Horus’ left eye after it was
lost in the battle with Set

30. Ptah
• Patron of
sculptors, carpenters, masons, an
d other craftsmen
• Thought to have invented
masonry
• In other stories of creation, it is
said that Ptah was the one who
created the world and all of the
other gods

31. • Bes was the
guardian of
the household
and children
• He was
depicted as a
dwarfed and
disfigured
man

32. The Eye of Ra
• The Eye of Ra was thought to be many different
goddesses, including Hathor, Bast, and Sekhmet
– Hathor was also thought to have been transformed into a
leonine form (such as Bast or Sekhmet,) by Ra
• Ra punished humanity for their sins by sending his
daughter to slaughter them all
– When Ra finally realized what he had done, he called for
his leonine daughter to stop, but she was in a bloodlust
rage
– In order to make her stop, he flooded the fields with 7,000
jugs of beer and pomegranate juice. The Eye of Ra feasted
upon this “blood” until she passed out, saving humanity

33. Hathor
• Hathor was the goddess of
music, dance, joy, children, chil
dbirth, and fertility
• Hathor was typically displayed
as a cow-head woman
• Thought to have been
transformed into the “Eye of
Ra”

34. Bast (Bastet)
• Bast was the goddess of cats
• She was also considered to be a
protector god, as cats often ate
disease-carrying vermin
• A possible form of the “Eye of Ra”

35. Sekhmet
• Sekhmet was the lion-headed
goddess of
destruction, pestilence and war
• Was a fierce protector of the
pharaoh
• A more conceivable aspect of
the “Eye of Ra”

36. Symbols and Items
Items and
Symbols

37. Eye of Horus
• During the battle with • Thoth restored the Eye of
Set, Horus lost his left Horus, thus giving Thoth
eye an association with the
• His left eye represented moon
the moon, and his right • The Eye of Horus later
represented the sun became a symbol for
life, healing, and

38. Ankh
The Ankh was a This object is
symbol of commonly
life, and thus carried by
was called the Egyptian gods
“Key of Life” and goddesses

39. Djed (Ded)
• The Djed Pillar
was a symbol of
stability and
durability
• May have
represented the
four pillars that
help Shu
support the sky

40. Was Scepter
• The Was Scepter was a symbol of
power and dominion
• It was often wielded by the
pharaohs and the gods of Egypt

41. Crook and Flail
• Ceremonial symbols of power
wielded by pharaohs and gods
• Crook (Heqa or Heka Scepter)
• Flail (Nekhakha or Nekhata)

42. Crowns of Egypt