Puzzling Ancient Egyptian Gods That We Are Still Trying To Figure Out Today

essential Egyptian gods from ancient times the original king of the gods in ancient Egypt was called a boon the first historical records of his worship came in the Pyramid Texts found in Thebes and mentioned in a mu net his goddess consort these were created somewhere between 24 20 and 2300 BCE in the beginning he seemed only focused on Thebes itself although a warrior God named Montu was the Supreme God in that city raaah the Sun God who was also known as a tomb was also prominently featured in the area ra's started out as the supreme power who created himself out of the beginning of all things at the creation of the world a moon protected the king in his consort were just two of eight different gods who had been created after raw and represented important elements in the natural world a moon although also associated with fertility represented obscurity or something hidden instead of a more tangible type of element like water or darkness he was the obscure one this belief left a moon opened to interpretation to some degree people could use him for a variety of reasons depending upon what they needed at the time if a God represented water for example the people could not worship Him to get more sunlight to grow their crops a God who represents obscurity could basically serve any purpose that people wanted him to this was how a moon became one of the most powerful gods in the entire pantheon the second Intermediate Period which lasted from around 1780 to 1570 BCE started when the East Coast's people came to Egypt and basically took over they ruled the area and the lower part of the Egyptian civilization at the time Thebes was no longer the seat of power in the region eventually these people were driven out of the area again and Thebes was reestablished as the basic capital of ancient Egypt as soon as thieves took power again the old gods became more prominent in new and interesting ways a moon con su and moot became the three deities who ruled over the city cone su was associated with the moon and moot was his consort the former flexibility or obscurity of a moons focus was redefined as representative of the one thing that gave all life people of Egypt namely the Sun his name was changed to a moon raw and he then became the creator of everything and the lead god that ruled over all the rest who not only created the people the world and everything in it but he also created himself in many ways a moon replaced a tomb completely in purpose but not in representation people still worship both in different places and for different reasons a moon Rob became the most important god to all the people of Egypt one of the oldest gods in the ancient Egyptian Pantheon Anubis has been seen on tombs and other buildings and artwork throughout the pre-dynastic period from 6000 BCE through the first dynasty in the 3000 s BCE all the way into the Middle Kingdom which ended around 1780 BCE this jackal-headed God is the deity that represents and rules over the afterlife lost souls and helpless people the general idea was that Anubis would look after the souls of the dead especially royalty and protect them so they could reach the afterlife successfully Anubis is appearance as a half man half jackal was undoubtedly created with the protection of tombs in mind from wild dogs and jackals who may have dug up graves he has pointed ears black skin and many muscles to make him look fierce and strong jackals are of course not black in color so it's assumed that Anubis was black because the color was associated with both fertile soil and decay these symbolism matched both the idea of the body decaying after death and burial unless mummified and the life-giving ground that would allow them to regenerate or grow into their new afterlife one of his monikers was first of the Westerners given not because he was associated with the literal West but because departed souls would follow the Sun westward as it's set in the evening later on Osiris would take this name Anubis is origin originally stated that he was the son of rah of the Sun God when he was later transformed or assimilated into the Osiris story his progeny changed as well because being depicted on tomb walls for protection he would also stand aside other gods that were responsible for weighing the heart and soul of the departed person to help them find their way into an appropriate afterlife he was often shown holding the scales that would compare a person's heart and soul to the white feather of truth to see if they were worthy of going west his daughter the goddess cubit was responsible for comforting new Souls and bringing them cool water to drink Anubis which comes from the word decay was called many things throughout his time of importance in ancient Egypt besides first of the Westerners he was also called he who is upon his sacred mountain Lord of the sacred land and the dog who swallows millions other monikers reference the necropolis on the desert island across the Nile his association with captives brought to the Egyptian rulers from other lands and embalming practices and his important position in the burial chamber itself all of these names and more worked together to indicate just how important Anubis was to the old concept of life and death in Egypt Hoppe besides the Sun life and death the next most important thing in ancient Egypt was water and the fertility it brought to the land around the Nile River the God that represented these things was called hoppy although representative of something incredibly important people and the world back then he was not always worshipped by the entire region his popularity increased dear gamble and Seeley Sela and aswan nevertheless Hoppe was considered the patron god of both lower and upper egypt and was given two separate names to represent each area most of the depictions of Hoppe show him associated with water closely ez they're carrying a jug and pouring out of water on the land or handling the two water plants that represented Upper and Lower Egypt the papyrus and Lotus many of the depictions of this important God show him tying the two plants together in a knot to symbolize the joining of the two parts of the kingdom this bringing together and his association with water elevated Hoppe to great importance in the Egyptian pantheon interestingly enough despite his appearance in many artifacts and paintings no archaeologist has found a temple dedicated solely to him hobby was referenced in the Pyramid Texts and associated with other smaller gods that served Islands and various other regions of Egypt instead of describing exactly what the God does these texts exist to implore them with special favors that would benefit the people of Egypt namely they want a good inundation which would have been the flood that the Nile experienced every year that deposited fertile soil across the planting fields and irrigated the land these floods were often called the arrival of hoppy records showed that people would increase the worship of the God at that time in place statues around the city and towns to convince him to make it flood effectively offerings thrown into the river were also intended for the gods pleasure other gods were responsible for the Nile River itself its source and the silt that would end up on the crop fields after the flood Hoppe was responsible for the water that carried the silt the incredible importance of water to this ancient civilization was reflected in some temporary or local opinions of Hoppe as the source of all things the Sun God raw was said to have emerged from the waters of the primeval world which convinced some people that hampi existed before the high God himself hoppy özil had an association with Osiris because the water of the Nile was the source of fertility for crops and therefore people some claimed that Isis was hobby's wife in the ancient Egyptian pantheon many of the gods and goddesses had interchangeable names or smaller beauties where considered aspects of larger ones therefore Hoppe was also associated with lesser goddesses like Y jet and NECA Bette who were considered a part of Isis herself the artistic depictions of Hoppe showed a rotund man with a Pharaohs false beard feminine breasts and green or blue skin other than the beard which obviously associates him with royalty all other characteristics point to water and fertility in his role as the patron of the different parts of the Egyptian kingdom he's often shown with papyrus and lotuses displayed on his headdress or in his hands Hathor although gods do outrank goddesses in the ancient Egyptian Pantheon the female deities were not relegated to lesser status at the time Hathor who was called the great one of many names was one of the most well known even though she was as the moniker suggests called other things during her reign in fact she had so many different names and titles that she seems to have touched on every aspect of Egyptian life and everything that they found important it makes sense that many people worshipped earth throughout the pre-dynastic period her popularity continued throughout the other kingdoms and times her first depiction is on the Narmer palette although some historians argue that the goddess shown there is bought instead of hathor who ended up assimilating the former goddess over time in a giza temple called Khafre Hathor is shown side-by-side with Bossk they represent upper egypt and lower egypt respectively although ha Thor's diversity of purpose has been demonstrated through many archaeological finds she seems to have begun her reign as the living symbol of the milky way the ancient Egyptians believed this was a stream of heavenly milk that came from a holy cow as happened frequently in the Egyptian religious practices Hathor absorbed smaller goddesses and took on their attributes as well as her original one she was closely associated with stars Sirius and 3rd month in the calendar system that the Egyptians used she was also called mistress of the heavens and was sometimes depicted as a cow or a fig because the plant has a white juice or SAP her connection with milk cost included concepts of womanhood fertility motherhood and birth although closely tied to anything that had to do with women including beauty and love she was equally loud it by men and uniquely had male priests and female priests who assisted with her worship in the anthers main focus on women the people who worshipped her also forged connections with beauty and cosmetics which were used by both genders in ancient Egypt she's seen frequently carrying mirrors or the special type of palette that Egyptians used for makeup this had nothing to do with vanity but instead with a type of confidence and appreciation of beautiful things in the world and the people all of her aspects combined together pointed to another name she went by the mistress of life all of the things that made life wonderful and joyful including romance dancing music and perfume were associated with her as if all of that was not enough Hathor was also associated with turquoise malachite and mining in the Senate Peninsula this may have been due to the fact that these materials were ground up and used for eyeshadow malachite itself was used to fight infections of the eye and is still used medicinally to this day Hathor was the wife of horus who was closely tied to the pharaoh which made Hathor default to the queen as with many deities in the Egyptian Pantheon her roles and family ties change over time some smaller goddesses were assimilated into her her children broke off to take on aspects she formerly controlled when her husband Horus and her father rah were combined into one her godly family tree became even more confused despite these unique events Hathor held her own as one of the most popular goddesses many children were named after her the people celebrated her with festivals and her worship extended beyond the bounds of the Egyptian Kingdom into Asia and other parts of northern Africa Horus the line of ancient Egyptian kings never run smoothly Horus is a name associated with multiple deities over the many centuries that the kingdom existed he was originally one of the primary gods that arose at the beginning of time his name is also used for the son of Osiris and Isis who was responsible for restoring order to the land of Egypt after triumphing over the gods set the first is sometimes called Horus the Great and the second Horus the son in order to differentiate them one thing that everyone can agree on is that Horus was represented by a falcon no matter which incarnation he existed as at the time both the name which comes from the Egyptian word for distant one and his depiction with a falcon had and wings obviously associates Horus with the sky therefore he also had something to do with the Sun the moon and overseeing the land in a protective manner Horus the child was also associated with defending order uniting the kingdom and protecting the Pharaoh and all the royal family the falcon which can soar over the land to keep a watchful eye on everything was equally as important as the Eye of Horus symbol that most people who have studied ancient Egypt who seen as time went on Horus became more closely linked with the Sun and was transferred into a new God called raha rock-cut day he retained his falcon had but now wore a crown with these symbols of both upper and lower egypt in order to represent its coming together that PL tore castrate other falcon gods or avian deities were drawn into the concept of horus over time these included Montu a later god and deunan we who was worshipped only in Upper Egypt whether Horus was originally a local God or not is up for debate one thing that sure is that Horus appeared very early on in the entire Egyptian civilization there are records of him in the pre-dynastic period as far back as 6,000 BCE in fact early people in that region were sometimes called the followers of Horus Horus the great was an elder God who came into being very soon after the world itself was created he sprung from a combination of the earth and the sky but was not specifically associated with either of those things Osiris controlled the earth and Horus controlled the Sun in the beginning the Egyptian gods family tree often includes impossible branches sometimes Horus was described as Hathor son sometimes her husband and occasionally her father Hathor was sometimes called the distant goddess which matched Horace's claim for the title of the distant god this did not indicate that he was distant from the people however the name focused on his ability as a falcon to fly near the Sun and the moon and then soared to a far distance away from them in order to assist with worldly transformations watch over the people and the land down below or bring information from different parts of the land Horus was trusted and revered as a protector of all people tower ette like many other gods and goddesses in the Egyptian pantheon tower ret began her existence using a different name she was originally called Ana get a tech who had close ties to the northern sky and was called the mistress of the horizon as the ancient Egyptians had quite a bit of astronomical knowledge she also associated with Ursa Minor and part of the Little Dipper constellation she was considered a guard who would both protect and nurture as well as violently defend if necessary her symbols included the most ferocious and respected animals that the Egyptian people will come across crocodiles lions and hippos in her early days of existence she was seen as primarily dangerous and potentially harmful to the people of Egypt the north was associated with cold danger and darkness she was married to the god PAP who was also associated with the night and the danger that hid during the day other familial relationships claimed a variety of unique connections some say that she was a concubine of set who was occasionally represented by a hippo others claims she protected Isis from him after her husband Osiris died Tom arete was also depicted as the crocodile God so Beck's wife stories would this God as a compatriot of set or his enemy who stood alongside Horace and Osiris she was also rumored to have been married to Bess in some parts of Egypt tawa rat was even described to have been the wife of a moon and therefore Osiris's and sets mother time and sea unique beliefs of the people in different parts of the vast Egyptian kingdom made it rather difficult to place tawa rat in one position in the pantheon over time the dangerous and fearful identity transformed into a more protective one when the Old Kingdom period began Tower rat was likened to mother hippos who could protect their babies but were otherwise complacent for the most part she became associated with childbirth wet nursing and motherhood in general women would wear or carry amulets associated with towel rat when they were pregnant or wanted to become so she was also a popular icon on cosmetics cases various types of vessels jewelry and headrests undoubtedly used by women of the household using her association with hippos the ceremonial wand used to protect women in childbirth was frequently carved from hippo tusks and included her likeness or symbology these depictions also pushed her into the role as a fertility goddess which ended up associating her with the inundation that would bring life to the Nile Valley every year despite her growing role as a protector and nurturer of life just led the ability to protect the souls of the dead heading to the underworld she's mentioned in the Book of the Dead in a quote as a guard to the western passages Osiris one of the most recognized gods in the ancient Egyptian world was the father of Horus who's named Osiris he was responsible for three of the most powerful things in Egypt which included fertility and resurrection he was also responsible for shearing barley with the people as all Pharaohs in Egypt were believed to be essentially demigods themselves Osiris stood to represent the first ruler of the Egyptian kingdom he was responsible for the values that the Pharaohs would need to follow throughout time most of the depictions of Osiris in artwork showed him as a pharaoh he essentially started the fashion by which the mortal men who ruled would show themselves this was done primarily to allow the Pharaohs to reach the afterlife more successfully if they look like Osiris the guardians of the afterlife would let them in and treat them better the look was also designed to frighten away evil spirits who may make their deaths unpleasant if the spirits thought the Pharaoh was actually Osiris they would not dare cause any problems the particular characteristics associated with Osiris his style include the crooked staff of Shepherd and a flail which represented authority and fertility respectively the connection to the Pharaohs extended far beyond appearance osiris represented Horus on earth and was responsible for establishing not only the royal house but also all the rules and rituals associated with it he governed human law and if the people followed it they would get his protection both during their life and when being judged in the afterlife people considered him merciful just and forgiving the importance of Osiris did not end with his guidance of the Pharaohs and people in general as he was closely bound to the concept of the afterlife he was soon followed by a strong mystery cult who performed rituals and celebrations in his honor this occurred as early as nineteen ninety BCE during the 12th dynasty people would come from outside Egypt to celebrate in the kingdoms or members of this cult would travel far outside of it to bring the worship of Osiris to more locations some of these celebrations included priests acting out myths associated with this God one of the more commonly staged plays included story of a great battle waged between Horus and set people were invited to join either the followers of Horus or the followers of Sat teams and engage in mock fights for the enjoyment of the Watchers the followers of Horus would win everyone would celebrate and the priests would drag a golden statue of Osiris outside so everyone could celebrate the god many people would make offerings and present gifts to this image during these celebrations the statues were left in an outdoor shrine for a certain number of days this represented closely Osiris's association with rebirth to the afterlife it occurred in Thebes Bucyrus Memphis and Abydos over time Osiris's wife Isis who was responsible for his resurrection became equally a part of the festivities raw as important as the Sun was to all early civilizations it makes sense that the ancient Egyptians would have worshipped a Sun God named rah over many of the other characters in their Pantheon he was considered the greatest and the most important he's born at dawn traveled across the sky is swallowed by the goddess Newt and visits the underworld during the nighttime his positions of power at the top of the hierarchy of gods and goddesses also aligned him with the Pharaohs directly besides being the son he was considered a Creator God his incredible importance has led some historians to equate him with the concept of one true God in a monotheistic style of religion however it's obvious to note that the people of the Egyptian Kingdom had many different deities they worshiped many of the ancient structures that had something to do with religious practices were built to honor ah archaeologists have found solar temples that had open roofs to allow the Sun beams in these stood in place of any religious statuary or iconography usually found in other temples the God was simply the Sun the large solar temples that Heliopolis was considered the large solar temple at Heliopolis was considered the location of roz first appearance on earth some suggest that the large pyramids in which pharaohs were buried were symbols of solar rays coming down to the ground this is not backed up by much evidence however while raw was first mentioned very early on in the records of ancient Egypt he only appeared in the second dynasty other gods and goddesses such as Horus existed before him by the time the fifth dynasty began rah was considered a strong patron of the Pharaohs in fact pharaohs were considered the direct sons of Ron and used his name and their monikers the two dominant gods were sometimes combined into an entity called rah Horicon take a name which combined them into a deity responsible for the appearance of the Sun at the horizon in the morning Ron was also combined with the Creator a tomb to form a Chandra when the Middle Kingdom period began Thebes pushed for the prominence of a moon overawe the two were also combined in a similar way Ezra and Horus were as mentioned above as the days moved on to the New Kingdom a return to the focus of raw as the primary Pharaoh related deity occurred this may have been due to a considerable increase in power and prosperity for the priests associated with a moon at this time the purpose behind raw was taken over by a solar God called a 10 this is clearly shown in a man hotep the Third's claim of the title on the dazzling Sun and the naming of his wife's favorite boat the aughts and gleams when his son came into power a moon was swept aside in favor of a ten completely the new kingdom saw a great increase in worship of the god rah he was not only depicted as a source of light and life but was also used quite a bit in tombs as a source of light and guidance through the underworld his journey through the dark was described as twelve hours of which included a particular event or meeting with a different deity for example ra's nightly death comes in the fifth hour when he comes together with Osiris before being reborn in the twelfth hour and returning to the land of the living as a scarab raah worship existed outside of the main Egyptian Kingdom people of Nubia worshiped him as the head of the Pantheon when the Greeks learned of the Sun God they adopted some of his attributes in their own head god Zeus by the time international influences began controlling Egypt instead of the ordered succession of Pharaohs ra's popularity waned Thoth another god closely associated with the afterlife was Thoth although he did have responsibility for helping to judge the hearts and souls of people who have passed away he was primarily the god of the moon magic wisdom and writing scribes would honor him by pouring a drop of ink out before they began their daily work he was closely associated with the goddess sassette whom was the patron of books libraries and librarians she was described either as his consort wife or daughter depending on the story and time period in question both either created himself early in the history of the Egyptian kingdom or was born from sets forehead from the seat of Horus these two parental figures symbolize chaos and order which helped Thoth develop as a God of balance and equilibrium this concept was quite popular in ancient Egypt and existed both as a system of divine balance called MOT after a goddess of the same name and as the balance of Pharaohs and other important people would strive for so their heart would weigh equally against the feather of truth after death Mahad was sometimes seen as thoats wife this God was also called on when he was associated with Muhammad OE a goddess whose name stands for she who embraces needy people Thoth would help those who were afraid that they would not measure up in the great afterlife judgment as one of the earliest gods and the entire Egyptian pantheon both worship occurred as far back as 6000 BCE and continued all the way through 30 BCE when the dynasties ended in Egypt when compared with all the other gods and goddesses who changed names and identities multiple times and slipped in and out of usage both remain constant for the longest period of time Pharaohs frequently used his name as part of their own when they became King the artistic image of Thoth most frequently seen is of a strong man with an Ibis head or as a baboon who's usually represented with a disc representing the moon on its head he was also called deity which means someone who is like an Ibis to demonstrate his association with this unique bird that symbolized wisdom and education many people kept elvis's as pets like most other Egyptian gods and goddesses he did have multiple names used in different locations and throughout the years eventually the Greeks adopted part of dosas meaning for their god Hermes no matter what he was called he stood for balance wisdom and judgment although sometimes seen is one of the original gods other stories had Thoth order ectly from roz mouth when time he was sometimes called the god without a mother some of his creation stories indicate that he was hatched from an Ibis egg either an individual one to symbolizes wisdom or the original cosmic egg which held everything in the universe a story written somewhere around 1192 1070 BCE called the contending of Horus and set those sprung to life from horses seed but in the mighty struggle between the two gods was swallowed by accident by set both then burst forth from sets forehead and may have been responsible for the mediation between these two Bower vil beings although other stories tell of these events differently most agreed that he was responsible for writing down everything that happened although his existence as a mediator and balancer for all things led him to heal both set and Horus during this battle so that everything would stay fair besides his importance in the concept of judgment Thoth was also supposedly responsible for law philosophy science and the entire system of writing the Greeks considered him and the source of all knowledge and readily adopted his essence into 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Length: 33min 34sec (2014 seconds)

Published: Sat Nov 16 2019