The Ancient Egyptians and Their Beliefs

The ancient Egyptians very much believed in life after death. There are many theories, translations, and understandings of the ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses. The traditional oral stories once shared during those ancient times are now recorded through the Coffin Texts, The Pyramid Texts, The Egyptian Book of The Dead, and the many hieroglyphics throughout Egypt.

Truly Encyclopedic

Having read the book The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt by Richard H. Wilkinson, I learned that “Once a central government arose around 3000 B.C., perceived and real needs may have changed rapidly for the ancient population of the Nile Valley. National deities came into existence as well as the cult of the divine king; and as John Baines has pointed out, the emergence of monarchy and the resultant origin of the Egyptian state effectively transformed ancient religion by providing a new focus which unified its different goals and needs. Indeed, it might be said that from this point forward, the infancy of Egypt’s deities had ended and more than 3,000 years of subsequent historical development would fail to radically change the underlying nature of Egyptian religion.” (pg. 15)

“These gods evolved from an animistic belief system to one which was highly anthropomorphic and imbued with magic.“- _{Mark, Joshua J.. “Egyptian Gods – The Complete List.” World History Encyclopedia. World History Encyclopedia, 14 Apr 2016. Web. 27 Mar 2023.}

There were anywhere from about 1,500 to over 2,000 gods, including goddesses, known by name throughout ancient Egypt. Some of the gods and goddesses were even combined to become one deity.

The gods and goddesses worshipped throughout ancient Egypt included “human (anthropomorphic), animal (zoomorphic), hybrid and composite forms.” -Richard H. Wilkinson.

Anthropomorphic– (of beliefs or ideas) treating gods, animals, or objects as if they had human qualities.

Richard H. Wilkinson writes in his book The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, generally, the so-called ‘cosmic’ gods and goddesses of the heavens and earth, such as Shu, god of the air, and Nut, goddess of the sky, were anthropomorphic in form, as were ‘geographic’ deities or those representing specific areas such as rivers, mountains, cities and estates. Certain others, not fitting these categories – some of them very ancient, such as fertility god Min- also took human form, as did deified humans such as deceased kings and other notables. (pg. 26)

Hybrid– half-human and half-animal deities.

Composite- “combining different deities or characteristics rather than representing an individual god in a particular guise.” (pg. 28)

Zoomorphic– based on the appearance or characteristics of an animal. In art, this is usually some kind of depiction or three-dimensional representation, perhaps in stylized form, of the whole or part of one or more animals. The term can also apply to the attribution of animal form or nature to something else, for example, a deity, a god, or a supernatural being. (an Oxford reference)

The Gods and Goddesses

There are many creation myths throughout ancient Egypt. For example, Ogdoad, the pantheon of the center at Hermopolis, is comprised of four couples. The creation story has many translations and ideas from this group of deities, from the cosmic egg to the lotus flower.

According to Richard H. Wilkinson, author of The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, “Re as creator: According to the cosmogonic ideas developed in Heliopolis and at other sites, the sun god Re was the supreme creator who emerged from the primeval waters at the beginning of time to create every aspect of the world (pg. 207).” There are different versions of the myth of human creation by Re/Ra. For example, in one version, “circumcision” and its blood was used as a creation. Another one is that Re/Ra created humans from his tears. This is how I understand it when I read page 207 of the book The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt.

Even though Re/Ra is credited for creating humans, he isn’t the only one known as a creator. Khnum was also an ancient Egyptian god responsible for creating humankind from his potter’s wheel. This gives the impression that clay was used to create humans.

The lovely Hathor, sometimes depicted as a cow and other times as a cobra, is a mysterious goddess. It’s tough to pinpoint her origins because many modern academic scholars shared that she may have existed sometime in the Predynastic Period.

To keep this simple and short, I highly recommend reading The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt by Richard H. Wilkinson. There’s so much helpful information, including the name of the gods and goddesses and even the periods. Then the list that’s on pg. 70 of the deities is an absolute gem because, on the following pages, you get a detailed description of those deities listed.

I have the sources; what are yours? Until next time, Knowledge is Power