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Ancient gods

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One of the characteristics of ancient Egypt was that was considered a political-religious. The greatness achieved by these former was accomplished by their devotion to their gods, wishes to record its history and the divine spirit attributed to them who believed their pharaohs were the children of the gods and therefore these were also . These qualities became the greatest civilization ever known in thousands of years.

All the monuments were built with religious motives, the pyramids, tombs, temples to worship the gods and even the homes available to a small altar. Without this religious hardly have achieved what we know today as "the legacy of Egypt." So I think it is important to present some of the gods that inspired the ancients to create such magnificence.

Gods List

Amen, God in human form was worshiped primarily in Karnak. The Theban god himself was begotten. Joined Ra / Re as Amun Ra / Amun Re, king of the gods. It was the highest divine authority to amarniense period and then to the arrival of Alexander the Great. It is sometimes also represented with ram's head and other times just like a ram.

Anubis: Son of Osiris, the god of mummification, was represented with a wild dog or jackal. Many other times had a human form with the head of the animal. Led and accompanied the deceased in the Judgement. Was the guardian of the necropolis. The priests mummified a body when placed Anubis mask to symbolize his presence. Anubis was considered additionally shield the embalmers.

Apis: The bull Apis was the symbol of fertility. Sometimes it was seen as a manifestation of the god of craftsmen, Ptah.

Aton / Aten: This god was the only one during the Amarna period ruled by the pharaoh Akhenaten, the "servant of Aton" (1350-1334 BC approx.). It was declared a single deity and other gods were pagan and prohibited. Its shape was that of a sun ray which hands out the ends and generally held the ankh, the symbol of life. You could say that this god was a pharaoh's ideological construction. It was noble and loving, the creator of life and of all things. The priests were dismissed and the only intermediary between Aten and Egypt was Akhenaten. After the death of Pharaoh worship of the Aten was abandoned.

Bastet, the cat-goddess was depicted as very often the woman's body and head of cat. When he was angry was represented with the head of a lioness. He was able to kill to protect their children. She was the goddess of music, games, home and war.

Bes: God genius, a dwarf with a mocking face and tongue out. He was the god of dance, music, pleasure and the guard at birth, then drove away the evil spirits that might harm the mother or child. It was also protective against disease.

Geb: He was depicted as a crouching man and sometimes snake head and covered by plants. It was the earth god and god of the space next to Nut, Shu and Tefnut. His cult center was the city of Heliopolis.

Hapy: The god of the Nile was represented in human form blue. Is represented as a man with female breasts. This feature female was related to the flood season (Hapy) or flooding (garlic / Akete) of the Nile and the land of Egypt and were nourished and fertilized for planting.

Hathor: With a cow, sometimes in the shape of a woman with a crown of horns and a sun disk between them was the goddess of fertility, love and beauty, protected at birth of children and mothers was goddess . He was revered throughout the empire, especially in the city of Dendera. Was associated with almost any goddess.

Heqet: With frog's head was a goddess who protected women during pregnancy and the births of their children.

Horus: God of heaven had the shape of a falcon which protected the pharaoh. Other times it was represented in human form with head of falcon. He was the son of Isis and Osiris. It is also associated with the embodiment of solar power on Earth. Later it was considered also the son of Ra. In the fight against Seth, the brother of Osiris, Horus lost an eye, called udjad eye or eye of Horus.

Ihi: A god highly revered in Dendera. It was the god of music and carried a rattle and a menit (ritualistic instruments).

Isis: The goddess associated with motherhood, fertility and magic was the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus. Magic revived her husband who was killed in the mythological struggle against his brother Seth. His cult was popular in Ptolemaic Egypt and even beyond was associated with goddesses of other cultures. It was the most important goddess in Egypt ambiguously associated with the life and death. At the time of the Ptolemies was erected great temples.

Khepri / Jepri: God-shaped beetle that carried the sun across the sky. Every day the sky goddess Nut bore him out Khepri in the east and died in the west when the goddess swallowed it at night.

Khnum / Khnum, God of the Nile guard represented the human body and ram's head ensured the fertility of the soil by Satet and Anuket.

Khons: Son of Amun and Mut, was the god of the moon. It was generally depicted as a mummy with a lunar symbol on his head.

Maat: The Goddess personified truth, justice, balance, the cosmic and the earthly. Also decided in the final trial the fate of the deceased along with the jury.

Meretseger: A goddess who protected the dead and is characterized by having the body of a serpent and head of a woman, other times he only represented as a cobra. He was caretaker of the royal tombs of the Valley of the Kings. Its name means The Lover of Silence.

Montu, god of war was and is represented as a bull black or a hawk. It was a very important figure in Egypt and that their pharaohs were the Empire's traditional policy of conquering neighboring territories to expand the Two Lands (Egypt).

Mut: Was the wife of Amun in Thebes tradition and mother of Khonsu. He had a symbolism of "divine mother." Was protective of the royal line of pharaohs.

Nephthys: Their representation was very important along with the canopic jars to protect them. This goddess gave life to the dead when he was with his sister Isis. Was goddess of the desert night, protector of the dead, sister and wife of Seth.

Neith: Goddess of the sky and the wisdom, protector of fertile land in the Nile Delta

Nekhbet / Nekhbet: A symbol of Upper Egypt, the vulture goddess protecting royalty. Often he is represented in the crown of the pharaoh.

Nut: Goddess of the sky. She was depicted naked and sometimes with the body crashed. Every day she gave birth to the god Khepri / Jepri and devoured the evening. She was the daughter of the god of water Tefnut and Shu, god of air and atmosphere, was the wife and sister of Geb, god of the earth. It was always represented arched over the earth.

Osiris, was the god of fertility and crop land. Egyptian theology says that he was king in the land until he was killed by his brother Seth, who tore it into fourteen pieces. Then his wife Isis collected the parts and revived him with magic in the other world. There he becomes the god of the underworld, custodian and a great judge of the dead on Judgement Day. He was depicted in green or black with the mummified body. In their bare hands holding the crook and flail, symbols of the Pharaohs actual accounting office. It is also related to the flooding of the Nile

Ptah, God of artisans, sculptors and artists depicted as a man stuffed blue. Also linked to the dark magic and was highly revered in Memphis.

Re / Ra: It was the sun god. It is attached to Amun Ra Amun forming / Amun Re being the most important deity, king of gods. Re / Ra was the creator of the world. Overnight travel the underworld in her royal barge.

Selket: This goddess was the function of protecting the mummified body and viscera of the deceased and were represented in the form of a scorpion or a woman with a scorpion on her head.

Seth: God is representative of the chaos, the desert, storms, drought, war and foreign countries. He fought murdering his brother Osiris. Then, the fight should continue with Horus, son of Osiris. The son of Geb and Nut, and husband of Nephthys. He was often depicted as a donkey.

Shu: Son of Atum, the god of air, the atmosphere and support the sky. He was represented with a headdress of ostrich feather.

Sobek, Crocodile God worshiped in the town of Kom Ombo. He was the god of evil, disorder, danger, and at the same time was the god of fertility and vegetation.

Thoth: The moon god of writing, speech and wisdom was represented by the bird Ibis. It is also represented in human form and with the bird's head. He was the god of the scribes who before his features made him prayers. He was the inventor of the calendar and the official scribe for the final trial of the dead in the court of Osiris.

Last Updated ( Monday, 16 August 2010 12:13 )  

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