For all ancient people the world was filled with mystery. Much of what they experienced in the world around them was unknowable and frightening. The ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses represented aspects of the Egyptians’ natural and supernatural surroundings and helped them understand its many aspects.

App for the Gods and Goddesses

Most Egyptian gods represented one principle aspect of the world: Ra was the sun god for example and Nut was goddess of the sky. The characters of the gods were not clearly defined. Most were generally benevolent but their favor could not be counted on. Some gods were spiteful and had to be placated. Some such as Neith Sekhmet and Mut had changeable characters. The god Seth who murdered his brother Osiris embodied the malevolent and disordered aspects of the world.

The physical form taken on by the various Egyptian gods was usually a combination of human and animal and many were associated with one or more animal species. And an animal could express a deity’s mood. When a god was angry she might be portrayed as a ferocious lioness; when gentle a cat. The convention was to depict the animal gods with a human body and an animal head. The opposite convention was sometimes used for representations of a king who might be portrayed with a human head and a lion’s body as in the case of the Sphinx. Sphinxes might also appear with other heads particularly those of rams or falcons.

Many deities were represented only in human form. Among these were such very ancient figures as the cosmic gods Shu of the air Geb of the earth the fertility god Min and the craftsman Ptah. There were a number of minor gods that took on grotesque forms including Bes a dwarf with a mask-like face and Taurt a goddess whose physical form combined the features of a hippopotamus and a crocodile.