Egyptian Mythology Overview

Egyptian Mythology

• Key study topics include significant facts about Egyptian Myths, major Egyptian deities and analysis of Egyptian myths.

Introduction

• Images of ancient Egyptian artifacts, including the Rosetta Stone, a famous Egyptian queen, and movie stills from movies about ancient Egypt are shown.

Characteristics of Egyptian Mythology

• Gods and goddesses had human and animal features.
• Different cities and pharaohs favoured different gods.
• Temples were dedicated to specific gods.

Characteristics of Egyptian Mythology

• Gods controlled the forces of nature and had authority over life and death, often identified with animals.
• The religion was polytheistic, believing in over 2000 gods.
• Egyptians had strong beliefs in the afterlife and mummification.

Deities and Animals

• Images of various animals (crocodile, cat, vulture, jackal, hippo, falcon, cobra, ibis, baboon, cow, frog) associated with specific Egyptian deities are shown.
  • Example: Crocodile (Sobek) - Chaos
  • Example: Cat (Bastet) - Joy
  • Example: Vulture (Mut) - Motherhood

Gods and Goddesses

• Ra/Ptah: King of deities, creator, patron of the sun, heaven, and kingship. Often depicted with a hawk head, wearing a sun disc.
• Anubis: God of embalming, mummification; guides souls, weighs hearts.
• Osiris: Associated with the afterlife, resurrection, fertility, and agriculture.
• Isis: Ideal mother, patron saint of enslaved people, sinners. Protector of the dead.
• Horus: Associated with the sun, sky, kingship; associated with protection and healing.
• Seth: God of chaos, disorder, storms. Depicted as a fearsome creature.
• Hathor: Associated with music, dance, celebrations; goddess of love, fertility, and joy; invoked for childbirth, fertility, etc
• Thoth: God of wisdom, science; invented hieroglyphs; associated with learning and scholarship.
• Bastet: Goddess of protection, associated with the sun; depicted holding a solar disk or a sistrum.
• Khnum: Potter god, shaping and molding clay; artisans invoked for inspiration.
• Montu: War god, associated with falcons and bulls (Buch is bull)
• Nut: Sky goddess; swallows the sun at night and gives birth to it again in the morning.
• Amun: God of the air and wind, often depicted with a ram head or a plumed headdress. Closely associated with pharaohs
• Aton: Sun god, depicted as a sun disc with rays ending in hands. Worshiped during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten.
• Bes: Associated with entertainment, dance, music. Depicted as a short, plump, bearded figure with a lion's mane and tail.
• Khonsu: Lunar god, depicted as a falcon-headed man wearing a lunar disk and crescent moon.
• Sobek: Nile River and crocodile god, depicted as a man with a crocodile head, or a full crocodile; associated with annual flooding.
• Amunet: Goddess of the hidden; often depicted as a woman with a tall feathered crown or a snake head
• Anuket: Goddess associated with the embrace; tall feathered headdress, wand, sometimes with a gazelle head
• Hatmehit: Foremost of the fish goddess; woman with a fish head; associated with scepter or ankh life symbol
• Heket: Powerful goddess associated with frogs; sometimes depicted as a frog, associated with childbirth and fertility.
• Maat: Goddess of truth, balance, and justice; wearing a feather on her head.
• Mafdet: Protector; hunts snakes and scorpions; associated with justice, invoked in legal disputes.
• Nephthys: Sister of Isis and Osiris; lady of mansion; adorned with falcon wings and horns, ostrich feathers.
• Seshat: Goddess of writing, record-keeping, and mathematics. Depicted with a seven-pointed star and a crescent moon
• Sekhmet: Powerful goddess associated with war, destruction and healing. Often depicted as a lioness or a woman with a lioness head.
• Tefnut: Goddess: moisture, rain, and dew, lioness or woman with a lioness head, scepter, or ankh.

Themes in Egyptian Mythology

• Cycle of birth and rebirth, the judgement of the dead, combination of humans and animals (anthropomorphic), order, chaos and renewal.

Symbolism and Rituals

• Scarab Beetle: Symbol of rebirth and transformation (amulets, rituals)
• Eye of Horus: Powerful protective symbol associated with healing.
• Ankh: Represents eternal life, tombs, iconography
• Amenta: Land of the dead
• Ouroboros: Represents the cycle of birth and rebirth
• Djed Pillar: Represents strength and stability
• Tyet: Represents feminism
• Ba: Hedjet represents the kingdom of Upper Egypt
• Deshret: Represents Lower Egypt
• Hedjet: Represents the kingdom of Upper Egypt
• Shen: Represents divinity and protection
• Pschent: Represents the unity of Egypt
• Uraeus: Represents the power of gods and pharaohs
• Seba: Represents Star-Gods or Constellations
• Menat: Represents prosperity, fertility, and fortune
• Hekha and Nekhakha: Represents the Powers of Kingship
• Primordial Hill: Represents creation process
• Was Scepter: Represents the gods' rule
• Khepresh: Represents ceremonial and war
• Tree of Life: Represents destiny and eternal life
• Ieb: Represents the heart
• Akhet: Represents the horizon of the sun
• Canopic Jars: Represents Mummification & Protection
• Atef: Represents Egyptian deity Osiris
• Sesen: Represents the Sun, Rebirth & Creation
• Sistrum: Represents music and good luck,
• Winged Sun Disc: Represents solar power & eternity

Journey Through the Afterlife

• Mummification, burial rituals, the Book of the Dead

Mythological Creatures and Beings

• Sphinx: Unravel the mystery of this mythological creature, body of a lion, head of a human or animal.
• Anubis: Jackal-headed god, associated with embalming, guiding souls in the afterlife.
• Phoenix: Legendary fire bird, resurrection, immortality, cyclical nature of life.

Explore the fascinating world of Egyptian mythology through significant facts, major deities, and key elements that shaped this ancient belief system. This quiz covers characteristics, important symbols, and the roles of gods and animals in Egyptian culture. Test your knowledge on the myths that have captivated civilization for centuries.