Aker was an ancient earth-god in Egypt. He was believed to guard the gates of the dawn from which the sun rose each morning. He was portrayed as a double-headed lion, or two lions sitting back-to-back. Inbetween them is shown the sun with the sky overhead. The two lions were called Sef and Duau, which means "Yesterday" and "Today" respectively.

The god of Thebes, he was usually shown as human. He was viewed (along with his consort Amaunet) in Hermopolis as a primordial creation-deity. Up to the time of the XIIth Dynasty, Amon was a Theban god of no more than local importance, but as soon as the princes of Thebes had conquered their rival claimants to the rule of Egypt, and had succeeded in making their city a new capital of the country, their god Amon became a prominent god in Upper Egypt. It was probably under that dynasty that the attempt was made to assign to him the proud position, which was afterwards claimed for him of "king of the gods". In spite of Amon's political ascension, he also enjoyed popularity among the common people of Egypt. He was called the vizier of the poor. It was said that he protected the weak from the strong and was an upholder of justice. Those who requested favors from Amon were required to demonstrate their worthiness or to confess their sins first. His wife was the mother-goddess Mut and his son was the moon, Khensu . According to the older Hermopolitan customs though, Amon was made by Thoth as one of the eight primordial gods of creation (Amen, Amaunet, Heh, Heqet, Nun, Naunet, Kau, Kauket). His sacred animals were the goose and the ram, although he was never depicted as them.

Ammut was a creature which dwelled in the Hall of Ma'at awaiting the judgement of the deceased that passed through there. Those souls who were found unworthy to dwell in the Afterlife were devoured by her. The process of judgement involved the weighing of the dead's heart against the feather of Ma'at. If the heart (the seat of the soul, according to the ancient Egyptians) was found to be heavy with sin and impurities and did not balance with the feather, Ammut would devour them.The goddess was depicted with the head of a crocodile, the forequarters of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopatamus.

Anqet was the goddess of the island of Sahal, near the First Cataract of the Nile. She was shown as a woman who wears a crown of ostrich feathers. Her sacred animal was the gazelle. She was the daughter of Satet, the wife of Khnemu. Together, the three deities formed the Triad of Elephantine, the principal deities of that city. Anqet was originally a water goddess from Sudan. Her name meant, "to embrace" which was interpreted to mean that her embrace during the annual Nile floods fertilized the fields. Later, she became a goddess of lust, whose attributes and cult were obscene. However, her cult's origina can be traced back to the Old Kingdom. She is closely associated with Nubia. She is not an imported goddess though.

The jackal-god of mummification, he assisted in the rites by which a dead man was admitted to the underworld. Anubis was worshipped as the inventor of embalming and who embalmed the dead Osiris and thereby helping to preserve him that he might live again. Anubis is portrayed as a man with the head of a jackel holding the divine sceptre carried by kings and gods; as simply a jackel or as a dog accompanying Isis. His symbol was a black and white ox-hide splattered with blood and hanging from a pole. It's meaning is unknown. Anubis had three important functions. He supervised the embalmment of bodies. He received the mummy into the tomb and performed the Opening of the Mouth ceremony and then conducted the soul in the Field of Celestial Offerings. Most importantly though, Anubis monitored the Scales of Truth to protect the dead from deception and eternal death. Early in Egyptian history, Anubis was a god of the dead. This role was usurped by Osiris as he rose in popularity. Anubis was the son of Nephthys: and his father was Osiris. One myth says that Nephthys got Osiris drunk and the resultant seduction brought forth Anubis. Yet another says she disguised herself as Isis and seduced Osiris and subsequently gave birth to Anubis.

Apep was a huge serpent (or crocodile) which lived in the waters of Nun or in the celestial Nile. Each day he attempted to disrupt the passage of the solar barque of Re. In some myths, Apep was an earlier and discarded sun-god himself. This helps to explain the snake's strength and his resentment of the daily journey of the sun. Apep was a genuine threat to Re and his daily travels. At times he was successful and when this occurred stormy weather would occur. When Apep swallowed the barque, there was a solar eclipse.

Atum was one of the most ancient gods in Egypt and was part of the Heliopolitan cosmology. Originally an earth god, he became associated with Re, the sun god. Specifically, he was considered to be the setting sun. In later times he became associated with Ptah and eventually Osiris . According to the priests of Heliopolis, Atum was the first being to emerge from the waters of Nun at the time of creation. Originally, he was a serpent in Nun and will return to that form at the end of time. However, Atum was depicted in art as a man wearing the Double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. As such, he is the first living man god conceived of by the ancient Egyptians. Until then, their gods were all forms of animals. Following his self-creation from Nun, Atum created his children Shu and Tefnut by masturbating. This may seem impossible but Atum was a bisexual god. He embodied both the male and female aspects of life. Therefore, his semen contained all that was necessary to create new life and deities. The Egyptians called Atum "Great He-She" and his name meant "the complete one." Later myths said that his children were products of his relationship with his shadow, or with the goddess Iusaaset.

The goddess Bastet was usually represented as a woman with the head of a domesticated cat. However, up until 1000 BC she was portrayed as a lioness. Bastet was the daughter of Re, the sun god. It may have been through him that she acquired her feline characteristics. As portrayed as a cat, she was connected with the moon (her son Khensu was the god of the moon). When shown as a lioness, she is associated with sunlight. Bastet was the goddess of fire, cats, of the home and pregnant women. According to one myth, she was the personification of the soul of Isis. She was also called the "Lady of the East". As such, her counterpart as "Lady of the West" was Sekhmet. Bastet seemed to have two sides to her personality, docile and aggressive. Her docile and gentle side was displayed in her duties as a protector of the home, and pregnant women. Her aggressive and vicious nature was exposed in the accounts of battles in which the pharaoh was said to have slaughtered the enemy as Bastet slaughtered her victims.

Bes was the god of music and dance, the god of war and slaughter, and a destroying force of nature. He was also a protector of children. Bes was usually portrayed as a dwarf with a large head. He is bearded with his tongue sticking out. He has a flat nose, bushy eyebrows and hair, large projecting ears. Around his body, he wears the skin of an animal and its tail hangs down behind him and touches the ground. He wears on his head a tiara of feathers, suggesting an African origin. Sometimes he is shown in profile, but he is usually seen full face (highly unusual in Egyptian artistic conventions). As a god of music he is sometimes shown playing a harp. As a warrior he wears a short military tunic and holds a shield and a short sword.

Buto was a cobra-goddess. In time she became a prominent protectress of all of Lower Egypt. As such she was routinely connected to the goddess of Upper Egypt, Nekhebet. Together, they appeared in many pieces of art as symbols of the Two Lands, a united Egypt. Buto did not just protect Egypt, she also was an agressive defender of the king. She was portrayed as the uraeus cobra first worn on the brow of Re, and later the pharaohs'. Her hood is spread in a threatening position and she is ready to spit poison on all of the pharaoh's enemies or burn them with her fiery glare. Buto was a personification of the sun's burning heat and she was called the "Lady of Heaven" and the queen of all of the gods. She was closely associated with Horus the Elder, who was the protector god of Lower Egypt. Also she was associated with Harpokrates (Horus the Younger); she protected him from Seth in the marshes of the Delta while Isis was searching for the body of Osiris.

Duamutef is one of the four sons of Horus and Isis, and was portrayed as a mummified jackal. The other three were Imsety, Hapy and Qebehsenuef. They were born from a lotus flower and were solar gods associated with the creation. It was believed that Anubis gave them the funerary duties of mummification, the Opening of the Mouth, the burial of Osiris and all men. Horus later made them protectors of the four cardinal points (north, south, east and west). In the Hall of Ma'at they sat on a lotus flower in front of Osiris. Most commonly, however, they were remembered as the protectors of the internal organs of the deceased. Each son protected an organ, and each son was protected by a goddess. Duamutef's role was to protect the stomach of the deceased and was the guardian of the East. He was protected by the goddess Neith.

Geb was the son of Shu and Tefnut and the brother and husband of Nut. Through Nut he had four children, Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. Geb was the god of the earth. Even so, Geb guided the dead to heaven and he gave them meat and drink. He is usually shown as a man wearing either the crown of the North or of the South. Added is either the Atef crown or a goose. The goose was a sacred animal to Geb, as such he was sometimes called "The Great Cackler" It was said that Geb's laughter was the source of earthquakes.

Hapi is the ancient Egyptian god of the Nile. Hapi was portrayed as a man with women's breasts. The full breasts indicate fertility and his ability to nourish the land through the Nile's annual floods. Just as Egypt was divided into two parts (the north and the south) so was Hapi's domain, the Nile. As a god of the northern Nile, Hapi was depicted wearing papyrus plants, a symbol of Lower Egypt, on his head. In this form, he was called "Hap-Meht". The Nile-god of Upper Egypt was "Hap-Reset" and wore lotus plants (a symbol of the south) on his head. The female counterpart and wife of Hapi in the south was Nekhebet, who was a goddess of the south in general and portrayed as a vulture. The wife of the Hapi of the north was Uatchet, who was depicted as a cobra and the equivalent of Nekhebet in the south. Hapi was recognized as one of the greatest Egyptian gods and he was declared not only the maker of the universe, but the creator of everything from which it and all things sprang. Hapi was also associated with Nun, the watery abyss from which the Ra, the Sun-god sprang on the first day.

Hapy is one of the four sons of Horus and Isis, he was portrayed as a mummy with the head of a baboon. The other three were Imsety, Duamutef and Qebehsenuef. Duamutef's role was to protect the stomach of the deceased and was the guardian of the East. He was protected by the goddess Neith.

The horned cow-goddess of love, she was also the deity of happiness, dance and music, and a protector of women. She is depicted as a cow, as a woman with the head of a cow, or as a woman with who wears the stylized cow-horns which hold in them the solar disk. Early in Egyptian mythology she was known has Horus' mother (later Isis assumed this role). Proof of this is seen in her name, "Hathor" which means the "house of Horus". As the mother of Horus, the queen of Egypt was identified with her. This is natural, as the queen was the mother of the Pharaoh, the living Horus. Isis was often shown with cow-horns like Hathor's on her head when the artist wanted to emphasize her role as the mother of Horus. It was said that when a child was born, Seven Hathors came to his bedside to announce his fate. The Seven Hathors were believed to know the future and the moment of death for every Egyptian. In the Story of Re, she was created by her father Re as "Sekhmet" as a destroyer of men, who were disobedient to him. Later Re changed his mind, but even he could not stop her from killing men. He then disguised beer as blood and when Sekhmet became drunk, she could no longer kill and was known thereafter as Hathor, a goddess of love. In Thebes she was seen as a goddess of the dead, and the Greeks identified her with Aphrodite (their goddess of love).

The falcon-headed god, the kings of Egypt associated themselves with Horus. Horus was among the most important gods of Egypt, particularly because the Pharaoh was supposed to be his earthly embodiment. Kings would eventually take the name of Horus as one of their own. At the same time, the Pharaohs were the followers of Re and so Horus became associated with the sun as well. To the people this solar deity became identified as the son of Osiris. Attempts to resolve the conflicts between these different gods in different parts of Egypt resulted in at least fifteen distinct forms of Horus. They can be divided fairly easily into two groups, solar and Osirian, based on the parentage of the particular form of Horus. If he is said to be the son of Isis, he is Osirian; otherwise he is a solar deity. The solar Horus was called the son of Atum, or Re, or Geb and Nut variously.

Imhotep is one of the few Egyptian gods (other than the pharaohs) who was actually a real person. He was the vizier of Djoser, a pharaoh of the third dynasty. He was skilled in all areas of administration and royal enterprises. Imhotep was also a priest, writer, a doctor and a founder of the Egyptian studies of astronomy and architecture. Imhotep was known perhaps best of all as the architect of the Step Pyramid of Djoser at Saqqara. The Step Pyramid was the first structure created by human hands to be built entirely from stone. It was as a wise man and scribe that Imhotep was first honored as a god. In the New Kingdom was was venerated as the patron of scribes. Scribes would pour a couple of drops of water in libation to him before beginning to write. During this time, this form of ancestor worship to Imhotep was privately practiced and his cult was similar to that of any of the dead (although more wide-spread). Also at that time, Imhotep was identified with Nefertem, the son of Ptah. During the Late Dynastic Period when the captial of Egypt was moved to Sais, Imhotep was fully deified. He was called the son of Ptah and his mother was either Nut or Sekhmet. He was also associated with Thoth and became a patron of wisdom and medicine. Miraculous cures were often attributed to him. The Greeks identified him with Asclepius, their god of medicine and healing. Imhotep was supposed to send sleep to those who were suffering or in pain. He was the physician to both the gods and men.

Imsety is one of the four sons of Horus and Isis, he was portrayed as a mummified human. The other three were Duamutef, Hapy and Qebehsenuef. Imsety's role was to protect the liver of the deceased and was the guardian of the South. He was protected by the goddess Isis.

Isis was the sister of Osiris (who was also her husband), Nephthys and Seth, the daughter of Nut and Geb and the mother of Horus the Child. Isis is depicted as a woman wearing a vulture headdress and the solar disk between a pair of horns. Occasionally she wears the double-crowns of the North and the South with the feather of Ma'at, or a pair of ram's horns. Isis as a woman (not a goddess) is portrayed with the ordinary headdress of a woman, but with the uraeus over her forehead. As the wife of Osiris, Isis assisted her husband during his earthly reign. In the Pyramid Texts, allusions are made that indicate that Isis foresaw her husband's murder. Following his death, Isis tirelessly searched for his body so that he may be properly buried and may rest in peace in the Underworld. Through her magic, she brought Osiris back to life so that he could impregnate her with their son Horus. Isis protected Horus during his childhood from his uncle Seth who wished to murder him. It was her hole that he might one day grow up to avenge his father's murder. In the Book of the Dead, Isis is regarded as the giver of life and food to the dead. She may also be one of the judges of the dead. Another of her roles was to protect Imsety, one of the four sons of Horus, as he guarded over the liver of the deceased. Isis was a great magician and is famous for the use of her magical skills. For example, she created the first cobra and used it's venomous bite to coerce Re into revealing his secret name. From the beginning of Egypt's history to the end, Isis was the greatest goddess of Egypt. She was the beneficial goddess and mother whose love encompassed every living creature. Isis was also the purest example of the loving wife and mother and it was in this capacity that the Egyptian people loved her the most. Her worship spread well beyond the borders of Egypt, as far away as England. The works of the classical writers identified her with Persephone, Tethys, Athene, etc, just as Osiris was associated with Hades, Dionysos and other foreign gods. In fact, the early Christians deferred some of her attributes to the Virgin Mary. As a loving and protective mother, Isis appealed to the Eastern peoples who were familiar with her cult. The images of Isis suckling the Horus child undoubtedly inspired the multitude of icons showing the Madonna and Child

Khensu was a moon-god and the son of Amen-Ra and Mut. His name derives from the root, "khens" which means to travel, to move about, to run. He was usually portrayed as a man with the head of a hawk and wearing the lunar disk. Khensu was a very old god of primitive times. Khensu was associated with the moon and was considered a form of Thoth by the Thebens, and it was in Thebes that Ramses III built the "House of Khensu in Thebes, Nefer-hetep". It was said that when Khensu caused the cresent moon to shine, women conceived, cattle became fertile, and all nostrils and every throat were filled with fresh air.

Khepera is a form of the sun-god Re. Khepera was specifically the god of the rising sun. He was self-produced and usually depicted as a human with a beetle on his head, or sometimes with the beetle as his head. Khepera would roll the sun along the sky, much as the dung beetle rolls a ball of dung in front of him (sometimes the Khepera was also shown pushing the moon through the sky). This ball of dung is what it lays its eggs in. The beetle larvae eat the ball of dung after they hatch. The Egyptians would see the beetle roll a ball of dung into a hole and leave. Later, when many dung beetles emerged from the hole, it would seem as though they created themselves. Khepera also had this attribute of self-generation and self-renewal.

Khnemu was one of the oldest gods of Egypt. The Egyptians' views of him changed somewhat through Egyptian history. He always was an important god and he remained so even in some semi-Christian sects two to three centuries after the birth of Christ! His symbol was the flat-horned ram and was depicted as a ram-headed man who wears the White Crown on his head. Khnemu was originally a water-god, and as such he is shown with water flowing over his outstretched hands and wearing a jug on his head above his horns. It was believed that he built the first egg from which the sun sprang. Khnemu also made the gods and he sculpted the first man on a potter's wheel and he continued to "build up" their bodies and maintain their life.

Ma'at was the goddess of the physical and moral law of Egypt, of order and truth. She said to be the wife of Thoth and had eight children with him. The most important of her children was Amon. These eight were the chief gods Hermopolis and according to the priests there, they created the earth and all that is in it. Ma'at is depicted in the form of a woman seated or standing. She holds the sceptre in one hand and the ankh in the other. In some pictures she has a pair of wings attached to her arms. Occasionally she is shown as a woman with an ostrich feather for a head. When the dead were judged, it was the feather of Ma'at that their hearts were weighed against. If hearts of the deceased are as "light as a feather", they were granted eternal life in the Duat. The near-weightlessness of their hearts indicated that their souls were not burdened with sin and evil. If their hearts did not "measure up", the soul of the deceased was consumed by Ammut. This judgement occured in the "Hall of the Two Truths", Maaty.  The last role of Ma'at was to help guide the Sun-god Re as he made his journey across the skies. It was she that determined the course that his boat took across the sky each day. It was sometimes said that she actually traveled in his boat with him, guiding its direction.

Meretseger was the goddess of the Valley of the Kings, the famous necropolis outside of Thebes. She was believed to live in a pyramid-shaped mountain that rose a thousand feet above the Valley of the Kings. In ancient times, the mountain was named after her. She was also called "Dehenet Imentet", which means "Peak of the West". During the New Kingdom, Meretseger was the chief deity over the Valley of the Kings. For the tomb builders living in their village, now known as Deir el-Medina, Meretseger was a dangerous, yet merciful, goddess who would punish sinners and liars with blindness and snakebites. She was described as the lion of the summit, for she was fierce in her persuit of sin. For the pious, she was a protective being who defended the workers against snakebites. The workmen of Deir el-Medina dedicated many stelae to her. Her cult declined rapidly after the 21st Dynasty, as the Valley of the Kings was abandoned. Meretseger was portrayed as a coiled snake, or as a cobra-headed woman. Her name means, "She Who Loves Silence.

Min was a fertility god who was believed to bestow sexual powers to all men. He also was a god of the rain who was a generative force of nature. He was portrayed as a bearded man wielding a huge phallus, with his legs close together and wearing the same headdress as Amon. Min is shown with one arm raised wielding a thunderbolt. His sacred animal was a white bull and his special plant, long lettuce (lactuca sativa, was believed to have aphrodisiac properties. Lettuce is believed to be associated with him, not due to its vaguely phallic shape, but rather to its white milky sap, which is reminiscent of semen. Min was a predynastic god. In the earliest times he was a sky-god called the "Chief of Heaven". Until the Middle Kingdom he was identified with Horus the Elder and he was called the son of Re or Shu. In the New Kingdon, Min became closely linked to Amon-Ra. During this time, Min became immensely popular and orgiastic festivals were held in his honor.

Montu was the falcon-headed god of war. Montu was portrayed wearing a headdress consisting of the sun-disc encircled by the uraeus topped by two plumes. In his hands he would hold various weaponry, including the schimtar, bows and arrows, and knives. Early in Theban history, Montu was an important prominent god. Later when Amon rose in popularity, Montu became overshadowed and was incorporated into the Theban worship of Amon. He was said to be the destructive element of the sun's heat. At this period Montu was said to slay the sun's enemies from the prow of the night-boat of the sun. In all periods, Montu's warrior aspect was evident. He was almost always shown carrying a weapon of some sort and even slaying the enemies of Egypt.

Her name means "mother" and in many ways she was regarded by the Egyptians as the great "world mother," and mother of the pharaohs. It appears that Mut was originally the female counterpart of Nun. However, in Thebes she replaced Amaunet to become the wife of the great god Amon. Her son was the local god of the moon, Khensu. Together, the three formed the triad of Thebes that would dominate Egypt during the New Kingdom. Mut is one of the few goddesses who were self-created. She was called, "Mut, who giveth birth, but was herself not born of any." The goddess is usually portrayed as a woman wearing the united crowns (or Double Crown) of the North and the South. In her hands she holds the papyrus sceptre and the emblem of life, ankh. Other images show her as a woman standing upright. Her arms are stretched out and have large wings attached to them. The feather of Ma'at is at her feet. Some portraits depict Mut with the heads of a man, a woman, a vulture and a lioness. She has a phallus, a pair of wings and the claws of a lion.

~ Nefertem ~

Nefertem was an ancient sun-god of Lower Egypt. He was important to various creation myths. Nefertem was associated with the young boy (Atum) who emerged from the lotus of Nun at the beginning of time. It was this boy that shed the tears from which all of mankind emerged. Due to this relationship, Nefertem was often called "the young Atum". The lotus from which Nefertem emerged was sacred to him from the earliest times. He was almost always depicted as a man wearing the lotus and two plumes on his head. It was said that Nefertem brought Re a sacred lotus to ease his suffering. Nefertem was a member of the holy triad of Memphis. He was the son of the god Ptah and the goddess Sekhmet. In art, Nefertem was usually portrayed as a man wearing the lotus and two feathers on his head, sometimes this elaborate headdress also included two menet necklaces. Occasionally, Nefertem was also shown as a lion-headed man.

Neith is one of the oldest Egyptian goddesses. Early in Egyptian history she was honored throughout Egypt. Later on, she was mostly recognized in her cult center of Sais. She was sometimes depicted as a woman wearing the crown of the north and holding either a sceptre or a bow and two arrows. At other times she was shown as a woman wearing a shuttle (a tool used in weaving) on her head. It is believed that she was originally a goddess of war (due to the bow and arrows imagery) and may have become later a goddess of weaving (when wearing the shuttle). She was occasionally shown suckling a crocodile who represented her son, Sobek. She was self-produced and the Egpytians believed she was of both a masculine and feminine nature. It was said that Neith gave birth to Re while she was still in the waters of Nun. Neith was the protectoress of Duamutef, the guardian of the deceased's stomach. Her largest temple, Sapi-meht, was located at Sais, the capital of the fifth nome of Lower Egypt. In Upper Egypt, she was portrayed with the head of a lioness. Here her husband was Khnemu, the ram-headed creation god of the First Cataract, and her son was Tutu. Tutu was a form of the god Shu.

Nekhebet was the vulture-goddess of Upper Egypt. She was a protective deity of the south along with Seth. When Seth became disgraced as the murderer of Osiris, she became more important and prominent. Nekhebet was often shown with Buto, the cobra-goddess of the North. As protective deities, they symbolized a united Egypt and guarded the pharaoh. Nekhebet was often shown with her wings spread above the pharaoh in a protective and almost motherly gesture of protection. Nekhebet was called the right eye of Re, and the wife of Hapi or Khenti-Amentiu, the First of the Westerners. Nekhebet was portrayed in art as a vulture or as a woman wearing the White Crown of Upper Egypt. In her hands she holds a lotus flower with a cobra wrapped around it and an ankh.

Nephthys was the daughter of Geb and Nut and the sister of Osiris, Isis and Seth. She was also the wife of Seth. The name "Nebt-het" means the "lady of the house." By "house" it is understood to be the portion of the sky where Horus lived. Nephthys was portrayed as a woman wearing on her head the symbol of her name, or the symbol on top of a pair of horns. Her son was Anubis, whose father was Osiris. Some myths say that Nephthys intoxicated Osiris and seduced him, thus creating Anubis. Yet others say that she disguised herself as her sister Isis, Osiris' wife, and became pregnant by him. It was Nephthys' affair with Osiris which enraged Seth and was one of his motives for murdering Osiris. Since the earliest of times, Nephthys was considered to be Seth's counterpart and wife. She was always associated with him. Even so, she was depicted as the loyal friend and sister to Isis. It was Nephthys who helped Isis search for and rebuild Osiris' body. One of her roles was to protect Hapy, one of the four sons of Horus, as he guarded over the lungs of the deceased.

Despite all the various Creation myths that the Egyptians subscribed to, they had one thing in common, Nun. Even though the myths named different gods as the original creator, they all agreed that he sprang from Nun, the primordial waters. Nun was more than an ocean, he was a limitless expanse of motionless water. Even after the world was created, Nun continued to exist at it's margins and would one day return to destroy it and begin the cycle again. Following the creation, Nun played a role in the destruction of mankind when humans no longer respected and obeyed Re in his old age. Re called together all the gods and goddesses together, including Nun, and asked them what he should do about the problem. Nun suggested that Re should call forth his Eye to destroy mankind. Re did so, and his Eye, in the form of the goddess Sekhmet traveled across Egypt killing all men. Also, Nun protected Shu and Tefnut at birth and he kept the demonic powers of chaos (represented as serpents) in check. Nun was portrayed as a bearded man with a blue or green body, symbolizing water and fertility. Sometimes he is shown with female breasts as well. In one hand he holds a palm frond, a symbol of long life and wears another one in his hair.

The goddess Nut was the daughter of Shu and Tefnut and the wife of Geb. She was the goddess of the daytime sky and the place where clouds formed. In later periods, she was no longer the goddess of the daytime sky, but of the sky in general. The goddess was typically portrayed as a woman who wears on her head a vase of water . Many times she is shown as a woman whose hands and feet touch the ground so that her body forms a semi-circle. As such she represents the heavens. Her arms and legs represent the four pillars on which the sky rests. She is held up by her father Shu (the god of the air). In one myth Nut gives birth to the Sun-god daily and he passes over her body until he reaches her mouth at sunset. He then passed into her mouth and through her body and is reborn the next morning. Nut had four children with Geb: Osiris and his wife Isis, along with Seth and his wife Nephthys.

A god of the earth and vegetation, Osiris symbolized in his death the yearly drought and in his miraculous rebirth the periodic flooding of the Nile and the growth of grain. He was a god-king who was believed to have given Egypt civilization. Osiris was the first child of Nut and Geb, and therefore the brother of Seth (who later murdered him), Nephthys, and Isis (also his wife). He was also the father of Horus and Anubis. These traditions state that Nephthys (mother of Anubis) assumed the form of Isis, seduced him (perhaps with wine) and she became pregnant with Anubis. The oldest religious texts refer to Osiris as the great god of the dead, and throughout these texts it is assumed that the reader will understand that he once possessed human form and lived on earth. Osiris was usually portrayed as a bearded, mummified human with green skin and wearing the atef crown. His hands emerge from the mummy wrappings and hold the flail and crook.

Ptah was the chief god of the ancient city of Memphis. He was a creator god who brought all things to being by thinking of them with his mind and saying their names with his tongue. He was unique amongst Egyptian creation gods in that his methods were intellectual, rather than physical. According to the priests of Memphis, everything is the work of Ptah's heart and tongue: gods are born, towns are founded, and order is maintained. Ptah was also the patron god of skilled craftsmen and architects. This may be due to the excellent sources of limestone near his temple in in Memphis. As a craftsman, Ptah was said to have carved the divine bodies of the royalty. In Memphis, Ptah was part of a holy triad. His wife was the lioness-goddess Sekhmet, and his son was said to be either Imhotep or Nefertem. Ptah is depicted as a bearded man wearing a skullcap and shrouded as a mummy. His hands emerge from wrappings in front of his body and hold the was sceptre, an ankh and a djed (sign of stability).

Qebehsenuef is one of the four sons of Horus and Isis; he was portrayed as a mummified falcon. Qebehsenuef's role was to protect the intestines of the deceased and was the guardian of the West. He was protected by the goddess Selket.

Qetesh is a goddess of Semetic origin that was regarded in Egypt as a form of Hathor and as a Moon-goddess. In early portrayals she is shown as a naked woman standing upon a lion. On her head is the cresent moon and disk. Later interpretations show Qetesh again on the lion, but with the headdress of Hathor, wearing a deep necklace and a tight-fitting dress that extends to her ankles. In her right hand she holds lotus flowers and in her left, two snakes. Like Bes (and contrary to Egyptian artistic convention), Qetesh is always pictured full-face. Qetesh may have been a part of a triad with Min and Reshpu (another foreign god). It is not certain however, which god was her husband and which her son. Qetesh was worshipped as a nature goddess.

The sun god of Annu, he became a state deity in the Fifth Dynasty. Some traditions made him the creator of men, and the Egyptians called themselves "the cattle of Re". His name is thought to mean "creative power", and as a proper name "Creator". Very early in Egyptian history, Re was identified with Horus, who as a falcon-god represented the loftiness of the skies. He was represented as a hawk-headed man or as a hawk. A combination of the two, Ra-Hoor-Khuit, "Re, who is Horus of the Horizons" showed the two as manifestations of the singular Solar Force. In later periods when Isis and Osiris overtook him in popularity, he remained "Re retjer-aa neb-pet" ("Re, the great God, Lord of Heaven") whether worshipped in his own right or later on, as half the Lord of the Universe, Amen-Re.

Satet was the principal female counterpart of Khnemu and was worshipped with him. She was the mother of the goddess, Anqet. With her arrows, she protected the pharaoh. Further, in the Pyramid Texts, Satet is described as cleansing the king with four jars of water from Elephantine. Satet was the goddess of the inundation (yearly flooding of the Nile) and of fertility. She was also connected with the star "Sept" whose return to the night sky marked the beginning of the flood season.

Sekhmet was the lioness-headed goddess of war and destruction. She was the sister and wife of Ptah. She was created by the fire of Re's eye. Re created her as a weapon of vengence to destroy men for their wicked ways and disobedience to him. Having once unleashed her powers for the destruction of mankind, the Egyptians feared a repeat performance by Sekhmet. The Egyptian people developed an elaborate ritual in hopes she could be appeased. This ritual revolved around more than 700 statues of the goddess. The ancient Egyptian priests were required to perform a ritual before a different one of these statues each morning and each afternoon of every single day of every single year. Only by the strictest adherence to this never-ending ritual could the ancient Egyptians be assured of their ability to placate Sekhmet. She is generally portrayed as a woman with the head of a lioness surmounted by the solar disk and the uraeus. She was identified with the goddess Bastet, and they were called the Goddesses of the West (Sekhmet) and the East (Bastet). Both were shown with the heads of lionesses although Bastet was said to wear green, while Sekhmet wore red.

Selket was the goddess of scorpians and magic. She was depicted in the form of a woman with a scorpian on her head. Her roles in Egyptian mythology were many, mostly as a beneficial goddess. She watched over Qebehsenuef, one of the four sons of Horus, who in turn protected the intestines of the deceased. Other connections with the afterlife include her epithet, "Lady of the Beautiful Tent" which referred to her as a protector of the embalmer's tent. In the Afterlife she was said to watch over a dangerous twist in a pathway. She was also credited with guarding the snake, Apep following his imprisonment in the Underworld. Selket was also associated with childbirth and nursing. Contrary to her typical benficial characterization, she was also related to the sun's scorching heat. In the Book of the Dead, she is a protector of the deceased and his teeth are identified with hers. Magically, Selket was a protector from venomous bites. She was the patroness of magicians who dealt with poisoness bites. Suprisingly though, it was usually Isis who was invoked in spells against scorpion stings.

Serapis was an humanlike god created by a Greek pharaoh who chose Serapis to be the official god of Egypt and Greece. He hoped a common religious base would unify the two peoples and ease tension in the country. Serapis' attributes were both Egyptian and Hellenistic. Serapis became very popular and his cult quickly spread from its center in Alexandria. Serapis' Egyptian nature can be seen in his roots, which were drawn from the cults of Osiris and the Apis bull. The Hellenistic elements of Serapis dominate Serapis' "personality" and iconogrpahy. Many greek gods contributed to his nature, including: Zeus, Helios, Dionysos, Hades and Aesculapius. From Zeus and Helios he received the aspects of sovereignty and sun god. Dionysos brought to him the attribute of presiding over nature. Hades linked him to the afterlife and Aesculapius gave him the art of healing. The Greek images of Serapis show him with long hair and a long beard. He is seated on a throne with the three-headed dog of Hades, Cerberus, at his feet. The Egyptian images of the god show him as a mummified human with the bead of a bull. He is crowned with the crescent moon and two plumes.

Seshat was an ancient goddess of writing and measurement. She was also the patroness of mathmatics, architecture and record keeping. Though she shared these duties with her husband, Thoth, Seshat was primarily a royal goddess. As early as the Dynasty II, Seshat was shown with the pharaoh stretching a cord to measure the dimensions of a new temple. To grant the king immortality, she recorded the name of the king of the leaves of the Tree of Life, which grew near where she lived. Also, she calculated the days of the king's earthly life and marked the number on the notched palm branch which she carried. Seshat was portrated as a woman wearing a dress and the priestly leopard skin. In her hands she holds the notched palm branch or the scribe's pen and palette. On her head she wears her headress which resembles a star or flower atop a pole or a bow. Seshat carried many titles, such as "Lady of Builders", "Mistress of Books", and "Foremost in the Library".

Regarded as the Lord of Lower (Northern) Egypt, Seth was represented by a big-eared imaginary animal with red hair resembling a donkey or maybe an aardvark. He was associated with the desert and storms. The Greeks associated Seth with their god, Typhon. For many years, Seth was the benefactor of Lower Egypt; just as Horus protected Upper Egypt. When the Two Lands became united, Seth and Horus were often shown together crowning the new pharaohs. However, as Upper Egypt had conquered Lower Egypt, the pharaohs of the south often portayed Seth as the evil enemy of Horus (deity of Upper Egypt). Seth was the brother of Osiris, Isis as well as Nephthys who was also his wife. Nephthys' son, Anubis was conceived by herself and Osiris. Seth never had any children, as emphasis of his association with the barren desert and of his status as the antithesis of the fertile Osiris. Seth is most famous for the violent death of his brother Osiris and the attempted murder of his brother's son, Horus. Horus survived though and avenged his father's death by ruling all of Egypt and exiling Seth to the desert for all time. The decision to banish Seth came from a counsel of the gods, ruled by Re. While most of the gods agreed with Horus and his mother Isis that Osiris' son was the rightful heir to the throne of Egypt, Re disagreed. He believed that Horus was too young to hold such a powerful position. Thus, the trial was stalemated for many years. Only the cunning of Isis could bring the case to an end. Using her magic, Isis transformed herself into a beautiful young woman. Seth saw her with tears streaming down her face and asked what the matter was. Isis told a story not unlike the situation of herself and Horus, where an evil man had killed her husband and was trying to steal her family's flocks. Seth became angry at her plight and insisted that the evil man be destroyed and that the young woman's son should inherit the family's estate. By his own words, Seth condemned himself, and lost the throne of Egypt.

His name means "dry, parched, withered." He was asssociated with the heat of the sunlight and the dryness of the air. Shu considered the god of the space and light between the sky and the earth. Shu was believed to also hold power over snakes and he was the one that held the Ladder the deceased used to climb to heaven. As Lord of the Air or Atmosphere, it was Shu's duty to seperate the sky (the goddess Nut) and the earth (Nut's husband, Geb). His eternal occupation was holding Nut up above Geb. It was said that if he ever was removed from his place, Chaos would come to the Universe. Many images show him holding up his daughter, while his son reclines beneath him. He was the brother and husband of Tefnut and they were usually mentioned together. It was said that Shu and Tefnut were two parts of one soul. Oddly, Shu and Tefnut do not appear to have any city of distrct especially dedicated to them. Shu was also the son of Ra or Tem and father to Geb and Nut. The oldest myth about the origin of Shu states that once upon a time the god Atum went to the city of Annu and he created Shu and Tefnut from his own body through masterbation. In the story of the creation, Atum is described as saying: "I had union with my hand, and I embraced my shadow in a love embrace; I poured seed into my own mouth and I sent forth from myself issue in the form of the gods Shu and Tefnut." Later myths called this story into doubt and claimed that Atum's shadow acted the part of his wife; still others state that the goddess Iusaaset was Atum's wife. Shu is shown as a man who wears on his head one to four feathers. Some figurines show him holding up the sky with his two hands.

A crocodile-god, he was worshipped in cities that depended on water, such as the oasis city of Arsinoe, where the reptiles were kept in pools and adorned with jewels. Hundreds of the animals have been found mummified. He was worshipped to placate his sacred animals (the crocodiles). He was portrayed as a man with the head of a crocodile, or sometimes simply as one. In the Book of the Dead, he assists in the birth of Horus and helps to destroy Seth. He also retrieved the Four Sons of Horus from the waters of Nun was the request of Re.

Tauret was a predynastic hippopotamus-goddess of pregnant women and childbirth. She was also a mother-goddess who wore the solar disk and cow's horns to symbolize how she helped in the daily rebirth of the sun. She was even called the Eye of Re, his daughter, and the mother of Osiris and Isis. Tauret was portrayed as a pregnant female hippopotamus with large human breasts, the hind legs of a lion and the tail of a crocodile. She is shown standing on her hind legs and leaning on the symbol for "protection" and holding an ankh. Tauret was a domestic deity that was greatly revered. Her most common role was as a protectoress of pregnant women. She was often shown with Bes in the birth chamber and she was a prominent assistant at the birth of Hatshepsut.

Tefnut was the personification of the moisture of the sky. This goddess was the mother of Geb and Nut. Tefnut and her husband Shu were the children of Atum who created them by masterbating. When Atum became associated with Re, Re became Tefnut's father. According to one myth, Tefnut became angry with her father Re and ran off to Nubia. The god Thoth went to find her and conjoled her into returning to Egypt. Tefnut was depicted in the form of a woman who wears on her head the solar disk circled by two cobras. She holds in her hands the sceptre and ankh. Many times she has the head of a lioness or is shown as one.