Amen "The Hidden One.

" An Egyptian sky god who evolved into a sun god and the head of the Egyptian pantheon. Originally a local god of Khmun and then of Thebes. Amun's cult rose in prominence as Thebes rose in status. In the New Kingdom he became combined with the Heliopolitan sun god Ra as AmunRa, in which form he was the "king of the gods" and the tutelary deity of the Pharaohs. The Pharaohs, who had been considered "sons of Ra", thus came to be regarded as incarnations of Amun-Ra. Amun took on the role of a primeval deity and creator in the cosmology of the New Kingdom, creating earth and sky out of his thought. By Dynasty XVIII Amun was the "King of the Gods." Karnak was his most famous temple. The temple is the largest religious structure ever built by man. Amun sometimes appears as a protector of any devotee in need. Amun was a member of the Ogdoad, paired with the goddess Amaunet. They represented hidden power. He was also a member of the Theban triad, where he was the husband of Mut and adoptive father of Khons. Amun was depicted in human form, with blue skin and either the head of a bearded man or a ram's head with curved horns. He wore a crown composed of a modius surmounted by two tall feather plumes. He was sometimes depicted in ithyphallic form with an oversized erect penis. His true appearance was considered beyond human understanding. Amun was said to be "hidden of aspect, mysterious of form", invisible yet omnipresent throughout the cosmos. His sacred animals were the ram and the goose. His primary sanctuaries were at Karnak and Luxor near Thebes. Amun and his influential Theban priests suffered a temporary eclipse during the reign of Akhenaten, who tried to impose a monotheistic worship of Aten. The cult of Amun revived soon after Akhenaten's death. It was not until the sack of Thebes by the Assyrians in 663 BC that Amun was reduced to mere local importance. As Ammon, however, he had an oracle at the Siwa Oasis in the western desert that remained prominent at least until the time of Alexander the Great, who visited the oracle. Amun-Re ( Amon-Ra ) A combination of Amun and Ra worshipped in later Egyptian history. Under this name, the Theban god Amun became the national god of Egypt. Pharaohs considered themselves to be sons of Amun-Ra. Displaced

during Akhenaten's rule, he was restored to full power Anubis (Greek; Egyptian: Anup) An Egyptian god of the dead. Also known as Khenty-Imentiu - "Chief of the Westerners" - a reference to the belief that the realm of the dead lay to the west and a association with the setting sun and the Egyptian custom of building cemeteries on the west bank of the Nile. He was represented as a black jackal/dog or as a man with the head of a jackal/dog. His father was normally given as Ra, while is mother was sometimes Nephthys or Isis. After the early period of the Old Kingdom, he was replaced by Osiris as god of the dead and was demoted to a supporting role as a god of the funeral cult and the care of the dead. His black color represented the color of human corpses after they had undergone the embalming process. In the Book of the Dead, he was depicted as presiding over the weighing of the heart of the deceased, in the Hall of the Two Truths. As god of the care of the dead, he was referred to as the "conductor of souls." Because of this title the Greeks later identified him with Hermes. The two were merged to form the deity Hermanubis. Anubis' principal sanctuary was at the necropolis in Memphis as well as other cities. Aten Name of the god who gained its prominence during the reign of Akhenaten. Akhenaten abolished the traditional cults of Egypt in favor of the Aten. A sun with multiple arms holding/offering Ankh, was the Aten's representation. This was the first monotheistic cult in the world. Atum The primeval sun god and creator of the world. He represents the setting sun. Later he was combined with Re as the god Atum-Re. According to the myths, he was the first substance (a hill) who emerged from the primeval waters. Atum created the deities Shu and Tefnut from his spittle or from his semen in the act of masturbation. His main cult center was at Heliopolis, where he was the head of the Ennead cult. The black bull Mnewer, who bore the sun disk and uraeus between its horns, was his representation. As the father of the pharaoh, he played an important part in the coronation rites. Atum was shown as old man symbolizing the

setting sun, a scarab, a snake, and a mangust (pharaoh hat). His sacred animals were the bull, the snake, lizard, lion and ichneumon. In the Memphite creation myth Atum was conceived in the heart of Ptah and was created by his word. "He who completes, or perfects." G Geb (Keb, Seb) Earth god. It is quite rare to find a ancient religion with the earth personified in the form of a man. Geb was the son of Shu and Tefnut and Brother-consort of the sky goddess Nut. Father of Osiris and Isis, Set and Nephthys. Geb was generally depicted lying on his back, usually wearing the crown of Lower Egypt, with the naked body of Nut arched above him. As such, he was often shown with an erect penis pointing upward toward Nut. Occasionally the air god Shu was shown standing on the body of Geb and supporting Nut, supposedly separating her from Geb. In any other case he is shown with the head of a goose. He as "the Great Cackler," he was represented as a goose. Also as "The Great Cackler" he was said to have laid the egg from which the sun was hatched. Equated as the third divine king of earth. His skin was often green, indicative his role as a god of vegetation and fertility. Geb was also said to imprison the souls of the dead, preventing them from passing on to the afterlife. The laughter of Geb was said to cause earthquakes. The goose was his sacred animal and his symbol in Egyptian hieroglyphics. In his honor, the royal throne of Egypt was occasionally known as the 'throne of Geb.' Horus (Egyptian Har or Hor) Egyptian sky god; son of Isis and the dead Osiris. Usually depicted as a falcon or in human form with the head of a falcon. The sun and the moon are said to be his eyes. He was born at Khemmis in the Nile Delta, and Isis hid him in the papyrus marshes to protect him against Set, his father's murderer. Horus later avenged the death of his father against Set. Horus lost his left eye (the moon) in the contest between the two. Horus was identified with Lower Egypt and Set with Upper Egypt in this battle, which lasted eighty years. The gods judged Horus to be the winner, and Set was either killed or

castrated. The consequence of Horus's victory was the union of Upper and Lower Egypt. The Egyptian Pharaoh was believed to be an incarnation of Horus, and the name of Horus formed part of his name. The Pharaoh was said to become Horus after death. Set restored the eye he had torn from Horus, but Horus gave it instead to Osiris. The image of the "eye of Horus", a human eye combined with the cheek markings of a falcon, became a Imhotep (Amenhotep, Amenhotep-Son-of-Hapu) Imhotep was the chief minister of the Pharaoh Djoser. He was the architect of the Step Pyramid, which was the first of the Egyptian Pyramids. Imhotep was latter raised to the level of a god (deified). As a god he was responsible with medicine and learning. Normally depicted as a seated man holding an open papyrus. amulet among the Egyptians. O Osiris (Usire) Egyptian god of the underworld and of vegetation. Son of Nut and Geb and brother of Nephthys, Set and brother-husband to Isis. His birthplace was said to be Rosetau in the necropolis west of Memphis. Osiris was depicted in human form wrapped up as a mummy, holding the crook and flail. He was often depicted with green skin, alluding to his role as a god of vegetation. He wore a crown known as the 'atef,' composed of the tall conical whittle crown of Upper Egypt with red plumes on each side. Osiris had many cult centers, but the most important were at Abydos (Ibdju) in Upper Egypt, where the god's legend was reenacted in an annual festival and at Busirs (Djedu) in the Nile delta. Ptah Egyptian creator god. Also a god of artisans, designers, builders, metal workers, architects and masons, whose skills he was said to have created. He was the one who created the barque for the dead to sail in. His major cult center was at Memphis. In Memphis and Thebes his consort was the lioness goddess Sekhmet. Together with Sekhmet's son Nefertum, they formed the 'Memphite triad.' His sacred animal was the bull. The Apis bull in Memphis, which acted as an intermediary between the god and humankind, represented Ptah in particular. He was depicted inhuman form, tightly wrapped like a mummy, with a shaven head or wearing a close fitting skull

cap, holding the scepter of dominion composed of a 'djed' staff topped by the Ankh (life) symbol. According to one tradition (Memphite creation myth) Ptah was the primary motive force in creation, thinking and speaking the cosmos into existence (elsewhere he was said to have created the cosmos out of mud.) In this tradition, propagated by his priesthood, it was Ptah who was pre-eminent among the gods. He was said to have invented the 'opening of the mouth' ceremony, restoring the faculties of life to corpse by performing it on the mouths of gods when he created them. Ptah-Seker-Osiris He incorporated the principal gods of creation, death, and after-life. Represented as a mummified king. R Ra (Re) Egyptian sun and creator god. He was usually depicted in human form with a falcon head, crowned with the sun disc encircled by the uraeus (the sacred cobra). The sun itself was taken to be either his body or his eye. He was said to traverse the sky each day in a solar barque and pass through the underworld each night on another solar barque to reappear in the east each morning. His principal cult center was Heliopolis ("sun city") near modern Cairo. Ra was also considered to be an underworld god, closely associated in this respect with Osiris. In this capacity he was depicted as a ramheaded figure. By the third millennium B.C. Ra's prominence had already become such that the Pharaohs took to stylizing themselves as "sons of Ra." After death, the Egyptian monarch was said to ascend into the sky to join the entourage of the sun god. According to the Heliopolitan cosmology, Ra was said to have created himself, either out of a primordial lotus blossom or on the mound that emerged from the primeval waters. He then created Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture), who in turn engendered the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut. Ra was said to have created humankind from his own tears and the gods Hu (authority) and Sia (mind) from blood drawn from his own penis. Ra was often combined with other deities to enhance the prestige of the later, as in Ra-Atum or in the

formula "Ra in Osiris, Osiris in Ra." Set (Seth, Setekh, Setesh, Seti, Sutekh, Setech, Sutech) Egyptian god of Chaos who embodied the principles of hostility, if not outright evil. Early in Egyptian Mythology he was spoken with reverence as a god of storms and wind. Later on, after his battle with Horus, he was associated with foreign lands and was the adversary of the god Osiris. Set was usually depicted in human form with the head of aardvark. He was sometimes represented in entire animal form with a body similar to that of a greyhound. He was said to be the son of Nut and Geb or Nut and Ra, and the brother of Osiris, Isis and brother-husband of Nephthys. He was more commonly associated with the foreign, Semitic goddess Astarte and Anat. Despite his reputation he had an important sanctuary at Ombos in Upper Egypt, his reputed birthplace and had cults mostly in the Nile delta. For a time, during the third millennium BC, Set replaced Horus as the tutelary deity of the Pharaohs. However, when the story of Set's murder of Osiris got and the subsequent war with Horus got around, Horus was restored to his original status. The war with Horus lasted eighty years, during which Set tore out he left eye of his advisory and Horus tore out Set's foreleg and testicles. Horus eventually emerged victorious, or was deemed the victor by a council of the gods, and thus became the rightful ruler of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt. Set was forced to return the eye of Horus and was either castrated or killed. In some versions Set then went to live with the sun god Ra, where he became the voice of thunder. In the Book of the Dead, Set was refereed to as the "lord of the northern sky" and held responsible for storms and cloudy weather. Set protected Ra during his night voyage through the underworld On the other hand, Set was a peril for ordinary Egyptians, he was said to seize the souls of the unwary. Among the animals sacred to Set were the desert oryx, boar, the hippopotamus as a destroyer of boats and planted fields, and the crocodile. The pig was the ultimate taboo in Set's cult. The Greeks later equated him with their Typhon. Shu (Su; Greek Sos) Primordial Egyptian god of air and supporter of the sky. In the Heliopolitan creation myth, Shu

was, with his sister-wife Tefnut, one of the first deities created by the sun god Atum, either from his semen or from the mucus of his nostrils. Tefnut then became Shu's consort, giving birth to the sky goddess Nut and the earth god Geb. Shu separated Geb and Nut (heaven and earth) by interposing himself between them. Depicted in human form wearing an ostrich feather, with his arms raised to support the goddess Nut above the supine Thoth (Thot, Thout; Egyptian Djhowtey, Djehuti, Tehuti, Zehuti) Egyptian moon god. Over time, he developed as a god of wisdom, and came to be associated with magic, music, medicine, geometry, drawing, writing, surveying and astronomy. He was the inventor of the spoken and written word; credited with the invention of geometry, medicine and astronomy. He was also the scribe of the gods and patron of all scribes. Thoth was the measurer of the earth and counter of the stars as well as keeper and recorder of all knowledge including the Book of the Dead. Thoth was generally depicted in human form with the head of an ibis, wearing a crown consisting of a crescent moon topped by a moon disk. He could also be depicted as an ibis or a baboon which were both sacred to him. His principal sanctuary was at Hermopolis (Khmunu) in the Nile delta region. Thoth served as an arbiter among the gods. In the Osirian legend, he protected Isis during her pregnancy and healed her son Horus when Set tore out his left eye. Thoth was later identified with the Greek god Hermes in the form of Hermes Trismegistos - "Hermes the thrice great" - in which form he remained popular in medieval magic and alchemy. Thoth was also a god of the underworld, where he served as a clerk who recorded the judgments on the souls of the dead. Alternatively, it was Thoth himself who weighed the hearts of the dead against the Feather of Truth in the Hall of the Two Truths. of Geb.