List of Egyptian deities explained

Ancient Egyptian deities were an integral part of ancient Egyptian religion and were worshiped for millennia. Many of them ruled over natural and social phenomena, as well as abstract concepts These gods and goddesses appear in virtually every aspect of ancient Egyptian civilization, and more than 1,500 of them are known by name. Many Egyptian texts mention deities' names without indicating their character or role, while other texts refer to specific deities without even stating their name, so a complete list of them is difficult to assemble.

Major deities

Gods

• Aker – A god of Earth and the horizon
• Amun – A creator god, patron deity of the city of Thebes, and the preeminent deity in ancient Egypt during the New Kingdom
• Anhur – A god of war and hunting^[1]
• Anubis – The god of funerals, embalming and protector of the dead
• Aten – Sun disk deity who became the focus of the monolatrous or monotheistic Atenist belief system in the reign of Akhenaten, was also the literal sun disk
• Atum – A creator god and solar deity, first god of the Ennead
• Bennu – A solar and creator deity, depicted as a heron
• Geb – An earth god and member of the Ennead
• Horus – A major god, usually shown as a falcon or as a human child, linked with the sky, the sun, kingship, protection, and healing Often said to be the son of Osiris and Isis
• Heru-ur – A elder form of Horus
• Khepri – A solar creator god, often treated as the morning aspect of Ra and represented by a scarab beetle
• Khnum – A ram god, the patron deity of Elephantine, who was said to control the Nile flood and give life to gods and humans
• Khonsu – A moon god, son of Amun and Mut
• Maahes – A lion god, son of Bastet
• Montu – A god of war and the sun, worshiped at Thebes
• Nefertum – A god of the lotus blossom from which the sun god rose at the beginning of time Son of Ptah and Sekhmet
• Nemty – Falcon god, worshiped in Middle Egypt, who appears in myth as a ferryman for greater gods
• Neper – A god of grain
• Osiris – A god of death and resurrection who rules the Underworld and enlivens vegetation, the sun god, and deceased souls
• Ptah – A creator deity and god of craftsmen, the patron god of Memphis
• Set – An ambivalent god, characterized by violence, chaos, and strength, connected with the desert. Mythological murderer of Osiris and enemy of Horus, but also a supporter of the Pharaoh
• Shu – Embodiment of wind or air, a member of the Ennead
• Sobek – A crocodile god, worshiped in the Faiyum and at Kom Ombo
• Sopdu – A god of the sky and of Egypt's eastern border regions
• Thoth – A moon god, and a god of writing and scribes, and patron deity of Hermopolis
• Wadj-wer – Personification of the Mediterranean sea or lakes of the Nile Delta

Goddesses

• Amunet – Female counterpart of Amun and a member of the Ogdoad
• Anput – The goddess of funerals, embalming and protector of the dead, female counterpart to Anubis
• Anuket – A feathered headdress wearing goddess of Egypt's southern frontier regions, particularly the lower cataracts of the Nile
• Bastet – goddess represented as a cat or lioness, patroness of the city of Bubastis, linked with protection from evil
• Bat – A cow goddess from early in Egyptian history, eventually absorbed by Hathor
• Hathor – One of the most important goddesses, linked with the sky, the sun, sexuality and motherhood, music and dance, foreign lands and goods, and the afterlife One of many forms of the Eye of Ra She is often depicted as a cow
• Heqet – A Frog goddess said to protect women in childbirth
• Hesat – A maternal cow goddess
• Imentet – An afterlife goddess closely linked with Isis and Hathor
• Isis – Wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, linked with funerary rites, motherhood, protection, and magic. She became a major deity in Greek and Roman religion
• Maat – A goddess who personified truth, justice, and order
• Menhit – A lioness goddess
• Mut – Consort of Amun, worshiped at Thebes
• Neith – A creator and hunter goddess, patron of the city of Sais in Lower Egypt
• Nekhbet – A vulture goddess, the tutelary deity of Upper Egypt
• Nephthys – A member of the Ennead, the consort of Set, who mourned Osiris alongside Isis
• Nepit – A goddess of grain, female counterpart of Neper
• Nut – A sky goddess, a member of the Ennead
• Pakhet – A lioness goddess mainly worshiped in the area around Beni Hasan
• Renenutet – An agricultural goddess
• Satet – A goddess of Egypt's southern frontier regions
• Sekhmet – A lioness goddess, both destructive and violent and capable of warding off disease, protector of the Pharaohs who led them in war, the consort of Ptah and one of many forms of the Eye of Ra
• Tefnut – A lioness goddess of moisture and a member of the Ennead
• Wadjet – A cobra goddess, the tutelary deity of Lower Egypt
• Wosret – A goddess of Thebes

Hermaphroditic forms

• Hapi – Personification of the Nile flood
• Heh/Hauhet – Personifications of infinity and members of the Ogdoad
• Kek/Kauket – The god and goddess of Chaos and Darkness, as well as being the concept of primordial darkness^[2]
• Nu/Naunet – Personifications of the formless, watery disorder from which the world emerged at creation and members of the Ogdoad
• Ra – The foremost Egyptian sun god, involved in creation and the afterlife Mythological ruler of the gods, father of every Egyptian Pharaoh, and the patron god of Heliopolis
• Tatenen – Personification of the first mound of earth to emerge from chaos in ancient Egyptian creation myths

Minor deities

Male

• Aani – A protector ape headed god^[3]
• Aati – One of the 42 judges of the souls of the dead
• Abu – Abu was an early Egyptian god of Light that was likely worshiped in the city of Elephantine^[4]
• Am-heh – A dangerous Underworld god
• Amenhotep I – The second Pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty, deified^[5]
• Amenhotep son of Hapu – A scribe and architect in the court of Amenhotep III, later deified for his wisdom
• Amu-Aa – A god who accompanies Osiris during the second hour of the night
• An-a-f – One of the 42 judges of the souls of the dead
• An-hetep-f – One of the 42 judges of the souls of the dead
• Andjety – A god of the ninth nome of Upper Egypt^[6]
• Ani – A god of festivals
• Anti – A hawk god of Upper Egypt^[7]
• Apedemak – A warlike lion god from Nubia who appears in some Egyptian-built temples in Lower Nubia
• Apep – A serpent deity who personified malevolent chaos and was said to fight Ra in the Underworld every night
• Āpesh – A evil turtle god
• Apis – A live bull worshiped as a god at Memphis and seen as a manifestation of Ptah
• Aqen – A deity of the Underworld^[8]
• Arensnuphis – A Nubian deity who appears in Egyptian temples in Lower Nubia in the Greco-Roman era
• Ash – A god of the Libyan Desert and oases west of Egyptt
• Astennu – A baboon god associated with Thoth
• Ba – A god of fertility^[9]
• Ba-Ra – A god
• Baal – Sky and storm god from Syria and Canaan, worshiped in ancient Egypt during the New Kingdom
• Babi – A baboon god characterized by sexuality and aggression
• Banebdjedet – A ram god, patron of the city of Mendes
• Ba-Pef – A little-known Underworld deity; ram-headed god of the eighth hour
  • Bata –A bull god, the brother of Anubis Bes – Apotropaic god, represented as a dwarf, particularly important in protecting children and women in childbirth
• Buchis – A live bull god worshiped in the region around Thebes and a manifestation of Montu
• Dedun – A Nubian god, said to provide the Egyptians with incense and other resources that came from Nubia
• Denwen – A serpent and dragon god
• Djebuty – Tutelary god of Djeba^[10]
• Djefa – god of abundance^[11]
• Dionysus-Osiris – A life-death-rebirth god^[12]
• Duamutef – A son of Horus
• Fa – A god of destiny
• Fetket – A butler of Ra^[13]
• Gengen Wer – A celestial goose god who guarded the celestial egg containing the life force
• Ha – A god of the Libyan Desert and oases west of Egypt
• Ḥapi – A son of Horus^[14]
• Hapy-Wet – god of the Nile in heaven
• Djedefhor – Son of Pharaoh Khufu who was deified after death because he wrote a book considered to be the work of a god
• Harpocrates – A form of Horus depicted as a child that developed in and was worshiped in Ptolemaic egypt^[15]
• Harmachis – Sphinx god
• Harsomtus – A child god of Edfu
• Haurun – A protector and healing god, originally a Canaanite god
• Heka – Personification of magic
• Heneb – A god of grain
• Henkhisesui – god of the east wind
• Heru-Khu – A god in the fifth division of Duat
• Hery-sha-duat – Underworld god in charge of the fields of Duat
• Heryshaf – ram god worshiped at Herakleopolis Magna
• Hu – Personification of the authority of the spoken word
• Iah – A moon god
• Igai – god of oases and Egypt's Western Desert^[16]
• Ihy – A child deity born to Horus and Hathor, representing the music and joy produced by the sistrum
• Imhotep – Architect and Vizier to Djoser, eventually deified as a healer god
• Imset – A son of Horus
• Jupiter-Amum – A Roman influenced god worshiped at the Siwa Oasis in Egyptt
• Kagemni – A Vizier to Sneferu who wrote the Instructions of Kagemni, later deified
• Khentekhtai – crocodile god worshiped at Athribis
• Khenti-Amentiu – A necropolis deity^[17]
• Kherty – A Underworld god, usually depicted as a ram
• Khesfu – A god who carries a spear in the tenth division of Duat
• Kneph – A ram creator god
• Mandulis – A Lower Nubian solar deity who appeared in some Egyptian temples
• Medjed – A minor god from the Book of the Dead^[18]
• Mehen – A serpent god who protects the barque of Ra as it travels through the Underworld
• Min – A god of virility, as well as the cities of Akhmim and Qift and the Eastern Desert beyond them
• Mnevis – A live bull god worshiped at Heliopolis as a manifestation of Ra
• Nefer Hor – A son of Thoth
• Neferhotep – Son of Hathor^[19]
• Nehebkau – A protective serpent god
• Panebtawy – A child god, son of Horus the Elder
• Petbe – god of revenge
• Peteese – Brother of Pihor who drowned in the Nile, later deified
• Pihor – Brother of Peteese who drowned in the Nile, later deified
• Ptahhotep – Writer of a Wisdom Text, later deified
• Qebehsenuef – A son of Horus
• Qebui – god of the north winds
• Ra-Horakhty – A form of Ra in which he is joined with Horus
• Rem – fish god and the personification of Ra's tears^[20]
• Reshep – A Syrian war god adopted into Ancient Egyptian religion in the New Kingdom, depicted with beard and the crown of Upper Egypt^[21]
• Sah – Personification of the constellation Orion
• Sebeg – Personification of the planet Mercury^[22]
• Sebiumeker – Guardian god of procreation and fertility, he was a major god in Meroe, Kush
• Sed – A jackal deity who protected kingship
• Seker – god of the Memphite Necropolis and of the afterlife in general
• Sekhemus – god of the fourth hour of Duat
• Sepa – A centipede god who protected people from snake bites
• Sepes – A god who lived in a tree
• Sepṭu – A bearded plume wearing god
• Serapis – A Greco-Egyptian god from the Ptolemaic Period who fused traits of Osiris and Apis with those of several Greek gods Husband of Isis who, like her, was adopted into Greek and Roman religion outside Egypt
• Seta-Ta – A mummified god in the fourth division of Duat
• Setcheh – A serpent demon
• Setem – A god of healing
• Shed – A god believed to save people from danger and misfortune
• Shehbui – god of the south wind
• Shezmu – A god of wine, Blood, and oil presses who also slaughters condemned souls
• Sia – Personification of perception
• Teka-her – serpent god of the fourth hour of Duat^[23]
• Tutu – An apotropaic god from the Greco-Roman era
• Weneg – A plant god and son of Ra who maintains cosmic order
• Mehet-Weret – A celestial cow goddess

Notes and References

1. Book: Petry. The Egyptian gods . 1994. 127.
2. |url=https://archive.org/stream/godsofegyptianso00budg#page/282/mode/2up|p=241, 283–286}}
3. Book: Coulter. Charles Russell. Turner. Patricia. Encyclopedia of ancient deities. 2000. Fitzroy Dearborn. Chicago. 1-57958-270-2.
4. Book: Coulter. Charles Russell. Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. Turner. Patricia. 2013-07-04. Routledge. 978-1-135-96390-3. en.
5. Book: Shorter. Alan W.. with a new bibliography by Petry. Bonnie L.. The Egyptian gods: a handbook. 1994. the Borgo press. San Bernardino (Calif.). 0-89370-535-7. 125. Rev..
6. Web site: Willockx. Sjef. Amentet, Andjeti and Anubis: Three Ancient Egyptian Gods (2007). 25. en.
7. Web site: Mark. Joshua J.. Egyptian Gods – The Complete List. World History Encyclopedia.
8. Georg Meurer: Die Feinde des Königs in den Pyramidentexten (= Orbis biblicus et orientalis, vol. 189). Saint-Paul, 2002,, pp. 5 & 325.}}
9. Web site: GVC09-24: Mystical creatures and gods -Egyptian. winners.virtualclassroom.org.
10. Web site: Willockx. Sjef. Amentet, Andjeti and Anubis: Three Ancient Egyptian Gods (2007). 35. en.
11. Web site: Willockx. Sjef. Amentet, Andjeti and Anubis: Three Ancient Egyptian Gods (2007). 9. en.
12. Book: Kampakoglou . Alexandros v . Danaus βουγενής: Greco-Egyptian Mythology and Ptolemaic Kingship . 2016 . Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies . 119–122 .
13. Web site: Gods of Egypt. www.touregypt.net. ru.
14. Book: Petry. The Egyptian gods . 1994. 52.
15. https://exhibitions.kelsey.lsa.umich.edu/art-science-healing/harpocrates.php
16. Marti . Heri Abruña . 2018 . Igai 'the Lord of the Oasis' . The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology . 104 . 1 . 41–58 . 10.1177/0307513318777479 . 220268859 . 0307-5133.
17. Web site: Willockx. Sjef. Amentet, Andjeti and Anubis: Three Ancient Egyptian Gods (2007). 5. en.
18. Web site: Taylor. John. What is a Book of the Dead?. British Museum. 22 September 2010. 17 April 2015. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20150417192941/http://blog.britishmuseum.org/2010/09/22/what-is-a-book-of-the-dead/#comment-57. 17 April 2015.
19. Book: Lorton. Claude Traunecker. transl. from the French by David. The gods of Egypt. 2001. Cornell University Press. Ithaca, N.Y [u.a.]. 0-8014-3834-9. 59. 1st English-language, enhanced and expanded.
20. Book: Ancient Egypt - The Light of the World: A Work of Reclamation and Restitution in Twelve Books . Gerald Massey . Gerald Massey . NuVision Publications . 2008 . 1907 . 978-1595476067 . 319.
21. Book: Petry. The Egyptian gods . 1994. 139.
22. Book: Faulkner . Raymond . The Egyptian Book of the Dead: The Book of Going Forth by day . Goelet . Ogden . Andrews . Carol . Wasserman . James . Chronicle Books . 1994 . 0-8118-0767-3 . 1st . San Francisco . 175.
23. Y. Bonnamy, A. Sadek, Dictionnaire des hiéroglyphes (in French), Arles, Actes sud, 2010, .}}