Ancient Egypt has provided the world with one of the best recognized and most intricate pantheons in existence; one which continues to fascinate and influence even today, some 5100 years beyond its emergence from prehistory. This page is intended as a reference guide for students of Egyptian mythology. When completed, it will hopefully be a compilation of all the known deities of the pharaonic Egyptians. The format will consist of a Name and a description of the divinity. The description will include areas of authority, attributes, images, appearance, and selected comments or stories which might help characterize the divinity better. As I implied above, this is an ongoing work which, at the moment, is incomplete. I most certainly solicit comments and contributions; if you have additional information for me (or complaints, for that matter), I ask only that you try to supply documentation in support of what you have to say.
A note on names. A number of Egyptian divinities are now known by the most recent version of their name or, especially, a Greek transcription of that name. Nevertheless, earlier versions in the native language exist, and where there is a significant difference I have tried to provide a note on the original form, while retaining the most common form for familiarities sake. Such notes must be viewed as somewhat tentative, because of the nature of the ancient Egyptian language. Like all Semitic tongues, Egyptian was written without vowel signs, leaving later transcribers to guess at what words sounded like, or utilize foreign (usually Greek) versions of those words to form an idea of their true pattern.
A note on animal iconography. The Egyptian divinities are well-known for being portrayed with the heads and visages of various beasts. The relationship between the divinities and such creatures is complex, and beyond the scope of this article. Nevertheless, it should be noted that these creatures were not necessarily the only animals sacred to the God or Goddess they are connected with, or that they were the exclusive figure used to image the divinity - in some cases the God or Goddess claimed more than one animal, and in some cases the God or Goddess was portrayed with any of several different creatures faces. Even so, in most cases a particular creature was almost always used to image a divinity, and I have provided a note indicating what beast icon was utilized commonly or exclusively.
Click on a name below to be taken to the myth. Enjoy!
Aken
"Act as if everything you think, say and do determines your entire life - because in reality, it does!"
