In Ancient Egyptian thought, the gods were not merely supernatural beings to be worshipped, but profound personifications of essential concepts that underpinned the very fabric of existence. To the Egyptians, divinity and ideology were inseparable; their deities embodied the principles that sustained both the cosmos and society. Foremost among these was Ma’at, the divine embodiment...
A goddess of unmatched power, grace and divine fury—Sekhmet, the lioness-headed deity was said to be born from the breath of Ra, and was both a fierce protector and relentless avenger. As one of the most ancient deities of the Ancient Egyptian pantheon, she was revered as a fierce guardian of pharaohs, a goddess of...
To the Egyptians, Hippopotami were associated with the protective goddess Taweret who was associated with childbirth, pregnancy, and motherhood. The Egyptians saw hippos as a fearsome creature who protected their young from predators, with the ferociousness of the hippo encapsulating protective love. Therefore, the nature of the hippo became a symbol of guardianship during pregnancies,...
Mut, whose name means “mother” in Ancient Egyptian, was a significant deity in the Egyptian pantheon, particularly revered as the mother goddess and queen of the gods. She was considered a primal deity, linked with the primordial waters of Nu from which creation emerged, symbolizing her role as the creator of life itself. Mut was...
This wooden emblem of the goddess Anuket is a rather unique item and depicts the goddess with her famous ostrich feather headdress, with two depictions of the goddess on each side. She was the goddess of the First Cataract of the Nile and was associated with the Nubian region, she was worshipped at Elephantine. During...
The functions of Qetesh in Egyptian religion are hard to determine due to lack of direct references, but her epithets (especially the default one, “lady of heaven”) might point at an astral character, and lack of presence in royal cult might mean that she was regarded as a protective goddess mostly by commoners. Known sources...
Statue of the goddess Isis, so-called “Isis of Coptos”. She wears a tripartite wig with uraeus. The sun disc and cow’s horns identify the sculpture as Isis or Hathor. Her dress is Egyptian in style and sheath-like in appearance, and around her neck she wears an incised collar of beads.
Osiris with Isis and NephthysThe Book of the Dead of the scribe HuneferNew Kingdom, 19th Dynasty, c. 1300 B.C.British Museum. EA9901,3 Hunefer was a scribe during the 19th Dynasty (c. 1300 B.C.). He was the owner of the Papyrus of Hunefer, a copy of the funerary Egyptian Book of the Dead, which represents one of the...
Fragment of a relief depicts king Unas being suckled by unidentified goddess. These reliefs are often found in temple complexes and tombs, and they serve as visual representations of the divine nature and legitimacy of the king. The concept of a king being suckled by a goddess is often seen as a metaphorical representation of...
The Scribe of the Place of Truth, Amennakht (New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty, c. 1170 B.C.) kneels before the goddess Meretseger, “She who loves silence”. Amennakht, is in praise of Meretseger who sits before him on a throne of red, blue and orange. She is wearing a red dress and a cuff on her upper left...
