Gods

Topics in this section:	religion in ancient egypt | gods and goddesses | the afterlife | mummification | astronomy | the temple | funerary texts

Religion in ancient Egypt was an important part of everyday life. Priests attended daily to the needs of the gods, (who were thought to be manifested in their cult images), made offerings to them, and thus kept the forces of chaos at bay. Distinctions were sometimes made between the important state gods, such as Horus or Isis, and the local and "household" deities, such as Bes and Tawaret. However in practice, the only major difference between these gods and deities seems to be the lack of cult places and temples dedicated to the local and household deities. State religion tended to focus on the concerns of the state and kingship, whereas local and household deities seem to have been popular with individual ordinary Egyptians.

Most Egyptian gods and goddesses began their "lives" simply as local deities, with a specific town or village as being their cult centre.

Throughout the vast and complex history of Egypt, the dominant beliefs of the ancient Egyptians merged and mutated as leaders of different groups in  separate areas of the country would gain power. This process continued even after the end of the ancient Egyptian civilisation as we know it today. During the New Kingdom for instance, the separate deities of Re and Amun commonly "merged" (typically referred to as syncretism) to became known as Amun-Re. Even when taking part in such a syncretic relationship, the original god did not necessarily become completely "absorbed" into the combined deity.

Here we've compiled a list of some of the ancient Egyptian primary deities:

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	Amun/Amun Re Depicted as a man, and often shown seated on a throne, wearing a plain deep circlet headdress from which rise two tall straight plumes. One of the most important gods in the Egyptian pantheon, his name means "the hidden one". He is first mentioned in the 5th Dynasty pyramid texts and was originally thought to be simply a veneration of the concept of air and wind, one of the four fundamental concepts believed to have composed the primordial universe in the Ogdoad cosmogeny.  Gradually as a god of air, he came to be associated with the breath of life which created the ba, and as a creator god was titled "father of the gods". The temple of Amun at Karnak is the best surviving religious complex of the New Kingdom. In the jubilee chapel of Senusret I (1965-1920 BC) in Karnak, Amun is described as "the king of the gods" and by the time of the Ptolemies, he was regarded as the Egyptian equivalent of Zeus.
	Anubis Canine god of the dead, closely associated with embalming and mummification. Originally the god of the dead before Osiris became associated with the position. Anubis then became known as one of the sons of Osiris and the "conductor of souls" of the underworld. In the Old Kingdom pyramid texts of Unas, his role was already very clear - he was associated with the Eye of Horus and he was already thought to be the guide of the dead in the afterlife. Usually represented in the form of a seated black jackal-like dog or man with a black dog's head. It is still not entirely clear whether the dog in question - often identified by the Egyptian word "sab" was indeed a jackal. The deep black colour of Anubis's head (or body when shown in complete animal form) is not reflective of his actual colour but is instead symbolic of his position as a funerary deity. According to myth, the jackal-god was said to have wrapped the body of the deceased Osiris, thus establishing his particular association with the mummification process. The priest in charge of the funeral and embalming rights was known as the "hery seshta" (overseer of the mysteries), who took the part of the jackal god Anubis.
	Aten (sun disc) The 18th dynasty pharaoh Amenhotep IV took the name Akhenaten, built a new capital in Middle Egypt and declared that just a single deity should be worshipped - the sun disk Aten. Having no human form, the Aten was depicted with arm-like rays that ended in hands, bestowing life and peace to all. Akhenaten was a philosopher and a thinker. His father Amenhotep III had recognised the growing power of the priesthood of Amun and had sought to curb it - Akhenaten however took matters a lot further by introducing the new "monothesitic" cult of worship to the sun-disc Aten. This was not a new idea, as a minor aspect of the sun god Ra-Horakty, the Aten had been somewhat venerated in the Old Kingdom. Art took on a new distinctive style and the names of other deities were removed from temple walls in an attempt to reinforce the idea of the Aten as a single supreme deity. After the king's death the cult collapsed, and the capital Akhetaten was abandoned. Religious and political life relocated back to Thebes, and the cult of Amun was re-instated by the rule of Tutankhamun.
	Atum Creator god and solar deity of Heliopolis, where he was gradually combined with the sun god Re to become Re-Atum. In the creation myths, Atum is the primal creator. He arose on a mound out of Nun, the waters of chaos, and created the first gods, Shu and Tefnut from his spittle. The Memphite creation myth puts him as the first creation of Ptah, who simply said his name and he came into being. Atum was revered not only as the father of the gods but also as the father of the pharaohs. The title "Son of Atum" was included in the many titles of pharaoh. As such, he was regarded as a protective deity, particularly associated with the rituals of kingship. Atum lifted the dead king from his pyramid to the heavens in order to transform him into a star-god, and in later times he protected the deceased during their journey through the underworld.
	Bast/Bastet Cat goddess and local deity of the town of Bubastis, whose name means "she of the bast" (ointment jar). In her earliest known form, carved on stone vessels of the 2nd Dynasty ruler Hetepsekhemwy (c.2890 BC) at Saqqara, Bastet was represented as a woman with the head of a lioness or desert cat, frequently holding both the ankh sign and a sceptre. By the 1st Millennium BC she was widely portrayed as a cat-headed woman often carrying a sistrum (rattle) and accompanied by kittens. To those who were in her favour, she could bestow great blessings, but her wrath was legendary and she was sometimes listed as one of Re's avenging deities who punish the sinful and the enemies of Egypt. It was only in the New Kingdom that she was seen to become a more benevolent deity, adopting the head of a "domestic" cat. Closely connected (and often confused) with Sekhmet, although distinctly separate deities, Bast was a goddess from Lower Egypt whilst Sekhmet came from Upper Egypt.
	Bes A dwarf demi-god, Bes evolved to became a protector against evil spirits and misfortune. He was depicted in a sometimes androgyne way, with a full face, a bearded large head, bow legs and sometimes even a bushy tail. He would scare off any harmful or destructive influences by making a lot of noise with various musical instruments such as the sistrum, and armaments such as swords and knives. He was closely associated with Tawaret as a midwife, and as protector of the royal house, he became a very popular household deity.
	Geb Geb was thought to represent the earth, he is often seen reclining beneath the sky goddess Nut. Geb was called "the great cackler" because it was thought his laughter could bring on earthquakes. He was often depicted lying on the ground under the sky goddess Nut, or with a goose over his head. It was in this form that he was said to have laid the egg from which the sun was hatched. A fundamental deity of the divine ennead, Geb was the brother of Nut the sky goddess, and together they produced Osiris, Isis, Nepthys and Seth. The royal throne of Egypt was known as the "throne of Geb" in honour of his great reign.
	Hathor Important goddess generally worshiped in three forms: as a woman with the ears of a cow, or simply as a cow, or as a woman wearing a head-dress with wig, horns and sun disc. Hathor was an old protector of music, dancing and love, and being associated with the cow was considered to be the wife of the sacred bull Buchis of Armant, personifying fertility and motherhood. As such her popularity was unbroken during the whole Egyptian history. She and Horus protected the royal couple and she attended at the arrival of the dead king into the next world. Her associations and cult centres were among the most numerous and diverse of any of the Egyptian deities. The literal meaning of her name was "House of Horus" and since the pharaoh identified with Horus, Hathor was correspondingly regarded as the divine mother of each reigning king, and one of the royal titles was "Son of Hathor".
	Hapy/Hapi Androgynous (asexual) god of the Inundation (yearly flood), usually represented as a pot bellied man with pendulous breasts and a head-dress formed of aquatic plants. He was sometimes coloured blue, black or green to represent the mud from the Nile, and shown offering fruits and flowers and carrying the lotus and the papyrus, the symbols of Upper and Lower Egypt respectively. These attributes were designed to represent fertility and the abundance of produce resulting from the Nile silt left by the receding waters of the river after the Inundation. Common epithets for Hapy include "master of the river bringing vegetation" and "lord of the fishes and birds of the marshes". Although the flood was the source of the country's wealth and prosperity, no temples or sanctuaries were built specifically in honour of Hapy. Note: not to be confused with the baboon Hapy, one of the "four sons of Horus" who protected the deceased's entrails that were stored in canopic jars after mummification.
	Horus Falcon headed god, usually depicted as a man with the head of a falcon. Many falcon gods existed throughout Egypt, though over time a good number of these were assimilated into Horus, the most important. Horus was an early sky and solar god from Upper Egypt, worshipped before the unification, and one of the oldest gods in the Egyptian mythology. As the god of the sky and the embodiment of divine kingship, Horus was the protector of the reigning pharaoh. According to one of the most common myths, Horus was the child of the goddess Isis and the god Osiris. It was Horus who performed the rite of the "opening of the mouth" on his dead father, thus legitimising his succession to the throne as an earthly ruler. In a similar vein, priests (or eldest sons) wearing distinctive panther skins would ritually purify the path of the deceased's coffin.
	Isis She was the daughter of Nut and Geb, the sister and wife to Osiris, and the mother of Horus. Best known mythologically as the devoted wife of Osiris, whose body she sought, after his murder by his brother Seth. She is said to have made the first mummy from the dismembered limbs of Osiris, using her wings to breathe life into him and magically conceiving her son, Horus in the process. Her most famous temple is Philae near Aswan, but she was also widely worshipped universally, with cult centres at Dendera and Byblos in Syria-Palestine. As the major goddess of the Egyptian pantheon, Isis had many of the same attributes of other mother-goddesses, and was revered as the great protector, prayed to for guidance, and beseeched for peace. In addition to her temples that were found throughout Egypt, many houses also had shrines to her devotion, and her worship was even taken up by the Greeks and the Romans.
	Khepri The creator sun-god at dawn is represented by a scarab (dung) beetle pushing the sun disc upwards from the underworld. The Ancient Egyptians would have noticed the dung beetles busily rolling their balls of dirt across the ground. The beetles would lay their eggs in the dung balls, and emerge from inside them, apparently spontaneously, so it was quite logical for the Egyptians to use the beetles to symbolise Khepri "he who is coming into being", self created of his own accord without undergoing the natural cycle of reproduction. Khepri, in the form of a gigantic scarab, would roll the sun like a huge ball across the sky, then roll it down through the underworld to the eastern horizon. Each morning Khepri would renew the sun so that it could give life to all the world. As a deity closely associated with resurrection, Khepri was believed to be swallowed by Nut the sky goddess every evening, where he would pass through her body to be reborn in the morning.
	Khnum The ram headed god, whose strong association with the Nile inundation and the fertile soil contributed to his role as a potter-god. The creative symbolism of moulding pottery, the potency of the ram, and the fact that the Ancient Egyptian word for ram was "ba" meant that Khnum was also one of the principle creator gods. The Egyptians believed that the ram was a very potent animal, and thus Khnum was linked to fertility. He was also thought to help Re travel through the underworld each night on his solar barque. Sometimes Khnum was shown modelling the "ka" on his potter's wheel whilst forming the bodies of humanity. Khnum's principal cult centre was on the island of Elephantine at Aswan, where he was possibly worshipped from the Early Dynastic Period.
	Ma'at Goddess personifying truth, justice and the harmony of the universe. Usually portrayed as a seated woman with an ostrich feather, or sometimes simply as a feather, Ma'at represented the divine order of the universe as originally brought into being at the moment of creation. Ma'at's power was believed to regulate the seasons, movement of the stars and the relations between mankind and the gods. Ma'at was an integral part of the "weighing of the heart" ceremony where the heart of the deceased sits in one of the trays on the balance scales. The heart is weighed against either Ma'at or her feather, and if the scales balance then the deceased may enter the "field of reeds" and enjoy the afterlife.
	Nephthys Goddess of the Heliopolitan "Ennead". Her distinctive head-dress is in fact the heiroglyphs of her name, "neb-hut" meaning "Lady of the Mansion". She was usually said to have been the sister of Isis and Osiris and wife of the "evil" god Seth. Despite being the wife of Seth, she was seen as a loyal sister to Isis and Osiris, helping Isis to gather Osiris' scattered limbs in an attempt to bring him back to life. As such, Nephthys became associated with the dead, becoming a friend of the deceased. She offered guidance to the newly dead, and comfort to the family of the one who died, and in later tradition was regarded as the mother of Anubis from a union with Osiris. She was often depicted as a winged goddess, and sometimes in the form of a bird, making her a solar deity, as well as a deity of the dead. Nephthys was worshipped widely throughout all of Egypt, though unlike her sister Isis, she had no formal temple or cult.
	Nut Sky-goddess, (shown side-on) whose body symbolised the sky and heavens. Nut was the daughter of Shu and Tefnut, and united with her brother Geb, gave birth to Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. Nut's body was thought to be arched over the earth, with her arms and legs the pillars of the sky, and her hands and feet thought to touch the four cardinal points at the horizon. Every evening she swallowed the setting sun, Re, and every morning gave birth to him again. Depictions of this act are often found on the ceilings of temples, as well as in the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings, where they are accompanied on the walls by the nightly journey of the sun through the underworld.
	Osiris One of the most important deities of Ancient Egypt, whose principle association is with death, resurrection and fertility. He is usually depicted as a mummy whose hands project through his wrappings to hold the royal insignia of the crook and flail. Osiris was once an earthly ruler who governed well, and so aroused the jealousy of his evil brother Seth. Seth secretly discovered the measurements of his brother's body, had a magnificent casket made to fit Osiris, and organised a banquet to which he invited 72 accomplices as well as Osiris. During the feast he declared that whoever fitted the casket exactly should have it as a gift. Osiris stepped into the coffin and the lid was sealed with molten lead. Cast into the Nile it drifted to Byblos and caught in a cedar tree. Seth stumbled on the casket and angrily dismembered the body of his brother. Isis then searched for the pieces of her husband, and reassembled the body into a mummy, magically conceived Horus, who was said to have  avenged his father's death in a series of contests with his uncle. According to the myths, these struggles lasted for eighty years until Osiris was finally declared ruler of the underworld and Horus confirmed as ruler of the living, leaving Seth to rule the deserts as the god of chaos and evil.
	Ptah Creator god of Memphis, usually portrayed as a mummy with a tassle and a distinctive skull cap. His hands emerge from wrappings in front of his body holding a staff that combines the "djed" pillar, the "ankh" sign and "was" sceptre. From the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BC) onwards,  Ptah was represented with a straight beard. It was Ptah who was credited with having devised the "opening of the mouth" ceremony. Although associated predominantly with Memphis, Ptah is a universal deity found on all major sites in Egypt and Nubia.
	Re The old solar-god from Heliopolis and a major deity all over Egypt. He would travel across the sky every day in his solar barque with his life-giving sun disc. He stood for life, rebirth and was usually represented as a hawk-headed human figure wearing a sun-disc headdress. Re exerted such a strong influence on the rest of the Egyptian pantheon that virtually all of the most significant deities were eventually subsumed into the sun-cult by a process of "syncretism", thus Amun became Amun-Re and Horus became Re-Horakhty. It was during the reign of Akhenaten (1352-1336 BC)  that the concept of the sun god as a universal deity into whom all other deities could be absorbed took place. The "aten" (disc) is represented as a sun-disc from which arms stretch down, offering life and power to the royal family and is perhaps most famously portrayed upon the art and treasures of Tutankhamun.
	Sekhmet The popular goddess of war, usually depicted as a woman with the head of a lioness and sometimes with the sun disc and/or a cobra on top of her head. She was the sister and wife of Ptah, and was created by the fire of Re's eye as a weapon of vengeance to destroy mankind for their wicked ways and disobedience to him. In order to placate Sekhmet's wrath, her priesthood performed a ritual before a different statue of her on each day of the year. It was said that her priests protected her statues by coating them with anthrax, and so she became associated as a bringer of disease, and placating her was thought to cure such ills. The name "Sekhmet" literally became synonymous with doctors and surgeons during the Middle Kingdom.
	Seshat The goddess of writing and measurement, usually represented as a woman in a long panther skin dress and wearing a head-dress with a distinctive seven pointed star underneath a bow. Reliefs from the Old and Middle Kingdoms show her recording quantities of foreign captives and booty. As the divine measurer and scribe, she was believed to assist pharaoh in both these practices. Seshat recorded, by notching her palm, the time allotted to him by the gods for his stay on earth, and during the New Kingdom, she was involved in pharaoh's jubilee "sed" festival. She also assisted the pharaoh in the "Pedj Shes" ritual (literally "stretching the cord" which was a ceremony performed to work out the correct alignment for building temples), as well as recording the speeches made during crowning.
	Seth/Set Originally a local god of storms from upper Egypt, he evolved into the god of chaos and confusion, generally depicted with a human body and the head of a mysterious unknown animal, probably a mythical beast. Seth was the son of the sky-goddess Nut and the brother of Osiris, Isis and Nephthys (who was also his wife). According to the legend, Seth murdered his brother Osiris and was involved in a long and violent contest with his nephew Horus who sought to avenge the death of his father. Laying outside the "ordered universe" governed by Horus (ruler of the living) and Osiris (ruler of the underworld), Seth served as the necessary complement to divine order. In the New Kingdom he gained prominence when several rulers took his name - Seti.
	Sobek Crocodile god, either portrayed as a crocodile (often on a shrine or altar) or as a man with a crocodile's head, often wearing an elaborate head-dress consisting of the horned sun-disc and upright feathers. Originally a demon, as crocodiles were such feared creatures in a nation so dependent on the Nile, his worship began as an attempt to pacify the crocodile and so reduce the danger it posed. Gradually Sobek came to symbolise the produce of the Nile, and the fertility that it brought to the land, and so his status quickly became more ambiguous. Sometimes the ferocity of a crocodile was seen in a positive light, and such, Sobek was considered a patron of the army, representing strength and power. During the 12th and 13th Dynasties, the cult of Sobek was given particular prominence, as the names of such rulers as Sobekhotep and Sobekneferu indicate.
	Tawaret Household deity in the form of a female hippopotamus who was particularly associated with the protection of women in childbirth. Since childbirth was a particularly dangerous time in the lives of ordinary people, it is not surprising that Tawaret was one of the most popular household deities from the Old Kingdom onwards. She was often shown holding the "sa" hieroglyph of protection or the ankh hieroglyph of life. She was thought to assist women in labour by using magic to scare off demons and evil spirits that might harm the vulnerable mother or child.
	Thoth God of writing and knowledge, depicted in the form of two animals: the baboon and the sacred ibis. By the end of the Old Kingdom he was most frequently portrayed as an ibis-headed man, usually holding a scribal palette and a pen or a notched palm leaf. He was also often shown recording the results of the "weighing of the heart" of the deceased, and sometimes in addition, he is shown as a baboon perched on top of the scales. Thoth was a lunar deity and is often depicted wearing the lunar crescent on his head. Worshipped widely throughout all of Egypt, his cult centre was Hermopolis.

Gods and Religion

Topics in this section:

religion in ancient egypt | gods and goddesses | the afterlife | mummification | astronomy | the temple | funerary texts

Religion guided every aspect of ancient Egyptian life. Like many ancient cultures, the religion of ancient Egypt was polytheistic (many gods) and a great number of gods and goddesses were worshipped - some of great importance, whilst others were simply local or household deities. Apart from a short period of "state monotheism" under the so-called "heretic" pharaoh Akhenaten, the tradition of the polytheistic religion had an enduring continuity throughout the centuries of ancient Egyptian culture. The religion itself gradually developed and evolved, becoming more sophisticated and more complex over time. This is particularly obvious from the Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts, that had, by the New Kingdom period, developed into the multi faceted funerary texts we know so well today.

From the earliest times, the Egyptians paid homage to their dead by burying them and shielding their remains through eternity. Egypt had a highly developed view of the afterlife with elaborate rituals for preparing the body and soul for a peaceful life after death. Beliefs about the soul and afterlife focused heavily on preservation of the body, and it is primarily because of this and the surviving temple and tomb reliefs that we know so much today about their religious thoughts and practices.

Iconic burials - perhaps the most famous tombs ever built in the history of humanity. The primal archetype of the Egyptian pyramid was the sacred Ben-Ben stone in the temple of Heliopolis, the oldest centre of the sun cult. The original stone at Heliopolis, symbolising the primeval mound, was believed to have been the point at which the rays of the rising sun first fell. The gilded capstone of the pyramid, which would sit at the apex was known as a ben-benet.

The Egyptians saw death as a transitional stage in the progress to a better life in the next world. They believed that they could only reach their full potential after death, and that every person was thought to have three "souls", the "ka," the "ba," and the "akh." For these to function properly, it was considered essential for the body to survive intact. Their belief in the rebirth after death became the fundamental driving force behind their complex and detailed funeral practices.

Like many cultures, the ancient Egyptians were driven to find meaning in existence, but there were also other influences on their religion, such as the need to justify kingship, amongst others. One of the very strong traditions was that of divine kingship - the belief that Pharaoh was not only the political ruler of the country but also a god. As both ruler and a god, pharaoh held an immense amount of power, and his function as a representative of the gods was to preserve "ma'at" and restore the original harmony of the universe, imposing order and preventing chaos.

Creation - ancient Egyptian style

In attempting to understand their place within the universe and the world as they knew it, the ancient Egyptians created their own distinct creation mythology based upon nature, and focusing closely on the earth, sky, moon, sun, stars, and of course the all important Nile.

Heliopolis, (from the Greek, meaning city of the sun) capital of the 13th nome is located in the ruins of Iunu in the north western periphery of Cairo. It is here that the creation of Egyptian myth began. Ancient Egyptian mythology states that in the beginning of time everything began with Nun. Nun is the descriptive representation of what the planet was thought to be like before land appeared. Nu was a vast area of swirling watery chaos, and as the floods receded the land appeared. Out of these waters, the god Atum rose. Pyramid Text Utterance 600 records this theology:

Atum-Kheprer, you have come to be high on the hill, you have arisen on the Ben-ben stone in the mansion of the Benu-bird in Heliopolis, you spat out Shu, you expectorated Tefnut, and you put your two arms around them as the arms of a ka-symbol, so that your ka might be in them … O great Ennead which is in Heliopolis - Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Set, Nephthys - children of Atum, extend his heart to his child, the king, in your name of Nine Bows.

The Heliopolitan Ennead

Probably the most well known and influential creation myths. The world began as a watery chaos called Nun, from which the sun-god Atum (later to identified with Re) emerged on a mound known as the "benben". By his own power he spat out the twin deities Shu (air) and Tefnut (moisture) who between themselves went on to produce Geb (the earth) and then Nut (the sky).

A union between Geb and Nut then produced Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys. These nine "gods" so created formed the divine ennead (i.e. company of nine) which in later texts was often regarded as a single divine entity. From this system derived the commonly accepted conception of the universe represented as a figure of the air-god Shu standing and supporting with his hands the out-stretched body of the sky-goddess Nut, with Geb the earth-god lying at his feet.

The Hermopolitan Ogdoad

The second cosmological tradition of Egypt was developed at Hermopolis, the capital of the 15th nome of Upper Egypt, and apparently during a time of reaction against the religious hegemony of Heliopolis. According to this tradition, chaos existed at the beginning of time before the world was created. This chaos possessed four characteristics identified with eight deities who were grouped in pairs: Nun and Naunet, (god and goddess of the primordial water), Heh and Hehet, (god and goddess of infinite space), Kek and Keket, (god and goddess of darkness), and Amun and Amunet, (god and goddess of invisibility).

These deities were the personifications of the characteristic elements of chaos out of which the earth emerged. They formed what is called the Hermopolitan ogdoad (company of eight). Out of chaos rose the primeval mound at Hermopolis and on the mound was deposited an egg from which emerged the great sun-god. The sun-god then proceeded to organise the world. The Hermopolitan idea of chaos was of something more active than the chaos of the Heliopolitan system; but after the ultimate triumph of the latter system, a subtle modification (no doubt introduced largely for political reasons) made Nun the father and creator of Atum.

The Memphite theology

A third creation myth was developed at Memphis, when it became the capital city of the kings of Egypt. Ptah, the principal god of Memphis, had to be shown to be the great creator-god, and a new legend about creation was coined. An attempt was made however, to organise the new cosmogony so that any potential rift with the priests of Heliopolis might be avoided.

Thus, Ptah was the great creator-god, but eight other gods were believed to be contained within him. Of these eight, some were members of the Heliopolitan Ennead, and others of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Atum, for example, held a special position, Nun and Naunet were included, together with Tatjenen, a Memphite god personifying the earth emerging from chaos, and four other deities whose names are not certain. They were probably Horus, Thoth, Nefertum, and a serpent-god.

Atum was held to represent the active abilities of Ptah by which creation was achieved, these being intelligence - identified with the heart and personified as Horus, and will - identified with the tongue and personified as Thoth.

Ptah conceived the world intellectually before creating it "by his own word". According to the Memphite theology, he created the universe by using his heart and his tongue (thought and speech). For the ancient Egyptians the heart was the seat of thought, not the brain. By uttering the name of all things he brought them into being, for according to Egyptian belief the name, known as "the ren" held the essence of a being or a thing. In this way Ptah was said to have created all the gods.

The whole Memphite theology is preserved on a slab of basalt now exhibited in the Egyptian Sculpture Gallery. It was composed at an early date, and committed to stone during the 25th Dynasty by the order of King Shabaka. The "Shabaka Stone" was later used as a mill-stone and as a result, much of the text has now been lost. The document known as the Bremner-Rhind Papyrus includes, among other religious texts, two monologues of the sun-god describing how he created all things.

Aspects of the religious system in ancient Egypt

The spiritual world that was created by the ancient Egyptians was a richly fascinating one which remains unique in the history of human religion. Discover more about the complexities and beliefs of the religious system of ancient Egypt:

	The gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. The Egyptian gods and goddesses were prone to mirror humanity - in essence they lived, died, hunted, went into battle, gave birth, ate, drank, and had human emotions. Certain towns and villages often had unique gods that were known or worshipped only in that specific region. We've compiled a list of some of the primary deities that were worshipped throughout the black land.
	The afterlife. The ancient Egyptians believed that death was the end of physical life in this world, but that through death one could be renewed. Once resurected, the deceased could go on to live an eternal life, free from the physical limitations of age or poverty. Adherence to a intricate set of rituals ensured that your spirit could finally take flight and move on to enjoy this glorious world of the afterlife.
	Mummification. The artificial preservation of the dead body was one of the hallmarks of ancient Egyptian civilisation, and mummification was practiced in Egypt for 4000 years. The complex process included embalming the bodies and wrapping them in strips of linen, and this remarkably successful conservation of the body has allowed us today to stare into the very faces of some of the most famous pharaohs in ancient Egypt's history.
	Astronomy. Ancient Egypt had a rich religious tradition which permeated every aspect of society. As in most early cultures, the patterns and behaviours of the sky led to the creation of a number of myths designed to explain certain astronomical phenomena. For the Egyptians, the practice of astronomy went beyond legend: huge temples and pyramids were built to have a specific astronomical orientation in relation to the stars and constellations.
	Temples. In addition to being a primary place of worship and the symbolic home of associated god or goddess, temples were also major administrative centres, and could own vast estates of land and livestock. They often depended on donations, sometimes even the spoils of war, in order to support the considerable temple population of priests, administrators and support workers.
	The funerary texts of ancient Egypt. The magical text that decorated the tombs of the ancient pharaohs of Egypt would provide a detailed roadmap of the what the Egyptians believed to be the Netherworld. Most of these were derived in some manner from the much earlier Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts developed by the Kings of the 5th and 6th Dynasty.

The Temple

Topics in this section:	religion in ancient egypt | gods and goddesses | the afterlife | mummification | astronomy | the temple | funerary texts

The Ancient Egyptians regarded their temples as the "homes" of their respective god or deity.

Temples could be single buildings or great complexes, but the most essential component for any temple was the innermost "cult chamber" or shrine, where the image of the god or deity was kept. The activities of the temple revolved around the worship and celebration of the god or deity's "cult" via the image or statue of that god which was placed in the temple's shrine. Temples were also used for religious festivals, which usually involved priestly processions with the god or deity transported on a barque (a scale model of a boat carried aloft on poles).

Temples were also considered to be architectural metaphors for the universe and the process of creation itself. The floor of the temple would gradually rise, passing through "forests" of plant-form columns and roofed by images of the constellations or the body of Nut. This would allow priests to ascend from the outermost edge of the universe, in towards the sanctuary, which symbolised creation and the "Primeval Mound" upon which the creator-god first brought the world into being.

Temples were also important elements of Egyptian economic infrastructure, employing large workforces and earning income from agricultural land and gold mines. Temples were surrounded by ancillary buildings such as granaries and slaughter-houses, in which daily offerings were stored and processed. Temple administration is documented both in temple reliefs and in certain surviving archives of papyri - the best discovered so far is from the Old Kingdom mortuary temples of Neferirkara and Raneferef at the pyramid complex of Abusir.

Abu Simbel in 1838. David Roberts' captivating lithograph of the facade of the great temple at Abu Simbel, half buried by the shifting deserts sands.

What is it?
Re-discovered by Johann Ludwig Burkhardt in 1813, enveloped by the shifting sands, Abu Simbel is now a UNESCO World Heritage archaeological site. The site consists of of two massive rock temples located close to the town of Abu Simbel in southern Egypt (Nubia).

Where is it?
The temples are on the western bank of Lake Nasser, around 290km southwest of Aswan. Between 1964 and 1968, the entire complex was relocated 65m higher up and 200m further back from the river bank. This was to avoid the temples being totally submerged during the creation of Lake Nasser, the massive artificial water reservoir formed after the building of the Aswan dam on the river Nile.

The Great Temple	The Smaller Temple

Who built the temples?
The twin temples were carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II, as both a lasting monument to himself and his principal queen Nefertari, and to commemorate the so-called victory at the Battle of Kadesh. As such, the sheer size and scale of the temples were also designed to intimidate his Nubian neighbours.

Who are they dedicated to?
The great temple is dedicated to Ra-Horakhty, Ptah and Amun, Egypt's three state deities of the time, and features four large statues of Ramesses II in the facade. The smaller temple is dedicated to the goddess Hathor, personified by Nefertari.

The great temple at Abu Simbel is generally considered to be the grandest and most beautiful of the temples commissioned during the reign of Ramesses II.

The facade:
The rock cut facade of the great temple represents the front of a pylon and is 33m high and 38m wide, guarded by four statues, each of which are 20m high. They were sculptured directly from the rock in which the temple was located before it was moved in the 1960's. All of the statues represent Ramesses II, seated on a throne and wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. The statue to the left of the entrance was damaged in an ancient earthquake, leaving only its lower section still intact. Several smaller figures are situated at the feet of the four statues, depicting members of the pharaoh's family. They include his mother Tuya, wife Nefertari, and some of his sons and daughters. Above the entrance there is a statue of a falcon-headed Ra-Harakhte, with the pharaoh shown worshipping on both sides of him. Below the statue there is an ancient rebus, showing the prenomen or throne name of Ramesses II: "Waser-ma'at".

This fantastic facade is topped off by a row of 22 baboons, their arms raised in the air, worshipping the rising sun. Another notable feature of the facade is a stele that records the marriage of Ramesses II with a daughter of the Hittite King, Hattusili III, a triumphant diplomatic act that would seal the peace between Egypt and the Hittites.

The eight statues of Ramesses in the form of Osiris, from the first hall.	The four seated statues in the sanctuary.

The interior:
The first hall of the temple features eight statues of Rameses II in the form of the god Osiris, serving as pillars. Those on the north side are shown wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt, whilst those on the south wear are wearing the double crown. The walls depict scenes of Egyptian victories in Libya, Syria and Nubia, including images from the Battle of Kadesh. At the western end of the main hall are three doors, the side ones leading into lateral chambers, and the central one opening into a room with four square pillars. From this room a doorway leads to the vestibule, and beyond that is located the innermost shrine with seated statues of the gods.

The sanctuary contains four seated statues of Ra-Horakhty, Ptah, Amun and Ramesses (see above). One of the most remarkable features of this temple is that it is so precisely oriented that twice every year, the first rays of the morning sun shine down the entire length of the temple-cave to illuminate the back wall of the innermost shrine and the statues of the four gods seated there. These dates were allegedly the king's birthday and coronation day respectively, but there is no evidence to support this. Due to the displacement of the temple when it was moved, it is widely believed that this event now occurs one or two days later than it was originally intended.

The smaller temple has a much simpler interior design than the great temple, having just one hypostyle hall and the sanctuary.

The smaller temple at Abu Simbel is located just north of the great temple. It was carved into the rock by Ramesses II and dedicated to Hathor, the goddess of love and beauty, and also to his principal wife, Nefertari. The facade is adorned by six statues, four of Ramesses II and two of Nefertari. Most unusually, the six are the same height, which indicates the esteem in which Nefertari was held. The entrance leads to a single hall, containing six pillars that bear the head of the goddess Hathor. On the sides facing the centre of the hypostyle hall, Ramesses is shown smiting his enemies and making offerings before various gods, whilst a graceful and slender Nefertari is shown with hands raised. Three doors lead to a vestibule with ancillary rooms at either end.

The holiest area of the temple, the sanctuary, has two spaces that were left on its side walls for doors to rooms which were never actually cut. The inner chamber contains a number of images interrelating the royal couple and the gods. On the back wall is a relief of the goddess Hathor, shown in the form of a cow emerging from the western mountain, with the king standing beneath her chin. Above the doorway is the cartouche of Nefertari. Ramesses II is also shown standing before seated figures of himself and Nefertari.

When Greek mercenaries passed by the smaller temple in the 6th century BC, sand already reached the knees of the facade statues. These ancient sightseers left an inscription which read "When King Psammetichus came to Elephantine, this was written by those who sailed with Psammetichus the son of Theolces, and they came beyond Kerkis as far as the river permits."

David Roberts' lithograph of the sand swathed Osiris statues from the first hall of the great temple at Abu Simbel in 1838.

 

David Roberts' "General view of the ruins of Karnak from the west." The first pylon is clearly visible in the upper left hand side of the lithograph, with the hypostyle hall in the centre. The ruins on the north-south axis can be seen in the foreground, on the right hand side.

Ipet-isut - "the most sacred of places"

One of the largest and most impressive of all the temple sites in Egypt, Karnak is the culmination of three main temples, several smaller enclosed temples, and a number of outer temples - the combined achievements of a great many generations of ancient builders. The vast complex was built and enlarged over a period of 1300 years and stands on a site covering 247 acres of land.

Although badly ruined, probably no site in Egypt is more impressive than Karnak. It is the largest ancient temple complex ever built by man, and represents the combined achievement of many generations of early builders. Only one of the main areas is currently accessible for tourists and the general public - this is the "main" temple which is by far the largest part and is known as the Temple of Amun.

The key difference between Karnak and most of the other temples and sites in Egypt is the length of time over which it was developed and used. Around thirty different pharaohs contributed to the buildings, enabling it to reach a size, complexity and diversity not seen elsewhere. Few of the individual features of Karnak are unique, but the size and number of features is quite overwhelming.

The layout of the temples

The three main temples of Mut, Montu and Amun are enclosed by enormous brick walls. The main area, The Temple of Amun, is situated in the centre of the entire complex.

Precinct of Montu: dedicated to the Theban god Montu, this square northern enclosure is the smallest of the three precincts. Most of the monuments today are in a poor state of preservation, and include the main temple of Montu, several smaller structures, particularly the temples of Harpre and Ma’at, and a sacred lake. A structure thought to be a treasury built by Tuthmosis I was discovered outside of the east enclosure wall. The treasury consisted of a barque station of Amun, storerooms and workshops, and may well be the oldest building on the site.

The most significant architectural complex north of the Temple of Amun, the Precinct of Montu was first built by Amenhotep III using masonry blocks belonging to discarded monuments from Amenhotep I, Hatshepsut, Tutmosis III, Amenhotep II and Tutmosis IV.

Remains of the Precinct of Montu

The sacred lake on the west side may have been dug by Amenhotep III and later restored by Montuemhat. The eastern part of the temple collapsed at the end of the New Kingdom, and reconstruction was probably undertook by Taharqa, the 25th Dynasty Nubian ruler who also built a great portico on the main facade. This was later dismantled and then rebuilt by the first Ptolemies.

Precinct of Mut: dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Mut, the mother goddess. This area of the temple was used from the 18th Dynasty onwards, although by the 1st century AD, its use had steadily declined, and when the worship of Mut discontinued, effectively so did the function of the complex. Unfortunately the site is in such a poor state of preservation today that practically nothing over one metre high is still standing. Hundreds of statues are scattered all over the central part of the site.

Remains of the Precinct of Mut

The main features of the Precinct of Mut include the crescent-shaped sacred lake known as "Isheru", the temple of Ramesses III, the temple of Mut and the temple of Khonspekhrod. In addition there are a number of smaller buildings and shrines, as well as the temple of Nectanebo II, the barque shrine of Thutmose III and Hatshepsut and the Sanctuary of Amun-Kamutef, located just outside the enclosing wall.

From the main entrance, a long avenue of ram-headed sphinxes currently under restoration, lead north, directly up to the tenth pylon of the Precinct of Amun.

The precinct of Amun: This precinct is by far the largest of the temples at Karnak and the only one that is open to the general public. This temple complex is dedicated to the principal god of the Theban Triad, Amun, in the form of Amun-Re. Rather unusually, is built along two axis running both east-west and north-south.

Aerial view of the Precinct of Amun, showing the Avenue of Sphinxes leading up to the first pylon, then through to the first courtyard, the second pylon and through to the hypostyle hall. The sacred lake is clearly visible in the top left hand corner.

The original core of the temple was located near the centre of the east-west axis on a mound which was itself almost certainly a very ancient sacred site. This original core was then expanded both towards the Nile in normal Egyptian fashion, but also in the direction of the outlying Mut temple to the south.

Visitors today normally approach the temple from the west by a quay built by Ramesses II. During ancient times, this quay would have given access to the temple from a canal that would have been linked to the Nile. Just to the right stands a small barque chapel of Hakoris that would have been used as a resting station during the ceremonial processions of the gods to and from the Nile. A short avenue of ram-headed sphinxes leads from the quay to the temple's first pylon. These sphinxes have ram's heads symbolising the great state god, Amun, and each holds a statue of the king protectively between their paws.

The Avenue of Sphinxes dates from the period of Ramesses II and leads up to the great first pylon at the western entrance of the Precinct of Amun. Ironically, this pylon was actually the last to be built and was never actually completed. The small obelisk on the right was erected by Seti II.

The impressive first entrance pylon is actually unfinished. We know this because of the unequal height of its upper regions, with uncut blocks that project from its undecorated surfaces, and because of the remains of a mud-brick construction ramp that is still present on the pylon's interior side. It may have been built during the reign of the 30th Dynasty Nubian pharaoh Nectanebo I, although it is possible that an earlier pylon may have stood on the same position. Although it is known as the "first pylon" today, rather ironically it was actually the last of the pylons to have been built on the site.

First Courtyard
Just beyond the first pylon, the first courtyard now encloses an area that would have originally been outside of the temple. The Avenue of Ram-headed sphinxes would have continued within this area, now bordered on two sides by a colonnaded portico with closed bud capitals, attributed to the 22nd Dynasty ruler Shoshenq I. To the left of the first courtyard stands a barque chapel with a small sphinx opposite, and in the centre of the first courtyard stand the remains of the Kiosk of Tarharqa. On the right-hand side of the forecourt, in front of the second pylon, stands a small temple built by Ramesses III. Just in front of the second pylon would have stood two colossal statues of Ramesses II.

Bubastis Portal
This portal gate is located between the temple of Ramesses III and the second pylon. It records the conquests and military campaigns in Syria-Palestine of the 22nd Dynasty pharaoh Shoshenq I.

Hypostyle Hall
Through the second pylon stands probably the most famous area of the temple - the hypostyle hall. Symbolising the primeval papyrus swamp, a total number of 134 columns stand in the hall, including 12 taller central ones. Standing at a height of 21m (69 ft), they dwarf their counterparts that stand at a mere 15m high (49 ft)! The larger columns have open papyrus capitals, whilst the smaller ones have closed papyrus capitals. Once supporting a roof with small clerestory windows, now only remnants of these windows remain. Work on the hypostyle hall was originally started by Amenhotep III, although the actual decorations were initiated by Seti I, and completed by his son Ramesses II.

Close up view of the capitals of the columns in the hypostyle hall in the temple of Amun at Karnak. The closed bud papyrus capital is on the left, and the open papyrus capital on the taller column on the right.

Beyond the hypostyle hall
Passing through the third pylon lies the Obelisk Court. Four obelisks, erected by Tuthmosis I and Tuthmosis III  stood in this court, standing before what would have been the original entrance to the inner temple, but now only one remains. It is also in the obelisk court that the temple's second axis, now leads off to the south. Continuing in an easterly direction however brings you to the fourth and fifth pylons, and the oldest part of the temple that still remains. These pylons were constructed during the reign of Tuthmosis I. Later additions to this area included four obelisks raised by Hatshepsut, although only two now remain.

Very little remains of the sixth pylon, built by Tuthmosis III, however, the walls still retain the lists of conquered peoples of the south and north. This pylon fronts a court with two magnificent granite pillars bearing the floral emblems of Upper and Lower Egypt. A granite barque shrine, attributed to Philip Arrhidaeus, the successor of Alexander the Great, leads from the court, surrounded by chambers and walls built by Hatshepsut and Tuthmosis III respectively. These walls precede the  Central Court - an open area where the earliest temple probably once stood and that would subsequently go on to become the sanctuary of the later, much extended temple. Unfortunately, the building was plundered for its stone during antiquity, and there is now little left other than the large calcite slab on which a shrine once stood. Beyond the central court stands the Festival Temple of Tuthmosis III, including the unusual feature of tent shaped columns, possibly modelled on those used by Tuthmosis in his actual military tents.

The sacred lake
Originally dug during the reign of Tuthmosis III, the sacred lake of the temple of Amun is one of the largest of its kind. Lined in stone, the lake has steps leading down into the water, from where the priests of the temple could have collected the water that was used for ritual ablutions. The lake's rough-hewn stone edging is punctuated on the southern side by the opening of a stone tunnel through which the domestic "geese of Amun" were released into the lake from their enclosures. A variety of ducks were also included within the temple's aviary.

The sacred lake at the temple of Amun, Karnak

On the eastern side of the lake stand the ruins of buildings that would have once been the homes of the priests of the temple. The subject of archaeological excavation since the 1970's, they now lie beneath the seating erected for the sound and light show. A number of ceramic fragments, seal imprints and coins dating from the 22nd Dynasty, as well as clay pots from the 26th and 27th Dynasties have been discovered in this area. Silver ingots and two silver coins, originally from northern Greece and dating from around the 27th Dynasty, were found amongst the ruins of house number five. Various titles of priests have also been found - amongst them that of the priest in charge of the opening of the golden naos of Amun.

On the northwestern side of the lake, is a small chapel with underground chambers. Known as the Chapel of Taharqa, its chambers contain descriptions of the sun god's nightly journey through the underworld, and his rebirth each morning as the scarab beetle. Close by rests the pyramidion from Hatshepsut's second obelisk.

North-south axis of the temple of Amun
Beyond Hatshepsut's pyramidion is the first court of the temple's north-south axis. The seventh pylon was constructed during the reign of Tuthmosis III, although the side walls are the work of Merenptah, Ramesses II's son. It was in the southern end of this courtyard, known as the Cachette Court, that some 20,000 statues and stelae were discovered by the French Egyptologist Georges Legrain in 1904.

The remaining pylons on this axis consist of the eighth, built by Hatshepsut, and the ninth and tenth, raised by Horemheb, who made considerable use of stone quarried from the earlier temples of Akhenaten. Recently reconstructed is a small sed-festival temple of Amenhotep II that was built into the southern wall of the court between the ninth and tenth pylons.

The southern entrance to the precinct of Amun was by a gateway through the tenth pylon. This led past two colossal limestone statues and onto a processional way lined by sphinxes that would have connected the temple of Amun to the precinct of Mut. Within the walls of the precinct of Amun lie a number of smaller temples, including the Temple of Khonsu, the Opet Temple and the Temple of Ptah.