For a list of these Egyptian gods, see the following web
site:
http://www.egyptianmyths.com/deities.htm
There is a
total of 53 or 54 Egyptian gods listed on this page.
The gods of Egypt are listed according to the plagues God
placed upon Egypt.
1.
Exodus 7:8-13 - God showed His power by causing Aaron to
cast down his rod, which became a serpent.
The magicians of Egypt did likewise, and all their rods also became
serpents. God won the battle
because the rod of Aaron ate up the rods of the magicians.
Egyptian
gods represented by the serpents.
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SOBEK
(Sebek) (copied from: http://www.egyptianmyths.com/sobek.htm)
Symbols: Crocodiles
Cult Center: Arsinoe (Crocodopolis)
A crocodile-god, he was worshipped in cities that depended on
water, such as the oasis city of Arsinoe (Crocodilopolis), where the
reptiles were kept in pools and adorned with jewels. Hundreds of the
animals have been found mummified. He was worshipped to placate his
sacred animals (the crocodiles).
He was portrayed as a man with the head of a crocodile, or
sometimes simply as one. In the Book of the Dead, he assists
in the birth of
Horus and helps to destroy
Seth. He also
retrieved the Four Sons of Horus from the waters of
Nun was the
request of Re
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I use this god first because some commentaries say this
is the god most likely represented.
It seems to be it is not the god most represented, but that one of the other two
gods following is the gods represented.
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BUTO
(Uatchit, Udjat, Wadjit, Edjo)
Symbols:
cobra, Udjat,
Red Crown and the cobra-headdress or uraeus worn by royalty.
Cult Center: Buto
Buto was a cobra-goddess whose original home and cult center was
in the Delta of the Nile at Per-Uatchit. In time she became a
prominent protectress of all of Lower Egypt. As such she was
routinely connected to the goddess of Upper Egypt,
Nekhebet.
Together, they appeared in many pieces of art as symbols of the Two
Lands, a united Egypt.
Buto did not just protect Egypt, she also was an aggressive
defender of the king. She was portrayed as the uraeus cobra
first worn on the brow of
Re, and later the
pharaohs'. Her hood is spread in a threatening position and she is
ready to spit poison on all of the pharaoh's enemies or burn them
with her fiery glare. It is thought perhaps that her powers could be
used against the pharaoh as well. Her bite may have been the
deadly device used by
Anubis at the
appointed time of the pharaoh's death.
Buto was a personification of the sun's burning heat and she was
called the "Lady of Heaven" and the queen of all of the gods. She
was closely associated with Horus the Elder, who was the protector
god of Lower Egypt. Also she was associated with Harpokrates (Horus
the Younger); she protected him from
Seth in the
marshes of the Delta while
Isis was
searching for the body of Osiris.
Buto was depicted in art as a woman wearing the uraeus or
the Red Crown of Lower Egypt. She was shown carrying a
papyrus stem
around which was coiled a cobra. Sometimes she was shown as just a
cobra coiled in a basket and wearing the crown of Lower Egypt.
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NEKHEBET
(Nekhbet)
Symbols:
vulture,
White Crown
Cult Center: Nekheb
Nekhebet was the vulture-goddess of Upper Egypt whose cult center
was the city of Nekheb. She was a protective deity of the south
along with Seth.
When Seth became disgraced as the murderer of
Osiris, she
became more important and prominent.
Nekhebet was often shown with
Buto, the
cobra-goddess of the North. As protective deities, they symbolized a
united Egypt and guarded the pharaoh. Nekhebet was often shown with
her wings spread above the pharaoh in a protective and almost
motherly gesture of protection.
Nekhebet was called the right eye of
Re, and the wife
of Hapi or
Khenti-Amentiu, the First of the Westerners.
Nekhebet was portrayed in art as a vulture or as a woman wearing
the White Crown of Upper Egypt. In her hands she holds a
lotus flower
with a cobra wrapped around it and an
ankh.
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APEP
(Apophis)
Apep was a huge serpent (or crocodile) which lived in the waters
of Nun or in the
celestial Nile. Each day he attempted to disrupt the passage of the
solar barque of Re.
In some myths, Apep was an earlier and discarded sun-god himself.
This helps to explain the snake's strength and his resentment of the
daily journey of the sun. In
Seth's battle
for the throne of Egypt, he claimed that he was stronger than
Horus because
it was he that stood at the prow of the solar barque and defeated
the enemies of Re.
Apep was a genuine threat to Re and his daily travels. At times
he was successful and when this occurred stormy weather would occur.
When Apep swallowed the barque, there was a solar eclipse.
He never had a lasting victory though because of the prayers of
the priests and religious. A book called, The Books of
Overthrowing Apep contained a list of his secret names and a
number of hymns that celebrate Re's victories. According to the
book, Apep had been previously killed, hacked to pieces, dismembered
and thrown into the abyss. However, he always came back to life to
attack Re the next day. Egyptians would go to the temples and make
images of snakes out of wax. They would spit in the images, then
burn and mutilate them. Doing this and reciting the spells in the
Books of Overthrowing Apep helped ensure Re's continued success
and victory over the snake.
Titles of the chapters of the first book are as follows:
-
Chapter of Spitting Upon Apep
-
Chapter of Defiling Apep with the Left Foot
-
Chapter of Taking a Lance to Smite Apep
-
Chapter of Fettering Apep
-
Chapter of Taking a
Knife to
Smite Apep
-
Chapter of Putting Fire Upon Apep
Following books describe in detail the destruction which will
fall upon Apep. According to these, Apep will first be speared, then
sliced with red-hot
knives so that every bone of his body has been separated, his
head, legs and tail are cut off. His remains are then scorched,
singed, and roasted, finally to be consumed by fire. The same fate
awaits Apep's confederates and everything which formed parts of him,
them, and all their offspring (their shadows, souls, doubles, and
spirits).
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2.
Exodus 7:14-25 – The first plague was turning the water into blood.
In this plague God shows his power over one of the main Egyptian gods,
which, they say, produces much prosperity in Egypt.
SATET
(Sati, Satis) (Copied from: http://www.egyptianmyths.com/satet.htm)
Cult Center:
Elephantine
Satet was the principal female counterpart of
Khnemu and was worshipped
with him at Elephantine (Abu). She was the mother of the goddess,
Anqet.
Her name comes from the root, sat (to shoot, to eject, to pour out, to
throw). With her arrows, she protected the pharaoh. Further, in the Pyramid
Texts, Satet is described as cleansing the king with four jars of water from
Elephantine.
Satet was the goddess of the inundation (yearly flooding of the Nile) and of
fertility. She was also connected with the
star "Sept" whose return to
the night sky marked the
beginning of the flood season.
Satet's temple in Elephantine was one of the principal holy places in Egypt.
The center of her worship was in the island of Sahal, two miles south of
Elephantine.
ANQET
(Anuket, Anukis, Anket)
Cult Center:
Elephantine
Anqet was the goddess of the island of Sahal, near the First Cataract of the
Nile. She was shown as a woman who wears a crown of ostrich feathers. Her sacred
animal was the gazelle. She was the daughter of
Satet, the wife of
Khnemu. Together, the
three deities formed the Triad of Elephantine, the principal deities of that
city.
Anqet was originally a water goddess from Sudan. Her name meant, "to embrace"
which was interpreted to mean that her embrace during the annual Nile floods
fertilized the fields. Later, she became a goddess of lust, whose attributes and
cult were obscene. However, her cult's origins can be traced back to the Old
Kingdom. She is closely associated with Nubia. She is not an imported goddess
though.
Her worship was common throughout northern Nubia and the center of her
worship was the island of Sahal, near Aswan. There she was called the "Lady of
Sahal" (Nebt Satet). Anqet's temple at Sahal was called "Amen-heri-ab".
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KHNEMU
(Khnum)
Symbols: ram, potter's wheel
Cult Center:
Elephantine,
Esna
Myths: "the
Seven Years Famine"
Khnemu was one of the oldest gods of Egypt. The Egyptians' views
of him changed somewhat through Egyptian history. He always was an
important god and he remained so even in some semi-Christian sects
two to three centuries after the birth of Christ! His symbol was the
flat-horned ram and was depicted as a ram-headed man who wears the
White Crown on his head. Khnemu was originally a water-god, and as
such he is shown with water flowing over his outstretched hands and
wearing a jug on his head above his horns. His name comes from the
root, khnem, "to build".
It was believed that he built the first egg from which the sun
sprang. Khnemu also made the gods and he sculpted the first man on a
potter's wheel and he continued to "build up" their bodies and
maintain their life. Khnemu built up the material universe (with
Ptah) under the
guidance and direction of Thoth. As the architect, he had seven
forms:
-
Khnemu Nehep, "Khnemu the Creator"
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Khnemu Khenti-taui, "Khnemu, governor of the two lands"
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Khnemu Sekhet ashsep-f, "Khnemu, weaver of his light"
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Khnemu Khenti per-ankh, "Khnemu, governor of the House of Life"
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Khnemu Neb-ta-ankhtet, "Khnemu, lord of the Land of Life"
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Khnemu Khenti netchemtchem ankhet, "Khnemu, Governor of the
House of Sweet Life"
-
Khnemu Neb, "Khnemu, Lord"
Khnemu was worshiped from Thebes to Philae, but the principal
sanctuaries were at the First Cataract (Elephantine and Philae).
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NUN
(Nu) (Copied from: http://www.egyptianmyths.com/nun.htm)
Cult Center:
Hermopolis
Links: the
Ennead of Heliopolis
Despite all the various Creation myths that the
Egyptians subscribed to, they had one thing in common, Nun. Even
though the myths named different gods as the original creator, they
all agreed that he sprang from Nun, the primordial waters. Nun was
more than an ocean, he was a limitless expanse of motionless water.
Even after the world was created, Nun continued to exist at it's
margins and would one day return to destroy it and begin the cycle
again.
Following the creation, Nun played a role in the destruction of
mankind when humans no longer respected and obeyed
Re in his old age.
Re called together
all the gods and goddesses together, including Nun, and asked them
what he should do about the problem. Nun suggested that Re should
call forth his Eye to destroy mankind. Re did so, and his Eye, in
the form of the goddess
Sekhmet
traveled across Egypt killing all men. Also, Nun protected
Shu and
Tefnut at
birth and he kept the demonic powers of chaos (represented as
serpents) in check.
Nun was portrayed as a bearded man with a
blue or green
body, symbolizing water and fertility. Sometimes he is shown with
female breasts as well. In one hand he holds a palm frond, a symbol
of long life and wears another one in his hair.
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APEP
(Apophis) (Copied from:
http://www.egyptianmyths.com/apep.htm)
Apep was a huge serpent (or crocodile) which lived in the waters
of Nun or in the
celestial Nile. Each day he attempted to disrupt the passage of the
solar barque of Re.
In some myths, Apep was an earlier and discarded sun-god himself.
This helps to explain the snake's strength and his resentment of the
daily journey of the sun. In
Seth's battle
for the throne of Egypt, he claimed that he was stronger than
Horus because
it was he that stood at the prow of the solar barque and defeated
the enemies of Re.
Apep was a genuine threat to Re and his daily travels. At times
he was successful and when this occurred stormy weather would occur.
When Apep swallowed the barque, there was a solar eclipse.
He never had a lasting victory though because of the prayers of
the priests and religious. A book called, The Books of
Overthrowing Apep contained a list of his secret names and a
number of hymns that celebrate Re's victories. According to the
book, Apep had been previously killed, hacked to pieces, dismembered
and thrown into the abyss. However, he always came back to life to
attack Re the next day. Egyptians would go to the temples and make
images of snakes out of wax. They would spit in the images, then
burn and mutilate them. Doing this and reciting the spells in the
Books of Overthrowing Apep helped ensure Re's continued success
and victory over the snake.
Titles of the chapters of the first book are as follows:
-
Chapter of Spitting Upon Apep
-
Chapter of Defiling Apep with the Left Foot
-
Chapter of Taking a Lance to Smite Apep
-
Chapter of Fettering Apep
-
Chapter of Taking a
Knife to
Smite Apep
-
Chapter of Putting Fire Upon Apep
Following books describe in detail the destruction which will
fall upon Apep. According to these, Apep will first be speared, then
sliced with red-hot
knives so that every bone of his body has been separated, his
head, legs and tail are cut off. His remains are then scorched,
singed, and roasted, finally to be consumed by fire. The same fate
awaits Apep's confederates and everything which formed parts of him,
them, and all their offspring (their shadows, souls, doubles, and
spirits).
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MIN
(Copied from: http://www.egyptianmyths.com/min.htm)
Symbols: phallus, lettuce, bull
Cult Center: Koptos, Akhmin
Min was a fertility god who was believed to bestow sexual powers
to all men. He also was a god of the rain who was a generative force
of nature. In one of the most important Min festivals, the Pharaoh
would hoe the fields as Min looked on. At the harvest festivals, the
Pharaoh would ceremoniously hoe the fields under Min's supervision.
When the Pharaoh begot his heir, he was also identified with Min.
He was portrayed as an ithyphallic bearded man, with his legs
close together and wearing the same headdress as
Amon. Min is
shown with one arm raised wielding a thunderbolt.
His sacred animal was a
white bull and
his special plant, long lettuce (lactuca sativa, was believed
to have aphrodisiac properties. Lettuce is believed to be associated
with him, not due to its vaguely phallic shape, but rather to its
white milky sap which is reminiscent of semen.
Min was a predynastic god. In the earliest times he was a sky-god
called the "Chief of Heaven". Until the Middle Kingdom he was
identified with
Horus the Elder and he was called the son of
Re or
Shu. In the New
Kingdom, Min became closely linked to Amon-Re. During this time, Min
became immensely popular and orgiastic festivals were held in his
honor.
Min's cult was centered in the Delta city of Chemmis and Koptos.
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Number
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Plague
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Egyptian God Represented
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Water Becomes Blood
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God of the Nile
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2.
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Frogs
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Heqet (Hekat)
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3.
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Lice
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4.
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Flies
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5.
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Murrian on Beasts
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6.
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Boils on man and beasts
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7.
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Pestilence
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8.
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Locust
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9.
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Darkness
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10.
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Death of Unprotected First Born
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