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These gods and goddesses appear in virtually every aspect of ancient Egyptian civilization, and more than 1,500 of them are known by name.
Osiris, one of Egypt’s most important deities, was god of the underworld. He also symbolized death, resurrection, and the cycle of Nile floods that Egypt relied on for agricultural fertility. According to the myth, Osiris was a king of Egypt who was murdered and dismembered by his brother Seth.
Images of Isis, Hathor, Bastet, and Selket – among many others – are world-famous. The popularity of these female deities reflects the high status of women in ancient Egypt, who were regarded as almost equals to males and held prominent positions.
Most had a principal association, such as that of Re with the sun or that of the goddess Hathor with women, but there was much overlap, especially among the leading deities. The study of ancient Egyptian religion is incomplete.
Every male god has a female counterpart or a feminine aspect, the four goddesses Isis, Neith, Nephthys, and Serket watch over the Four Sons of Horus, and the Ogdoad was the grouping of the eight gods of creative substances.
Nekhbet is an early predynastic local goddess, who was the patron of the city of Nekheb and Upper Egypt. She and her Lower Egyptian counterpart Wadjet often appeared together as the “Two Ladies”, symbolising all of ancient Egypt when it was unified.
The best known of these, of course, is Cleopatra VII (c. 69-30 BCE), who was not actually Egyptian but Greek. Long before she came to the throne, however, these other Egyptian women had already held the positions of regent, God's Wife of Amun, and even reigning monarch a number of times.
Ancient Egypt's gods and goddesses looked at least partly like humans and behaved a bit like us, too. Some deities had animal features--typically their heads--on top of humanoid bodies. Different cities and pharaohs each favored their own specific set of gods.
Learn about the first nine gods and goddesses (the Ennead). Then browse our list of 35 ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses below, or use the letters above to find a specific god.
Most Egyptian gods represented one principal aspect of the world: Ra was the sun god, for example, and Nut was the goddess of the sky. The characters of the gods were not well-defined. Most were benevolent, but their favour could not be counted on. Some gods were spiteful and had to be placated.