Basic Egyptian Mythology

1. Basic Egyptian Mythology While there are MANY, MANY, MANY Egyptian gods (polytheism), these are the main ones that you will constantly see in Egyptian artwork.

2. OSIRIS • God of the dead, the underworld and the afterlife. • Judged the dead in the afterlife. His green skin was said to symbolize rebirth. • Father of Horus. • Said to also control the flooding of the Nile.

3. ISIS • Goddess of motherhood, magic, and fertility. • Wife of Osiris (some accounts say they were also brother and sister. • Mother of Horus. • It is said that when the Nile floods it is her tears, crying over the death of Osiris (said to be murdered by his brother)

4. Horus • God of the King on Earth, the sky, protection, and war. • Son of Osiris and Isis • Depicted as a falcon, it is his protective eye that the pharaohs would draw in kohl on their eyes to symbolize that they were a god on earth. • Eye of Horus symbolizes protection.

5. Hathor • Goddess of the sky, love, nature, beauty, life, and music. • Represented as a cow or with cow horns as the cow symbolized fertility, life, and nature. • Wife of Horus, although some accounts say she is his mother. Said to be the daughter of Ra, the sun god. • Greeks identified Hathor with the goddess Aphrodite and the Romans with Venus. • Always holds the ankh… symbol of life.

6. Anubis • God of burial, mummification, health and the protection of the dead. • Depicted as a jackal as the jackal symbolized a scavenger who had the ability to uncover human bodies. • Protector of the dead and tombs, so is present at the head of every funerary procession • Is the sibling of Horus in some accounts… other accounts say he is the son of Ra the sun god

7. Ra • Sun god and god of creation. It is believed life on Earth was created from his tears as he wept at the beauty of mankind. • Cult center is Heliopolis where he is supreme judge. • Ra is also known as the father of kings. • One of the most important gods. • Considered to be a living god during the day and a dead one at night, and is reborn the next day again.

8. Ma’at • Goddess of truth, justice, and harmony. • Ra was her father. • Offerings were made to her to keep harmony on Earth. • Oversaw the “viziers”, advisors to the pharaohs. • Ostrich feather on her head, was used to determine where a soul went in the afterlife.

9. Nuit • Goddess of the sky. • Believed that Nuit swallowed Ra, the sun god at night and then gave birth to him in the morning. • She wears a blue dress covered in stars. • Her wings protected Earth like a canopy. Great goddess Nut with her wings stretched across a coffin

10. Ammit(not a god, but opposite of Anubis) • “Devourer of Bone” she was a demon who was part lion, hippo, and crocodile. • Look at the picture and the text to the left. Does the Egyptian afterlife sound like similar to anything else you have heard of???? This detail scene from the Papyrus of Hunefer (ca. 1375 B.C.) shows Hunefer’s heart being weighed on the scale of Maat against the feather of truth, by the jackal-headed Anubis. The Ibis-headed Thoth, scribe of the gods, records the result. If his heart is lighter than the feather, Hunefer is allowed to pass into the afterlife. If not, he is eaten by the waiting Ammit. Vignettes such as these were a common illustration in Egyptian books of the dead.

11. Describe what you see? How much can we interpret???

14. Your task (homework… due next class) • Choose at least two Egyptian gods and create your own Egyptian art that tells a story about any Egyptian culture marker. Think about the Nile flooding, pharaohs and the afterlife, unification of Egypt, building of the pyramids… anything. • Give your art work a title and write it in the lower right hand corner of your paper. • On the back of your paper, explain the scene… tell the viewer what is going on. • To receive full credit you work must have at least two gods represented, be visually pleasing (quality/time spent) and in color. Use the internet to help you visualize the gods you choose.