Egyptian Pantheon & Sacred Vocabulary

a temple dedicated to the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis

“The Serapeum of Alexandria housed part of the Great Library.”

ibis-headed god of writing, wisdom, magic, and the moon

“Thoth was said to have invented hieroglyphics and recorded the judgment of the dead.”

supreme sun god; creator deity and king of the gods

“The pharaoh was considered the living embodiment of Ra on earth.”

god of the dead, resurrection, and the afterlife

“Osiris presided over the weighing of souls in the underworld.”

goddess of magic, motherhood, and protection

“Isis used her magic to resurrect her husband Osiris.”

jackal-headed god of mummification and the dead

“Anubis guided souls through the underworld to judgment.”

falcon-headed god of kingship and the sky

“Each pharaoh was the living Horus, avenger of his father.”

goddess personifying truth, justice, and cosmic order

“The heart was weighed against Ma'at's feather in the afterlife.”

god of chaos, storms, and the desert

“Set murdered his brother Osiris out of jealousy.”

lioness-headed goddess of war and destruction

“Sekhmet's wrath was so fierce that Ra had to trick her to save humanity.”

cat goddess of home, fertility, and protection

“Bastet was worshipped as the gentle counterpart to fierce Sekhmet.”

cow goddess of love, beauty, music, and motherhood

“Hathor welcomed the dead into the afterlife with food and drink.”

creator god of craftsmen and architects

“Ptah spoke the world into existence through divine utterance.”

crocodile god of the Nile, fertility, and military prowess

“Sobek's temples kept sacred crocodiles adorned with gold.”

scarab god of the rising sun and rebirth

“Khepri pushed the sun across the sky like a dung beetle rolls its ball.”

the Egyptian symbol of life, carried by the gods

“The ankh became a symbol of eternal life.”

the vital essence or life force of a person

“Offerings were made to sustain the ka in the afterlife.”

the personality or soul that could travel after death

“The ba was depicted as a bird with a human head.”

sacred beetle symbolizing rebirth and transformation

“Scarab amulets were placed over the heart during mummification.”

an oval frame enclosing royal names in hieroglyphics

“The pharaoh's cartouche was carved on every monument.”