The Egyptian Gods

Even though the antique Egyptians did adore hundreds of diverse divinities, there were some supernatural beings whose sects were more accepted than others. Amon-Re was the main Egyptian deity, believed to be self-formed. He was assumed to be omnipotent and therefore, was believed to have formed the whole earth by merely commanding the existence of beings. Although initially, he was not one of the most famous deities, he ultimately substituted Egypt’s combat deity and turned into such a significant god that he was renowned as the ruler of all supernatural beings. The headquarters for devotion of Amon-Re deity was in Thebes (Bryon, 1991, p.63).

Osiris, possibly the most famous of the Egyptian divinities, was believed to be the deity of plants, the spirit of the rebirth, but most significantly, the underworld deity. Based on the Egyptian legends, Osiris was commissioned to earth by Amon-Re, and he led the people diplomatically until his sibling, Set, grew envious of his superior status and lured him into a casket, which he threw away into the Nile River. The casket was discovered by Isis, spouse to Osiris, attached in a tree in Lebanon. Isis carried it back to Egypt. However, during a brief absence, Osiris brother, Set took the corpse of Osiris from Isis and sliced into parts, spreading the parts all over the land. Later, Isis managed to get some body parts and managed to resurrect Osiris by magical powers, as a God-King. Afterwards, Osiris developed into the monarch of the underworld and the adjudicator of the deceased (Bryon, 1991, p.65).

Set, the sibling and competitor of Osiris, is the Egyptian deity of commotion, occasionally referred to as the divinity of squalls, wind, conflict, and the wilderness. Following the event in which Egyptian legends assert that Set assassinated his brother, Horus, the child of Osiris, pursued Set in annoyance because of Set’s massacre of his father. Horus and Set fought a continuous war until Horus emerged triumphant. Set was subsequently expelled by the divinities. Isis, the deity of fruitfulness and parenthood, is the earliest Egyptian goddess and also presumably the longest worshiped deity. Adoration of Isis was accepted throughout Egypt, but she had two major devotion centers exclusively dedicated to her; one of the worship centers was at Behbeit El-Hagar and the other was at Giza. As the spouse and sister of Osiris, Isis was believed to be the deity of the deceased, and also the goddess of enchantment, since she applied magical powers to revive Osiris from the dead. The divinity Isis is the embodiment of the throne and the symbol for the throne is equivalent to her name (Frankfort, 2000, p.14).

The Egyptians worshiped Horus from the late Predynastic era all the way to the Greco-Roman period. Various appearances of Horus are documented in Egyptian history, and these are handled as separate deities by Egyptologists.These different shapes may perhaps be diverse opinions of a similar mysterious god in which specific traits or syncretic associations are accentuated, not essentially in disagreement but corresponding to one another, dependable with how the early Egyptians observed the compound features of truth (Frankfort, 2000, p.16).

The Falcon is the initial documented appearance of Horus. Originally worshiped in Upper Egypt, the Falcon was the patron god of Nekhen and was the earliest recognized state god. He was particularly linked to the ruler who eventually came to be believed as a demonstration of Horus in reality, and Osiris in the demise.The most frequently recognized family connection portrays Horus as the child of Osiris and Isis but in a different custom, Hathor is believed to be his mother and at times as his spouse Horus had numerous responsibilities in the Egyptian pantheon, most especially being the deity of the heavens, divinity of combat and god of safety (Frankfort, 2000, p.21).

A common god whom they believed he watched over people and the state was one they called, the “Hidden One.” There were unique deity families composed of a male, a female, and their offspring.  The divine families were linked with animals.  Hathor, the deity of affection, had horns and ears of a cow.  Cows were attractive creatures to them. The Pharaohs presented gifts to the spirits because they protected him as he secured his citizens.  The sun deity was the most significant of all.  Previously, the Egyptians believed that the pharaoh turned into a deity once he became king; and on dying, he would be reunited with Osiris, the divinity of demise and reincarnation. Sobeck has the skull of a crocodile.  Many natives had deep faith in magic as well.  Children dressed in trinkets around their neckline to shield them from wickedness (Assmann, 2001).  There were magic charms for all things such as not going into the next world on your skull!

A large fraction of early Egyptian faith was their credence in life after death. Egyptians assumed the spirit to be constituted of three elements. The “ba” was believed to be individual’s personality or behavior; the “ka” was the twofold of the being. Lastly, the “akh” symbolized the being’s spirit following their demise. The Egyptian culture of mummification was an essential element of their sacred structure. It was alleged that unless the deceased person’s corpse was conserved, the individual’s spirit and body could not come together, and therefore, this individual would not be capable of taking part in the life after death. Owing to the Egyptian deep faith in the afterlife, and funerary performances, they put in huge efforts to guarantee the continued existence of their spirits after the demise by offering burial places, grave supplies, and gifts to conserve the corpses and spirits of the dead (Oates, 1996, p.76).

Despite its complexity, the Egyptian faith was essential to all Egyptians but their polytheistic attitudes certainly brought predicaments. The pharaohs, viewed as, “god-kings,” numerous demands were placed on them. They were held responsible whenever the soil failed to produce as expected, whenever Egypt was in disagreement with other nations, and the like. The Egyptian deities were on no account believed to be extremely personal. The Egyptian gods, as is the case with nearly all polytheistic religions, were secluded and their association with ordinary residents was weak. Ceremonial spiritual rituals focused on the pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt. Even though he was a human being, the pharaoh was assumed to be sent by the divinities. He served as the go-between his citizens and the supernatural beings, and was duty-bound to appease the deities through traditional ceremonies and gifts so that they could preserve tranquility in the earth (Oates, 1996, p.78).

Consequently, the country devoted massive wealth to the practice of these rites and to the building of the sanctuaries where they were performed. People could as well intermingle with the mystic beings for their personal intentions, asking for their assistance via prayer or forcing them to perform using supernatural powers. These accepted sacred performances were separate from, but directly connected with, the official ceremonies and traditions. The accredited religious practice became extra prominent throughout the history of the Egyptians as the position of the pharaoh collapsed (Oates, 1996, p.79).

Religion was a major component in Egyptian culture.  It assisted citizens to appreciate their humanity and how to cope with their setbacks.  There were home spirits to keep an eye on the family, neighboring gods for the rural community, and nation gods reverenced on particular circumstances.  Many Egyptians had a shrine or a temple in their homes.  On particular days natives went to the nation sanctuaries to worship.  Only the cleric could go in the interior place of worship.  They also composed hymns to praise their gods and put up sculptures in their buildings and shrines to represent the deities watching over them.

The Egyptians alleged that the occurrences of the environment were heavenly powers in and of themselves.These sanctified powers incorporated the weather elements, animal traits, or intangible powers. The Egyptians had deep faith in a pantheon of deities, which were concerned with all facets of the environment and human culture. Their sacred rituals were attempts to uphold and appease these occurrences and make them beneficial to humans.This polytheistic structure was incredibly complex, as some gods were said to subsist in various appearances, and some had multiple legendary responsibilities. Furthermore, several natural forces, like the sun and the moon, were connected with various gods. The diverse pantheon varied from deities with essential positions in earth to small divinities or "demons" with exceptionally restricted or limited roles. It could consist of deities taken from alien societies, and at times even human beings; dead pharaohs were assumed to be godly, and rarely, renowned residents like Imhotep became sacred as well (Orlinsky, 2006, p.29).

The representations of the deities in painting were not intended as plain illustrations of how the divinities could become visible if they were discernible, as the supernatural beings' exact natures were assumed to be inexplicable. Alternatively, these illustrations gave identifiable appearances to the theoretical gods by applying figurative images to signify each deity's position in nature. Hence, for instance, the funerary divinity Anubis was depicted as a jackal, a living thing whose hunting behavior endangered the conservation of the corpse, in an attempt to contradict this intimidation and utilize it for safety. His dark skin was figurative of the shade of mummified bodies and the fruitful black earth that Egyptians viewed as a figure of rebirth. Nevertheless, this iconography was not permanent, and several deities could be represented in various appearances (Orlinsky, 2006, 29).

Various gods were connected with specific areas in Egypt where their sects were more dominant. Nonetheless, these alliances altered eventually, and they did not essentially indicate that the deity linked with a region had come from there. For example, the divinity Monthu was the earliest patron of the capital of Thebes. However, throughout the rule of the Middle Kingdom, he was relocated in that position by Amun, who might have originated from a different place. The countrywide recognition and significance of individual deities changed correspondingly.

The Egyptian divinities had compound interconnections, which partially imitated the associations of the powers they symbolized. The Egyptians frequently categorized their deities jointly to reveal these interactions. Some combinations of gods were of undetermined magnitude, and were connected by their related roles. These frequently comprised of small gods with slight individual uniqueness. Other groups connected sovereign deities according to the allegorical implication of figures in Egyptian legends; for example, duos of deities regularly symbolize the duality of conflicting natures. However, as mentioned earlier, a common combination was that one of a husband, a wife and a child who were worshiped simultaneously. Some combinations such as the Ennead had comprehensive significance. This group accumulated of nine gods into a theological structure that was concerned with the legendary sections of conception, kingship, and the life after death (Traunecker, 2001, p.42).

The associations between gods could also be conveyed during syncretism, in which two or more diverse deities were connected to make a compound god. This practice was an acknowledgment of the existence of one deity "in" another as the second deity acquired a position owned by the first. These relations involving deities were temporary, and did not signify the eternal assimilation of two deities into one; thus, some deities could generate compound syncretic links. At times syncretism united gods with very comparable natures, or at other times it connected deities with extremely diverse characteristics. A good illustration of this combination is when Amun, the deity of concealed power, was coupled with Ra, the sun deity. The resultant deity, Amun-Ra, consequently, integrated the influence behind all things with the utmost and the most perceptible power in nature (Traunecker, 2001, p.51).

Accordingly, the earliest Egyptian religion; their faith in divinities such as Amon-Re, Isis and Horus are no longer recognized, even though there are still dispersed religious groups for these deities. The collapse of this faith started when Egypt was taken in Roman leadership nearly 31 B.C. Hereafter, Christianity diffused quickly throughout Egypt, just as it circulated throughout the entire Roman Kingdom. Later in 389 A.D., all Egyptian sanctuaries were forced to be shut down excluding those which were Christian and all idol worship was severely prohibited (Traunecker, 2001, p.64). This Roman act marked the beginning of the end of early Egyptian idol worship.