Deities
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Amun: TopicAmun was one of the most important deities in ancient Egypt and remains one of the best represented in the surviving material culture.
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Anubis: TopicIn ancient Egypt the jackal-headed god Anubis was originally the most important deity linked to funerals and death. Over time, however, this role was taken over by the god Osiris, and Anubis became associated with preserving dead bodies and guiding the dead in the underworld.
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Bast or Bastet: TopicBastet was an ancient Egyptian goddess, whose cult probably first appeared in the city of Bubastis.
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Heket: TopicHeket was a goddess associated with birth, depicted as a frog-headed woman or as a frog. Some of the early images of frogs, associated with fertility due to their plentiful supply after the inundation, might be ascribed to Heket.
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Horus: TopicHorus was a solar and sky god and one of the most important Egyptian gods associated with kingship.
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Isis: TopicIsis was one of the most important goddesses of ancient Egypt. She was the daughter of Nut, the sky goddess, and Geb, the earth god, and the sister and consort of Osiris, the chief deity of death. Isis and Osiris's son, Horus, became the ruler of Egypt.
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Maat: TopicMaat was the goddess of cosmic order or balance, as well as truth. She was the foundation of Egyptian religion.
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Nut: TopicIn ancient Egypt the goddess Nut was known as mother sky. Her body was both the day and the night sky, and the sun god traveled across and through her eternally.
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Osiris: TopicAncient Egyptian god, the embodiment of goodness, who ruled the underworld after being killed by Set. The pharaohs were believed to be his incarnation.
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Ptah: TopicPtah was the chief deity of the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis and the god of craftspeople. Worship of Ptah began to overlap with that of ancient Egyptian gods Sokar and Osiris, and through them Ptah became associated with the afterlife. His most important role, however, is that of a powerful creator god.
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Ra: TopicIn Maatian or ancient Egyptian theology, Ra (Re) is the Creator and has many names, manifestations, and forms according to the sacred texts, beginning with the earliest discourse on Ra in the Pyramid Texts
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Sekhmet: TopicIn ancient Egypt, there was a lioness goddess named Sekhmet. The meaning of her name was “the Powerful One.”
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Set or Seth: TopicIn ancient Egypt, Set was considered the deity related to confusion, indecision, chaos, and evil.
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Thoth: TopicThe ancient Egyptian god of wisdom, Djehwty, Tehuti, Djehuty, was called by the Greeks Thoth. He was depicted in either one of two forms, an ibis or a baboon.
Terms & Concepts
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Alchemy: TopicAncient art of obscure origin that sought to transform base metals (e.g., lead) into silver and gold; forerunner of the science of chemistry.
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Ankh: Topic
An ancient Egyptian symbol consisting of a T-shaped cross with a looped top, which represents life. -
Astrology: TopicStudy of the relative position of the planets and stars in the belief that they influence events on Earth. A strongly held belief in ancient Babylon, astrology spread to the Mediterranean world, and was widely used by the Greeks and Romans.
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Book of the Dead: TopicOne of several collections of texts in various cultures which are intended to prepare and guide the recently deceased in their passage through the afterlife; the best known of these are the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the Tibetan Book of the Dead.
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Canopic JarsFrom The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
In ancient Egypt, four containers for holding a dead person's embalmed organs. -
Egypt: Topic
Country in northeast Africa. Capital: Cairo. Major ports: Alexandria, Port Said, Suez, Damietta, Shubra Al Khayma.
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Egyptian PyramidsFrom Chamber's Dictionary of the Unexplained
The pyramids of Egypt were built around 2000 bc as royal tombs on a gigantic scale – it has been calculated that the largest of them, the great pyramid, was originally 147 metres (481 feet) high. -
ImhotepFrom The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia
Egyptian physician, architect, and vizier (chief adviser) of King Zoser (3rd dynasty). He is thought to have designed the step pyramid at Sakkara, the first pyramid ever constructed. -
Karnak: TopicKarnak, north of modern Luxor in Upper Egypt, is the site of important temples from at least the Middle Kingdom through to the time that Christianity replaced the ancient gods.
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Mummy: TopicDead human or animal body preserved by embalming or by unusual natural conditions. As a rule mummies are from ancient times.
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Pharaoh: TopicThe term "pharaoh" is today used as a general term to describe a king of ancient Egypt. It is taken directly from the biblical books of Genesis and Exodus, where Joseph and Moses are described as dealing with "Pharaoh King of Egypt."