Ra
رع
SunCreation
- Depiction & symbols
- Falcon head and sun disk
- Cult center / context
- Heliopolis
The sun travels through sky and underworld in solar myths.
Read the reference Ra: UCL: deities and places ↗Gold In Egypt · Culture collection
Egyptian Gods Explorer
An Egyptian gods explorer is a searchable guide to the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. Explore 42 deities, their roles, symbols and cult centers, then trace the Ennead’s family relationships.
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42 of 42 deities
Amun
آمون
CreationKingship
- Depiction & symbols
- Two tall plumes; sometimes a ram
- Cult center / context
- Thebes / Karnak
Amun and Ra could be combined as Amun-Ra.
Read the reference Amun: UCL: deities and places ↗Atum
أتوم
CreationSun
- Depiction & symbols
- Human figure wearing the double crown
- Cult center / context
- Heliopolis
Creator at the head of the Heliopolitan Ennead.
Read the reference Atum: UCL: creation traditions ↗Shu
شو
Creation
- Depiction & symbols
- Human figure with a feather
- Cult center / context
- Heliopolis
Air god who separates the earth Geb from the sky Nut.
Read the reference Shu: UCL: creation traditions ↗Tefnut
تفنوت
Creation
- Depiction & symbols
- Lioness or lioness-headed woman
- Cult center / context
- Heliopolis
Associated with moisture; paired with Shu in creation traditions.
Read the reference Tefnut: UCL: creation traditions ↗Geb
جب
Creation
- Depiction & symbols
- Reclining man; goose emblem
- Cult center / context
- Heliopolis
Earth god and, with Nut, parent of Osiris and his siblings.
Read the reference Geb: UCL: creation traditions ↗Nut
نوت
CreationAfterlife
- Depiction & symbols
- Woman arched over the earth, often with stars
- Cult center / context
- Heliopolis
Sky goddess who receives the sun and gives it birth again.
Read the reference Nut: UCL: creation traditions ↗Osiris
أوزيريس
AfterlifeCreation
- Depiction & symbols
- Mummy form, atef crown and djed pillar
- Cult center / context
- Abydos / Busiris
Ruler of the dead, linked to renewed life and vegetation.
Read the reference Osiris: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Isis
إيزيس
ProtectionAfterlife
- Depiction & symbols
- Throne sign; sometimes cow horns and sun disk
- Cult center / context
- Philae / Behbeit el-Hagar
Mother of Horus and protector of Osiris in myth.
Read the reference Isis: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Set
ست
WarProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- Distinctive Set animal with long snout
- Cult center / context
- Naqada
Rivals Horus in myths about the succession to kingship.
Read the reference Set: UCL: deities and places ↗Nephthys
نفتيس
AfterlifeProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- House-and-basket headdress
- Cult center / context
- Funerary contexts across Egypt
Sister of Isis and Osiris; protects the dead.
Read the reference Nephthys: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Horus
حورس
KingshipProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- Falcon; wedjat / Eye of Horus
- Cult center / context
- Edfu / Hierakonpolis
Many forms exist; Horus son of Isis inherits Osiris’s kingship.
Read the reference Horus: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Anubis
أنوبيس
AfterlifeProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- Black canid or jackal-headed man
- Cult center / context
- Cynopolis / funerary sites
Associated with embalming and guiding the dead.
Read the reference Anubis: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Thoth
تحوت
Wisdom & writingAfterlife
- Depiction & symbols
- Ibis, baboon or ibis-headed scribe
- Cult center / context
- Hermopolis
Divine scribe associated with knowledge and the moon.
Read the reference Thoth: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Hathor
حتحور
Love & musicProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- Cow horns and sun disk; sistrum
- Cult center / context
- Dendera
Associated with music, love and maternal care.
Read the reference Hathor: UCL: deities and places ↗Bastet
باستت
ProtectionLove & music
- Depiction & symbols
- Cat or cat-headed woman
- Cult center / context
- Bubastis
Protective goddess with feline forms, including earlier lioness forms.
Read the reference Bastet: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Sekhmet
سخمت
WarProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- Lioness head and sun disk
- Cult center / context
- Memphis
A powerful goddess whose roles include destruction and protection.
Read the reference Sekhmet: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Ptah
بتاح
CraftsCreation
- Depiction & symbols
- Wrapped figure with staff and close-fitting cap
- Cult center / context
- Memphis
Creator associated with artisans and skilled making.
Read the reference Ptah: UCL: deities and places ↗Khnum
خنوم
CreationNile & waterCrafts
- Depiction & symbols
- Ram-headed potter
- Cult center / context
- Elephantine / Esna
Shapes living beings, famously at a potter’s wheel.
Read the reference Khnum: UCL: deities and places ↗Sobek
سوبك
Nile & waterProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- Crocodile or crocodile-headed man
- Cult center / context
- Kom Ombo / Fayum
Crocodile power can protect as well as threaten.
Read the reference Sobek: UCL: deities and places ↗Hapi (Nile)
حابي النيل
Nile & waterCreation
- Depiction & symbols
- Full-bodied figure with aquatic plants
- Cult center / context
- Nile inundation traditions
Personifies the nourishing annual flood; distinct from Hapy, son of Horus.
Read the reference Hapi (Nile): Global Egyptian Museum: Hapi ↗Ma’at
ماعت
Wisdom & writingAfterlife
- Depiction & symbols
- Ostrich feather or woman with feather
- Cult center / context
- Judgment and temple scenes
Embodies truth and order; the heart is weighed against maat.
Read the reference Ma’at: The Met: Egyptian amulets ↗Neith
نيت
WarCreation
- Depiction & symbols
- Crossed arrows and shield; red crown
- Cult center / context
- Sais
Warrior and creator goddess with changing local traditions.
Read the reference Neith: UCL: deities and places ↗Mut
موت
ProtectionKingship
- Depiction & symbols
- Vulture headdress and double crown
- Cult center / context
- Thebes / Karnak
Forms the Theban triad with Amun and Khonsu.
Read the reference Mut: The Met: Khonsu ↗Khonsu
خونسو
Protection
- Depiction & symbols
- Youth with lunar disk and crescent
- Cult center / context
- Thebes / Karnak
Moon god and child of the Theban triad.
Read the reference Khonsu: The Met: Khonsu ↗Khepri
خبري
SunCreation
- Depiction & symbols
- Scarab beetle or scarab-headed figure
- Cult center / context
- Solar creation traditions
The rising sun expressed through the scarab’s renewal symbolism.
Read the reference Khepri: The Met: Egyptian amulets ↗Taweret
تاورت
Protection
- Depiction & symbols
- Upright hippopotamus with other animal features
- Cult center / context
- Household and birth contexts
Protective deity associated with pregnancy and childbirth.
Read the reference Taweret: The Met: necklace with amulets ↗Bes
بس
ProtectionLove & music
- Depiction & symbols
- Frontal short figure with lion-like features
- Cult center / context
- Household contexts across Egypt
Household protector, especially of women and children.
Read the reference Bes: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Serqet
سرقت
ProtectionAfterlife
- Depiction & symbols
- Woman with a scorpion emblem
- Cult center / context
- Protective and funerary contexts
One of the goddesses protecting the dead and canopic equipment.
Read the reference Serqet: Oxford: Tutankhamun’s canopic equipment ↗Wadjet
واجيت
ProtectionKingship
- Depiction & symbols
- Rearing cobra / uraeus
- Cult center / context
- Buto
Protects Lower Egypt, paired with Nekhbet of Upper Egypt.
Read the reference Wadjet: The Met: uraeus pendant ↗Nekhbet
نخبت
ProtectionKingship
- Depiction & symbols
- Vulture with outspread wings
- Cult center / context
- Elkab
Protects Upper Egypt; with Wadjet forms the Two Ladies.
Read the reference Nekhbet: The Met: uraeus pendant ↗Seshat
سشات
Wisdom & writingCrafts
- Depiction & symbols
- Seven-pointed emblem and writing equipment
- Cult center / context
- Royal and temple foundation rituals
Records and measures; assists in laying out temple foundations.
Read the reference Seshat: Global Egyptian Museum: Seshat ↗Nefertum
نفرتوم
Creation
- Depiction & symbols
- Lotus flower headdress
- Cult center / context
- Memphis
Lotus deity associated with Ptah and Sekhmet in Memphis.
Read the reference Nefertum: The Met: Nefertum ↗Min
مين
Creation
- Depiction & symbols
- Upright male figure with raised arm and plumes
- Cult center / context
- Coptos / Akhmim
Associated with fertility and generative power.
Read the reference Min: UCL: deities and places ↗Montu
مونتو
WarKingship
- Depiction & symbols
- Falcon head, sun disk and tall plumes
- Cult center / context
- Armant / Medamud / Tod
Warrior god prominent in the Theban region.
Read the reference Montu: UCL: deities and places ↗Anuket
عنقت
Nile & water
- Depiction & symbols
- Tall feathered headdress
- Cult center / context
- Elephantine region
A deity of the southern Nile region, grouped with Khnum and Satet.
Read the reference Anuket: UCL: deities and places ↗Satet
ساتت
Nile & waterProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- White crown with antelope horns
- Cult center / context
- Elephantine
Associated with the southern frontier and waters of the Nile.
Read the reference Satet: UCL: deities and places ↗Wepwawet
وبواوت
ProtectionAfterlife
- Depiction & symbols
- Standing canid on a standard
- Cult center / context
- Asyut
His name refers to opening ways; distinct from Anubis.
Read the reference Wepwawet: The Met: Wepwawet and Isis-Hathor ↗Imsety
إمستي
AfterlifeProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- Human-headed canopic guardian
- Cult center / context
- Funerary contexts
One of the four sons of Horus; protects the liver.
Read the reference Imsety: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Hapy (son of Horus)
حابي ابن حورس
AfterlifeProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- Baboon-headed canopic guardian
- Cult center / context
- Funerary contexts
Protects the lungs; distinct from Hapi of the Nile flood.
Read the reference Hapy (son of Horus): Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Duamutef
دواموتف
AfterlifeProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- Jackal-headed canopic guardian
- Cult center / context
- Funerary contexts
One of the four sons of Horus; protects the stomach.
Read the reference Duamutef: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Qebehsenuef
قبح سنوف
AfterlifeProtection
- Depiction & symbols
- Falcon-headed canopic guardian
- Cult center / context
- Funerary contexts
One of the four sons of Horus; protects the intestines.
Read the reference Qebehsenuef: Australian Museum: Egyptian gods ↗Symbols in Egyptian jewelry
The ankh signifies life, the wedjat eye invokes protection and restoration, and the scarab evokes renewal. These motifs appear in ancient amulets and modern jewelry; they do not authenticate an object or guarantee protection. A cartouche encloses a royal name rather than naming a particular god.
The Met: ancient Egyptian amulets ↗Frequently asked questions
Who were the main Egyptian gods?
Ra, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Amun, Hathor, Anubis, Thoth and Ptah are well-known deities. Importance varied by city and period; there was no fixed list of the most important gods.
What is the Egyptian Ennead?
The Heliopolitan Ennead is a group of nine: Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Set and Nephthys. It presents one creation tradition, not the only Egyptian account.
Is the Eye of Horus the same as the Eye of Ra?
They have overlapping protective meanings but are not interchangeable in every context. The wedjat is the restored eye of Horus; the Eye of Ra can be personified by several goddesses.
Why do gods have animal heads?
Animal features communicate divine qualities. A deity can have human, animal and combined forms, so a single appearance does not define the deity or every depiction.