The ancient Egyptians represented their deities in human or animal form, or as hybrid entities. Many gods shared characteristics, titles and attributes, thus creating a very complex religious tradition. The list below shows the main protagonists of Egyptian mythology in alphabetical order.
Nun:
Nun is usually more of a place than a person, but he’s person sometimes too. Most ancient Egyptian creation myths involve the first god emerging from a chaotic watery abyss, and depending on the story, Nun either lived in the watery abyss or “was” the watery abyss. There’s also weirder creation myth, from Hermopolis, where Nun and his consort Naunet (which is basically Egyptian for “lady-Nun”) were two of eight frog/snake gods who showed up first and collectively laid an egg which contained Ra.
Apep:
An earlier version of this had Apep listed as Apophis, which was his name in Greek.
Man, it seems like every pantheon has at least one giant snake. And it’s never a nice one, you know? Especially not Apep. He had to be defeated to establish the cosmos itself, and still lurks beyond the edge of the world, ruining stuff. Apep was blamed for more or less everything bad – storms, famines, invasions, earthquakes, etc. He’d mostly spend his days attacking the gods on Ra’s ship, and his nights getting hacked to pieces in the underworld.
Atum:
Great creator god known as “the self-generated one” like Ra. The center of his cult was mainly Heliopolis.
Geb:
Son of Shu and Tefnut, he personifies the Earth and is depicted as a man with a green complexion.
Isis:
Great goddess of magic who reassembled the dismembered body of Osiris, thus creating the first mummy, and fathered Horus. Her name was written with the hieroglyphic sign of the throne; the temple dedicated to her on the island of Philae was the last bastion of the ancient religion.
Anubis:
Canid-headed god, patron saint of embalmers and keeper of the necropolis.
Maat:
Goddess of the cosmic order and emblem of righteousness, identified with the feather that was opposed to the heart of the deceased on the scale at the time of weighing that judged his work in life. Personalizing the cosmic order and harmony, it establishes the rules by which kings must govern. His power regulates the stars, the seasons and the relations of men with the gods.
Hathor:
Goddess of love, joy and beauty, often depicted in the form of a cow. His name means “Abode of Horus” as protector of the god, the pharaoh and all the dead; he was revered in Dendera.
Amon:
Local deity of Thebes, whose name means “He who is hidden” raised to the rank of ruler of the gods in his form of Amun-Ra. He was worshiped at Karnak.
Horo:
Mostly depicted in the guise of a hawk, the son of Isis and Osiris was conceived after the rebirth of his father whom he avenged and to whom he succeeded; he is the god with whom every reigning pharaoh identified himself.
Ammut:
Hybrid figure of lion, crocodile and hippopotamus, devourer of the heart of the dead found guilty.
Nekhbet:
Vulture goddess of Upper Egypt whose spread wings protect the king. Nekhbet and Uadjet, the cobra goddess, were referred to as “The Mighty”.
Nephthys:
Sister of Isis. Both were protectors of the dead.
Ptah:
God creator of the world and patron saint of artisans, venerated in Memphis.
Ra:
Maximum form of the sun-god whose name means “sun”, usually portrayed with a human body and a hawk’s head crowned by the solar disc. The city of Heliopolis, the main place of his cult, now lies partially under the Cairo airport.
Nut:
Goddess of the sky, whose female figure gave shape to the celestial vault by arching, above the reclining body of his brother Geb, both separated from their father Shu, god of the air.
Bes:
God with the grotesque aspect of a dwarf, protector of the domestic sphere and of pregnant women.
Thot:
Ibis-headed god of wisdom and patron saint of scribes. His place of worship was located in Ermopoli.
Khepri:
Morning sun god represented by a scarab symbol.
Osiris:
Originally an earthly king and god of fertility, whose name is also rendered by the hieroglyph of the throne; after being killed and brought back to life, he was raised as the savior of the dead: ruler of the Lower World. Abydos, the center of his cult, was a pilgrimage destination.
Shu:
God of the air depicted with a human body, the head adorned with a feather. He was born from an Atum sneeze.
Tefnut:
Goddess of humidity, twin sister of Shu, born from a spit of Atum; her name is sometimes written with the hieroglyphic sign of the lips that expel spit.
Sekhmet:
Fearsome lioness, goddess of destruction, whose name means “Mighty”, she turned her warlike force against all enemies of the state. Her place of worship was Memphis.
Tueret:
Goddess having the appearance of a female hippopotamus, protector of pregnant women.
Seth:
God of storm and confusion, killer of his brother Osiris, was represented by a fantastic animal.
Uadjet:
Goddess-cobra of Lower Egypt, symbolized by the gold, the tutelary serpent placed on the forehead of the sovereigns.
The deities took on various aspects and often had geographical overlaps; some deities, specific to a place, fulfilled the same roles that another god performed elsewhere.
(Taken from egittopercaso.net)
