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was the name of the original Egyptian god of the underworld. Eventually, Osiris took over and Anubis served as a guide to the recently departed and guardian of the dead. he guided the souls of the newly dead through the underworld, testing their faith and knowledge of the gods. It was Anubis who placed the hearts of souls on the Scales of Justice to see if they had earned a pass to eternity with their deeds on earth. Those that did not pass were fed to Ammit, a demon with the head of a crocodile who destroys them.
Anubis is also honored as the god of embalming, the process of preserving the dead as mummies. He was the father of Kebechet, the goddess of body purification. Anubis is represented as a figure with the head of a jackal and body of a human. unlike a real jackal, the head of Anubis is black, which represents the underworld. |
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Ra, the Egyptian god of the sun, was thought to be the creator of the world. The Egyptians believed that humans were created from Ra’s tears or sweat and the sun was Ra’s body or eyes. Ra is usually depicted with the head of a falcon and the body of a man. He wears the symbol of the sun on this head. As time progressed, Ra was merged with other gods such as the Theban god Amun in an attempt to unite the different tribes of Egypt. |
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Horus, who usually appears with the head of a falcon and the body of a man was first considered the god of war in ancient Egypt, but later as the so of Ra, and then as the son of Osiris and Isis. As the son of Osiris, Horus overthrows Seth, the jealous brother of his father. Horus eventually evolved into the divine guardian to the pharaohs and the patron of young men before he was combined with Ra to form Ra-Harakhte, god of the sun. Horus took on many forms and variants in ancient Egypt. |
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Osiris is the Egyptian god of the underworld and dead. He is depicted as a green-skinned man in the form of a mummified pharaoh. For much of Egyptian history, Osiris was the most important god. He was second among gods in power, only less powerful than his father, Ra. he was the husband of Isis and father of Horus. mortal Osiris was murdered by his jealous brother Set, who yearned for the throne of Osiris. During Set's wicked reign, Isis resurrected him with the ritual of life, later given to the Egyptians so they could dwell in the underworld for eternity. even though Osiris was a god, his death prevented him from ever dwelling in the land of the living again. |
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Thoth, depicted with the head of an ibis and the body of a human, was the Egyptian god of wisdom, knowledge, and writing. He was also honored as the creator of magic and the keeper of divine records.
Thoth is the god that questions the souls of the dead about their deeds in life before their hearts are weighed against the feather of Maat. Some Egyptian legends claim Thoth to be the son of Ra, while other claim he created himself through the power of language. |
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Isis, one of the few Egyptian gods with no variant forms, was the patron of women, mothers, children, medicine, and the ritual of life - which was given to the Egyptians so they could live for eternity in the underworld. Isis is the oldest deity in Egypt and was universally worshipped by all Egyptians. Temples to Isis are found throughout Egypt. She was the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus. |
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