He is often referred to as ‘Lord of the Divine Words’ and recognised as the god of writing, scribes and wisdom. He was worshipped along with his little known consort Nehmentaway at the ancient city of Khumnw, near modern El-Ashmunein, on the west bank of the Nile. Thoth was the god of writing and knowledge and was frequently portrayed as an ibis-headed man. In the ancient Egyptian language, an ibis on a perch was the hieroglyphic sign for the god Thoth. The species is now extinct throughout Egypt due to drainage of swamplands, their natural habitat. Birds were raised both in captivity and found in the wild, and royal subsidies of fields allowed the cultic administration to feed the birds and raise capital by leasing land for cultivation. 30 BC-AD 395), where sanctuaries dedicated to the worship of the ibis could be found throughout Egypt. The peak of cultic activities involving birds can be seen from the Twenty-Sixth Dynasty (c. The sacred ibis was worshipped from Predynastic times (c. The black colour of Anubis was symbolically associated with discoloration of the corpse after its preparation for burial and the fertile black soil of the Nile Valley, symbolising regeneration. He is usually represented as a seated jackal or in human form with a jackal’s head, sometimes wearing a tail. He was the chief deity of the Cynopolis (Greek for ‘city of the dogs’), modern el-Qeis in Upper Egypt, and a burial ground for dogs was discovered on the opposite bank of the Nile.Īnubis was worshipped all over Egypt and images of the god were seen in temples, chapels and tombs throughout the pharaonic period. He was the god of the dead, associated with embalming and mummification. Canine deities most often represent death and the afterlife, and are associated with the cult of Osiris (god of the underworld).īefore the rise of Osiris, Anubis was the most important funerary deity. Some of these were represented by the wolf or dog, while others like Anubis were more generic and exhibited qualities of both a dog and a jackal. In Egyptian religion, there were a number of canine deities. This tom-cat is depicted slaying the serpent god Apophis, who was an embodiment of chaos. Although the association was predominantly female, there is one divine male cat often found within religious contexts, as a manifestation of the sun-god Ra. Other goddesses sometimes took on feline forms, including Mut, Hathor and Tefnut.
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The line between ancient Egyptian deities was often blurred - forms could overlap and some animals resulted in being associated with more than one god or goddess, and vice versa. She was most commonly identified as the ‘protector of children’, being associated with female fertility, sexuality, and the protection of infants and pregnant women.
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The best known of the feline deities was Bastet, who was usually either depicted in the theriomorphic (animal) form of a cat, or the hybrid form of a female body with a cat’s head. Bastet was sometimes depicted as a lioness (in earlier times), or as a woman with the head of a lioness (however this was more often related to the goddess Sekhmet, associated with destruction). Bastet was seen as a more mild and calming version of the ferocious lion. Not only were cats highly regarded for their everyday uses, but also in the divine realm. In this blog, we take a closer look at some of the most sacred animals of ancient Egypt. The crocodile was said to be the god of water and could act as a symbol of pharaonic power and strength, whereas the ibis was believed to be the patron of writing and scribes. Other animals that were feared by ancient Egyptians, such as crocodiles and hippopotami, were revered and worshipped in order to protect them from their wrath. Large cats such as cheetahs and lions were kept as exotic pets and were emblems of royalty. The most well-known of these is probably the cat, which has its domestic origins in ancient Egypt. Therefore, displaying their deities in the forms of animals, with particular characteristics, demonstrated what they believed about each god or goddess's nature.Ī whole host of animals played important roles. These included strength, the ability to ward off predators, protective nature, nurturing characteristics and connections to rebirth.
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Whether as deities, pets, symbols of fertility, or objects of fear, protection and luck, animals played a significant role in both royal and non-royal life in ancient Egypt, featuring heavily in everyday secular and religious activities.Īnimals often had attractive qualities that the ancient Egyptians perhaps admired and wanted to emulate.