Overview of Egyptian gods and the afterlife

Religion played an important part in the lives of the ancient Egyptians.

So many temples, shrines, and religious items have survived from their time, indicating that the supernatural had an important role in their day-to-day lives.

Egyptian society was polytheistic, which means that they believed in, and worshipped, more than one god.

In fact, we still don't know how many gods the Egyptians worshipped, as we have evidence for hundreds of different deities. 

The most famous gods of ancient Egypt are Ra, Osiris, Seth, Isis, Anubis, and Horus.

Even the pharaoh himself was considered to be one of the gods during his time in power.

After a pharaoh's death, Egyptians believed they became another god in the afterlife.

Each of the Egyptian gods were considered to have power over different parts of the natural world. For example, the god Ra was associated with the sun. 

Other Egyptian gods were considered to be sacred to a particular city, village, or region (called nomes) in Egypt.

For example, the god Amun was considered to be the main god of the city of Thebes.

Unlike us, the ancient Egyptians didn't separate religion from everyday life. Instead, they believed that the gods existed everywhere.

When they felt the wind on their skin, they thought it was a god. When they saw the water of the Nile, they believed it was also a god.

Therefore, religion and religious belief was central to their existence.

Egyptians believed that the gods were responsible for the outcome of the seasons, the harvests and even how well people's lives turned out.

They thought it was important, therefore, that the gods were kept happy by regular sacrifices and religious rituals.

One of the things that strikes us as 'odd' about the Egyptian gods is that they were often pictured as half-human, half-animal beings.

It seems that the Egyptians believed that the character traits of certain gods were best illustrated using particular animals.

For example, if a god was considered dangerous or powerful in war, they would be shown as part lion.

As a result, animals such as birds, lions, cats, crocodiles, and dogs are some of the most common.

Due to the central importance of the gods to the everyday lives of ancient Egyptians, temples and priests became important elements in Egyptian society.

It was believed that their work would guarantee the success of Egypt. The pharaoh himself was thought to be the high priest of all temples and that by his participation in religious rituals, the gods were most pleased. 

All Egyptian towns had many temples dedicated to a range of different gods. Since each god was important to particular parts of a person's life or was linked with something in nature, people wanted to be able to worship as many gods as they could, when they wanted to.

While there were hundreds of different gods, each with their own sphere of influence over nature or the supernatural, you will notice that some gods shared areas of influence.

Below is a list of the most famous gods and goddesses from ancient Egypt:

Egyptians took a particular interest in what would happen to them after death.

Based upon the decorations in many tombs, they believed that the afterlife was similar to the life a person lived on earth.

For example, many paintings depicting the next world show people farming, playing sports, and relaxing with family, just as when they were alive on earth.

It appears that how someone acted during their life determined how likely they were to survive an initial judgment by the gods. 

Those that were honest in life were considered to be the most likely to enter into a positive afterlife.

However, the Egyptians believed that in order to live after death, the body of the dead person had to be preserved.

This is why mummification was developed: as a way of protecting the body from decay.

On top of this, they thought that the body still needed food and drink in the afterlife, plus tools, and servants, as well as many other things.

Due to this, the ancient Egyptians developed the habit of burying people with as many goods as possible, just in case they needed it in the afterlife.

The Egyptian people believed a great judgment scene would occur when someone died, where the gods met the deceased person in a place called 'The Hall of Truths'. 

During this judgment, Anubis, the god of the dead, would weigh the heart of the dead person on one side of a set of scales.

On the other side of the scale was a feather. If the feather weighed more than the heart, it indicated that the person led a good life, because their heart was 'light' from having no guilt or blame stored up from their time on earth.

As a result, the person could enter the afterlife.

However, if the heart was heavier than the feather, the person had failed the test and their soul was eaten by the monster-god Ammit, which was depicted as a half-lion, half-crocodile.