Egyptian Mythology

Nut is the ancient Egyptian sky goddess, commonly shown as a woman arched over the earth with stars across her body. Her imagery frames the daily journey of the sun and the hope of rebirth after death. Nut in the surviving tradition Heliopolitan genealogy makes Nut the daughter of Shu and Tefnut, sister and partner […]

Hathor is an ancient Egyptian goddess of music, dance, joy, sexuality, motherhood, the sky, foreign lands, and care for the dead. Her many roles make motherhood goddess an incomplete title. Hathor in the surviving tradition Hathor may appear as a cow, a woman with cow horns and sun disk, or a woman with cow ears.

Thoth is an ancient Egyptian god associated with writing, reckoning, learned knowledge, the moon, ritual speech, and the maintenance of order. He appears as an ibis-headed man, a full ibis, or a baboon. Thoth in the surviving tradition Egyptian texts credit Thoth with recording decisions, counting time, composing sacred words, and mediating divine disputes. In

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a colossal limestone statue with a lion’s body and a human head. It was carved from the bedrock beside the pyramid complex of Khafre during Egypt’s Fourth Dynasty, most likely around 2500 BCE. Its archaeological setting makes Khafre the standard attribution, although no surviving inscription on the statue names

Cleopatra VII ruled Ptolemaic Egypt from 51 to 30 BCE. She was the last active ruler of the dynasty founded after Alexander the Great’s conquest. Her son and co-ruler Caesarion briefly survived her, so calling Cleopatra the “last pharaoh” is common but needs that qualification. A Ptolemaic Queen of Egypt Cleopatra was born in 69

Anubis is the Greek form of the Egyptian god called Inpu or Anpu in modern transliteration. He was closely associated with cemeteries, embalming, the protection of the dead, and funerary rites. Images usually show him as a reclining black canid or as a man with a canid head. Calling the animal a jackal is conventional,

Ra, also written Re, was the ancient Egyptian sun god and one of the central divine powers associated with creation and kingship. Egyptian religion changed across more than three millennia, so Ra did not have one fixed biography or family tree. He was worshipped in several forms and combined with other gods without losing his

The Egyptian Book of the Dead is not a single narrative and was never a fixed scripture. It is the modern name for a changing collection of funerary spells used to help a deceased person join the gods, move safely through the next world, and go forth into daylight. Copies differ in length, order, wording,