Northeast Africa — Nile Valley

Egyptian mythology: gods, myths and civilization of the Nile

A complete guide to Egyptian mythology: pantheon overview, cosmogony, Osirian cycle, major myths, ancient sources and religious traditions of ancient Egypt.

The scribe Nebqed and his family before Osiris, a colorful detail from the Book of the Dead — Fredduf — via Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · Image adapted: resized, composited on a blurred background, desaturated, color-tinted, and converted to WebP · Source

Period

c. 3100 BCE (Unification of Egypt) — 395 CE (closure of the last sanctuaries)

Original languages

ancient Egyptian (hieroglyphic), Demotic Egyptian, Coptic

Main sources

Pyramid Texts (c. 2400 BCE)
Coffin Texts (c. 2055–1650 BCE)
Book of the Dead (c. 1550 BCE)
Amduat — Book of What is in the Underworld
Plutarch, De Iside et Osiride (1st–2nd c. CE)
Inscriptions at Karnak, Luxor, and Abydos

Family tree Explore the pantheon’s bloodlines and unions Browse the A–Z index Find any entry by name, from A to Z

Gods & goddesses

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Statue of Amun wearing his tall double plume, tutelary god of Thebes

Amun, the hidden god and king of the gods in Egyptian mythology

Amun, Egyptian god of Thebes: his hidden origin, fusion into Amun-Ra, the temple of Karnak, Akhenaten's reform, and his status as king of the gods under the New Kingdom.

Anubis with a black jackal head, from ancient Egyptian art, watching over a mummy

Anubis, jackal-headed guardian of the dead in Egyptian mythology

Anubis, the jackal-headed god of ancient Egypt: guardian of the dead, divine embalmer, guide of souls, and overseer of the weighing of the heart.

Atum wearing the double crown, creator god of Heliopolis, classical Egyptian art

Atum, the creator god of Heliopolis in Egyptian mythology

Atum, creator god of Heliopolis: the self-created demiurge who rose from Nun, begot Shu and Tefnut, founded the Ennead and embodies the setting sun, father of the gods.

Bastet, Egyptian cat-headed goddess holding a sistrum, classical Egyptian art

Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess of home and protection

Bastet, the Egyptian cat goddess: protector of home, motherhood and fertility, the pacified Eye of Ra, gentle counterpart of Sekhmet and great lady of Bubastis.

Creatures

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Ammit, a composite creature with a crocodile's head, a lion's chest and a hippopotamus's hindquarters, waiting beside the scale of judgment

Ammit, the devourer of unjust souls in Egyptian mythology

Ammit, the Egyptian creature with a crocodile's head, a lion's chest, and a hippopotamus's hindquarters: her devouring of the impure heart and the second death.

Apophis, giant serpent of chaos pierced by a deity defending the solar barque

Apophis, the serpent of chaos and enemy of Ra in Egyptian myth

Apophis (Apep), the giant serpent of chaos in Egyptian mythology: sworn enemy of Ra whom he attacks each night in the Duat, and the rites of annihilation used to defeat him.

Bennu, the solar bird behind the phoenix

The Bennu, sacred heron of Heliopolis: a self-created bird perched on the benben stone, ba of Ra and Osiris, and the Egyptian original behind the Greek phoenix.

Mythical places

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The Duat, Egyptian underworld, with the solar barque crossing the hours of the night

The Duat: the underworld of the dead in Egyptian mythology

The Duat, the Egyptian underworld: nocturnal realm crossed by the sun, place of Osiris's judgment and the twelve hours of the night mapped by the funerary books.

Mythical objects

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The Eye of Horus (wedjat), a stylised falcon eye, Egyptian protective amulet

The Eye of Horus (wedjat): symbol of protection in ancient Egypt

The Eye of Horus, or wedjat: Egyptian symbol of protection, healing and wholeness, born from the struggle with Seth and restored by Thoth — distinct from the Eye of Ra.

Stories

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Atum and the Heliopolitan Ennead emerging from the primordial Nun, Egyptian art

Creation myths

The Egyptian Creation Myth: Atum and the Ennead

The Egyptian creation myth: from the primordial Nun to Atum, the birth of the Heliopolitan Ennead and the order of the world against the chaos of Apophis.

Death and afterlife

The Judgment of the Dead in ancient Egyptian mythology

The Egyptian Judgment of the Dead: the Hall of Two Truths, the Negative Confession before forty-two divine assessors, and Anubis weighing the heart against Maat's feather.

Death and afterlife

The Osiris myth: death, resurrection and the judgment of the dead in Egypt

The complete Osiris myth: murder by Seth, Isis's quest, dismemberment, reassembly and resurrection — the founding narrative of ancient Egyptian funerary theology.

Comparisons

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Comparative evocation of the birth of the world across several mythologies

Creation Myths Compared: 4 ways to bring a world into being

Creation myths compared: Greek Chaos, Egyptian Nun, Norse Ginnungagap and Mesopotamian combat. How each tradition wrests an ordered world from chaos.

Symbolic representations of death deities from several world mythological traditions

Gods of death across 8 world mythologies

A comparison of death deities and underworld rulers in Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Roman, Japanese, Hindu, Aztec, and Celtic mythologies.

Aphrodite of Cnidus, Greek sculpture representing the goddess of love

Gods of Love in World Mythologies

A comparison of love deities in Greek, Roman, Norse and Egyptian mythology: Aphrodite, Venus, Freya, Hathor, Eros and Cupid compared across traditions.