Top 10 Ancient Egyptian Goddesses

Ancient Egypt had the most complex pantheons of divine forces in the old-fashioned world. They worshipped Egyptian gods and goddesses in the forms of mothers, cats, crocodiles, the sun, and the universe.

They associated every diety with a natural phenomenon. For instance, Goddess Hathor was associated with music, dance, intoxication, and Mother Goddess.

And Goddess Ma’at was associated as the goddess of harmony and balance. 

Every deity was depicted uniquely with the application of Egyptian Painting techniques. Though their faces were painted similarly, they were distinguished with a unique placement on their head.

This article accumulates the top 10 Egyptian Goddesses associated with significant natural phenomena.

Who is the evilest Egyptian goddess?

Goddess Apophis was the most devious goddess in Ancient Egypt. Apophis undermined the hidden world and represented evil.

Where did the Egyptian Goddesses live?

The Egyptian goddesses lived among the people in the temple homes, in the woods, lakes, streams, marshes, and beyond the Nile River Valley in the desert.

10. Nekhbet: Goddess of Vultures

A relief from the temple of Egyptian Goddess Nekhbet
A relief from the temple of Egyptian Goddess Nekhbet

Goddess Nekhbet, honored as the Mother of mothers, protected Egypt and the Egyptian Pharaohs

She was the patron of Nekheb, a city in Upper Egypt, and was worshipped as the white vulture in Egyptian Religion.

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She was associated with funeral imagery, guarding the bodies of dead Kings with her outspread wings, and the Osiris cult. 

Goddess Nekhbet is depicted as Osiris, and her depictions are primarily found in tombs and burial chambers.

9. Neith: Goddess of Arrows

A portrait of Ancient Egyptian Goddess Neith
A portrait of Ancient Egyptian Goddess Neith

The Egyptian goddess Neith was the patron goddess of war, a cemetery goddess, and a guardian of domestic skills such as weaving.

She was self-created and depicted the primordial seas of chaos. According to one origin tale, she was connected with Set, the god of war and hostility, who was her consort, and Sobek, the crocodile deity. Queen Nihotep is the oldest example of Neith being inscribed with crossed arrows.

Because of her title, “Opener of the Ways,” Neith was linked to Anubis and Wepwawet (Upuaut). She was a goddess who guarded the dead and the canopic jars (together with Isis, Nephthys, and Serqet/Selket). 

8. Nephthys: Goddess of Funeral

A portrait of Ancient Egyptian Goddess Nephthys
A portrait of Ancient Egyptian Goddess Nephthys

Goddess Nephthys, the Mistress of the House, represented Lower Egypt and Ptah-Tanen. She was associated with air and was honored as the head of the family.

Nephthys was the sister of Isis and the daughter of Geb (Earth) and Nut (Sky). 

The Egyptians placed her on the tombs and coffins as the protector of the deceased and associated her with the organs stored in canopic jars. 

One Egyptian mythology states that she assisted her sister, Goddess Isis, in bringing the dead Osiris to life. Osiris, the god of order, was killed by his brother Seth, the god of disorder, for having an affair with Seth’shis wife, Goddess Nephthys.

7. Taweret: The Hippo Goddess 

Egyptian Goddess Taweret depicted as a pregnant hippopotamus
Egyptian Goddess Taweret depicted as a pregnant hippopotamus

Goddess Taweret, or ‘the Great One, was a fertility goddess. She protected both Mother and child during and after pregnancy. Her primary role was to help women in labor and ward off evil spirits and demons that wanted to harm the mother or the child. 

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Egyptians depicted her as a cross between crocodiles, pregnant hippopotamuses, and lions. She had the head and body of a hippo, the paws of a lion, and the back of a crocodile. 

6. Isis: The Egyptian Goddess Associated with Royalty and Magic

Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Royalty, Isis
Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Royalty, Isis

Isis, also known as the Mother and protector of all gods and dead, was one of ancient Egypt’s most powerful deities. She was mainly known for her benevolent power in daily life and the Afterlife.

Women of Ancient Egypt presented themselves as Goddess Isis as they honored and respected Goddess Isis’s defending, loving, and responsible nature.

Besides, she was associated as the goddess of Royalty and Magic. She could protect and defend the mothers with her magical powers.

5. Nut: The ‘Starry’ Goddess 

A portrait of Egyptian Goddess with her wings spread around the coffin
A portrait of the Egyptian Goddess with her wings spread around the coffin

Goddess Nut, also known as the Starry Goddess, was associated with coffins and caskets. She was depicted as a naked woman with a water pot. 

According to Egyptian Mythology, God Ra had to pass through the body of Goddess Nut every night and morning. She would swallow him at night and give birth to him every morning. 

Apart from God Ra, Goddess Nut was considered to have given birth to numerous other Egyptian Pharaohs and Gods, for that she was known as “She who Bore the Gods.”

4. Maat: The Goddess of Order 

Ancient Egyptian Goddess Maat
Ancient Egyptian Goddess Maat

Ma’at was famous as the goddess of truth, justice, balance, and order in ancient Egypt. She was depicted as a woman sitting or standing with an ostrich feather on her head and wings.

Goddess Ma’at was the essential notion in the universe’s upkeep. She had a particular way of keeping track of everything that happened in the universe and beyond in the Afterlife.

Egyptians, after death, had to travel through the Hall of Judgement, which was done by measuring the hearts on a scale against Goddess Ma’at’s feather of truth.

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3. Bastet: The Feline Goddesses 

Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Feline, Bastet
Ancient Egyptian Goddess of Feline, Bastet

Bastet, also known as B’sst, Baast, Ubaste, and Baset, was a major goddess of Lower Egypt. The daughter of Ra and Isis was married to Ptah and had a child named Maahes. 

Egyptians associated her as the goddess of pregnancy and labor, conceivably due to the fertility of the homegrown cat. They also honored her as the goddess of protection against infectious illnesses and evil spirits.

Goddess Bastet was depicted as the wild lioness warrior goddess of protection, pleasure, and good health. She was mainly seen having a cat’s head and a woman’s body.

2. Hathor: The Goddess of Cow  

Ancient Egyptian Goddess of love - Hathor
Ancient Egyptian Goddess of love – Hathor

Hathor was portrayed as the goddess of music, cow, love, dance, pleasure, and fertility. She was one of Egypt’s 42 state deities and one of the most powerful and well-known.

Her reverence originated early in Egypt’s history, presumably in the Predynastic Era, and her focus of worship was Dendera. She was Ra’s daughter, and in her function as the sun god’s guardian, she was known as “The Eye of Ra.” 

She was the guardian of women, but men were equally revered. In her temples, she had both priests and priestesses.

1. Mut: The Mother Goddess 

Ancient Egyptian Goddess Mut
Ancient Egyptian Goddess Mut

In ancient Egyptian mythology, Mut was a sky deity and a powerful celestial mother. She was mainly portrayed as a woman, often with wings or as a vulture, generally wearing royal crowns.

She was frequently depicted wearing the Egyptian double crown or the New Kingdom queens’ vulture headpiece. 

Initially, Egyptians worshiped Mut as their local goddess. Still, she eventually became the Queen of all the deities after God Amun, and her husband was considered the most potent national God during the New Kingdom.

Mut was linked to several goddesses, including Isis and Nut, and was worshiped as one of many composite deities. She created the divinity “Mut-Isis-Nekhbet, the Great Mother and Lady” with Isis and Nekhbet.

Conclusion:

All the goddesses from ancient Egypt had unique names, personalities, and attributes, wore various types of dress, revered various objects as sacred, ruled over their spheres of influence, and reacted to events in profoundly individualized ways. 

Each divinity specialized in a different field and was frequently linked to several aspects of human existence. 

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