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Gods of Ancient Egypt
Illustrated in colour, this is an introduction for the general reader to Egyptian mythology and its mysteries. It includes a concise introduction to general aspects of Egyptian religion, followed by specific sections devoted to the most important of the gods. With sections on personal religion and temple ceremony, there are also accounts of mythological stories associated with the gods, and a map of the principle cult centres.
324 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 1985
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 13, 2008
It is a nice authoritative chronicle of most of the deities of Ancient Egypt, but I wish it was a little more comprehensive. One of my fascinations with this long-since dead civilization is it's religion, namely the list of gods and goddesses that seems to be nearly endless. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy this oeuvre, but there's so much more Richard Wilkinson (one of my favorite authorities on the subject) could have added.
Despite that, I would definitely recommend this beautifully, contextually rich compendium. You couldn't ask for a better author to do it.
Despite that, I would definitely recommend this beautifully, contextually rich compendium. You couldn't ask for a better author to do it.
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December 4, 2015“Book Review: The Religion Of Ancient Egypt 12/2/2015
the ancient Egyptian gods
The time and age of this era wasn't that smart they didnt have the time of technology it was the time of war and building of great monuments like the pyramids of the
As you may or Might not know Egyptians believed in man Gods Humans birds and even some native Animals. The Egyptians mainly were people that lived in small wooden huts made of clay and cow poop and straw about half the Egyptian's were slaves that had no freedom what so ever and the would work them till they died. the little kids were put through lots of tests to see if they were good enough to join the pharaoh in his tomb when he dies. The Kids that couldn’t make it were slaves and the girls were taken for the pharaoh.
the egyptians were Desert Dwellers that traded all their valuable Spices to Europe and Rome. To this day Scientist’s still can't seem to find out how the people of Egypt made the pyramids. the theory of it is that it took generations to fix and build one pyramid. to this day Scientist are Still finding fragment of Human bones and whole skeletons lying in the pyramid’s. Egypt is a hot dry and even deadly place workers were worked so hard they would die where they lay.
the pharaoh would often time eat the heart of all the workers and slaves to serve the gods and bring good luck with them. the life of a slave was about 10 years long any older and they would be whipped the death by the pharaoh’s guards. about 4 generations of slaves were used to build half a pyramid. Egyptians were very Religious and they would kill any other’s that didn’t believe in there gods. The God Of Luck and Wisdom Loki the Egyptians always praised this god more than others for the chance of rain and better food. Egyptians always praised Loki but if they said his name wrong he would curse them with even less rain and food . Lokoer the god of illusion and disease. not that many people prayed to him because he was a mortal and was tied to a rock and was killed from the rising tide. To human Mortal God were the gods full of greed and power.
Re the king of gods thought to be the ruler of gods Horus would go out on the earth hunting for humans that would be worthy of Being a god most of the human god were shunned upon and were often times forgotten. Sphinx the gods minions the pharaohs pet or just a simple cat Egyptians often would praise an animal headed god.
I think this Book is a great source of information and that it needs to be read by every one just to know of the root and the meaning of being a Egyptians and hearing of the god they prayed to. this is a book that fully completes the story of Egyptians and the struggle of life back then and how we should rethink the way we live now.
the ancient Egyptian gods
The time and age of this era wasn't that smart they didnt have the time of technology it was the time of war and building of great monuments like the pyramids of the
As you may or Might not know Egyptians believed in man Gods Humans birds and even some native Animals. The Egyptians mainly were people that lived in small wooden huts made of clay and cow poop and straw about half the Egyptian's were slaves that had no freedom what so ever and the would work them till they died. the little kids were put through lots of tests to see if they were good enough to join the pharaoh in his tomb when he dies. The Kids that couldn’t make it were slaves and the girls were taken for the pharaoh.
the egyptians were Desert Dwellers that traded all their valuable Spices to Europe and Rome. To this day Scientist’s still can't seem to find out how the people of Egypt made the pyramids. the theory of it is that it took generations to fix and build one pyramid. to this day Scientist are Still finding fragment of Human bones and whole skeletons lying in the pyramid’s. Egypt is a hot dry and even deadly place workers were worked so hard they would die where they lay.
the pharaoh would often time eat the heart of all the workers and slaves to serve the gods and bring good luck with them. the life of a slave was about 10 years long any older and they would be whipped the death by the pharaoh’s guards. about 4 generations of slaves were used to build half a pyramid. Egyptians were very Religious and they would kill any other’s that didn’t believe in there gods. The God Of Luck and Wisdom Loki the Egyptians always praised this god more than others for the chance of rain and better food. Egyptians always praised Loki but if they said his name wrong he would curse them with even less rain and food . Lokoer the god of illusion and disease. not that many people prayed to him because he was a mortal and was tied to a rock and was killed from the rising tide. To human Mortal God were the gods full of greed and power.
Re the king of gods thought to be the ruler of gods Horus would go out on the earth hunting for humans that would be worthy of Being a god most of the human god were shunned upon and were often times forgotten. Sphinx the gods minions the pharaohs pet or just a simple cat Egyptians often would praise an animal headed god.
I think this Book is a great source of information and that it needs to be read by every one just to know of the root and the meaning of being a Egyptians and hearing of the god they prayed to. this is a book that fully completes the story of Egyptians and the struggle of life back then and how we should rethink the way we live now.
April 22, 2012
An interesting book which covers a lot of ground and as such was useful for a complete newcomer to ancient Egypt like myself. The book is pretty clear and concise but the names became muddled in my head after a while so I did have to backtrack a couple of times and re-read paragraphs/check glossary etc. A good introductory text
May 2, 2022
- Book Review: "Gods of Ancient Egypt" by Barbara Watterson - 📚🇪🇬
Egyptologist Barbara Watterson's "Gods of Ancient Egypt" gives brief biographies of all the major (and some minor) Egyptian deities.
The Major deities include the Ennead (group of nine), comprising of:
1. Atum - the sun god
2. Shu - god of air
3. Tefnut - god of water
4. Geb - god of the earth
5. Nut - god of the sky
6. Osiris - god of the underworld
7. Ayesis - god of magic
8. Seth - god of violence
9. Nephthys - god of funerary rites
At times, the Ennead also includes the Falcon god Horus, who's story is intricately tied to that of Osiris, Ayesis, and Seth.
The solar deity Aten, who's singular worship was popularized by Pharaoh Akhenaten during the 18th dynasty, is also given it's own chapter, as is the god Amun who was subsequently favored by Tutankhamun.
The author elucidates the relationships between all the deities, giving accounts of their conflicts, collaborations as well as their highly intriguing origin theories.
Osiris for example is thought to have been the first ever person to be mummified, and it is through his example that the mummification process is thought to have originated in Egypt.
The book is a highly pleasant read because it's written for a general audience. The author patiently takes the time to handhold the reader by giving elaborate expositions on all the deities, even going so far as to reference Greek and Roman pantheons to show how they compare to their Egyptian counterparts.
While most pantheons of deities can be quite a challenge to remember, anyone who picks up this book will be sure to have all the Egyptian deities committed to memory without much effort. It is thus a must read for all students of theology / religious history and is rightly deserving of full marks with great distinction.
My rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (with great distinction)
Egyptologist Barbara Watterson's "Gods of Ancient Egypt" gives brief biographies of all the major (and some minor) Egyptian deities.
The Major deities include the Ennead (group of nine), comprising of:
1. Atum - the sun god
2. Shu - god of air
3. Tefnut - god of water
4. Geb - god of the earth
5. Nut - god of the sky
6. Osiris - god of the underworld
7. Ayesis - god of magic
8. Seth - god of violence
9. Nephthys - god of funerary rites
At times, the Ennead also includes the Falcon god Horus, who's story is intricately tied to that of Osiris, Ayesis, and Seth.
The solar deity Aten, who's singular worship was popularized by Pharaoh Akhenaten during the 18th dynasty, is also given it's own chapter, as is the god Amun who was subsequently favored by Tutankhamun.
The author elucidates the relationships between all the deities, giving accounts of their conflicts, collaborations as well as their highly intriguing origin theories.
Osiris for example is thought to have been the first ever person to be mummified, and it is through his example that the mummification process is thought to have originated in Egypt.
The book is a highly pleasant read because it's written for a general audience. The author patiently takes the time to handhold the reader by giving elaborate expositions on all the deities, even going so far as to reference Greek and Roman pantheons to show how they compare to their Egyptian counterparts.
While most pantheons of deities can be quite a challenge to remember, anyone who picks up this book will be sure to have all the Egyptian deities committed to memory without much effort. It is thus a must read for all students of theology / religious history and is rightly deserving of full marks with great distinction.
My rating: 5/5 Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (with great distinction)
April 28, 2024
This is one of several introductory books to Egyptian gods and myths in which the content is organized by deity. Each chapter in Part 2 discusses a major deity, or one of middling importance. These chapters focus more on mythology, and on specific episodes of myth, than on how the deity was worshipped. Part 1 compensates somewhat for that deficit by giving a general description of Egyptian religion and its practices.
The chapters on deities vary greatly in length, from 16 pages to just one. Thus, from this book you can learn more detail about Osiris, Horus, or the Aten than in the major reference works on Egyptian deities, The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses or The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. However, by comparison it feels like second-tier deities get short shrift. Mut may not merit 16 pages like Osiris does, but there's more to say about her than a single page's worth, and Thoth deserves more than three.
The deities included here are the sun god (an overview of the concept, with most of the detail left for the sections on individual manifestations of the sun god), Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Re, Khepri, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Seth, Nephthys, Hathor, Edjo (Wadjet), Nekhbet, Amun, Mut, Khonsu, Aten, Ptah, Sokar, Sekhmet, Anubis, Neith, Thoth, Khnum, Min, Montu, and Bastet.
The chapters on deities vary greatly in length, from 16 pages to just one. Thus, from this book you can learn more detail about Osiris, Horus, or the Aten than in the major reference works on Egyptian deities, The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses or The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. However, by comparison it feels like second-tier deities get short shrift. Mut may not merit 16 pages like Osiris does, but there's more to say about her than a single page's worth, and Thoth deserves more than three.
The deities included here are the sun god (an overview of the concept, with most of the detail left for the sections on individual manifestations of the sun god), Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Re, Khepri, Osiris, Isis, Horus, Seth, Nephthys, Hathor, Edjo (Wadjet), Nekhbet, Amun, Mut, Khonsu, Aten, Ptah, Sokar, Sekhmet, Anubis, Neith, Thoth, Khnum, Min, Montu, and Bastet.
December 28, 2017
Good read - only thing that could have made it better was a bit more about how gods were worshipped by common people, and a better timeline illustrating the changing position and popularity of the gods over time. Made me want to read more on the subject!
October 6, 2018
It is good .. yet only taking one version of the legend some times ..enjoyable to read
January 4, 2023
Loved this book
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews