Have you ever wondered why are there Egyptian gods and goddesses with animal heads? The interesting thing about Egyptian gods and goddesses is that each animal has an obvious explanation. The connection between the gods and goddesses to the animals is the combination of the god’s power and the animal’s characteristics. Like the Egyptian goddess of war, Sekhmet, had a lioness’ head to show how ferocious she was. There are many more of such awesome gods and goddesses on our list today, so check them out!
1Anubis
Title: Protector of the Dead
With the name of jackal-headed man or jackal, Anubis is one of the most powerful Egyptian gods. As the protector of the dead, he was also closely associated with mummification as well. And in the hall of judgment, Anubis was the one who conducted the deceased to the hall.
2Bastet
Title: Cat Goddess
No, she was not the protector of cats, just to make sure I clear the doubt of her title. She was the goddess who protected pregnant women and children. And of course, there were many cats living in her temple, they were mummified when they died. Because Egyptians worshiped the Cat Goddess, killing or hurting cats resulted in penalties.
3Horus
Title: God of War, Sky, and Falcons
He was the god with a hawk’s head, and he was the enemy of wicked God Seth. He could transform into either a hawk or a man with the head of a hawk. As a god of the sky, he was also the divine protector of the kings as well. This god of war also defeated Seth and became the king of Egypt. The history was awesome.
4Khnum
Title: God of Water
He who guarded the source of the Nile, the main water source for the whole Egypt. His symbol was the potter’s wheel for it was believed that he was the creator of human children’s bodies from clay. The worship of Khnum was held annually on two principal riversides, Elephantine and Esna, which were his sanctuaries.
5Khonsu
Title: God of the Moon
Khonsu was the moon god who was depicted as a man with a falcon head wearing a crescent moon above the lunar disc. However, sometimes he also has a baboon form as well. People believed that he had the ability to drive out evil spirits from patients.
6Montu
Title: God of War
Just like Horus, Montu or Monthu was the god of war with the head of a falcon. In Egyptian art, you will see him as a man with a falcon-head or bull-head. Each of them wore a sun disc with two plumes on the head. Each animal has a different presentation: the falcon represents the Sky while the bull represents Strength and War.
7Ra
Title: God of the Sun
He was the supreme sun god whose head was of a hawk and crowned with a solar disk and serpent. History says each day that Ra traveled across the sky in the form of the sun by riding his solar boat. At night, he appeared as a ram-headed man and journeyed through the underworld to defeat the allies of chaos. He was a very powerful Egyptian god, and everyone worshiped him.
8Sekhmet
Title: Goddess of War, Fire, and Healing
With the head of a lioness, Sekhmet was the daughter of Ra, the god of the sun. That was why she was crowned with a solar disk and a sacred serpent just like Ra himself. There are a lot of meanings in her names such as Mistress of Dread, Lady of Slaughter, She Who Mauls, and more. Besides her, Maahes, Pakhet, and Tefnut were also the Egyptian gods with the head of a lion.
9Sobek
Title: God of Crocodiles and Alligators
He who controlled crocodiles in the Nile river, was a man with a crocodile head wearing a sun disk with upright feathers and horns. History has it that there was a pool at Kom Ombo containing sacred crocodiles. And you still see the original mummified crocodiles at the temple today.
10Seth
Title: God of Darkness, Chaos, and Confusion
He was also known as Set, Setekh, Suty, and Sutekh represented as a man with an unknown animal head. Thought that was the ant-eater’s head, but my research has shown that it could be the head of an aardvark or fennec fox. Egyptians preferred to call the animal a Set Animal from the name of the god himself. Seth killed his brother, Osiris because of jealousy.
11Tefnut
Title: Goddess of Water and Fertility
As I mentioned, Tefnut was also the god with a head of a lion except she represented a different role. Because she was the goddess of water, it would cause drought if she fled from Ra. And when she cried, the ground became fertilized.
12Thoth
Title: God of Wisdom
Thoth was the god who represented writing and knowledge, and he was depicted as a man with the head of an ibis. His statue would pose as a man holding a scribe’s pen and palette to show his wiseness. You will find his portrayal of either writing or making calculations. He also had the important role of recording the deeds of the dead on judgment day as well.
There are several more Egyptian gods and goddesses with heads of animals, but the pictures are not available. I hope I will be able to bring more information and detail about them soon.
Related Post: Powerful Greek Gods & Goddesses
