Table of gods
The religion of the ancient Egyptians can be divided into the official or state religion and the private religion of the ordinary people, who felt that the great gods of the kings were unlikely to help them with their everyday problems. They therefore made offerings at home to friendly gods like Tauert and Bes. Tauert (a hippopotamus) protected women in childbirth, and the ugly dwarf called Bes protected humans, especially children, against evil.
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Fig. G: Statuette of Tauert, SACHM 4269
Fig. 16: Bes outside Isis of Philae temple, SACHM Photo Archives
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The ancient Egyptians had many gods and they were often in a type of ‘family’ relationship, called a triad, where you have a father like Osiris, a mother like Isis and child, Horus. Horus was always very intimately linked with kingship, and when Egypt was united in the First Dynasty the name of the king was preceded by the title ‘Horus’. The king was thereafter regarded as a god on earth. As Horus was also the son of Osiris the king became one with Osiris when he died, therefore the living king was Horus, and the dead king Osiris.
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Fig. H: Statuette of Isis and Horus (replica – original in British Museum), SACHM 2580
Fig. I: Statuette of Osiris, SACHM 2592
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The king, who was regarded as a god, was the high priest of every cult and every temple in the country, but because it was impossible for him to be at all these temples at the same time, priests represented the king. A temple was not for the ordinary people, but a house for a specific god. The cult image of the god was kept inside the temple in an inner sanctuary. The only people allowed inside the temple were the pharaoh and his priests.
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Fig. 17: Boat shrine, with Horus (modern), temple of Horus, Edfu, SACHM Photo Archives
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