Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
Name and describe key Egyptian gods and goddesses: Ra the sun god who sailed across the sky each day, Osiris the ruler of the afterlife, Isis the goddess of magic and motherhood, Anubis the jackal-headed god of mummification, Horus the falcon-headed sky god, Thoth the ibis-headed god of writing, and Bastet the cat goddess of protection
What a learner can do afterwards
- Name at least four Egyptian gods/goddesses and describe their roles
- Explain why many gods were shown with animal heads and what the animals represented
- Understand that Egyptians built temples as homes for the gods and performed daily rituals there
The lesson
Ancient Egyptians believed many gods watched over the world. Each god had a special job, like ruling the sky, guarding the dead, or protecting the home. Some gods looked like people, and some were shown with the head of an animal.
Mia visits a museum and sees a statue with a falcon head and a sun disk. Her guide tells her it is Horus, the sky god, whose sharp eyes were said to be the sun and the moon.
Animal heads were not random. Sharp-eyed falcons showed the sky god's watchful power, wise ibis birds showed the writing god's knowledge, and jackals showed the mummification god's link to graveyards.
Each Egyptian god had a job and often an animal head that matched that job, and people cared for them daily in temples.
Watch it
Where it sits
Where this leads
Jobs that lean on this skill. Follow one to see everything it is built on.
8 questions wait behind this lesson, each with its answer explained. Every answer feeds the sky: stars light as they are learned, and dim when it is time to come back.