THE DEITIES BAAL (god) - He was a Syrian god, from Ugarit, who was adopted by the Egyptians during the 18th dynasty. He was seen as the god of war, sky and storms, good harvests and fertility. Baal was represented as a man with a pointed beard, who had a horned helmet. He was often shown with one hand raised, which held a sword, club or cedar tree. Illustration of the god Baal. Courtesy of Sea at Atlantis and Ancient Civilizations at http://www.seapyramid.net/ His sister / consort, was the goddess Anat. Baal was likened to the Egyptian God, Seth. Baal was described as, "he who rides on the clouds" in ancient cuneiform texts. His main cult centre was at Memphis. BASTET (goddess) - She was the local deity of the town of Bubastis (Tell Basta). Bastet is first known from the 2nd dynasty stone vessels, when she was depicted as a woman with a lioness` head. She would often hold an "ankh" sign and a sceptre. Later she was shown as a cat-headed woman, who carried a sistrum ( a rattle). Bastet was thought to be a daughter of the sun-god,Ra, and was the peaceful form of the lioness goddess, Sekhmet. Pictures of two statues of the goddess Bastet.With kind permission from Kings Royal Imports at http://www.kingsroyalimports.com/ BAT (goddess) - She was depicted as either a cows head with curling horns, or as a human head with cow`s ears and horns. One of the earliest examples of bat was on the top of the Narmer palette (c.3100 BC). She was connected to fertility and was later absorbed by the cult of the goddess, Hathor. Photograph of the Narmer palette showing the goddess Ba at the top. Old Kingdom sculpture. Currently in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Copyright and kind permission by Dr Kathleen Cohen at http://worldart.sjsu.edu BENU (god) - This god was depicted as a bird and was sacred to the solar cult at Heliopolis of Atum and Ra. Benu was linked to the sun an rebirth. It was depicted as a yellow wagtail, a manifestation of Atum, in the Pyramid Texts. Illustration of the god Benu. Courtesy of Sea at Atlantis and Ancient Civilizations at http://www.seapyramid.net/ Later in Egyptian history, Benu was represented as a grey heron with a long beak and a two feathered crest. In this form, he was seen as the ba (physical manifestation) of the gods Ra and Osiris. BES (god) - He was shown as a dwarf with a protruding tongue and a mask-like face. Sometimes he is shown with a lions ears and mane, but at other times wears a lion-skin cape. In some depictions Bes has a plumed headdress and often carries musical instruments, especially tambourines. He also was known to be shown carrying knives, and the hieroglyph SA, meaning protection. Picture of the god, Bes. Courtesy of NEFERCHICHI`S TOMB at http://www.neferchichi.com Picture of the god, Bes. Obtained from Encyclopedia Mythica. http://www.pantheon.org/areas/gallery/mythology/africa/egyptian Copyright 1995-2002 Micha F Lindemans. All rights reserved. Bes was thought to be a protective deity and could protect a household from the threat of snakes. he was also very much linked with sexuality and childbirth. Often an image of Bes is seen on the mammisi (birth houses) in the temples of the "late period" of Egyptian history. His image was also carved onto normal everyday household objects. BUCHIS (god) - Buchis was the sacred bull of Montu (falcon headed god of war) at Hermonthis (Armant). It was seen as the Ba (physical manifestation) of Ra and Osiris. In a similar way to the Apis bull, the Buchis bull was chosen based on certain markings. The Buchis had a white body and a black face and hair which grew backwards. On the death of the Buchis, he was buried in catacombs called the Bucheum. These were found by W.B.Emery and Robert Mond in 1927. The sarcophagus in which the Buchis was buried was made of sandstone. It is known that such burials were performed from the reign of Nectanebo II (c 360 - 343 BC), until the reign of Diocletian (AD 284 - 305). It is thought that burials were carried out at least as early as the 18th dynasty, if not before. None of these have yet been discovered.