THE DEITIES SATET / SATIS (goddess) - Satet was the guardian of Egypt`s southern border and was associated with the Elephantine island at Aswan. She was represented as a woman who wore the white crown of Upper Egypt and antelope horns on either side. Illustration of Satet, courtesy of Lyn at IMMORTAL EGYPT at:- http://www.geocities.com/lin_hensby/Index.html Satet was believed to be the wife of the creator-god Khnum from the New Kingdom and afterwards and the mother of Anuket, the huntress. Her name has been found on jars discovered in the underground galleries of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. Satet was also mentioned in the "Pyramid Texts" where she is believed to be responsible for purifying the dead. Picture of Satet. Courtesy of Neri at:- http://www.geocities.com/egyptianhome/ She was thought to protect the southern Egyptian border by repelling Egypt`s enemies with her arrows. SEKHMET (goddess) - She is the lioness-goddess whose name means, "she who is powerful" or "the powerful one". She represents the aggressive attributes of female deities e.g. Hathor, Bastet and Mut). She was depicted as a lioness or a woman with a lioness`s head. She was also believed to be the daughter of the sun-god, Ra and also wore a sun-disc. Sekhmet was the consort to the creator god Ptah at Memphis and the mother to Nefertem. Picture of Sekhmet with a lioness`s head. Courtesy of Kings Royal Imports at:-With kind permission from Kings Royal Imports at http://www.kingsroyalimports.com/ She was linked with war and battle and helped the king to defeat his enemies. Many statues of Sekhmet were discovered at Karnak in the temple of Mut, which were erected by Amenhotep III (1390 - 1352 BC). SETH (god) - He was the god of chaos, infertility, confusion and the desert. He was depicted as a strange, possibly mythical animal, with a canine body, a long curved snout, a forked tail and pricked, flat-topped ears. Sometimes Seth was shown as a man with the head of this strange animal. He could also be represented as a donkey, a pig or a hippopotamus Picture of Seth. Courtesy of NEFERCHICHI`S TOMB at http://www.neferchichi.com A carved ivory artefact has been found at el-Mahasna, which dates back to the Naqada I period (c 4000 - 3500 BC), which shows an image of Seth. He is also depicted on the macehead of King Scorpion (c 3150 BC). Seth is a member of the Heliopolitan family, whose mother was Nut. He was the brother of Osiris, Isis and Nephthys (who was also his wife). He was believed to have been born in the Naqada region of Upper Egypt. Seth is said to have murdered his brother Osiris and then fought a prolonged battle with his nephew Horus, who wanted to avenge his father`s death. During these battles it is thought that Seth removed an eye from Horus and that Horus castrated Seth. Seth is often represented as a black boar or hippopotamus in illustrations of these contests. At the temple of Horus at Edfu, there are illustrations which show Horus spearing Seth. After many years of fighting, the other gods were called together to rule on who should be the earthly ruler. Horus was chosen as the ruler of the living and is therefore associated with the king, and Osiris was the ruler of the dead. Seth was the god of chaos and confusion. Statue of Seth. With kind permission from Kings Royal Imports at http://www.kingsroyalimports.com/ Seth was also seen as "a companion of Ra". He was believed to live with him and caused storms and bad weather. During the night, Seth accompanied Ra in his solar barque when he defended Ra from the serpent god, Apophis by spearing him from the bow of the boat. Seth was worshipped at Naqada from pre-dynastic times and was also honored in the north-eastern Delta. He was honored by the 2nd dynasty king Perisben, who had his name surmounted with an image of Seth instead of Horus. During the 2nd Intermediate Period (1650 - 1550 BC) Seth was worshipped at Avaris (Tell el-Dab`a) by the Hyksos, who identified him with the Levantine thunder-god Baal. Some kings of the 19th and 20th dynasties 11th Seth by taking his name, e.g. Sety I (1294 - 1279 BC) and Sethnakhte (1186 - 1184 BC). From the 3rd Intermediate Period Seth was seen as an evil and undesirable character. SHU (god) - Shu is the god of air and sunlight. His name is thought to mean, "He who rises up". He was depicted as a man with a feather on his head. Shu and his sister-wife Tefnut were the first deities created by Atum in the Heliopolitan creation myth. They had two children, Geb, the earth god and Nut, the sky goddess. It was Shu`s role to hold Nut in her outstretched position, which separated the sky from the earth. Illustration of Shu, courtesy of Lyn at IMMORTAL EGYPT at:- http://www.geocities.com/lin_hensby/Index.html Shu was believed to bring the sun to life each morning and he also protected the sun in the underworld from the serpent god Apophis. He was also associated with the lunar deities Thoth and Khonsu. Some also believed that Shu led a group of demons who threatened to torture the deceased. Shu was also sometimes depicted with a lion`s head and he was then known as an "Eye of Ra". In this version Shu was worshipped at the Delta town of Leontopolis (tell el-Muqdam). SOBEK / SEBEK / SUCHES Sobek was a crocodile god who was depicted as a crocodile or as a man with a crocodile`s head, sometimes with a headdress of a horned sun-disc and upright feathers. He was thought to represent the "might of the Pharaoh". Picture of Sobek. Courtesy of NEFERCHICHI`S TOMB at http://www.neferchichi.com He had two main cult centres at Kom Ombo, in Upper Egypt, which Sobek shared with Horus, and at Medinet el-Fayum in the centre of the Fayum area, which was previously known as Shedyet and later Crocodilopolis. Other temples and shrines were dedicated to Sobek throughout the Nile Valley, e.g. Gebelein and Gebel el-Silsila. Many of the temples had a pool containing living sacred crocodiles. Sobek`s consort was Hathor and thier son was thought to be Khonsu (also said to be the son of Amun and Mut at Karnak). He was later merged with the son god, Ra and was honored as another version of the solar deity. Two kings of the 12th and 13th dynasties honored Sobek by including him in their names, e.g. Sobekhotep and Sobekneferu. SOKAR (god) - Sokar was linked with fertility and the earth, but was also connected with death and especially the necropolis of Memphis. He was also believed to be a patron of craftsmen. He was depicted as a man, sometimes in a mummified form, with a hawk`s head. He was also sometimes represented as a mound of earth surmounted by a boat containing the head of a hawk. Illustration of Sokar, courtesy of Lyn at IMMORTAL EGYPT at:- http://www.geocities.com/lin_hensby/Index.html Sokar`s main cult centre was Memphis from where he originates. He became identified with the god, Osiris by the Old Kingdom (c 2686 - 2181 BC). Sokar became linked with the legend ofOsiris`s murder by Seth and then began to be worshipped in Upper Egypt too. In the "Pyramid texts" Sokar is called the creator of "royal bones" and later in the "Book of the Dead" Sokar is called "the maker of foot basins from silver". It was believed that divine bones were made of silver. He also became associated with another deity from Memphis, the creator-god, Ptah. They were both said to have the lioness-goddess, Sekhmet as their consort. A cult of the combined deity Ptah-Sokar was then worshipped throughout the Old Kingdom and was expanded by the addition of the god Osiris during the Middle Kingdom (2055 - 1650 BC) to be a cult worshipping Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. Throughout the Late Period (747 - 332 BC) and afterwards, wooden statues of Ptah-Sokar-Osiris were included in funerary equipment. This figure was that of a mummified human, sometimes with a hawk`s head, curled ram horns, a sun disc, plumes and the "atef"crown. These statuettes sometimes had hollow bases which could contain a passage from the "Book of the Dead" or a "corn mummy". A corn mummy was a funerary object which consisted of a mixture of soil and grains of corn, wrapped up in linen bandages, which then had a wax face mask. SONS OF HORUS (gods) - These are the four gods, Duamutef, Qebehsenuef, Imsety and Hapy, who protected the deceased person`s internal organs which were stored in "canopic jars". A "canopic jar" was a stone or ceramic vessel into which the internal organs were placed after their removal from the body during the mummification process. Each of these gods had a specific canopic vessel which they were responsible for protecting. These gods were themselves also protected by a specific goddess. The Sons of Horus are mentioned in the "Pyramid Texts" during the "Old Kingdom" (2686 - 2181 BC) when they are described as the "friends of the king" and were thought to help him ascend to heaven. The stoppers of the canopic jars became shaped to represent the heads of each of these gods by the late 18th dynasty. Illustration of the Sons Of Horus, courtesy of Lyn at IMMORTAL EGYPT at:- http://www.geocities.com/lin_hensby/Index.html Imsety was represented with a human head. he protected the liver and was protected in turn by the goddess Isis, who was at the southern cardinal point ( the feet of the deceased). Picture of Imsety. Courtesy of NEFERCHICHI`S TOMB at http://www.neferchichi.com Hapy was an ape-headed god who cared for the lungs. Nephthys was his protectress and they were located at the north cardinal point, where the deceased person`s head was located. Picture of Hapy. Courtesy of NEFERCHICHI`S TOMB at http://www.neferchichi.com Duamutef was cared for by the goddess Neith. He guarded the stomach and had a jackal head. They were positioned to the east of the deceased. Picture of Imsety. Courtesy of NEFERCHICHI`S TOMB at http://www.neferchichi.com Qebehsenuef had a falcon head and was responsible for the intestines. Selket was his protecting goddess, who was located to the west of the deceased. Picture of Qebehsenuef. Courtesy of NEFERCHICHI`S TOMB at http://www.neferchichi.com SOPDET / SOTHIS (goddess) - The goddess Sopdet was the personification of the "dog star" and was known as Sothis during the Graeco-Roman period (332 BC - AD395). She is often depicted as a woman with a star on her head. On a 1st dynasty ivory tablet from the reign of King Djer, that was found at Abydos, Sopdet was shown as a seated cow with a plant situated between her horns. The plant was seen as a symbol of the year and could indicate the rising of the dog star was seen to mark the beginning of the solar year as early as the third millennium BC. Her consort was the god Sah (Orion) and her son was Soped. This triad was similar to that of Osiris, Isis and Horus. Sopdet was mentioned in the "Pyramid Texts" as uniting with Osiris and giving birth to the morning star.