peoples in the region. Through animism, the belief that
all objects on earth have consciousness and a personality,
the earliest Egyptians sought to explain natural forces
andthe role human beings played in the patterns of exis-
tence. Animism defined “spirits” in creatures and in
nature and included awareness of the power of the dead.
Animists felt compelled to placate such spirits and to
cooperate with immaterial entities that they believed pop-
ulated the world.
The concerns for such “spirits” in the realm of the
dead led to elaborate funerary rituals and a sophisticated
belief system concerning existence beyond the grave.
Animism also concerned the “spirits” of all natural things
as well. The Egyptians lived with forces that they did not
understand. Storms, earthquakes, floods, and dry periods
all seemed inexplicable, yet the people realized acutely
that natural forces had an impact on human affairs. The
“spirits” of nature were thus deemed powerful, in view of
the damage they could inflict on humans. It was also
believed that the “spirits” of nature could inhabit human
bodies.
Two other forms of worship coexisted with animism:
fetishism and totemism. Fetishism recognized a spirit in
an object (as in animism) but treated the object as if it
had a conscious awareness of life around it and could
bring to bear certain magical influences. Fetishes had
two significant aspects: first as the object in which a
“spirit” was present and, second, as an object used by a
“spirit” for a specific purpose (such as amulets or talis-
mans). Totems evolved out of nome emblems, a particu-
lar animal portrait or sign that signified the province’s
spirit. Such totems appeared on the nome staffs used
in battle, and each nome unit marched behind its
own leader and its own insignias in the early historical
periods.
Several ancient gods and goddesses of Egypt were
associated with these totems. NEITH,HATHOR,MONTU,
and MIN, for example, were early examples of fertility,
hunting, pleasure, and war. Fetishes appeared early in
amulet form as well. The DJEDPillar, which was associ-
ated with the god OSIRIS, became the nation’s symbol for
stability. The GIRDLE OF ISISrepresented the virtues of
that goddess as a wife and divine mother. As the predy-
nastic period drew to a close, certain fetishes and totems
were given human traits and characteristics, a process
called anthropomorphism. The Egyptian gods evolved
during this era, particularly Osiris, who represented not
only the death of the earth at the end of the growing sea-
son but the regeneration of plant life as well. At that
time, animals became objects of cultic devotion because
of their particular abilities, natures, or roles on earth.
Some were made divine because of the dangers they
posed to humans, in an effort to constitute what is called
sympathetic magic. In time, others were used as THEO-
PHANIES, manifestations of the gods, because of their
familiar traits or characteristics.
Although the Egyptians were polytheists, they dis-
played a remarkable henotheism: the act of worshiping
one god while not denying the existence of others. This is
particularly evident in the hymns, didactic literature, and
tales of Egyptians, where the devoted addressed one god
as the self-created supreme being. The Egyptians had no
problem with a multitude of gods, and they seldom
shelved old deities in favor of new ones. The characteris-
tics and roles of older deities were syncretized to recon-
cile changes or differences in beliefs, customs, and ideals
of particular eras. It has been argued by some scholars,
in fact, that the Egyptians were actual monotheists
who viewed all other deities as avatars,or representations
of one, self-begotten, created god. Whatever intent
prompted the pantheon of gods in Egypt, some of these
supernatural beings interjected remarkable concepts into
the human experience. The cult of PTA H, for example,
based traditions upon the use of the logos,and the deity
AMUN, the unseen creator of life, represented profound
recognition of the spiritual aspirations of humans.
FOREIGN GODS
Over the centuries alien deities were brought to Egypt
and more or less welcomed. Most of these gods were
introduced by conquering alien forces, which limited
their appeal to the Nile population. Some came as repre-
sentatives of other cultures that were eager to share their
spiritual visions. Only a few of these deities attained uni-
versal appeal on their own merits. The Egyptians nor-
mally attached the deity to an existing one of long150 gods and goddessesColumns leading to an interior chamber in the Isis Temple at Philae
Ptolemaic Period (304–30 B.C.E.), displaying the favored god-
dess, Isis. (Courtesy Steve Beikirch.)