Ancient Egyptians had lots of gods and goddesses. Let’s discover five exquisite Egyptian gods facts for kids.
Egyptian Gods Facts for Kids Fact Number 1: Egyptian Gods and Goddesses Had The Body of a Human but The Heads of Animals
There were over 2,000 Gods and Goddesses in Ancient Egyptian religion. The Ancient Egyptians worshipped many gods. Each God and Goddess represented something different and some were more important than others.
Gods and Goddesses were depicted as having a human body with the head of an animal. Examples of animals that the Gods looked like included crocodiles, snakes, cats, rams and birds.
They had gods for everything, from war and rain to music and chores. You can see pictures of the Egyptian gods in many Egyptian hieroglyphics.
Egyptian Gods Facts for Kids Fact Number 2: Temples Were Seen as Houses for The Gods
Pharaohs built large temples to honour the Gods. A temple could be dedicated to one or more Gods. These temples would have had large statues and gardens that were used as tranquil places to worship the Gods.
Only priests could enter these sacred temples, where they would have spent their time serving the Gods. Many temples had a sanctuary inside which contained the shrine that held the statue of the God.
Some famous temples include the Luxor Temple, the Temple of Horus and Edfu and the Temple of Dendur.
Egyptian Gods Facts for Kids Fact Number 3: Osiris and Isis Were Greatly Worshipped in Ancient Egypt
The Egyptian God Osiris ruled the underworld, the place that Egyptians believed they went to when they died. He was married to the Egyptian Goddess Isis, who represented protection, healing, motherhood, children and nature.
Egyptians believed that she was their protector. The legend has it that Osiris was murdered by his brother, Seth, who was seen has a villian, and Isis was able to bring Osiris back to life.
Osiris and Isis were two of the few Egyptian Gods that had human heads instead of animal heads. Isis’ image was drawn onto coffins to protect the dead from any evil spirit.
Egyptian Gods Facts for Kids Fact Number 4: The God Horus Was Known as The King of Egypt
Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis. He was the god of the sky and became the king of Egypt. He is known for avenging his fathers death by defeating Seth.
During this battle, Hors lost his eye and that is where the term “eye of Horus” comes from. The Eye of Horus is one of the most important symbols in Ancient Egypt, which was often worn as an amulet, which was a piece of jewellery.
This symbol was used for protection and was said to fight evil and disease. The God Horus was depicted with a human body and head of a falcon. It was thought that the ruling Pharaoh of Egypt was the living image of Horus.
Egyptian Gods Facts for Kids Fact Number 5: Some Pharaohs Took The Name of Gods
Boy King Tutankhamun wasn’t always called Tutankhamun. He was originally named Tutankhaten by his father,Akhenaten as he worshipped the sun god Aten as the only god of Egypt.
When Tutankhamun became King he changed his name to Tutankhamun, which translated to “Living image of Amun” as he worshipped the god Amun-Ra.
Ra was the sun god and it was said that he merged with the god of wind, Amun, to make him the most powerful of all the Egyptian gods.