Iconography of the Gods

Sources

Various Depictions. Just as a god could have many different names, each revealing something about the nature of the deity, so could a god be depicted in many different ways. Egyptian gods could be shown as fully human, fully animal, or perhaps most familiar to even the most casual student of

ancient Egypt, in a hybrid form combining both human and animal elements. When creating images of a god, the Egyptians were not attempting to depict the god as he really was, but rather their goal was to communicate something essential about the god’s nature.

Animal Form. The earliest evidence for the depiction of Egyptian gods seems to indicate that in the prehistoric period the Egyptians worshiped divine powers in animal form. Around the beginning of the Early Dynastic Period (circa 3000-2675 b.c.e.), powers that had been worshiped as deities came to be represented in human form. Toward the end of Dynasty 2 (circa 2800-2675 b.c.e.) the method of depicting Egyptian deities that was to become so commonplace is first used. On cylinder seal impressions from King Peribsen one finds gods in human form with animal heads, in this case the Seth animal and the hawk. Once these different methods of representing the deities make their appearance, they continue to coexist with the others; one form does not replace another. The same god could be represented using all three methods of purely human, purely animal, or animal-human hybrid. The goddess Hathor could be shown as a woman, as a cow’s head on a woman’s body, or simply as a cow.

Shades of Meaning . If the same deity could be represented in several different forms, it is obvious that not all of these depictions could represent the actual appearance of the deity. In fact, none of these depictions represented the “true” form of the deity; this form was forever hidden to man, just as the true name of the deity was a closely guarded secret. The task for the modern student of ancient Egyptian religion is to attempt to discern what meanings were intended by the different methods of representation of the Egyptian deities. An animal head on a human body revealed certain characteristics or attributes of the deity. The symbolism intended by the use of particular animals is not clearly understood. A human head combined with an animal’s body seems to indicate the acquisition or possession of divine aspects by humans. For example, the human-headed ba-bird represents the ability of a deceased individual to freely move about and transform himself into different forms. That classic Egyptian symbol, the Sphinx, which places a human head on a lion’s body, represents the royal power of the individual. A sphinx was not solely human-headed; it could take the head of several different animals, each representing a particular deity. A ram-headed sphinx represented the royal power of the god Amun-Re. A falcon-headed sphinx indicated the royal power of the god Horus, while a sphinx with the head of the Seth-animal represented the same for Seth. Each mixed figure, whether it be human head with animal body, or animal head with human body, represented a theological statement in iconographic form about the Egyptian god. These statements are not always clear to modern students of Egyptian religion.

Crowns and Other Symbols. The items the gods and goddesses were shown wearing or carrying also contribute information regarding their characteristics. The double crown of kingship was worn by several deities, including Atum, Horus, and even Seth. The Hathor-crown, consisting of cow horns with a sun-disk in the middle, was worn by goddesses known for their motherly nature, such as Hathor, Isis, and Renenutet. A deity shown wearing a crown with a sun-disk incorporated into it was thought to have some sort of relationship to the sun god. Deities could also be shown wearing an identifying hieroglyph as a headdress. Deities could be shown carrying the ankh-symbol, representing their power to bestow life. Gods could be shown carrying a was-scepter, indicating their dominion and control, while goddesses carried the wadj-staff, representing fertility and renewal in nature. The goddess Taweret, the protector of women in childbirth, was shown carrying a large sa-amulet, representing protection. Even the color associated with the gods was significant. Amun, the king of the gods during the New Kingdom (circa 1539-1075 b.c.e.), was shown with a blue skin, possibly representing the color of the sky. Osiris, Anubis, Isis, and various demons could be shown as black, indicating their association with the underworld and the afterlife. Osiris could also be depicted with a green face, an allusion to his powers of revival associated with fertility. The aggressive and hostile Seth was shown as red, the color of the rising and setting sun.

Sources

Ann Rosalie David, The Ancient Egyptians: Religious Beliefs and Practices (London & Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982).

Henri Frankfort, Ancient Egyptian Religion: An Interpretation (New York: Harper, 1961).

Erik Hornung, “Ancient Egyptian Religious Iconography,” in Civilizations of the Ancient Near East, volume 3, edited by Jack M. Sasson (New York: Scribners, 1995), pp. 1711–1730.