The ancient Egyptians' ideas about the world shaped the way their culture developed. The land itself was at the centre of ancient Egyptian beliefs. The people worshipped the sun and the annual flooding of the River Nile as gods. They thought some other gods could take the form of animals and birds. The ancient Egyptians believed that before the world was created, there was nothing but isfet (darkness and chaos). They saw the world as a constant battle between the forces of good and evil. Their greatest fear was that the world would slip back into chaos. To keep maat (order and balance), they said prayers and performed rituals. One ancient Egyptian version of how the world was created was that the sun god made himself out of natural forces such as 'magic' and the 'divine word'. He then made the god Shu (air) and the goddess Tefnut (moisture) by sneezing and spitting. Then these two made the god Geb (earth) and the goddess Nut (sky).