The ancient Egyptians believed in many gods. Beliefs changed over several thousand years. Some of the gods were worshipped for thousands of years, others were popular for short periods only. Some gods were worshipped throughout the whole country, others were only worshipped locally.

Images of the gods

The Egyptians made many images of their gods. Craftsmen carved and painted pictures of them on the temple, tomb and house walls. They made large stone statues, often much bigger than lifesize, for their temples. People prayed to small statuettes at home or gave them to a temple as offerings.

The gods were part of everyday life. The Egyptians carried small amulets (protective charms) of the gods because they believed these would protect them. An image of a god could decorate anything from a mirror handle to the top of a temple pillar.

Origins of the gods

Many gods were originally just the local gods of towns and cities, but some also represented something that was important to the Egyptians, such as the sun, rebirth or healing. A few were adopted from other neighbouring peoples, such as the war goddess Anat from Syria.