The Goddess Wepset

Abstract

The spiritual world created by the ancient Egyptians was a richly fascinating one which remains unique in the history of human religion. The character of that spiritual world was both mysterious and manifest, at once accessible and hidden. Although Egyptian religion was often shrouded in layers of myth and ritual, it nevertheless permeated the ancient Egyptian civilization of the Nile and ultimately shaped, sustained and directed the Egyptian culture in almost every imaginable way1. Ancient Egypt had by tradition a great variety of gods and what today can be labeled as spirits and divine forces. Some were depicted just as symbols and others had the form of living creatures. This great diversity is due to the fact that before the country was united, the northern Nile Valley was split up into about forty-two self-ruling areas (nomes) where the ruling tribes had their own deities and leaders. From the dualism of all gods it's clear that animals were the first to get divine status and by time got human form2. The deities of Egypt were present in the lives of pharaohs and citizens alike, creating a more completely theocratic society than any other of the ancient world. The number of deities worshipped by the Egyptians was indeed 1 R. H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Cairo 2003, p. 6. 2 Ibid, p. 7. XVII staggering, and almost hundreds of gods and goddesses are known by name, though few are known in detail