The religion of the ancient Egyptians was inspired by nature and by the fertility caused by the flooding of the river Nile. The Sun, the wind and animals that helped man in his labors on the land were also objects of worship.

The chief god was Ra who represented the Sun. Ra was the protector of the pharaoh who was known as ‘the son of Ra’. Another important divinity was Osiris. This god was killed, according to a legend, by his brother Set who was jealous of his popularity among the people. Horus, son of Osiris and of the goddess Isis, avenged the death of his father who rose again and became the ruler of the dead.

The ancient Egyptians worshiped many gods who had the heads or even the whole body of animals: Anubis, the god of graveyards, had the head of a jackal; Apis was a bull which bore the Sun between its horns; Apopris was the wicked serpent, an enemy of Ra and a symbol of the clouds that tried to hide the face of the Sun. Bast was the mistress of love, of matters feminine and of fashion and had the head of a cat; Haket, and divinty that watched over births, had the head of a frog; Kheferi, the scarab god of springs, was represented as a beetle; Khelum, who had a ram’s head, was the patron of potters because he was supposed to have fashioned the first man from clay; Mut the goddess was represented by vulture; sebek was the crocodile god; Selket was the scorpion goddess; and Thot, the god of scribes, had the head of an ibis or a baboon.

The Egyptians believed in an after-life in which man was rewarded or punished by Osiris. They thought the soul, Ka, could live on in the after-life if the body was embalmed.