Reading Notes: Egyptian Myth and Legend, Part A

I'm not as familiar with Egyptian legend as I used to be, so this post will mostly compile notes on major Egyptian gods and goddesses appearing in the reading.

Ra (or Khepera in the mornings, or Tum in the evenings) | symbols: the sun/solar disk, the asp
A child in the morning, a man in his prime at noon, and an old man in the evening, Ra represents the sun. In the reading, he's mentioned as the big daddy of the gods, probably also due to his connection to Nu. He travels through the underworld at night to be reborn as the morning sun each day.

Shu | symbol: ostrich feather
God of air and dry winds, but not sky--he just held up the sky. Husband and brother of Tefnut. Son of Ra.

Tefnut | symbol: the lion
Goddess of dew and rain. She was represented either as a lion, or with a lion's head. Sister and wife of Shu. Daughter of Ra.

Seb or Geb | symbol: geese
God of earth, physically represented with green or black skin. He was separated from his wife by Shu. Son of Shu and Tefnut.


Nut | symbol: the sky, stars
Sky goddess, physically represented as a woman with blue skin and covered with stars, arched over her husband Seb, or as a cow. Daughter of Shu and Tefnut.

Osiris | symbols: mummy wrappings, crown with a miter and two ostrich feathers
God of nature and vegetation, and important because he civilized the warring tribes of wandering people who would become the Egyptian people. Also chilled out in the underworld and judged souls there. The additional association with the underworld was probably because his brother, Set, murdered him. He got better. He was the first person to die, ever.


Isis | symbols: throne, scorpions, snakes
Powerful but benevolent sorceress who attained a lot of her power by tricking Ra. Wife of Osiris who went on a journey to restore him to life after Set killed him. Daughter of Geb and Nut. Mother of Horus with Osiris. She was the most important Egyptian goddess, assuming almost all other attributes and functions of every other goddess at some point.

Set | symbols: head and tail of a beast
God of wickedness; somewhat related: super evil. Killed his brother Osiris and ripped him to pieces to try to stop Isis from reviving him. He was defeated and castrated by Horus.

Nepthys or Nephthys | symbol: a basket
Sister of Set and Osiris. Consort of Set, but loved Osiris more, and had Anubis with him. She abandoned Set when he killed Osiris and spent time with Isis instead. She was a special protector of the dead.

Horus | symbol: a falcon
Son of Osiris and Isis who wanted to avenge Osiris' murder. He was also killed and revived in the process. After defeating Set, he became the divine prototype of the pharaoh.

Anubis | symbol: a jackal
Son of Nephthys and Osiris. A god of death who prepared the dead and took them to the underworld. Jackals tended to prowl around tombs, which probably explains symbol's association with the dead. He was also worshipped as "Upuaut," the "opener of the ways," which explains something about how Egyptians thought of death.

Thoth | symbol: an ibis
A sacred scribe and god of learning. Benevolent and wise. Self-created, or maybe created by Ra. His consort was a goddess of truth, Ma'at.

Hathor | symbol: a cow, cow horns
Goddess of joy and love, and protector of women. Sometimes equated with Sky goddess Nut, and sometimes with Isis.

Sources:
Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie
Summary of Egyptian Gods by History World
About Egyptian Mythology by CliffsNotes

Image: Godess Isis, taken by Darla Hueske. Web source.