Read eBook Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt Egyptian Mythology for Kids
A few of the many deities in the book Neith Goddess of Creation and War As we have seen, the Egyptians told different stories explaining how the world began. In another version of creation, Nun again existed as nothingness. But this time, within Nun the goddess Neith stirred. Neith turned herself into a fish—then she turned herself into a cow. As the first
living being, Neith took on many forms. As her first act, Neith created Egypt. She made the land out of joy. She separated the night from the day. Neith was worshipped in the earliest days of Egypt, when Upper and Lower Egypt were united by King Narmer. In those early days, the symbol for Neith—an oval with two legs on the top and two on the bottom—was thought by some to be a click beetle. But in later times, this shape was thought to be two arrows crossed over a shield. Neith would often wear this upon her head. Sometimes she wore the Red Crown of Lower Egypt instead. As the lady of arrows, she would hold a bow and arrows in her hand. Isis Goddess of Magic, Thrones, and Healing When Isis arrived at the palace of Byblos, the queen begged for the great goddess’s help. The young prince of Byblos was very ill, and the queen pleaded with Isis to save him. As a powerful healer, Isis agreed, but she also had her own motives—once she stepped inside the palace of Byblos, she realized that her husband’s body was trapped within the large wooden pillar there Isis devoted herself to healing the young prince of Byblos, in the room with the pillar that held Osiris’s body inside. Day by day the prince slowly got better, but Isis wouldn’t let anyone else watch her work. Horus Child God of Healing and Falcon God of Kings Seth wanted to rule Egypt forever, but young Horus—the son of Isis and Osiris—stood in his way. Ra had chosen Horus to be the godly ruler of Egypt, which meant that as long as Horus was around, he was a threat to Seth’s authority. Isis knew that the jealous and ambitious Seth wanted Horus out of the picture. Fearing for her son, Isis hid Horus in the marshes, and the god Atum used his magic to protect the papyrus marshes and keep all other gods out. For years, Horus was safely hidden where Seth could never find him.