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812743025_1916-2257 | Since the registration is done with the process of returning change , according to Bill Bryson odd pricing came about because by charging odd amounts like 49 and 99 cents ( or 45 and 95 cents when nickels are more used than pennies ) , the cashier very probably had to open the till for the penny change and thus announce the sale . National | Cash register |
812743025_2357-3463 | Shortly after the patent , Ritty became overwhelmed with the responsibilities of running two businesses , so he sold all of his interests in the cash register business to Jacob H. Eckert of Cincinnati , a china and glassware salesman , who formed the National Manufacturing Company . In 1884 Eckert sold the company to John H. Patterson , who renamed the company the National Cash Register Company and improved the cash register by adding a paper roll to record sales transactions , thereby creating the journal for internal bookkeeping purposes , and the receipt for external bookkeeping purposes . The original purpose of the receipt was enhanced fraud protection . The business owner could read the receipts to ensure that cashiers charged customers the correct amount for each transaction and did not embezzle the cash drawer . It also prevents a customer from defrauding the business by falsely claiming receipt of a lesser amount of change or a transaction that never happened in the first place . The first evidence of an actual cash register was used in Coalton , Ohio , at the old mining company . | Cash register |
812743025_3464-3615 | In 1906 , while working at the National Cash Register company , inventor Charles F. Kettering designed a cash register with an electric motor . Various | Cash register |
812743025_3649-4308 | A leading designer , builder , manufacturer , seller and exporter of cash registers from the 1950s until the 1970s was London - based ( and later Brighton - based ) Gross Cash Registers Ltd. , founded by brothers Sam and Henry Gross . Their cash registers were particularly popular around the time of decimalisation in Britain in early 1971 , Henry having designed one of the few known models of cash register which could switch currencies from £ sd to £ p so that retailers could easily change from one to the other on or after Decimal Day . Sweda also had decimal - ready registers where the retailer used a special key on Decimal Day for the conversion . | Cash register |
812743025_4419-4643 | In some jurisdictions the law also requires customers to collect the receipt and keep it at least for a short while after leaving the shop , again to check that the shop records sales , so that it can not evade sales taxes . | Cash register |
812743025_4644-4926 | Often cash registers are attached to scales , barcode scanners , checkstands , and debit card or credit card terminals . Increasingly , dedicated cash registers are being replaced with general purpose computers with POS software . Cash registers use bitmap characters for printing . | Cash register |
812743025_4927-5692 | Today , point of sale systems scan the barcode ( usually EAN or UPC ) for each item , retrieve the price from a database , calculate deductions for items on sale ( or , in British retail terminology , `` special offer '' , `` multibuy '' or `` buy one , get one free '' ) , calculate the sales tax or VAT , calculate differential rates for preferred customers , actualize inventory , time and date stamp the transaction , record the transaction in detail including each item purchased , record the method of payment , keep totals for each product or type of product sold as well as total sales for specified periods , and do other tasks as well . These POS terminals will often also identify the cashier on the receipt , and carry additional information or offers . | Cash register |
812743025_5693-6198 | Currently , many cash registers are individual computers . They may be running traditionally in - house software or general purpose software such as DOS . Many of the newer ones have touch screens . They may be connected to computerized point of sale networks using any type of protocol . Such systems may be accessed remotely for the purpose of obtaining records or troubleshooting . Many businesses also use tablet computers as cash registers , utilizing the sale system as downloadable app - software . | Cash register |
812743025_6323-6691 | Cash registers include a key labeled `` No Sale '' , abbreviated `` NS '' on many modern electronic cash registers . Its function is to open the drawer , printing a receipt stating `` No Sale '' and recording in the register log that the register was opened . Some cash registers require a numeric password or physical key to be used when attempting to open the till . | Cash register |
812743025_6692-7239 | A cash register 's drawer can only be opened by an instruction from the cash register except when using special keys , generally held by the owner and some employees ( e.g. manager ) . This reduces the amount of contact most employees have with cash and other valuables . It also reduces risks of an employee taking money from the drawer without a record and the owner 's consent , such as when a customer does not expressly ask for a receipt but still has to be given change ( cash is more easily checked against recorded sales than inventory ) . | Cash register |
812743025_7240-7800 | A cash drawer is usually a compartment underneath a cash register in which the cash from transactions is kept . The drawer typically contains a removable till . The till is usually a plastic or wooden tray divided into compartments used to store each denomination of bank notes and coins separately in order to make counting easier . The removable till allows money to be removed from the sales floor to a more secure location for counting and creating bank deposits . Some modern cash drawers are individual units separate from the rest of the cash register . | Cash register |
812743025_7801-8831 | A cash drawer is usually of strong construction and may be integral with the register or a separate piece that the register sits atop . It slides in and out of its lockable box and is secured by a spring - loaded catch . When a transaction that involves cash is completed , the register sends an electrical impulse to a solenoid to release the catch and open the drawer . Cash drawers that are integral to a stand - alone register often have a manual release catch underneath to open the drawer in the event of a power failure . More advanced cash drawers have eliminated the manual release in favor of a cylinder lock , requiring a key to manually open the drawer . The cylinder lock usually has several positions : locked , unlocked , online ( will open if an impulse is given ) , and release . The release position is an intermittent position with a spring to push the cylinder back to the unlocked position . In the `` locked '' position , the drawer will remain latched even when an electric impulse is sent to the solenoid . | Cash register |
812743025_8832-9348 | Due to the increasing number of notes and varieties of notes , many cash drawers are designed to store notes upright & facing forward , instead of the traditional flat & facing upright position . This enables faster access to each note and allows more varieties of notes to be stored . Sometimes the cashier will even divide the notes without any physical divider at all . Some cash drawers are flip top in design , where they flip open instead of sliding out like an ordinary drawer , resembling a cashbox instead . | Cash register |
812743025_9371-10084 | Registers will typically feature a numerical pad , QWERTY or custom keyboard , touch screen interface , or a combination of these input methods for the cashier to enter products and fees by hand and access information necessary to complete the sale . For older registers as well as at restaurants and other establishments that do not sell barcoded items , the manual input may be the only method of interacting with the register . While customization was previously limited to larger chains that could afford to have physical keyboards custom - built for their needs , the customization of register inputs is now more widespread with the use of touch screens that can display a variety of point of sale software . | Cash register |
812743025_10102-10548 | Modern cash registers may be connected to a handheld or stationary barcode reader so that a customer 's purchases can be more rapidly scanned than would be possible by keying numbers into the register by hand . The use of scanners should also help prevent errors that result from manually entering the product 's barcode or pricing . At grocers , the register 's scanner may be combined with a scale for measuring product that is sold by weight . | Cash register |
812743025_10574-11166 | Cashiers are often required to provide a receipt to the customer after a purchase has been made . Registers typically use thermal printers to print receipts , although older dot matrix printers are still in use at some retailers . Alternatively , retailers can forgo issuing paper receipts in some jurisdictions by instead asking the customer for an email to which their receipt can be sent . The receipts of larger retailers tend to include unique barcodes or other information identifying the transaction so that the receipt can be scanned to facilitate returns or other customer services . | Cash register |
812743025_11198-11492 | In stores that use electronic article surveillance , a pad or other surface will be attached to the register that deactivates security devices embedded in or attached to the items being purchased . This will prevent a customer 's purchase from setting off security alarms at the store 's exit . | Cash register |
812743025_11632-12597 | Some corporations and supermarkets have introduced self - checkout machines , where the customer is trusted to scan the barcodes ( or manually identify uncoded items like fruit ) , and place the items into a bagging area . The bag is weighed , and the machine halts the checkout when the weight of something in the bag does not match the weight in the inventory database . Normally , an employee is watching over several such checkouts to prevent theft or exploitation of the machines ' weaknesses ( for example , intentional misidentification of expensive produce or dry goods ) . Payment on these machines is accepted by debit card / credit card , or cash via coin slot and bank note scanner . Store employees are also needed to authorize `` age - restricted '' purchases , such as alcohol , solvents or knives , which can either be done remotely by the employee observing the self - checkout , or by means of a `` store login '' which the operator has to enter . | Cash register |
818351449_259-929 | Ancient Egyptian deities are the goddesses and gods worshipped in ancient Egypt . The beliefs and rituals surrounding these deities formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion , which emerged sometime in prehistory . Deities represented natural forces and phenomena , and the Egyptians supported and appeased them through offerings and rituals so that these forces would continue to function according to maat , or divine order . After the founding of the Egyptian state around 3100 BC , the authority to perform these tasks was controlled by the pharaoh , who claimed to be the representative of the deities and managed the temples where the rituals were carried out . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_930-1311 | The complex characteristics of the deities were expressed in myths and in intricate relationships between them : family ties , loose groups and hierarchies , and combinations of separate deities into one . Deities ' diverse appearances in art -- as animals , humans , objects , and combinations of different forms -- also alluded , through symbolism , to their essential features . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_1312-2036 | In different eras , various deities were said to hold the highest position in divine society , including the solar deity Ra , the mysterious god Amun , and the mother goddess Isis . The highest deity was usually credited with the creation of the world and often connected with the life - giving power of the sun . Some scholars have argued , based in part on Egyptian writings , that the Egyptians came to recognize a single divine power that lay behind all things and was present in all the other deities . Yet they never abandoned their original polytheistic view of the world , except possibly during the era of Atenism in the fourteenth century BC , when official religion focused mainly on the impersonal sun god Aten . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_2037-2512 | Deities were assumed by the ancient Egyptians to be present throughout the world , capable of influencing natural events and the course of human lives . People interacted with them in temples and unofficial shrines , for personal reasons as well as for larger goals of state rites . Egyptians prayed for divine help , used rituals to compel deities to act , and called upon them for advice . Humans ' relations with their deities were a fundamental part of Egyptian society . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_3037-3108 | `` Deity '' in hieroglyphs or or nṯr `` god '' nṯr. t `` goddess '' | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_3109-3562 | The beings in ancient Egyptian tradition who might be labeled as deities are difficult to count . Egyptian texts list the names of many deities whose nature is unknown and make vague , indirect references to other deities who are not even named . The Egyptologist James P. Allen estimates that more than 1,400 deities are named in Egyptian texts , whereas his colleague Christian Leitz says there are `` thousands upon thousands '' of Egyptian deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_3563-4568 | The Egyptian language 's terms for these beings were nṯr , `` god '' , and nṯrt , `` goddess '' . Scholars have tried to discern the original nature of the deities by proposing etymologies for these words , but none of these suggestions has gained acceptance , and the origin of the terms remains obscure . The hieroglyphs that were used as ideograms and determinatives in writing these words show some of the traits that the Egyptians connected with divinity . The most common of these signs is a flag flying from a pole . Similar objects were placed at the entrances of temples , representing the presence of a deity , throughout ancient Egyptian history . Other such hieroglyphs include a falcon , reminiscent of several early gods who were depicted as falcons , and a seated male or female deity . The feminine form could also be written with an egg as determinative , connecting goddesses with creation and birth , or with a cobra , reflecting the use of the cobra to depict many female deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_4569-5309 | The Egyptians distinguished nṯrw , `` deities '' , from rmṯ , `` people '' , but the meanings of the Egyptian and the English terms do not match perfectly . The term nṯr may have applied to any being that was in some way outside the sphere of everyday life . Deceased humans were called nṯr because they were considered to be like the gods , whereas the term was rarely applied to many of Egypt 's lesser supernatural beings , which modern scholars often call `` demons '' . Egyptian religious art also depicts places , objects , and concepts in human form . These personified ideas range from deities that were important in myth and ritual to obscure beings , only mentioned once or twice , that may be little more than metaphors . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_5310-6071 | Confronting these blurred distinctions between deities and other beings , scholars have proposed various definitions of a `` deity '' . One widely accepted definition , suggested by Jan Assmann , says that a deity has a cult , is involved in some aspect of the universe , and is described in mythology or other forms of written tradition . According to a different definition , by Dimitri Meeks , nṯr applied to any being that was the focus of ritual . From this perspective , `` deities '' included the king , called such after coronation rites , and deceased souls , who entered the divine realm through funeral ceremonies . Likewise , the preeminence of the great deities was maintained by the ritual devotion that was performed for them throughout Egypt . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_6089-7039 | The first written evidence of deities in Egypt comes from the Early Dynastic Period ( c. 3100 -- 2686 BC ) . Deities must have emerged sometime in the preceding Predynastic Period ( before 3100 BC ) and grown out of prehistoric religious beliefs . Predynastic artwork depicts a variety of animal and human figures . Some of these images , such as stars and cattle , are reminiscent of important features of Egyptian religion in later times , but in most cases there is not enough evidence to say whether the images are connected with deities . As Egyptian society grew more sophisticated , clearer signs of religious activity appeared . The earliest known temples appeared in the last centuries of the predynastic era , along with images that resemble the iconographies of known deities : the falcon that represents Horus and several other gods , the crossed arrows that stand for Neith , and the enigmatic `` Set animal '' that represents Set . Late | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_7090-7722 | Many Egyptologists and anthropologists have suggested theories about how the deities developed in these early times . Gustave Jéquier , for instance , thought the Egyptians first revered primitive fetishes , then deities in animal form , and finally deities in human form , whereas Henri Frankfort argued that the deities must have been envisioned in human form from the beginning . Some of these theories are now regarded as too simplistic , and more current ones , such as Siegfried Morenz ' hypothesis that deities emerged as humans began to distinguish themselves from and personify their environment , are difficult to prove . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_7723-8260 | Predynastic Egypt originally consisted of small , independent villages . Because many deities in later times were strongly tied to particular towns and regions , many scholars have suggested that the pantheon formed as disparate communities coalesced into larger states , spreading and intermingling the worship of the old local deities . Others have argued , however , that the most important predynastic deities were , like other elements of Egyptian culture , present all across the country despite the political divisions within it . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_8261-8584 | The final step in the formation of Egyptian religion was the unification of Egypt , in which rulers from Upper Egypt made themselves pharaohs of the entire country . These sacred kings and their subordinates assumed the exclusive right to interact with the deities , and kingship became the unifying focus of the religion . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_8585-9356 | New deities continued to emerge after this transformation . Some important deities such as Isis and Amun are not known to have appeared until the Old Kingdom ( c. 2686 -- 2181 BC ) . Places and concepts could suddenly inspire the creation of a deity to represent them , and deities were sometimes created to serve as opposite - sex counterparts to established gods or goddesses . Kings were said to be divine , although only a few continued to be worshipped long after their deaths . Some non-royal humans were said to have the favor of the deities and were venerated accordingly . This veneration was usually short - lived , but the court architects Imhotep and Amenhotep son of Hapu were regarded as gods centuries after their lifetimes , as were some other officials . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_9357-9908 | Through contact with neighboring civilizations , the Egyptians also adopted foreign deities . Dedun , who is first mentioned in the Old Kingdom , may have come from Nubia , and Baal , Anat , and Astarte , among others , were adopted from Canaanite religion during the New Kingdom ( c. 1550 -- 1070 BC ) . In Greek and Roman times , from 332 BC to the early centuries AD , deities from across the Mediterranean world were revered in Egypt , but the native deities remained , and they often absorbed the cults of these newcomers into their own worship . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_9934-10752 | Modern knowledge of Ancient Egyptian beliefs about their deities is mostly drawn from religious writings produced by their scribes and priests . These people were the elite of Egyptian society and were very distinct from the general populace , most of whom were illiterate . Little is known about how well this broader population knew or understood the sophisticated ideas that the elite developed . Commoner perceptions of the divine may have differed from those of the priests . The populace may , for example , have mistaken the religion 's symbolic statements about the deities and their actions , for literal truth . Overall , what little is known about popular religious belief is consistent with the elite tradition , however . The two traditions form a largely cohesive vision of the deities and their nature . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_10854-12401 | Most Egyptian deities represent natural or social phenomena . The deities were generally said to be immanent in these phenomena -- to be present within nature . The types of phenomena they represented include physical places and objects as well as abstract concepts and forces . The god Shu was the deification of all the world 's air ; the goddess Meretseger oversaw a limited region of the earth , the Theban Necropolis ; and the god Sia personified the abstract notion of perception . Major deities often had many roles and were involved in several types of phenomena . For instance , Khnum was the god of Elephantine Island in the midst of the Nile , the river that was essential to Egyptian civilization . He was credited with producing the annual Nile flood that fertilized the nation 's farmland . Perhaps as an outgrowth of this life - giving function , he was said to create all living things , fashioning their bodies on a potter 's wheel . Deities could share the same role in nature ; Ra , Atum , Khepri , Horus , and other deities acted as sun deities . Despite their diverse functions , most deities had an overarching role in common : maintaining maat , the universal order that was a central principle of Egyptian religion and was itself personified as a goddess . Some deities represented disruption to maat , however . Most prominently , Apep was the force of chaos , constantly threatening to annihilate the order of the universe , and Set was an ambivalent member of divine society who could both fight disorder and foment it . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_12402-12743 | Not all aspects of existence were seen as deities . Although many deities were connected with the Nile , none personified it in the way that Ra personified the sun . Short - lived phenomena , such as rainbows or eclipses , were not represented by deities ; neither were elements such as fire , water , or many other components of the world . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_12744-13469 | The roles of each deity were fluid , and each could expand its nature to take on new characteristics . As a result , their roles are difficult to categorize or define . Despite their flexibility , however , they had limited abilities and spheres of influence . Not even the creator deities could reach beyond the boundaries of the cosmos that they created , and even Isis , although she was said to be the cleverest of the deities , was not omniscient . Richard H. Wilkinson , however , argues that some texts from the late New Kingdom suggest that , as beliefs about the god Amun evolved , he was thought to approach omniscience and omnipresence and to transcend the limits of the world in a way that other deities did not . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_13470-14654 | The deities with the most limited and specialized domains are often called `` minor divinities '' or `` demons '' in modern writing , although there is no firm definition for these terms . Some demons were guardians of particular places , especially in the Duat , the realm of the dead . Others wandered through the human world and the Duat , either as servants and messengers of the greater deities or as roving spirits who caused illness or other misfortunes among humans . Demons ' position in the divine hierarchy was not fixed . The protective goddesses Bes and Taweret originally had minor , demon - like roles , but over time they came to be credited with great influence . The most feared beings in the Duat were regarded as both disgusting and dangerous to humans . Over the course of Ancient Egyptian history , they came to be regarded as fundamentally inferior members of divine society , and to represent the opposite of the beneficial , life - giving major dieties . Sometimes even the most revered deities could exact vengeance on humans or each other , however , displaying a demon - like side to their character and blurring the boundaries between demons and deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_14673-15058 | Divine behavior was believed to govern all of nature . Except for the few deities who disrupted the divine order , their actions maintained maat and created and sustained all living things . They did this work using a force the Egyptians called heka , a term usually translated as `` magic '' . Heka was a fundamental power that the creator used to form the world and the deities . The | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_15155-16065 | The actions of the deities in the present are described and praised in hymns and funerary texts . In contrast , mythology mainly concerns their actions during a vaguely imagined past in which the deities were present on earth and interacted directly with humans . The events of this past time set the pattern for the events of the present . Periodic occurrences were tied to events in the mythic past ; the succession of each new pharaoh , for instance , reenacted Horus ' accession to the throne of his father Osiris . Myths are metaphors for the actions the deities , which humans can not fully understand . They contain seemingly contradictory ideas , each expressing a particular perspective on divine events . The contradictions in myth are part of the Egyptians ' many - faceted approach to religious belief -- what Henri Frankfort called a `` multiplicity of approaches '' to understanding the deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_16066-16661 | In myth , deities behave much like humans . They feel emotion ; they can eat , drink , fight , weep , sicken , and die . Some have unique character traits . Set is aggressive and impulsive , and Thoth , patron of writing and knowledge , is prone to long - winded speeches . Yet overall , deities are more like archetypes than well drawn characters . Their behavior is inconsistent , and their thoughts and motivations are rarely stated . Most myths about them lack highly developed characters and plots , because the symbolic meaning of the myths was more important than elaborate storytelling . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_16662-17790 | The first divine act is the creation of the cosmos , described in several creation myths . They focus on different deities , each of which may act as creator . The eight deities of the Ogdoad , who represent the chaos that precedes creation , give birth to the sun deity , who establishes order in the newly formed world ; Ptah , who embodies thought and creativity , gives form to all things by envisioning and naming them ; Atum produces all things as emanations of himself ; and Amun , according to the theology promoted by his priesthood , preceded and created the other creator deities . These and other versions of the events of creation were not seen as contradictory . Each gives a different perspective on the complex process by which the organized universe and its many deities emerged from undifferentiated chaos . The period following creation , in which a series of gods rule as kings over the divine society , is the setting for most myths . They struggle against the forces of chaos and among each other before withdrawing from the human world and installing the historical kings of Egypt to rule in their place . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_17791-19086 | A recurring theme in these myths is the effort of the deities to maintain maat against the forces of disorder . They fight vicious battles with the forces of chaos at the start of creation . Ra and Apep , battling each other each night , continue this struggle into the present . Another prominent theme is a gods ' death and revival . The clearest instance where a god dies is the myth of Osiris ' murder , in which that god is resurrected as ruler of the Duat . The sun god is also said to grow old during his daily journey across the sky , sink into the Duat at night , and emerge as a young child at dawn . In the process he comes into contact with the rejuvenating water of Nun , the primordial chaos . Funerary texts that depict Ra 's journey through the Duat also show the corpses of deities who are enlivened along with him . Instead of being changelessly immortal , periodically , deities died and were reborn by repeating the events of creation , thus renewing the whole world , but it was always possible for this cycle to be disrupted and for chaos to return . Some poorly understood Egyptian texts even suggest that this calamity is destined to happen -- that the creator god will one day dissolve the order of the world , leaving only himself and Osiris amid the primordial chaos . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_19146-20069 | Deities were linked with specific regions of the universe . In Egyptian tradition , the world includes the earth , the sky , and the Duat . Surrounding them is the dark formlessness that existed before creation . In general , the deities were said to dwell in the sky , although those whose roles were linked with other parts of the universe were said to live in those places instead . Most events of mythology , set in a time before the withdrawal of the deities from the human realm , take place in an earthly setting . The deities there sometimes interact with those in the sky . The Duat , in contrast , is treated as a remote and inaccessible place , and the deities who dwell there have difficulty communicating with those in the world of the living . The space outside the cosmos is said to be very distant . It too , is inhabited by deities , some hostile and some beneficial to the others and their orderly world . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_20070-21410 | In the time after myth , most deities were said to be either in the sky or invisibly present within the world . Temples were their main means of contact with humanity . Each day , it was believed , they moved from the divine realm to their temples , their homes in the human world . There they inhabited the cult images , the statues that depicted deities and allowed humans to interact with them in temple rituals . This movement between realms was sometimes described as a journey between the sky and the earth . As temples were the focal points of Egyptian cities , the deity in a city 's main temple was the patron for the city and the surrounding region . Deities ' spheres of influence on earth centered on the towns and regions they presided over . Many had more than one cult center , and their local ties changed over time . They could establish themselves in new cities , or their range of influence could contract . Therefore , a given deity 's main cult center in historical times is not necessarily his or her place of origin . The political influence of a city could affect the importance of its patron deity . When kings from Thebes took control of the country at start of the Middle Kingdom ( c. 2055 -- 1650 BC ) , they elevated the patron gods of Thebes -- first the war god Montu and then Amun -- to national prominence . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_21439-22096 | In Egyptian belief , names express the fundamental nature of the things to which they refer . In keeping with this belief , the names of deities often relate to their roles or origins . The name of the warrior goddess Sekhmet means `` powerful one '' , the name of the mysterious god Amun means `` hidden one '' , and the name of the goddess Nekhbet , who was worshipped in the city of Nekheb , means `` she of Nekheb '' . Many other names have no certain meaning , however , even when the deities who bear them are closely tied to a single role . The names of the sky goddess Nut and the earth god Geb do not resemble the Egyptian terms for sky and earth . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_22097-22544 | The Egyptians also devised false etymologies giving more meanings to divine names . A passage in the Coffin Texts renders the name of the funerary god Sokar as sk r , meaning `` cleaning of the mouth '' , to link his name with his role in the Opening of the Mouth ritual , while one reference in the Pyramid Texts says the name is based on words shouted by Osiris in a moment of distress , connecting Sokar with the most important funerary deity . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_22545-23021 | The deities were believed to have many names . Among them were secret names that conveyed their true natures more profoundly than others . To know the true name of a deity was to have power over it . The importance of names is demonstrated by a myth in which Isis poisons the superior god Ra and refuses to cure him unless he reveals his secret name to her . Upon learning the name , she tells it to her son , Horus , and by learning it they gain greater knowledge and power . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_23022-23697 | In addition to their names , deities were given epithets , such as `` possessor of splendor '' , `` ruler of Abydos '' , or `` lord of the sky '' , that describe some aspect of their roles or their worship . Because of multiple and overlapping roles , deities may have many epithets -- with more important ones accumulating more titles -- and the same epithet may apply to many deities . Some epithets eventually became separate deities , as with Werethekau , an epithet applied to several goddesses meaning , `` great enchantress '' , which came to be treated as an independent goddess . The host of divine names and titles expresses the multifarious nature of the deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_23721-24066 | Egyptian deities are connected in a complex and shifting array of relationships . A deities connections and interactions with others helped define its character . Thus Isis , as the mother and protector of Horus , was a great healer as well as the patroness of kings . Such relationships were the base material from which myths were formed . The | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_24156-25163 | Family relationships are a common type of connection between deities . They often form female and male pairs , reflecting the importance of procreation in Egyptian religious thought . Families of three deities , with a father , mother , and child , represent the creation of new life and the succession of the parent by the child , a pattern that connects divine families with royal succession . Osiris , Isis , and Horus formed the quintessential family of this type . The pattern they set grew more widespread over time , so that many deities in local cult centers , such as Ptah , Sekhmet , and their child Nefertum at Memphis and Amun , Mut , and Khonsu at Thebes , were assembled into family triads . Genealogical connections such as these are changeable , in keeping with the multiple perspectives in Egyptian belief . Hathor , as a fertility goddess , could act as mother to any child deity , including the child form of the sun god , although in other circumstances she was the sun god 's daughter . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_25164-26515 | Other divine groups were composed of deities with interrelated roles , or who together represented a region of the Egyptian mythological cosmos . There were sets of deities for the hours of the day and night and for each nome ( province ) of Egypt . Some of these groups contain a specific , symbolically important number of deities . Paired deities sometimes have similar roles , as do Isis and her sister Nephthys in their protection and support of Osiris . Other pairs stand for opposite , but interrelated concepts that are part of a greater unity . Ra , who is dynamic and light - producing , and Osiris , who is static and shrouded in darkness , merge into a single god each night . Groups of three are linked with plurality in ancient Egyptian thought , and groups of four connote completeness . Rulers in the late New Kingdom promoted a particularly important group of three gods above all others : Amun , Ra , and Ptah . These deities stood for the plurality of all deities , as well as for their own cult centers ( the major cities of Thebes , Heliopolis , and Memphis ) and for many threefold sets of concepts in Egyptian religious thought . Sometimes Set , the patron god of the Nineteenth Dynasty kings and the embodiment of disorder within the world , was added to this group , which emphasized a single coherent vision of the pantheon . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_26516-26958 | Nine , the product of three times three , represents a multitude , so the Egyptians called several large groups `` enneads '' , or sets of nine , even if they had more than nine members . The most prominent ennead was the Ennead of Heliopolis , an extended family of deities descended from the creator god Atum , which incorporates many important deities . The term `` ennead '' was often extended to include all of ancient Egyptian deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_26959-27894 | This divine assemblage had a vague and changeable hierarchy . Dieties with broad influence in the cosmos or who were mythologically older than others had higher positions in divine society . At the apex of this society was the king of the gods , who was usually identified with the creator deity . In different periods of Egyptian history , different deities were most frequently said to hold this exalted position . Horus was the most important god in the Early Dynastic Period , Ra rose to preeminence in the Old Kingdom , Amun was supreme in the New , and in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods , it was Isis as the divine queen and creator goddess . Newly prominent deities tended to adopt characteristics from their predecessors . Isis absorbed the traits of many other goddesses during her rise , and when Amun became the ruler of the pantheon , he was conjoined with Ra , the traditional king of the gods , to become a solar deity . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_28165-29630 | The deities were believed to manifest in many forms . The Egyptians had a complex conception of the human soul , consisting of several parts . The spirits of the deities were composed of many of these same elements . The ba was the component of the human or divine soul that affected the world around it . Any visible manifestation of the power of a deity could be called its ba ; thus , the sun was called the ba of Ra . A depiction of a deity was considered a ka , another component of its being , which acted as a vessel for that deity 's ba to inhabit . The cult images that were the focus of temple rituals , as well as the sacred animals that represented certain deities , were believed to house divine bas in this way . Deities could be ascribed many bas and kas , which were sometimes given names representing different aspects of their nature . Everything in existence was said to be one of the kas of Atum the creator god , who originally contained all things within himself , and one deity could be called the ba of another , meaning that the first one is a manifestation of the other 's power . Divine body parts could act as separate deities , such as the Eye of Ra and Hand of Atum , both of which were personified as goddesses . Deities were so full of life - giving power that even their bodily fluids could transform into other living things ; humankind was said to have sprung from the creator god 's tears , and the other deities from his sweat . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_29631-30359 | Nationally important deities gave rise to local manifestations , which sometimes absorbed the characteristics of older regional deities . Horus had many forms tied to particular places , including Horus of Nekhen , Horus of Buhen , and Horus of Edfu . Such local manifestations could be treated almost as separate beings . During the New Kingdom , one man was accused of stealing clothes by an oracle supposed to communicate messages from Amun of Pe - Khenty . He consulted two other local oracles of Amun hoping for a different judgment . Manifestations of deities also differed according to their roles . Horus could be a powerful sky god or a vulnerable child , and these forms were sometimes counted as independent deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_30360-30896 | Deities were combined with each other as easily as they were divided . One could be called the ba of another , or two or more deities could be joined into one with a combined name and iconography . Local deities were linked with greater ones , and deities with similar functions were combined . Ra was connected with the local deity Sobek to form Sobek - Ra ; with his fellow ruling god , Amun , to form Amun - Ra ; with the solar form of Horus to form Ra - Horakhty ; and with several solar deities as Horemakhet - Khepri - Ra - Atum . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_30897-31905 | On rare occasion , even deities of different sexes were joined in this way , producing combinations such as Osiris - Neith and Mut - Min . This linking of deities is called syncretism . Unlike other situations for which this term is used , the Egyptian practice was not meant to fuse competing belief systems , although foreign deities could be syncretized with native ones . Instead , syncretism acknowledged the overlap between deities ' roles and extended the sphere of influence for each of them . Syncretic combinations were not permanent ; a deity who was involved in one combination continued to appear separately and to form new combinations with other deities , but closely connected deities did sometimes merge . Horus absorbed several falcon gods from various regions , such as Khenti - irty and Khenti - kheti , who became little more than local manifestations of him . Hathor subsumed a similar cow goddess , Bat , An early funerary god , Khenti - Amentiu , was supplanted by Osiris and Anubis . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_31967-33279 | In the reign of Akhenaten ( c. 1353 -- 1336 BC ) in the mid-New Kingdom , a single solar deity , the Aten , became the major focus of the state religion . Akhenaten ceased to fund the temples of other deities and erased their names and images on some monuments . This new religious system , sometimes called Atenism , differed dramatically from the polytheistic worship of many deities in all other periods . Whereas , in earlier times , newly important deities were integrated into existing religious beliefs , Atenism stressed a single understanding of the divine that excluded the traditional multiplicity of perspectives . Yet Atenism was not full monotheism , which totally excludes belief in other deities . There is evidence suggesting that the general populace was still allowed to worship other deities . The picture is further complicated by Atenism 's apparent tolerance for some other deities , such as Shu and the retention of the patronage of Wadjet and Nekhbet . For these reasons , the Egyptologist Dominic Montserrat suggested that Akhenaten may have been monolatrous , worshipping a single deity while acknowledging the existence of others . In any case , Atenism 's aberrant theology did not take root among the Egyptian populace , and Akhenaten 's successors returned to traditional beliefs . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_33488-34554 | Scholars have long debated whether traditional Egyptian religion ever asserted that the multiple deities were , on a deeper level , unified . Reasons for this debate include the practice of syncretism , which might suggest that all the separate deities could ultimately merge into one , and the tendency of Egyptian texts to credit a particular one with power that surpasses all other deities . Another point of contention is the appearance of wisdom literature , where the term deity does not refer to a specific one or a group . In the early twentieth century , for instance , E.A. Wallis Budge believed that Egyptian commoners were polytheistic , but that knowledge of a monotheistic nature of the religion was reserved for the elite , who wrote the wisdom literature . His contemporary James Henry Breasted thought Egyptian religion was instead pantheistic , with the power of the sun god present in all other deities , while Hermann Junker argued that Egyptian civilization had been originally monotheistic and became polytheistic in the course of its history . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_34555-35550 | In 1971 , Erik Hornung published a study rebutting these views . He points out that in any given period many deities , even minor ones , were described as superior to all others . He also argues that the unspecified `` god '' in the wisdom texts is a generic term for whichever deity the reader chooses to revere . Although the combinations , manifestations , and iconographies of each deity were constantly shifting , they were always restricted to a finite number of forms , never becoming fully interchangeable in a monotheistic or pantheistic way . Henotheism , Hornung says , describes Egyptian religion better than other labels . An Egyptian could worship any deity at a particular time and credit it with supreme power in that moment , without denying the others or merging them all with the deity that he or she focused on . Hornung concludes that the deities were fully unified only in myth , at the time before creation , after which the multitude emerged from a uniform nonexistence . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_35551-36940 | Hornung 's arguments have greatly influenced other scholars of Egyptian religion , but some still believe that at times the deities were more unified than he allows . Jan Assmann maintains that the notion of a single deity developed slowly through the New Kingdom , beginning with a focus on Amun - Ra as the all - important sun god . In his view , Atenism was an extreme outgrowth of this trend . It equated the single deity with the sun and dismissed all others . Then , in the backlash against Atenism , priestly theologians described the universal god in a different way , one that coexisted with traditional polytheism . The one god was believed to transcend the world and all the other deities , while at the same time , the multiple deities were aspects of the one . According to Assmann , this one god was especially equated with Amun , the dominant god in the late New Kingdom , whereas for the rest of Egyptian history the universal deity could be identified with many others . James P. Allen says that coexisting notions of one or many deities would fit well with the `` multiplicity of approaches '' in Egyptian thought , as well as with the henotheistic practice of ordinary worshippers . He says that the Egyptians may have recognized the unity of the divine by `` identifying their uniform notion of ' god ' with a particular god , depending on the particular situation . '' | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_36978-38140 | Egyptian writings describe the bodies of deities in detail . They are made of precious materials ; their flesh is gold , their bones are silver , and their hair is lapis lazuli . They give off a scent that the Egyptians likened to the incense used in rituals . Some texts give precise descriptions of particular deities , including their height and eye color . Yet these characteristics are not fixed ; in myths , deities change their appearances to suit their own purposes . Egyptian texts often refer to deities ' true , underlying forms as `` mysterious '' . The Ancient Egyptians ' visual representations of their deities therefore , were not literal . They symbolize specific aspects of each deity 's character , functioning much like the ideograms in hieroglyphic writing . For this reason , the funerary god Anubis is commonly shown in Egyptian art as a dog or jackal , a creature whose scavenging habits threaten the preservation of buried mummies , in an effort to counter this threat and employ it for protection . His black coloring alludes to the color of mummified flesh and to the fertile black soil that Egyptians saw as a symbol of resurrection . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_38141-39161 | Most deities were depicted in several ways . Hathor could be a cow , cobra , lioness , or a woman with bovine horns or ears . By depicting a given deity in different ways , the Egyptians expressed different aspects of its essential nature . They are depicted in a finite number of these symbolic forms , so that deities often could be distinguished from one another by their iconographies . These forms include men and women ( anthropomorphism ) , animals ( zoomorphism ) , and , more rarely , inanimate objects . Combinations of forms , such as deities with human bodies and animal heads , are common . New forms and increasingly complex combinations arose in the course of history , with the most surreal forms often found among the demons of the underworld . Some deities can only be distinguished from others if they are labeled in writing , as with Isis and Hathor . Because of the close connection between these goddesses , they could both wear the cow - horn headdress that was originally Hathor 's alone . Statue | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_39210-40076 | Certain features of divine images are more useful than others in determining its identity . The head of a given divine image is particularly significant . In a hybrid image , the head represents the original form of the being depicted , so that , as the Egyptologist Henry Fischer put it , `` a lion - headed goddess is a lion - goddess in human form , while a royal sphinx , conversely , is a man who has assumed the form of a lion . '' Divine headdresses , which range from the same types of crowns used by human kings to large hieroglyphs worn on the heads of deities , are another important indicator . In contrast , the objects held in deities ' hands tend to be generic . Male deities hold was staffs , goddesses hold stalks of papyrus , and both sexes carry ankh signs , representing the Egyptian word for `` life '' , to symbolize their life - giving power . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_40077-41025 | The forms in which the deities are shown , although diverse , are limited in many ways . Many creatures that are widespread in Egypt were never used in divine iconography . Others could represent many deities , often because these deities had major characteristics in common . Bulls and rams were associated with virility , cows and falcons with the sky , hippopotami with maternal protection , felines with the sun deities , and serpents with both danger and renewal . Animals that were absent from Egypt in the early stages of its history were not used as divine images . For instance , the horse , which was only introduced in the Second Intermediate Period ( c. 1650 -- 1550 BC ) , never represented a deity . Similarly , the clothes worn by anthropomorphic deities in most periods changed little from the styles used in the Old Kingdom : a kilt , false beard , and often a shirt for male gods and a long , tight - fitting dress for goddesses . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_41026-41933 | The basic anthropomorphic form varies . Child deities are depicted nude , as are some adult deities when their procreative powers are emphasized . Certain male deities are given heavy bellies and breasts , signifying either androgyny or prosperity and abundance . Whereas most gods have red skin and most goddesses are yellow -- the same colors used to depict Egyptian men and women -- some are given unusual , symbolic skin colors . Thus the blue skin and paunchy figure of the god Hapi alludes to the Nile flood he represents and the nourishing fertility it brought . A few deities , such as Osiris , Ptah , and Min , have a `` mummiform '' appearance , with their limbs tightly swathed in cloth . Although these gods resemble mummies , the earliest examples predate the cloth - wrapped style of mummification , and this form may instead , hark back to the earliest , limbless depictions of deities . Some | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_42659-43621 | In official writings , pharaohs are said to be divine , and they are constantly depicted in the company of the deities of the pantheon . The majority of kings , later called pharaohs , were male . He and his predecessors were considered the successors of the deities who had ruled Egypt in mythic prehistory . Living kings were equated with Horus and called the `` son '' of many deities , particularly Osiris and Ra ; deceased kings were equated with these elder gods . The tradition tended to be similar for women who became pharaohs . They had their own mortuary temples where rituals were performed for them during their lives and after their deaths . Few pharaohs were worshipped as deities long after their lifetimes , and non-official texts portray kings in a human light . For these reasons , scholars disagree about how genuinely most Egyptians believed the king to be a deity . The king may only have been considered divine when performing ceremonies . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_43622-44480 | However much it was believed , the king 's divine status was the rationale for a role as Egypt 's representative to the deities , forming a link between the divine and human realms . The Egyptians believed the deities needed temples to dwell in , as well as the periodic performance of rituals and presentation of offerings to nourish them . These things were provided by the cults that the king oversaw , with their priests and laborers . Yet , according to royal ideology , temple - building was exclusively the pharaoh 's work , as were the rituals that priests usually performed in his stead . These acts were a part of the king 's fundamental role : maintaining maat . The king and the entire nation provided the deities with maat so they could continue to perform their functions , which maintained maat in the cosmos so humans could continue to live . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_44518-44847 | Although the Egyptians believed their deities to be present in the world around them , contact between the human and divine realms was mostly limited to specific circumstances . In literature , deities may appear to humans in a physical form , but in real life the Egyptians were limited to more indirect means of communication . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_44848-45774 | The ba of a deity was said to periodically leave the divine realm to dwell in the images of that deity . By inhabiting these images , the they left their concealed state and took on a physical form . To the Egyptians , a place or object that was ḏsr -- `` sacred '' -- was isolated and ritually pure , and thus fit for a deity to inhabit . Temple statues and reliefs , as well as particular sacred animals , such as the Apis bull , served as divine intermediaries in this way . Dreams and trances provided a very different venue for interaction . In these states , it was believed , people could come close to the deities and sometimes receive messages from them . Finally , according to Egyptian afterlife beliefs , human souls pass into the divine realm after death . The Egyptians therefore believed that in death , they would exist on the same level as the deities and fully understand their mysterious nature . Ramesses | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_45886-46777 | Temples , where the state rituals were carried out , were filled with images of the deities . The most important temple image was the cult statue in the inner sanctuary . These statues were usually less than life - size , and made of the same precious materials that were said to form the bodies of the deities . Many temples had several sanctuaries , each with a cult statue representing one of the deities in a group , such as a family triad . The city 's primary deity was envisioned as its lord , employing many of the residents as servants in the divine household that the temple represented . The deities residing in the temples of Egypt collectively represented the entire pantheon , but many deities -- including some important ones as well as those who were minor or hostile -- were never given temples of their own , although some were represented in the temples of other deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_46778-47642 | To insulate the sacred power in the sanctuary from the impurities of the outside world , the Egyptians enclosed temple sanctuaries and greatly restricted access to them . People other than kings and high priests were thus denied contact with cult statues . The only exception was during festival processions , when the cult statue was carried out of the temple , but still enclosed in a portable shrine . People did have less direct means of interaction . The more public parts of temples often incorporated small places for prayer , from doorways to freestanding chapels near the back of the temple building . Communities also built and managed small chapels for their own use , and some families had shrines inside their homes . Despite the gulf that separated humanity from the divine , the Egyptians were surrounded by opportunities to approach their deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_47680-48081 | Egyptian deities were involved in human lives as well as in the overarching order of nature . This divine influence applied mainly to Egypt , as foreign peoples traditionally were believed to be outside the divine order . In the New Kingdom , however , when other nations were under Egyptian control , foreigners were said to be under the sun deity 's benign rule in the same way that Egyptians were . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_48082-49649 | Thoth , as the overseer of time , was said to allot fixed lifespans to both humans and deities . Other deities were also said to govern the length of human lives , including Meskhenet and Renenutet , both of whom presided over birth , and Shai , the personification of fate . Thus the time and manner of death was the main meaning of the Egyptian concept of fate , although to some extent these deities governed other events in life as well . Several texts refer to deities influencing or inspiring human decisions , working through a person 's `` heart '' -- the seat of emotion and intellect in Egyptian belief . Deities were also believed to give commands , instructing the king in the governance of his realm and regulating the management of their temples . Egyptian texts rarely mention direct commands given to private persons , and these commands never evolved into a set of divinely enforced moral codes . Morality in ancient Egypt was based on the concept of maat , which , when applied to human society , meant that everyone should live in an orderly way that did not interfere with the well - being of other people . Because deities were the upholders of maat , morality was connected with them . For example , the deities judged humans ' moral righteousness after death , and by the New Kingdom , a verdict of innocence in this judgment was believed to be necessary for admittance into the afterlife . In general , however , morality was based on practical ways to uphold maat in daily life , rather than on strict rules that the dieties laid out . Amulet | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_49666-50374 | Humans had free will to ignore divine guidance and the behavior required by maat , but by doing so , they could bring divine punishment upon themselves . A deity carried out this punishment using its ba , the force that manifested the deity 's power in the human world . Natural disasters and human ailments were seen as the work of angry divine bas . Conversely , the deities could cure righteous people of illness or even extend their lifespans . Both these types of intervention were eventually represented by deities : Shed , who emerged in the New Kingdom to represent divine rescue from harm , and Petbe , an apotropaic god from the late eras of Egyptian history who was believed to avenge wrongdoing . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_50375-51913 | Egyptian texts take different views on whether the deities are responsible when humans suffer unjustly . Misfortune was often seen as a product of isfet , the cosmic disorder that was the opposite of maat , and therefore the deities were not guilty of causing evil events . Some deities who were closely connected with isfet , such as Set , could be blamed for disorder within the world without placing guilt on the other deities , but some writings do accuse the deities of causing human misery , while others give theodicies in their defense . Beginning in the Middle Kingdom , several texts connected the issue of evil in the world with a myth in which a creator god fights a human rebellion against his rule and then withdraws from the earth . Because of this human misbehavior , the creator is distant from his creation , allowing suffering to exist . New Kingdom writings do not question the just nature of the deities so strongly as those of the Middle Kingdom . They emphasize humans ' direct , personal relationships with deities and the power of the deities to intervene in human events . People in this era put faith in specific deities who they hoped would help and protect them through their lives . As a result , upholding the ideals of maat grew less important than gaining the deities ' favor as a way to guarantee a good life . Even the pharaohs were regarded as dependent on divine aid , and after the New Kingdom came to an end , government was increasingly influenced by oracles communicating the will of the deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_51931-52167 | Official religious practices , which maintained maat for the benefit of all of Ancient Egypt , were related to , but distinct from , the religious practices of ordinary people , who sought help from deities for their personal problems . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_52168-52740 | Official religion involved a variety of rituals , based in temples . Some rites were performed every day , whereas others were festivals , taking place at longer intervals and often , limited to a particular temple or deity . The deities received their offerings in daily ceremonies , in which their statues were clothed , anointed , and presented with food as hymns were recited in their honor . These offerings , in addition to maintaining maat for the deities , celebrated their life - giving generosity and encouraged them to remain benevolent rather than vengeful . A | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_52809-53769 | Festivals often involved a ceremonial procession in which a cult image was carried out of the temple in a barque - shaped shrine . These processions served various purposes . In Roman times , when local deities of all kinds were believed to have power over the Nile inundation , processions in many communities carried temple images to the riverbanks so the deities could invoke a large and fruitful flood . Processions also traveled between temples , as when the image of Hathor from Dendera Temple visited her consort Horus at the Temple of Edfu . Rituals for a deity were often based in that deity 's mythology . Such rituals were meant to be repetitions of the events of the mythic past , renewing the beneficial effects of the original events . In the Khoiak festival in honor of Osiris , his death and resurrection were ritually reenacted at a time when crops were beginning to sprout . The returning greenery symbolized the renewal of the his own life . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_53770-54704 | Personal interaction with the deities took many forms . People who wanted information or advice consulted oracles , run by temples , that were supposed to convey divine answers to questions . Amulets and other images of protective deities were used to ward off the demons who might threaten human well - being or to impart the deity 's positive characteristics to the wearer . Private rituals invoked the deities ' power to accomplish personal goals , from healing sickness to cursing enemies . These practices used heka , the same force of magic that the deities used , which the creator was said to have given to humans so they could fend off misfortune . The performer of a private rite often took on the role of a deity in a myth , or even threatened a deity , to involve the deity in accomplishing the goal . Such rituals coexisted with private offerings and prayers , and all three were accepted means of obtaining divine help . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_54705-56342 | Prayer and private offerings , generally called `` personal piety '' , included : acts that reflect a close relationship between an individual and a deity . Evidence of personal piety is scant before the New Kingdom . Votive offerings and personal names , many of which are theophoric , suggest that commoners felt some connection between themselves and their deities , but firm evidence of devotion to deities became visible only in the New Kingdom , reaching a peak late in that era . Scholars disagree about the meaning of this change -- whether direct interaction with the deities was a new development or an outgrowth of older traditions . Egyptians then expressed their devotion through a new variety of activities in and around temples . They recorded their prayers and their thanks for divine help on stelae . They gave offerings of figurines that represented the deities they were praying to , or that symbolized the result they desired ; thus both a relief image of Hathor and a statuette of a woman could represent a prayer for fertility . Occasionally , a person took a particular deity as a patron , dedicating his or her property or labor to the deity 's cult . These practices continued into the latest periods of Ancient Egyptian history . These later eras saw more religious innovations , including the practice of giving animal mummies as offerings to deities depicted in animal form , such as the cat mummies given to the feline goddess Bastet . Some of the major deities from myth and official religion were rarely invoked in popular worship , but many of the great state deities were important in popular tradition . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_56343-57529 | The worship of some Egyptian deities spread to neighboring lands , especially to Canaan and Nubia during the New Kingdom , when those regions were under pharaonic control . In Canaan , the exported deities , including Hathor , Amun , and Set , were often syncretized with native deities , who in turn spread to Egypt . The Egyptian deities may not have had permanent temples in Canaan , and their importance there waned after Egypt lost control of the region . In contrast , many temples to the major Egyptian deities and deified pharaohs were built in Nubia . After the end of Egyptian rule there , the imported deities , particularly Amun and Isis , were syncretized with local deities and remained part of the religion of Nubia 's independent Kingdom of Kush . These deities were incorporated into the Nubian ideology of kingship , much as they were in Egypt , so that Amun was considered the divine father of the king and Isis and other goddesses were linked with the Nubian queen , the kandake . Some deities reached farther . Taweret became a goddess in Minoan Crete , and Amun 's oracle at Siwa Oasis was known to and consulted by people across the Mediterranean region . Jupiter | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_57586-58856 | Under the Greek Ptolemaic Dynasty and then Roman rule , Greeks and Romans introduced their own deities to Egypt . These newcomers equated the Egyptian deities with their own , as part of the Greco - Roman tradition of interpretatio graeca , but the worship of the native deities was not swallowed up by that of foreign ones . Instead , Greek and Roman deities were adopted as manifestations of Egyptian ones . Egyptian cults sometimes incorporated Greek language , philosophy , iconography , and even temple architecture . Meanwhile , the cults of several Egyptian deities -- particularly Isis , Osiris , Anubis , the form of Horus named Harpocrates , and the fused Greco - Egyptian god Serapis -- were adopted into Roman religion and spread across the Roman Empire . Roman emperors , like Ptolemaic kings before them , invoked Isis and Serapis to endorse their authority , inside and outside Egypt . In the empire 's complex mix of religious traditions , Thoth was transmuted into the legendary esoteric teacher Hermes Trismegistus , and Isis , who was venerated from Britain to Mesopotamia , became the focus of a Greek - style mystery cult . Isis and Hermes Trismegistus were both prominent in the Western esoteric tradition that grew from the Roman religious world . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
818351449_58857-59800 | Temples and cults in Egypt declined as the Roman economy deteriorated in the third century AD , and beginning in the fourth century AD , Christians suppressed the veneration of Egyptian deities . The last formal cults , at Philae , died out in the fifth or sixth century . Most beliefs surrounding the Egyptian deities themselves disappeared within a few hundred years , remaining in magical texts into the seventh and eighth centuries . Many of the practices involved in their worship , such as processions and oracles , became adapted to fit Christian ideology and persisted as part of the Coptic Church . Given the great changes and diverse influences in Egyptian culture since that time , scholars disagree about whether any modern Coptic practices are descended from those of pharaonic religion , but many festivals and other traditions of modern Egyptians , both Christian and Muslim , resemble the worship of their ancestors ' deities . | Ancient Egyptian deities |
788656561_139-690 | The Valparaiso Moraine is a terminal moraine that forms an immense U around the Lake Michigan basin in North America . It is a band of high , hilly terrain made up of glacial till and sand . It begins near the border of Wisconsin and Illinois and extends south through Lake , McHenry , Cook , DuPage and Will counties in Illinois , and then turns southeast , entering Indiana . From this point , the moraine curves northeast through Lake , Porter , and LaPorte counties of Indiana into Michigan . It continues into Michigan as far as Montcalm County . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_691-1099 | It was formed during the Crown Point Phase of the Wisconsin glaciation . At this time the glacier covering the area had grown thin , so it was restrained by the dolomite rock layers of the Lake Michigan basin . Where the glacier stopped , glacial till and sand was deposited , creating the hills of the moraine . After the Valparaiso Moraine was formed , the glacier retreated and formed the Tinley Moraine . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_1100-1420 | Many towns in northwest Indiana and northeast Illinois are named after the Valparaiso Moraine or the Tinley Moraine . Also , many small creeks or rivers start in the Valparaiso Moraine . The moraine itself was named after the city of Valparaiso , Indiana , where the moraine is narrower and higher than in other places . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_1421-1809 | The Valparaiso Moraine forms part of the Saint Lawrence River Divide , bounding the Great Lakes Basin . Water on one side of the moraine flows into Lake Michigan , through the Great Lakes , and eventually into the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River , while water on the other side flows into tributaries of the Mississippi River , which eventually flows into the Gulf of Mexico . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_2239-2827 | The Valparaiso Moraine formed as the first major moraine of the Cary substage of the Wisconsin Glacial period ( 10,000 - 50,000 years before present ) . There are three minor moraines that have been identified in northeastern Illinois , the Minooka , Rockdale , and Manhattan . Within the arc created by the Valparaiso Moraine are two younger Cary substage moraines of the Tinley Moraine and the Lake Border Moraine . Younger still is the Port Huron system , which occurs in the northern portion of the Lake Michigan Basin . The Cary substage dates to around 30,000 years before present . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_2936-3863 | The Valparaiso system includes five moraines north of Chicago . The most northerly reach is to the headwaters of the Fox River in Waukesha County , west of Milwaukee . The moraine angles to the south and east , reaching the headwaters of the Des Plaines River west of Kenosha , Wisconsin , in the county of the same name . The moraine forms a major portion of the eastern divide of the Fox River Basin and then the western bank of the Des Plaines River . The moraine continues southward along the Des Plaines River following the route of the modern Tri-State Tollway ( I - 294 ) around the west side of Chicago . Where the Des Plaines River bends to the west and forms the Illinois River , the moraine angles south and east , continuing along I - 294 towards Chicago Heights . In this area , the moraine has widened out towards the south and east , becoming a broad plain covering large portions of Will and Kankakee counties . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_3864-4316 | Turning eastward , the moraine enters Indiana . The moraine is 17 miles ( 27 km ) wide as it passes through Lake County , Indiana , covering nearly half of the county 's midsection . As it passes through Porter County , Indiana , it is under the city of Valparaiso , from which it derives its name . Through Indiana , the moraine forms a `` continental divide '' between the drainage of the Great Lakes and the Gulf of Mexico by the Mississippi River . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_4317-4773 | The moraine then turns northeast , passing just north of La Porte , Indiana , through the county of the same name . Upon entering Michigan the moraine forms much of the shoreline of Lake Michigan northward through St. Joseph . From here northward the moraine angles more eastward , missing Holland and passing through Grand Rapids , finally ending in a mingling of inter-lobe moraines about 50 miles ( 80 km ) northwest of Grand Rapids in Montcalm County . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_4796-5207 | The inner border is less than 15 miles ( 24 km ) and at its closest approach is only about 6 miles ( 9.7 km ) from Lake Michigan . The system is from 5 miles ( 8.0 km ) or 6 miles ( 9.7 km ) up to nearly 20 miles ( 32 km ) . It is narrowest in LaPorte County , Indiana and widest in Lake County , Indiana . In northern Illinois the moraines merge into a composite moraine , including parts of earlier stages ... | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_5208-5507 | The Valparaiso morainic system in Michigan includes the morainic belt along Lake Michigan , from the Grand River Valley south . In places it consists of two or more ridges . These ridges coalesce and separate repeatedly . In northern Van Buren County it becomes associated with the Saginaw moraine . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_5526-6482 | The moraine runs between 650 feet ( 200 m ) and 690 feet ( 210 m ) above sea level , or 70 feet ( 21 m ) to 110 feet ( 34 m ) above the surface of Lake Michigan . From the inner border there is usually a rise of 100 feet ( 30 m ) or more . In some places of 200 feet ( 61 m ) or more . The crest in Illinois ranges from about 750 feet ( 230 m ) to 900 feet ( 270 m ) above sea level . The highest point is near Lake Zurich , in southern Lake County . The lowest is on the Des Plaines River , in Will County . In Indiana the crest ranges from 750 feet ( 230 m ) in Lake County to nearly 900 feet ( 270 m ) in LaPorte County . The Michigan section is 670 feet ( 200 m ) to 800 feet ( 240 m ) in near the St. Joseph River and north to the Allegan and Van Buren county line . In Allegan County the moraine has its greatest variation . The highest point is 900 feet ( 270 m ) , while the low point near the Kalamazoo River is a little above 700 feet ( 210 m ) . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_6515-6941 | The drift across the Valparaiso moraine and outwash plains is the result of repetitive ice advances and intervening recessions . This drift and the drift from the previous ice sheets of the Illinoian and Iowan glacial periods are present across northeastern Illinois and northwestern Indiana . The early Wisconsin drift are similar to that of the Valparaiso drift that identification of each period is not currently possible . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_6964-7477 | Moraine Nature Preserve is located north of Valparaiso , Indiana , east of State Route 49 and south of US Route 6 on County Road 750 North ( Meska Rd ) . Indiana Department of Natural Resources maintains 809 acres ( 327 ha ) . The preserve has numerous trails through rolling ridges and steep hills left by the glaciers . The area includes potholes and a shallow pond . It is covered by a mature beech - maple forest on the high ground and buttonbush and black willow in the ravines , potholes and near the pond . | Valparaiso Moraine |
788656561_7508-7845 | The Lake Erie basin has two moraines of the same age as the Valparaiso Moraine , the Mississinewa Moraine and the Union Moraine . These moraines formed from the Lake Erie Lobe of the continental glacier. ( 2 ) In Michigan the Kalamazoo Moraine is of the same time period . It is the result of the Saginaw lobe of the Laurentian glacier . | Valparaiso Moraine |
838470752_375-604 | This article may be too long to read and navigate comfortably . The readable prose size is 132 kilobytes . Please consider splitting content into sub-articles , condensing it , or adding or removing subheadings . ( January 2018 ) | Eastern Orthodox Church |
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