A picture of a mummified Bull, from the Smithosian Museum.

Apis is from Egyptian Mythology and is considered to be a reincarnation of Ptah. He is depicted as a big black bull with white markings on his hips and a white triangle on his forehead. It is said that after lightning struck Isis, Apis was conceived. Egyptian Pharaohs respected the bull and were inspired by the Apis’s strength and fertility in life. They brought in a live bull, thought to be Apis, into a temple in Memphis where it was worshipped and treated like a king. When it finally died, it was embalmed, mummified, and given an extravagent funeral and proper burial.

The Amun temple in Egypt.

Amun, from Egyptian Mythology, started his life as wind in Thebes and was considered a fertility god. In 2000 B.C., the city of Thebes started shifting their religion towards Amun over their old favorite, Ra. And at around 2000 B.C. Egypt began to see a majority of their wealth being funneled to the worship of Amun. Eventually in Egyptian lore, the two gods came together as one. When they merged together, it is said they created the universe and they went by the combined name, Amun-Ra. They were the personal protector of the pharaoh, and were hailed as a national god. Although his physical appearance is unknown, he was also thought to be a god of war, and it was believed that he could turn into a snake and shed his skin to regenerate himself.

Anubis, measuring a heart of a recently deceased person. If their heart was heavy, it would be fed to Ammit.

Anubis shows up in Egyptian Mythology, and is often seen drawn numerous times in Egyptian tombs. He is described as having a human body with the head of a jackal. Anubis was given credit for creating people and for inventing embalming and the mummification process, which he used on the first ever mummy, Osiris. Anubis dwelt in the underworld where he would take the hearts of those that died and put them on a scale. If the hearts were heavy with sin they were fed to Ammit, guardian of the underworld.

Anubis and Ammit in the Egyptian underworld.

Ammit, from Egyptian mythology, is described as having a head of a crocodile, the front arms and front half of the body of a lion, and the bottom and legs of a hippo. The three animals that were feared most by Egyptians. She represented all of the wrong choices and sin one committed in life, so instead of being worshiped, she was feared. She stayed in the underworld, known as Duat. The Egyptians believed that when you die you go to the underworld, there you will encounter Anubis who will take your heart and weigh it on a scale, on the other scale is a feather from Ma’at’s headdress. If the person’s heart was heavy with sin and wrongdoings then it was thrown down the Hall of Ma’at where it would be devoured. If your heart was eaten you wouldn’t be allowed to enter Aaru, which Egyptians believed was the heavenly paradise.

A close-up of Aten holding ankhs, as depicted in Egyptian Mythology.

Aten is from Egyptian Mythology and is described as a red solar disk with rays coming down like the sun, which are suppose to represent his goodness. At the end of each ray were hands which held ankhs, an Egyptian symbol for everlasting life. He was believed to be the one universal god in 1400 BC, according to Pharaoh Akhenaton and Queen Nefertiti. Akhenaton closed all of the temples of the other gods, such as Amun and Ra, so that everyone could just worship Aten. After the Pharoah and his wife passed things changed, people began to worship Ra and the other gods again.

In 1400 B.C., Aten was the one true god of ancient Egypt.