Egyptian Deities Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anubis

Though Osiris became known as the God of the Underworld, it was Anubis who led the dead to him and became the figure responsible for the famous processes used on Egyptian royalty to prepare them for the afterlife.

Often depicted with a canine or a jackal head, Anubis is said to have received Osiris' organs when he was killed and it's because of this that story that Ancient Egyptians followed the custom of removing organs from corpses after death and placing them into canopic jars. Naturally, these processes also included embalming and mummification, both of which were outlined in 'The Book of the Dead' a text which, too, referenced Anubis.

Answer: Ra

The Egyptian Sun God, Ra was perhaps the most important of the deities in Ancient Egypt because it was he who ruled the world inhabited by man and acted as the god of Egyptian kings. So wide-ranging was Ra's power that he not only combined with other gods on occasion, but he created several of them (in addition to creating mankind, of course).

Though Ra took many forms, he was most commonly depicted as having the head of a falcon. The Ancient city of Heliopolis, now part of Cairo, was named after Ra's Greek equivalent, Helios, but was referred to in Egyptian texts, as well, as 'The House of Ra'.

Answer: Hathor

A sky deity, Hathor was considered by many to be the female equivalent of Ra due to her motherly role amongst the pantheon; it was she who was the female overseer of Egypt's pharaohs. Like Ra, again, Hathor dabbled in many elements of Egyptian godliness as she had a hand in the transition of souls to the afterlife, of worship for her love of artistic endeavours, and in religious ceremony.

It may come as a surprise that Hathor was one of the most celebrated of gods in all of Ancient Egypt. By 2000 BC, Hathor had more temples than most Gods, and her most revered worshipers were high-class and royal women.

Answer: Osiris

Though pharaohs were overseen by Ra in life, they were taken in by Osiris in death as this god took the role as lord of the dead and placed judgement on souls as they passed into the Underworld to determine if they would see resurrection. With this in consideration, Osiris would also come to represent agricultural cycles, another form of rebirth in nature.

According to the myth of Osiris, the god was killed by his own brother, Set, but his wife, Isis, still births their son, Horus. Horus subsequently becomes king, continuing the cycle off succession through a form of rebirth.

Answer: Bastet

Also known by the name Bast, Bastet was depicted as having the head of a lioness though in later depictions her head was that of a cat's. Either way, she was a fierce warrior known to be a defender of Ra. Cats, of course, were also highly-valued in Egypt as they were not only loyal creatures, but known for warding off pests.

Worshipped in the city of Bubastis, her temple there was found to be a tomb for mummified cats. Located on the River Nile, the city was razed when it was claimed by Persian forces more than two thousand years ago.

Answer: Isis

Isis, who was wed to Osiris, was considered a healer amongst gods as she was the one who raised him from the dead. It was no surprise when he capabilities made her a popular god for worship in Ancient Egypt, eventually surpassing most deities in terms of followers as time went on. Her worship was spread further than Egypt as well with temples appearing in Pompeii as part of the Roman empire and on the Greek island of Delos.

Additionally, Isis was the mother of Horus, bearing him after resurrecting Osiris. She was considered a mother amongst gods and, as such, was one who oversaw the sky and the cosmos beyond.

Answer: Horus

Seen in artwork as a god with a falcon's head, Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis and like his parents he provided oversight over the skies and the bodies within it. As part of the Osiris Myth, Horus challenged Set, who killed his father, to a race that would result in him taking the crown and ruling Egypt.

One symbol commonly affiliated with Horus is the Eye of Horus, a symbol used as protection for Egyptian royalty when crossing into the afterlife.

Answer: Set

One of the bad guys of the Ancient Egyptian pantheon, Set was known to have killed Osiris to usurp his throne to become the ruler of Egypt. Before and after this, however, he was the ruler of the lands to the west of the Nile River, in turn the Sahara, and this would make him well-known as the God of the Desert.

Because of Set's penchant for violence, it might not come as a surprise that he fathered Anubis, the God of Death.

Answer: Thoth

A god of wisdom, Thoth was often depicted in Ancient Egyptian art as having the head of an ibis, a sacred bird that has since been attributed to him so much so that specimens were mummified as offerings and left at his places of worship. With great wisdom came great power and knowledge, and with that, Thoth had a role in determining the justice of matters involving the gods, weighing in with logic, reason, and sound mind.

Interestingly, Thoth has a very clear Greek analogue in Hermes. The Egyptian city most affiliated with Thoth, it might come as little surprise considering, would be Hermopolis, a city that would also hold significance in other major religious systems.

Answer: Amun

The patron of the ancient city of Thebes, Amun is one of the chief gods of the Ogdoad, the primordial deities. It was Amun who was most affiliated with the Sun God, Ra, and it was with him that he merged to form Amun-Ra in later texts. It's believed that Amun-Ra's equivalent in the Greek pantheon would be Zeus.

In addition to the city of Thebes, Amun-Re was heavily worshipped at the Karnak Temple complex in Luxor where the Precinct of Amun-Re was built in the 20th century BC. His son, Khonsu, is also the namesake of one of the best-preserved Karnak landmarks.