Egyptian gods: Did you mean...?

The Seven Lucky Gods of Japan (Shichifukujin) are a group of deities associated with prosperity, happiness, and longevity. Blending Shinto, Buddhist, Taoist, and even Hindu influences, they came together as a collective pantheon during Japan’s...

Horus is the name of a sky god in ancient Egyptian mythology which designates primarily two deities: Horus the Elder (or Horus the Great), the last born of the first five original gods, and Horus the Younger, the son of Osiris and Isis...

The Seven Lucky Gods (aka Shichifukujin) of Japanese folklore on their treasure ship or takarabune. By Hiroshige (1797-1858 CE). Woodblock print, c. 1840 CE. (Victoria & Albert Museum, London)

The Seven Lucky Gods or Shichifukujin of Japanese folklore. From left to right: Soldan Sağa Hotei, Juroujin, Fukurokuju, Bishamonten, Benzaiten, Daikokuten, Ebisu

A text known as The Lay of the Harper, dating from the Middle Kingdom (2040-1782 BCE) encourages its audience to make the most of the time because death is a certainty: Make a holiday! And do not tire of playing! For no one is allowed to...

Enlil (also known as Ellil and Nunamnir) was the Sumerian god of the air in the Mesopotamian Pantheon but was more powerful than any other elemental deities and eventually was worshiped as King of the Gods. He is featured in a number of important...

The ancient Egyptians experienced the same wide array of disease that people do in the present day, but unlike most people in the modern era, they attributed the experience to supernatural causes. The common cold, for example, was prevalent...

Kush was a kingdom in northern Africa in the region corresponding to modern-day Sudan. The larger region around Kush (later referred to as Nubia) was inhabited c. 8,000 BCE but the Kingdom of Kush rose much later. The Kerma Culture, so named...

Seshat (also given as Sefkhet-Abwy and Seshet) is the Egyptian goddess of the written word. Her name literally means "female scribe" and she is regularly depicted as a woman wearing a leopard skin draped over her robe with a headdress of...

Medicine in ancient Egypt was understood as a combination of practical technique and magical incantation and ritual. Although physical injury was usually addressed pragmatically through bandages, splints, and salves, even the broken bones...