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The Sphinx first appeared in Egyptian mythology as a creature with a body of a lion and a head of a person.  The head of the Sphinx often represented the head of a Pharaoh or a god.  The creature is depicted as wearing a nemes (head-dress) frequently worn by Pharaohs. The Sphinxes significance stems from their role as guardians of temples, tombs, and funerary monuments for Egyptians. The creatures are largely pictured in art, sculptures, and statues.  The most famous Sphinx representation is the Great Sphinx of Giza. Carved around 2500 B.C., this statue is said to be one of the largest and oldest depictions of the Sphinx. The head of the sculpture is supposed to mimic the Pharaoh Khafra and is a vital symbol of guarding the pyramid tombs of Giza. Although the Sphinx first originated in Egypt, the creatures are also present in Mycenaean, Assyrian, Persian and Phoenician civilizations.

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The ancient Egyptian coffin is called a sarcophagus. These elaborate coffins are vibrantly painted with pictures of gods and goddesses. The Egyptians would emulate certain deities on their sarcophaguses to indicate who they wanted to be in the afterlife. Some of the pictures and scenery on the coffins would display the person's physical attributes and social status as well. This intricate sarcophagus lid is shown at the Newark Museum. The inscription on the coffin describes her as the "priestess of Amon-Ra, songstress, Mistress of the House (the title for a married women)".

Coffin lid of Henet-Mer
Unknown artist
1075-945 B.C.

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When the sons of Rud-dedit were soon to be born,  Rud-dedit's husband, Ra the high priest, prayed to the Isis and Nepthys. He, also, prayed to the goddess of birth, Meskhent, to the frog goddess, Hekt, and to Khnm the creator god.  Ra hoped the gods he prayed to would watch over his three babies who were soon to be the Kings of Egypt. All the gods heard his prayers.  Isis, Nepthys, Meskhent, and Hekt all appeared in the land as dancing girls. The creator god Khnm trailed behind them as the burden bearer. They all came dancing in front of Ra's door.  The high priest insisted they enter. All the gods followed his wishes and shut the door to the room with Red-dedit.  Isis named the firstborn Userkaf and proclaimed that ". . . no evil be done to him". The goddess of birth, Meskhent exclaimed that the child would become the King of Egypt, and Khnm gave Userkaf the gift of strength. Isis, also, produced the name of the second born as Sahura. Mimicking the gifts on the second child, Meskhent claimed Sahura would be king, and Khnm brought forth the gift of strength. The third and last child was born and named Kaka. Meskhent and Khnm gave Kaka the same gifts as the first and second born. After their births, the goddesses exited the room.  The high priest, Ra gifted the burden bearer with a measure of barley, and he departed. On their way out, Isis voiced to the other gods:  "Now let us work a wonder on behalf of these children, so that their
father may know who hath sent us unto his house". The deities caused a large storm and returned the barely back to the Ra's house.  The gods explained that they will come back for it. After fourteen days, Rud-dedit wished her servants to use the barely from the cellar to make beer. Her servant urged her to save the barely for the dancing girls, but Red-dedit demanded that she will pay the gods back for the barely when they return. When Rud-dedit went down to the cellar, she heard music and sounds coming from the sack of barely.  In awe, she locked the barely in a chest and told her husband about her findings.  They both celebrated. One day Rud-dedit was angered with her servant, and her servant claimed that "Her three children will become kings. I will inform King Khufu of this matter". The servant went to visit her uncle and told him what had happened. Her uncle shouts to her "Why come to
me with this secret? I cannot consent to make it known
as you desire", and he slaps his niece. Sorrowful, the servant travels down to the Nile to draw water. While at the bank, a crocodile attacked and ate her. Her uncle strolled towards Rud-dedit's house to see her crying on her knees. He asked her why she was sad, and Rud-dedit answered saying,  "Because my servant girl went away to reveal my secret". The servant's uncle kneeled before the women and proclaimed, "Behold! she came unto me and told me all things. But I struck her, and she went towards the river and was seized by a crocodile." King Khufu would never discover the babies Dedi had predicted, and Rud-dedit's sons would be the Kings of Egypt.

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Hathor is the goddess of love, motherhood, music, and beauty. She is usually depicted with the head of a cow, ears of a cow, or in the full form of a cow. Hathor is regarded as the mother of the sun god Amun-Re/ Ra/ Atum. She is known for the mercy she shows the humans when Amun-Re unleashes a beast on them due to their ingratitude. This photo shows a statue of the goddess displayed at the MET. The statue represents her cow-like features.

Head of the 'cow goddess' Hathor
By: Mary Harrsch

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The Egyptian god Amun, also known as Amun-Re or Atum, is the creator god. He, first, rose out of the chaotic waters of Nu, and brought forth life on Earth and throughout Egypt. His ancestors ruled over early Egypt, and his tears grew the men and women of Earth. To date, his main sanctuary is the immense temple complex at Karnak on the east bank of the Nile. This small statue, on display at the MET museum in New York City, models a traditional pose of Amun. He stands left foot forward with his identifiable flat topped crown. He wears the gods' braided beard with a curled tip ankh emblem in his left hand. Atum, also, has a scimitar across his chest. The scimitar has been pictured on pylons and temple walls where Amun presents the King with a scimitar to symbolize victory.

Statuette of Amun
Unknown Artist
945- 712 B.C

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Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphic script as writing system to retell many of their myths. Hieroglyphics were first inscribed on pottery and tombs. This writing style is known for its pictorial elegance and is composed of three different types: logograms, representing words; phonograms, representing sounds; and determinatives, placed at the end of the word to help clarify its meaning. With the introduction of this writing style, the Egyptians created paper to record hieroglyphics on. This paper was created out of Papyrus, a plant in ancient Egypt. However, the amount of hieroglyphics was much higher than that of the typical alphabet.  With over a thousand hieroglyphics in use, the writing style was reduced to 750 in the Middle Kingdom (2055-1650 BCE). This shift simplified the language, but hieroglyphics would soon be classified as a dead writing style due to its intricacy.

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From the beginning of time, there was only the watery chaos, called Nu. From the waters, Atum created himself out of Nu by an effort of will or by uttering his own name.  With no place to stand in the watery chaos where he appeared, he created a hill. Atum, neither male or female, felt alone in the world, so he wished to create more gods. With to no one to mate with, Atum made a union with his shadow. He spit out his son, Geb the Earth. Then, he vomited out his daughter, Nut the Sky. Geb and Nut were given the task to create the life and order of Egypt called Maat. Due to the entanglement of Atum's children, the god of wind, Shu, blew Nut into the sky to separate the mates. Continuing the order of Maat, Nut created rain for Geb to cultivate crops on Earth. Everyday, Nut delivers the Sun for Earth. Shu and Tefnut produced several other gods after Geb and Nut. However, sometime after birth, Shu and Tefnut got lost in the watery chaos of Nu. Atum, who had only one eye and was removable. He removed his eye, which was called the Udjat eye and sent it to search for his children. Shu and Tefnut returned with Atum's eye.  Atum wept like a baby with tears of joy after seeing his children. The place where the tears drop, men came into form.

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This goddess has several depiction in ancient Egyptian art which range as being shown as a feline, a woman with a feline head, or a feline with the head of a woman. Mafdet represented justice and executions. This goddess is often portrayed as the cat climbing on an executioner, She was called upon in the executions of the enemies of the pharaoh. Mafdet was also very closely related to the protection of the Pharaoh’s chambers and other sacred places in ancient Egypt. Mafdet was mentioned as the goddess who protected the Sun God Ra of poisonous snakes. In later periods, the cult of Mafdet was replaced by the cult of Bast, another feline goddess; a lioness warrior who protected the Pharaoh.

Mafdet, an Egyptian cat goddess
By: Red Serpent Art