Deities of the Dunes Trivia Quiz

Sekhmet, in Egyptian religion, bore the head of a lioness to symbolise her dual nature, representing both her power as a protector and her role as a healer. The lioness was revered as a ferocious predator and also a protector and nurturer of her cubs.

She was the daughter of the sun God Ra and known as the eye of Ra, sent by him to punish humanity for their disobedience. However, she became so bloodthirsty in her quest that he had to trick her to stop her from completely destroying humanity.

To halt her, Ra and some of the other gods filled a lake with beer dyed with red ochre. Sekhmet mistook this for blood and drank readily of it until she was so intoxicated that she lost the ability to recognise humans as targets. She then became docile, transformed from a destroyer to a healer. This duality shows how nature can be devastating and restorative.

Osiris was the first pharaoh of Egypt and the god of the afterlife. He was murdered by his jealous brother Set, who dismembered his body and scattered the pieces across Egypt to prevent his return.

Isis, his devoted wife, searched for these pieces until she found the majority of them, apart from his phallus. She, assisted by other gods Nephthys and Anubis, then used her magic powers to resurrect him temporarily by embalming him and wrapping his body in linen. This act marked the origin of mummification, and it is why Osiris is depicted as a mummy.

However, as Osiris had crossed the threshold of death, he could not return to the world of the living; therefore, he descended to the underworld and there became its eternal ruler and judge of the afterlife, weighing the souls of the departed to ensure that they were worthy of immortality. For ancient Egyptians, he became a powerful symbol of resurrection.

Anubis was an ancient Egyptian god of the dead, mummification, embalming, funerary rites, and guardian of the dead. He had the head of a jackal because they were often seen near cemeteries, and ancient Egyptians believed that they watched over the dead, protecting them.

The role of Anubis was to oversee mummification and embalming, ensuring the bodies of the deceased were properly preserved for their journey to the afterlife. He then proceeded to guide them safely on their journey to the Hall of Ma'at.

On arrival, he became the overseer of the Weighing of the Heart ceremony. As ancient Egyptians believed the heart held a person's conscience, he placed it on the scales where it was weighed against Ma'at's feather of truth.

Hathor was one of the goddesses of love, beauty, music, joy, and motherhood. She was depicted as a cow or a woman with cow's ears, as the cow was seen as a maternal symbol of nurturing and life-giving qualities.

She was regarded by the ancient Egyptians as being associated with the sky. They named her the 'Nile of the Sky'. Her cow form reflected cosmic nourishment. She was linked to fertility and the nourishing power of milk, and was also seen as a protector, especially of women, children, and the dead.

In ancient Egypt, Ptah was one of the oldest and most significant deities, worshiped as the god of craftsmen, architects, and creation itself. Ptah created the world through thought and speech, as opposed to the chaos and forceful methods employed by other gods. He therefore had no need to move, demonstrating that creation is born of the mind, not the physical.

He was represented as a mummified man wearing a tight-fitting cap. Being wrapped like a mummy gave him the appearance of being unchanging and eternal. It also connected him to Osiris and the world of the dead, reinforcing his role in transformation and rebirth as a creator of structures and ideas.

Bastet was the ancient Egyptian goddess of the home, fertility, protection, and cats. She evolved from a fierce lioness deity into the beloved cat goddess, with a gentler, more domesticated nature.

Cats were highly esteemed in ancient Egypt and seen as sacred, as they protected grain stores from rodents and snakes. They were viewed as symbols of protection and peace. Indeed, so revered were they that even the accidental killing of one could result in the death penalty. Bastet embodied the cat's protective qualities, which is why she was portrayed in feline form.

Besides protecting the home, women, and children, Bastet was often invoked during childbirth because of her association with reproduction and fertility. It was believed she helped ease the trauma and fear of giving birth.

Sobek was the ancient Egyptian crocodile god, depicted either as a full crocodile or as a man with a crocodile head. He was the god of the Nile River, fertility, military prowess, and pharaonic power.

Sobek was portrayed as a crocodile because he was thought to control the flow of the Nile, regulating how much and when it would flood each year. This was crucial for farming and the Egyptians' survival. He also protected them from crocodile attacks and drowning. Moreover, he blessed the land, ensuring good harvests.

He also protected both the pharaoh and the people, giving the king strength, ferocity, and military success in battle. Warriors often called upon him for victory.

Ma'at was the ancient Egyptian goddess who personified truth, justice, harmony, balance, and cosmic order. She embodied the principles that held the universe together and was the force that kept the cosmos in order, opposing chaos.

Ma'at also guided Egyptian law, governance, and personal conduct. The ancient Egyptians were expected to live 'in Ma'at', meaning truthfully, respectfully, and in balance with others and nature. She was depicted as a woman wearing an ostrich feather on her head, or sometimes simply represented by the feather itself.

Her most famous role was in the afterlife judgment ceremony known as the Weighing of the Heart. Here, the soul of the dead was weighed against her feather. If the heart was lighter or equal, the soul was pure and granted eternal life. If heavier, it was devoured by the fearsome Ammit.

Horus was one of ancient Egypt's most significant and complex deities. As the son of Osiris and Isis, he was born after his father's murder and raised in secret by his mother in the papyrus marshes of the Nile Delta to protect him from his uncle Set.

His falcon head represented the sky, divine protection, and kingship. His eyes were said to be the sun and moon, and the falcon's sharp eyesight inspired the Eye of Horus, a symbol of protection and insight. As a falcon, he could soar over the world, watching over it.

Horus was linked directly to the gods because each time a pharaoh died, he became Osiris, and the new pharaoh became Horus, creating an unbroken lineage that connected all the kings of Egypt to the divine.

Isis was one of the most important and enduring goddesses in ancient Egyptian religion. Revered as the ideal mother, wife and protector, she was the sister and wife of Osiris, the god of the underworld. She became one of the most widely worshiped deities in the entire ancient world.

Isis was also a master of magical spells and rituals, especially those used for protection and resurrection and, as the mother of Horus, the falcon-headed sky god, she became the ideal maternal figure, nurturing, protective, and powerful. Her loyalty to Osiris made her a symbol of marital love and faithfulness.

Furthermore, she was associated with divine knowledge and was invoked in spiritual rites and funerary practices.