Animal Deities and Hybrid Entities in Ancient Egypt

Giuseppina Lenzo

Abstract

The article provides an overview of the role of animals in Egyptian religion, with a focus on hybrid entities. While the association with one or several animals comprises a distinctive feature of Egyptian deities, the interpretation of such associations raises several methodological questions. In most instances, such associations are relatively simple, linking – albeit in different ways – a deity with an animal, or part thereof. Such associations are easier to identify, and can be elaborated into a typology. A more complex instance is presented by representations involving not a single animal, but several iconographical themes jointly. The article begins by identifying the main types associating a deity with an animal. It then proceeds to analyze more complex combinations, which are studied here through two exemplary cases: protective deities on the one hand, and the inhabitants of the Douat, or underworld, on the other.
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