There were several dozen major and minor gods who were worshipped throughout the land, such as Ra, Osiris, Horus and Isis. These were believed to live in their large temples, with their priests acting as their servants. They were only seen by Ancient Egyptians during festivals, when an effigy of the god might be carried down the Nile.

The beginning of the world
There were four main schools of belief that we know of amongst the Ancient Egyptians about how the world was created. The Memphites believed the god Ptah brought everything into existence by saying the names of each creature and object. The Thebans believed that Amun, the chief Theban god, was the original creator and source of all the gods' powers. In Upper Egypt the Hermopolitan sect thought eight deities created the world, each pair of gods representing water, infinity, darkness and 'hiddenness'. The Heliopolitans believed that the solar god Atum created the gods of air (Shu) and moisture (Tefnut), who then produced the earth (Geb) and sky (Nut). Geb and Nut were believed to have four children, Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys.

New gods
As demonstrated by the various creation myths, as new tribes were conquered or arrived in Egypt, their gods were quickly assimilated into the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. With so many deities already extant, Ancient Egyptians adopted new gods with little disruption. From the reign of Djedefra (2566-2558BC) onwards, the pharaohs presented themselves as the sons of the gods, a move which strengthened their authority to rule over the land. This also led to their worship as gods themselves after their death, so the arrival of a new god was a regular occurrence for ordinary people in Ancient Egypt. The pharaoh Ptolemy I, founder of the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty in 305BC, even created a new chief god, Serapis, to help link the beliefs of his Greek and Ancient Egyptian subjects together.

Heresy
While the Ancient Egyptians were happy to assimilate new gods, they did not welcome religious revolution. The pharaoh Amenhotep IV (1352-1336BC), who changed his name to Akenhaten, and his wife Nefertiti attempted to create a new monotheistic (single god) religion based on the sole worship of Aten, the sun disc, probably inspired by a wish to weaken the power of the Ancient Egyptian priests. However this proved extremely unpopular with the populace. It was seen as heresy, and the pharaoh's death saw the new cult quickly die and a return to the old ways and beliefs.

Local beliefs
Ancient Egyptian communities had their own specific local gods as well as the major deities. Many of the lesser gods were fertility gods, worshipped in the hope of better crops and a large family, or had a protective role, guarding the family or their possessions from harm. Images of these gods could be carved on amulets, pots or furniture.

Afterlife
The Ancient Egyptians believed that if they lived good lives they could live on in the next world, but if they broke the gods' moral codes they could forfeit their life after death. To ensure a life everlasting in the next world, Egyptians from the Middle Kingdom onwards were mummified in the same manner as Osiris, the god of the underworld. Osiris would judge all the dead as they arrived in a ceremony called the weighing of the heart. The new arrivals were to swear that they had not committed certain crimes and their heart was then measured against the feather of Maat, another minor god who represented truth. Only if they passed this test would Osiris judge them worthy of resurrection in the afterlife.

The end of the old gods
Christianity first appeared in the region in the first century AD, but it wasn't until the reign of the Roman emperor Constantine that the country became Christian. The old religion was gradually driven out as the temples were forcibly closed. By the sixth century the last vestiges of the old beliefs died out.