The Complete Encyclopedia of Egyptian Deities: Gods, Goddesses, and Spirits of Ancient Egypt and Nubia

by Tamara L. Siuda, Normandi Ellis (Foreword)

Presenting modern devotional perspectives that are rarely covered in other works, this premium hardcover offers comprehensive profiles of more than one hundred Egyptian gods, goddesses, and other divine beings. This thoroughly researched, full-color tome provides detailed descriptions and illustrations of well-known deities, like Anubis, Horus, Isis, Ra, and Sekhmet. It also features demigods, spiritual beings, and deities of neighboring regions who were also honored by the Egyptians, such as Menhyt (the lioness-headed goddess of Nubia) and Harmachis (the spirit that resides in the Giza Sphinx). Each entry includes a remarkable cache of information, including the deity's name in hieroglyphs, festivals, relatives, personality, domain, and more. Also featuring photographs of important sites and antiquities, this impressive collection is the only resource on Egyptian deities you will ever need.

Genres: Mythology, Egyptian Literature

872 pages, Hardcover

Published April 8, 2024

About the author

Dr. Tamara L. Siuda has been studying and writing about Egypt for more than twenty-five years and holds advanced degrees in Egyptology, Coptology, and religion. She has published multiple books and academic articles on Egyptian topics, including The Ancient Egyptian Prayerbook, The Hourly Vigil of Osiris, and The Ancient Egyptian Daybook.

Dr. Siuda has lectured to academic and public audiences at various conferences and museums. She also appeared in a documentary about the Egyptian Book of the Dead on the History Channel. In 1989, Dr. Siuda founded the modern practice of ancient Egyptian polytheism called Kemetic Orthodoxy. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Reviews

[Pinar · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are going to get one book on the Egyptian deities, this massive volume is THAT book. It covers a vast period and a great number of the netjeru. Dr. Siuda is an academic trained in Egyptology and everything in the book is accounted for and meticulously cited -except for the modern worship sections. What I have most enjoyed is how much indigenous Egyptian sources and academics have been given voice, which, I think, makes it quite unique. It’s an excellent resource if you’re interested in the topic historically or anthropologically and an equally invaluable resource if you’re a practitioner. Very highly recommended.

[Rebecca Elson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This review originally appeared on The Magical Buffet website on 08/26/2024.

I’m way behind on my book reviews but I absolutely had to make sure you knew about this one. I asked to receive a review copy of “The Complete Encyclopedia of Egyptian Deities” by Dr. Tamara L. Siuda solely because my library was lacking books on the subject. I hadn’t realized that this book was literally going to reinvent the game as for what to expect from books about deities.

“The Complete Encyclopedia of Egyptian Deities” profiles over 100 different gods, goddesses, demigods, and other divine beings. Sure, you get a lot of the “standard” information you’d expect: personality, symbols, appearance, and associations. Some of the information that you’ll find, that isn’t often found, is the name in hieroglyphs, details on their festivals and places of worship, as well as familial relations. Better still, Siuda highlights not only locations of significance to the deity in the past, but also for today, and how the deities are celebrated in modern times.

With all of this, including extensive illustrations and additional reading recommendations, “The Complete Encyclopedia of Egyptian Deities” by Dr. Tamara L. Siuda is not only the definitive text on Egyptian deities, but it sets the template of what all other books about deities should aspire to be.

[Inge Matze · Rating 5 out of 5]

A book that everyone should have if interested in Egyptian Deities.
It's beautiful, easy to read and use as an encyclopedia.