testingthe gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt formed the core of
the religion of
ancient Egypt. Believing that gods influenced natural events and human lives, Egyptians interacted with them in many ways. State rites were controlled by the
pharaoh, who claimed to be the gods' representative and managed the
temples where the rites were performed, while people acting for personal reasons prayed for divine aid and used rituals to compel deities to act. The gods' complex characteristics were expressed in
myths and in intricate relationships between deities: family ties, loose groups and hierarchies, and combinations of separate gods into one. Deities' diverse appearances in
art—as animals, humans, objects, and combinations of different forms—also alluded, through symbolism, to their essential features. In different eras, various gods were said to hold the highest position in divine society, including the
solar deityRa, the mysterious god
Amun, and the
mother goddessIsis(pictured with Pharaoh
Seti I in her lap). The highest deity was usually credited with the
creation of the world and often connected with the life-giving power of the sun. (
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Several female black-faced impala drinking at a
waterhole. Impalas are
sexually dimorphic. Females can weigh 10 to 25 kilograms (22 to 55 lb) less than males and do not have horns.
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