who is the most powerful egyptian god?

[Saint Lucifer 1590]

i have read books and things i think that osiris is the most powerful he is the god of the under world he threaten ra to let horus take the thrown because when ra dies from old age osiris will be ruling that relm. what do you thing is the most powerful god/goddess is?  

[kuroshitsuji12]

i think hes the leader as well but hes not my fave  

[King Robert Silvermyst]

Netjer. Because He is the considered the one true Egyptian God from Whom all Others are Aspects of.  

[WebenBanu]

It depends on Who you ask. wink In ancient Egypt most towns had their own particular god, and this god was capable of handling any request presented to Him or Her. As the popularity of a god spread, so did His or Her cult- and as most towns already had town gods Who could handle whatever was needed for the township, the imported deities began to be recognized more and more as specialists in various different fields. But They all, essentially, were capable deities on Their own.

That's one proposed model, anyway- and it seems logical enough to me. "More powerful than the gods," "Unique One," and the like were popular titles for most of the gods- and it did not appear to the ancient Egyptians to be problematic to refer to each of Them that way.

King Robert Silvermyst

Netjer. Because He is the considered the one true Egyptian God from Whom all Others are Aspects of.

Well, technically the ancient Egyptians were not monotheists. Early egyptologists automatically tried to fit them into that mold, despite the patently obvious polytheistic nature of the religion, because of their own biases. But in the years since, the concept of the ancient Egyptian deities as being aspects of a single divine force has been refuted and dismissed by the majority of the professionals studying the field. I recommend Erik Hornung's book, "Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and The Many" for a discussion of this process. smile  

[Lokun]

I think i'm gonna go with Isis in that question. 0_o
Not only because of her quite impressive knowledge about magic and bringing her own husband back to life and all that, but also because of a story I remember that tells how Isis managed to discover Ra's secret name, and therefore regain power over him. Though history tells that she never used that power. <.<
But I'm not sure about if I got this story right, and I read it for quite some time ago, so don't trust me too much in this. sweatdrop  

[stellacadente]

You could argue in the modern age, it's Thoth. Knowledge is power and science is essentially a religion (I say that not in a bad way; it is the basis of a common, widespread belief set).  

[evolvingwolf]

If you follow the kemetic orthodox faith, it is Netjer.  

[A1Saucy]

I'm gonna say there isn't such a thing. WebenBanu put it best as to why.  

[Glory of Sekhmet]

WebenBanu

It depends on Who you ask. wink In ancient Egypt most towns had their own particular god, and this god was capable of handling any request presented to Him or Her. As the popularity of a god spread, so did His or Her cult- and as most towns already had town gods Who could handle whatever was needed for the township, the imported deities began to be recognized more and more as specialists in various different fields. But They all, essentially, were capable deities on Their own.

That's one proposed model, anyway- and it seems logical enough to me. "More powerful than the gods," "Unique One," and the like were popular titles for most of the gods- and it did not appear to the ancient Egyptians to be problematic to refer to each of Them that way.

King Robert Silvermyst

Netjer. Because He is the considered the one true Egyptian God from Whom all Others are Aspects of.

Well, technically the ancient Egyptians were not monotheists. Early egyptologists automatically tried to fit them into that mold, despite the patently obvious polytheistic nature of the religion, because of their own biases. But in the years since, the concept of the ancient Egyptian deities as being aspects of a single divine force has been refuted and dismissed by the majority of the professionals studying the field. I recommend Erik Hornung's book, "Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and The Many" for a discussion of this process. smile

*sits in corner quietly worshipping Hornung*  

[evolvingwolf]

Some say arguably Amun-Re, Ra, or Khnum...

Personally I believe that the 'most powerful' is Who takes a personal interest in your own life. ^_^  

[NicolettisStudent]

I think it is...Ra, Ra is the god of all gods....he is the only one who can fight Apepi and rise the sun the next day...Lets face it...We can name all the god WE think is the one, But without even one god the ancient egyptians world wouldn't be whole....Each ancient egyptian god is assigned a part...Such a a sun god, now what would we do without the sun...Do you understand what I am saying?  

[Chai Senpai]

Hmm...I can't really say. WebenBanu makes a very good point and I'm very inclined to agree with her.

Also, the whole of ancient Egyptian history is a long one indeed, approximately 3000 years- and, as with humans the world over across time and culture, nothing remains purely static, even their religions. Different gods rose and declined in popularity. I really don't think popularity equeals power, though.

Like around the time of the pyramid (3rd, 4th dynasties) with the pharaohs Khufu, Djhedefre, Khafre, Menkaure, etc, I believe the sun god, Re, rose to prominent position- Djhedefre was the first to incorporate Re into his name, and take the title "son of the son god". At least, that's according to a Discovery Channel program I watched recently. (Something on the Lost Pyramid)

Centuries and dynasties later, Amun was rising to prominent position with the illustrious 18th Dynasty pharaohs. The priests of Amun wielded a lot of political wealth and power- enough almost to rival the pharaoh.

And for a heretical time, there was one complete, all powerful god in Egypt who temporarily eradicated the other gods- Aten, raised to sole prominence by the infamous Akhenaten aka Amenhotep IV and his legendary wife Nefertiti. However, upon the death of Akhenaten, Aten's reign as top god came tumbling down.

Roughly around that time- or maybe it was a little later, like the Rammesside times? Amun and Re merged and you get Amun-Re.

Though, those are the gods popular with the royalty/ nobility. Other gods were popular throughout different times in Egyptian history, and some all the way throughout.

But we're talking about power, not popularity, so if you want to go with the most powerful god, based upon that god's abilities and function, not the number of worshippers...well, with the way the ancient Egyptian religious system was set up, I would say it would depend upon what you want that god to do.

For example, take Re, one of the dominant/ popular gods. He would be completely useless in the act of childbirth. Now, the ugly dwarf-god Bes helped over see childbirth- though I think Isis and Hathor did, too.

Maybe the most powerful would be the god with the most uses?
Or the god who was the most popular throughout the whole of Egyptian history?

Out of all the Egyptian gods, though, Isis seems to have survived the longest,; throughout the Greco-Roman period where Egyptian and Roman culture mixed and well into the Christian era. I don't remember what book I read that in though gonk Other gods may have survied as well, but I'm not sure.

And...I'm getting off my soap box now. >< This was not supposed to be that long.  

[Underworld Priestess]

I have to say Ra. For the reasons that have already been mentioned.