All Egyptian Protective and Apotropaic Deities

This group gathers ancient Egyptian deities whose art depicts a protective or apotropaic role, warding off harm, illness and chaos for the living. Bastet, shown here on a pillar, and Taweret, the hippopotamus goddess of childbirth, guarded the home and family. Sakhmet, a lion-headed goddess of war and plague, could both send and avert disease, making her image a shield against it. Sobek, the crocodile god, and Wadjet, the cobra goddess, appear together on one scarab as guardians tied to the Nile and to Lower Egypt, while Seth-Baal, a warrior god absorbing the Levantine storm god Baal, was invoked against the chaos serpent Apophis. Amulets and figures of these deities were carried or worn as everyday protective charms.