Sacred Animals
The first three are all bulls, with the word for bull being “ka” the same word for the soul. Even Akhenaten worshipped the sacred bull!
Mnevis: City: Heliopolis, God: Re. Oldest known evidence of sacred bull is from here from the first or second dynasties.
Apis: City: Memphis, God: Ptah+Osiris. Common to see on a coffin with the dead person carried on its back. Characteristics: triangle patch on forehead, pattern of wings on its back, etc. Its death is so sacred that it is just under the importance of the death of a king. The bull was not allowed to die natural, so once it was seemingly dying, they drowned it in the Nile so its spirit could return to the river. Once dead, the bull was mummified and buried in the Serapeum, which has become a major site for tourists. Tomb robbers raided the tombs of these bulls but a few were left intact. The Apis bull was said to be the most accurate oracle of all and was treated as a god because people saw it as a god. It is probable that there were other Serapeums that we haven't found because this one is from Ramses II onward.
Buchis: City: Armant (near Thebes), God: Mont/Montu. This bull wears Mont’s crown.
Banebdjet: City: Mendes, God: Himself! He doesn’t have a god associated with him, he is a god all on his own. He is the only living god on this list that is not a bull. Banebdjet is a ram (BAA-nebdjet haha). Actually, the word for ram in Egyptian is “ba” which is the other word for the soul. His name is ba (soul) + neb (lord/master) + djet (abbreviation of Mendes) so he is the ram lord of Mendes -or- the soul lord of Mendes.
Other ram gods (gods with ram forms, not living gods) are Re, Shu, Tefnut, and Geb.
