Experience Divine Egypt at the Met with kids this holiday season. The exhibit is only here through January 19.
Given its name, you won’t be surprised to learn that the exhibit covers the many gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. It is broken down into different god sections – Horus, Ra, Osirus, Anuba, Maat, Hathor and many more. Each section tells the god or goddess’ story, how they intertwine with other dieties, how they are represented, and then showing items depicting them.
I quickly realized how confusing it was with each god taking on multiple shapes and forms, and combining with other gods to add names and characteristics. I’ll leave it to the Egyptologists.
One thing you can appreciate no matter what is the artisan work, the amount of skill required to produce the objects, whethre through carving, painting (or both), metal work, etc. Above you can see a gold handled mirror. And while it’s not distinguishable, the tiny object on the bottom is a bat. Made out of faience, I believe.
This papyrus above, a little blurry, I know, depicts Hathor as a cow on the boat.
Above is a rock crystal container with an intricate gold head featuring Hathor’s cow horns and sun disc. There is a special powder or something inside.
Kids will love hearing about the various animals that are gods and protect the Egyptians. Above is a baboon. But also there are lions, tigers, crocodiles, hippos, dogs, cats and other creatures. You’ll see some items storing animal remains for the gods in this exhibit.
Some of the 250 items shared in the exibit are painted papyrus and limestone. Above is limestone and it looked so new it was incredible. While you’ll see a few facsimilies (labeled as such) most are original. Above is Maat, a concept of justice and rightness.
I really liked this faiance hippo with some non-hippo features like crocodile teeth, human breasts and other liberties.
Experience Divine Egypt at the Met with kids through January 19, 2026.