Ancient Egyptian deities that have appeared in popular culture include Set, Thoth, Khonsu, Ra and Horus.
Film and television
In the animated series Conan the Adventurer, Set is portrayed as an evil snake god who is the source of the wizard Wrath-Amon's powers.
The Curse of King Tut's Tomb: Set is portrayed as the supernatural antagonist in the mini-series.
Doctor Who (and Faction Paradox): The 1975 Doctor Who serial Pyramids of Mars reinterpreted the ancient Egyptian divine canon as a race of aliens called Osirians, creators of a civilisation of near-omnipotent technological and psychic power. The god Set was reinterpreted as Sutekh (also known as "The Destroyer"), the most vicious, destructive and pan-genocidal of the Osirians, who was imprisoned circa 5000 BC in Egypt. Sutekh was also the main antagonist in The True History of Faction Paradox, part of the Doctor Who spin-off series Faction Paradox. He featured in a series of six Faction Paradox audio plays (the first of which, Coming to Dust, was released in 2004) which further explored Osirian society and also featured other Osirian characters including Horus.
Gods of Egypt a 2016 film. Set (Gerard Butler) is the main antagonist.
Seth appears in the Isis and Osiris two-parter in the Canadian series MythQuest, fulfilling his usual role as Osiris's killer.
Mummies Alive!: Set and Anubis are secondary villains throughout the series, often summoned with other deities to cause trouble in the show. Instead of a set animal, however, Set is made to look like an anthropomorphic bull dog.
seaQuest DSV: Set is used as a villain in a later episode of the science fiction series (Season 2: Something in the Air).
Stargate SG-1: Seth, or Setesh, is a member of a parasitic alien species known as the Goa'uld, who set themselves up as the gods of human mythology. In the series, Seth has been hiding from Ra on Earth for thousands of years, using advanced technology and drugs to set himself up as the object of worship for various cults throughout history.
In the Puppet Master series of horror films, Sutekh is the primary villain, revealed in Puppet Master 4, to be the elder god who created the magic that gives the Puppet Master's puppets life.
Tutenstein: Set is the villain of the series, repeatedly trying to steal Tut's Was scepter to rule the Underworld and Overworld.
Digital Devil Saga 2: Seth is the optional boss after Shiva and Vishnu and before Satan.
Elite: Badges of rank worn by pilots, up to and including the eponymous Elite ranking, are based on images of Ra.
Nightshade: Sutekh is the villain who takes control over every gang in Metro City, combining them into one.
Persona 2: Set is a persona of the Tower Arcana.
Persona 3 and Persona 4: Seth is a persona of the Moon Arcana.
Phantasy Star IV: Seth was the name used by Dark Force when he assumed human form. He joins the party when they arrive on the island east of Krup on Motavia, claiming to be an archaeologist. When the party reaches the temple, he turns back into demonic form and attacks the party.
PowerSlave: Set is a boss character depicted as a horrible demonic being.
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Several Egyptian deities are mentioned in several cards in the game, including Anubis, Ra, Horus, and Horakhty. However, they are not necessarily accurate in their depictions (Horakhty being depicted as a singular being, rather than the manifestation that was Ra-Horakhty).
Secret of Evermore:Son of Set is an enemy
Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy: Lord Set is the enemy and the main villain. His physical appearance is as a dark, elegant, tall, somewhat a sort of evil wizard; his eyes and teeth have resemblance to a snake. Patient, ruthless, sinister, sophisticated and very intelligent, he could mimic forms of others. Later it will reveal his real god form: a powerful humanoid giant snake.
Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation: Seth possessed Werner Von Croy and he was also the final boss.
Vampire: the Masquerade: One of the 13 clans is known as the Followers of Set and claim to be descended from the god Set.
Pharaoh: Seth is one of the five gods that can be worshipped in-game.
Age of Mythology, Age of Empires: Mythologies: Set is one of three major gods that can be worshiped by Egyptian players. In the game's campaign, Set, through his mortal puppet Kemsyt, works with Poseidon and Loki to free the Titans. The player, in the role of the Atlantean hero Arkantos, must stop Set's followers and re-unify the pieces of Osiris.
"Endless Ocean: Blue World": Set, Isis, Osiris, and Nephthys are featured in the Cavern of the Gods.
The Cluefinders 4th Grade Adventures: Puzzle of the Pyramid: Set is the true villain of the game, released by Sir Alistar Loveless III. Loveless intended to be Set's master and use him to rule the world, but Set turned on Loveless and his goons. With enhanced powers granted to the Cluefinders by other Egyptian gods, they reseal Set back in his prison.
Smite: A third-person MOBA by Hi-Rez Studios. Anhur, Anubis, Bastet, Geb, Isis, Khepri, Neith, Osiris, Ra, Serqet, Sobek, and Thoth all appear in this game.
League of Legends: A popular MOBA by Riot Games contains 3 champions that directly reference the Egyptian deities Anubis (Nasus), Sobek (Renekton) and Ra (Azir).
Iced Earth: Set is referenced by this American heavy metal band on some of their concept albums. He is often referred to as Set Abominae in their Egyptian mythology-based concept albums and comic book.
Behemoth: Polish blackened death metal band Behemoth has a song entitled "Sculpting The Throne Ov Seth"
Septic Flesh: Greek metal band Septic Flesh have a song on their second album entitled "The Eyes of Set". Additionally, vocalist/bassist Spiros Antoniou is often referred to as "Seth".
1349: Norwegian black metal band 1349 has an album entitled Demonoir which features an ambient song entitled "The Tunnel of Set" which is broken down into 7 small tracks. Additionally, other songs on the album such "The Devil of the Deserts" contain vague references to Set.
Aleister Crowley's book on the Tarot is entitled The Book of Thoth: A Short Essay on the Tarot of the Egyptians, Being The Equinox Volume III No. V" (see The Book of Thoth (Crowley)).
Thoth is also heavily mentioned in the Matthew Reilly novels Seven Ancient Wonders and The Six Sacred Stones. An entire language was created based on Thoth's religious omnipotence. There are also many allusions to his importance in Egyptian history throughout the books.
Thoth and the cosmology presented in the Book of Thoth are major elements of the plots in the King's Man trilogy by the Canadian novelist Pauline Gedge.
The computer game NetHack, which features deities whose favor the player must win in order to succeed features Thoth as the god of neutral (balanced alignment) Wizards, in keeping with his role as God of Balance and Wisdom.
Philosopher Jacques Derrida uses Socrates' "Myth of Theuth" to argue for deconstruction and the instability of Truth since writing is pharmakon, both poison and cure—that which puts play into play.
The Coptic liturgical New Year begins with the month of Thout which is a carry over from the ancient Egyptian month dedicated to Thoth. The first day of Thoth corresponds, currently, to the eleventh of September in the Gregorian calendar or the twelfth if a leap year Coptic calendar.
In Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods, Thoth lives as a human called Mr. Ibis on the mortal plane in the "Little Egypt" area of Southern Illinois. In accordance with his role as judge of the dead, he works as an undertaker alongside Anubis' human embodiment, Mr. Jacquel (Jackal).
The current logo of Cairo University, which is the oldest university in Egypt, embodies the image of Thoth sitting on his throne.
The Temple of Thoth is the name of a pagan cult in The Magician's Nephew, an episode of Midsomer Murders. Apart from the name, no references to the Egyptian god are made in the episode.
Thoth is one of the main characters in Roger Zelazny's novel Creatures of Light and Darkness.
Thoth is also a character in the Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan. He helps the Kanes in the first book of the trilogy, The Red Pyramid. Thoth's modern-day guise is that of a manic research professor at the University of Memphis, assisted in his physical and metaphysical experiments by a number of baboon assistants.
In the game Zone of the Enders and Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, the game's titular mecha Jehuty is based on Thoth himself.
The Cluefinders 4th Grade Adventures: Puzzle of the Pyramid, a 1990s video game for young learners, features Thoth as a non-player character. Thoth guides the eponymous Cluefinders across the "Chasm of Words", with the assistance of a pair of baboon statues.
In the Stargate SG-1 franchise, Thoth is a member of a parasitic alien species known as the Goa'uld, who set themselves up as the gods of human mythology. Various interpretations of the character appeared in spin-off media before the character appeared in the series itself as a minor Goa'uld, the chief scientist of Anubis.
In the 2016 film Gods of Egypt, Thoth is played by Chadwick Boseman. Boseman's casting attracted media attention, as he was one of the few non-white actors to appear in the film, with some suggesting that Boseman as Thoth was essentially an example of the Magical Negro stock character.
Ancient Egyptian deities in popular culture Wikipedia (Text) CC BY-SA
