Easy
Ancient Egypt
Pharaohs & Pyramids
Monuments, rulers and the writing we spent centuries decoding.
Sample question
Start quiz
The Great Pyramid at Giza was built as a tomb for which pharaoh?
Gods, Temples & the Afterlife
Egyptian religion looks complicated from outside, mostly because it ran for three thousand years and never threw anything away. Start with the ten pieces everyone should recognise.
About this topic
Egyptian gods rarely stayed in their lane. They merged with each other, swapped animal heads, absorbed local deities and reappeared under combined names, so the same god can look like several and several can turn out to be one. What held it together was less a doctrine than a set of shared images: the sun crossing the sky, order holding back chaos, and the dead needing help to get where they were going. This quiz sticks to the parts that turn up in every museum case — the jackal, the falcon, the feather on the scales, the jars of organs. Each explanation adds the detail that usually gets left off the label.
Questions & answers
Gods, Temples & the Afterlife: all 10 questions and answers
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadShow all answers and explanationsHide answers
-
1Which god, shown with the head of a jackal, was associated with embalming?
- A Horus
- B Set
- C Thoth
- D Anubis Correct
Answer: D. Anubis
Why: Anubis presided over embalming and the care of the dead, and priests carrying out the work sometimes wore jackal masks. The animal is thought to have been chosen because jackals scavenged around desert cemeteries.
-
2In the judgement of the dead, the heart was weighed against what?
- A A scarab
- B A grain of wheat
- C A feather Correct
- D A gold ring
Answer: C. A feather
Why: The scene shows the heart balanced against the feather of Maat, the principle of truth and right order. A heart that weighed more was fed to the monster Ammit, which ended the person's existence entirely.
-
3Which god was killed by his brother and afterwards ruled the realm of the dead?
- A Amun
- B Osiris Correct
- C Horus
- D Ptah
Answer: B. Osiris
Why: In the myth Set murders his brother Osiris, whose body is recovered and revived by Isis. Their son Horus then spends years contesting the throne with Set.
-
4Which goddess was the wife of Osiris and mother of Horus?
- A Isis Correct
- B Hathor
- C Bastet
- D Nephthys
Answer: A. Isis
Why: Isis gathered up her husband's body and restored him, and was worshipped above all as a protector and healer. Her cult spread far beyond Egypt, with temples as far away as Rome and the Roman frontier in Britain.
-
5Which god was usually depicted with the head of a falcon?
- A Sobek
- B Khnum
- C Anubis
- D Horus Correct
Answer: D. Horus
Why: Horus was a sky god, and the living pharaoh was regarded as Horus on earth. The wedjat, or Eye of Horus, was among the most common protective amulets in Egypt.
-
6Which god had the head of an ibis and was linked with writing and knowledge?
- A Khonsu
- B Bes
- C Thoth Correct
- D Ptah
Answer: C. Thoth
Why: Thoth was credited with inventing writing and recorded the verdict at the weighing of the heart. He could also appear as a baboon, and both animals were mummified in his honour.
-
7Which vast temple complex on the east bank at Thebes was added to for roughly two thousand years?
- A Dendera
- B Karnak Correct
- C Abu Simbel
- D Philae
Answer: B. Karnak
Why: Successive kings extended Karnak, dedicated mainly to Amun-Ra, from the Middle Kingdom into the Roman period. Its great hypostyle hall holds 134 columns, the tallest around 21 metres.
-
8Which animal was mummified in huge numbers and linked to the goddess Bastet?
- A Cats Correct
- B Dogs
- C Horses
- D Sheep
Answer: A. Cats
Why: Bastet was shown as a cat or as a woman with a cat's head, and hundreds of thousands of cat mummies were buried at her cult centre of Bubastis. Ibises, falcons and crocodiles were also mummified and sold to pilgrims as offerings.
-
9Canopic jars placed beside a burial held what?
- A Grain for the journey
- B Sacred oils
- C The dead person's jewellery
- D Internal organs removed during mummification Correct
Answer: D. Internal organs removed during mummification
Why: The four jars held the liver, lungs, stomach and intestines, each under the protection of one of the four sons of Horus. The heart was usually left inside the body and the brain was thrown away.
-
10Amun merged with which other god to become the dominant deity of the New Kingdom?
- A Set
- B Aten
- C Ra Correct
- D Ptah
Answer: C. Ra
Why: Amun-Ra combined the hidden creator worshipped at Thebes with the sun god of Heliopolis. Egyptian gods fused and separated like this fairly often, which is why so many have double-barrelled names.
Frequently asked questions about Gods, Temples & the Afterlife
How many questions are in Gods, Temples & the Afterlife?
Gods, Temples & the Afterlife has 10 questions and takes about 6 minutes to finish. It is rated Easy and sits in our Ancient Egypt category.
How is Gods, Temples & the Afterlife scored?
Each of the 10 correct answers adds 10 XP, up to 100 XP for a clean run. Wrong answers cost you nothing, and your full question-by-question review is shown at the end.
Are the answers to Gods, Temples & the Afterlife explained?
Yes. All 10 questions carry a written explanation of why the correct answer is right, so the quiz works as a study sheet as well as a test.
Can I replay Gods, Temples & the Afterlife?
Yes, as often as you like. The questions and the answer options are reshuffled on each run, and you can use Practice Mistakes afterwards to retry only the ones you missed. No account is needed to play.
QuizKite Quality Guarantee
Every quiz on QuizKite is researched, written and fact-checked by hand against reliable references, with an explanation for each answer. Read our full Editorial Policy to learn more about our content standards.
Keep going
More Ancient Egypt
Medium
Ancient Egypt
The Pharaohs of Egypt
Ten kings and one queen who took the throne, from the first unifier to the last native ruler.
Sample question
Start quiz
Which king appears on a famous carved palette wearing the crowns of both Upper and Lower Egypt?
Hard
Ancient Egypt
Building the Pyramids
Angles, casing stones, granite hauled from Aswan, and what the workers' village actually revealed.
Sample question
Start quiz
The Bent Pyramid at Dahshur, which changes angle partway up, was built for which king?
Medium
Ancient Egypt
Writing, Work & Daily Life
Beer rations, board games, eye paint and the rubbish heap that told us how ordinary Egyptians lived.
Sample question
Start quiz
Egyptian writing sheets were made from what?
Hard
History
Ancient Civilizations
From Sumer to the Inca — eight questions for the serious history lover.
Sample question
Start quiz
Which river was central to the rise of Ancient Egypt?
Medium
Ancient Greece & Rome
The Classical World
City-states, empire and the inheritance still in daily use.
Sample question
Start quiz
Which Greek city-state was best known for its military discipline?