Animals of Chaos: Creatures Linked to Evil in Ancient Egypt

When the people of ancient Egypt looked at the world around them, animals were never just animals. A falcon circling high above the fields could remind them of a king’s authority. A cow grazing by the river might call to mind the nurturing sky goddess. But there were also creatures that stirred unease. Some were seen as disruptive, noisy, or tied to lands and peoples beyond the Nile.

The camel, strong and enduring in the desert, was never embraced in temple walls. Donkeys carried the burdens of daily life yet were marked as offensive to the gods. Gazelles, quick to flee the rising sun, became offerings rather than protectors. Even stranger beings appeared in art from the Western Desert — hybrid figures with wings, claws, and faces that blurred the line between the natural and the supernatural.

For the Egyptians, these animals did not inspire trust but instead carried the weight of chaos. They were symbols of what lay outside the ordered world, reminders that the same land which gave life could also harbor danger. In their stories, sacrifices, and myths, these creatures stood as emblems of the unfamiliar — warnings carved into the fabric of their religion.

Animals in Ancient Egypt: From Sacred Symbols to Emblems of Chaos

For thousands of years, the ancient Egyptians viewed animals not just as creatures that lived next to them, but as symbols that held deep religious and cultural secrets.

Some were elevated to the status of gods, while others became symbols of evil, the enemy, or even the unwanted stranger.

In this article, we delve into the animal world of ancient Egypt, revealing which creatures were expelled from the sacred list and became symbols of chaos and threat... Were these creatures really worthy of such a view, or is there more to the story than we realize?

Animals in Ancient Egypt

Animal	Symbolic Role	Religious Meaning
Camel	Linked with Set and the desert	Seen as an enemy of the gods and outsider to Egyptian order
Donkey	Noisy, disruptive creature	Associated with Set and with foreign enemies like the Hyksos
Mysterious Desert Beings	Hybrid figures (lion, falcon, human forms)	Connected to the Western Desert and chaotic deities
Gazelle	Fleeing from the sun’s light	Viewed as enemy of the sun, sacrificed to gods like Min

The Camel in Ancient Egypt: Enemy of the Gods and Symbol of Set

One of the animals that the ancient Egyptians never used as a symbol of idolatry, although they were known in the Egyptian civilization, was the camel.

The camel was a well-known animal in ancient Egypt, but this animal did not appear in ancient Egyptian scenes at all throughout the Pharaonic era. The earliest depiction of it is a fragment of a statue from the third Naqadah civilization, an inscription found in the tomb of Petosiris in Tuna al-Jabal at the end of the 30th Dynasty and the beginning of the Ptolemaic era.

During the Pharaonic era, the camel was not depicted at all in Egyptian scenes, and this is due to the fact that the camel was not a desirable animal in the Egyptian environment, this animal was associated with the Bedouin and associated with the desert, and the Bedouins were enemies of society in ancient Egypt and considered that they were not of God's creation.

The camel was expressed in the ancient Egyptian language by the word (k3mr). Evil gods such as Set were expressed by the word (bꜥr). It is a word that refers to the camel, and also refers to the camel's waste, so the word (bꜥr) refers to the god Set as one of the symbols of evil in ancient Egypt.

The Donkey in Ancient Egypt: Foe of the Gods and Symbol of the Hyksos

Another animal that was not associated with the gods in ancient Egypt was the donkey, despite the donkey being the most hardworking animal in the Egyptian environment throughout prehistoric times to the early modern state.

Ancient Egyptians were completely dependent on donkeys in their daily lives, in travel, in transportation, in the field, in business, and in the transportation of stones and goods.

However, the donkey was not sanctified at all, and this is due to the fact that the ancient Egyptians believed that the sound of the donkey was a disturbing sound to the gods, and therefore was a symbol of evil, it was always mentioned in religious books as a symbol of evil, and one of the symbols of the god Set in ancient Egypt, and religious books always refer to the process of donkey sacrifice.

It later became a symbol of the enemies of the ancient Egyptians when the Hyksos entered Egypt and the Hyksos worshipped the donkey. Hence, this animal also became a symbol of the enemies that occupied the Egyptian land for the first time in ancient Egyptian history.

The Donkey Noisy Foe of the Gods

Infographic — Animals of Evil in Ancient Egypt

🐪 Camel

Linked with Set and desert outsiders, rejected from sacred symbols.

🐴 Donkey

Noisy bray offended the gods; tied to Set and foreign Hyksos rule.

🦁 Hybrid Beasts

Strange winged lions, falcon-headed or human-headed forms from the Western Desert.

🦌 Gazelle

Feared the sun, sacrificed to the fertility god Min before desert expeditions.

Mysterious Desert Gods and Hybrid Creatures in Ancient Egypt

Some of the strange creatures depicted by the ancient Egyptians, which are still being studied, are symbols that refer to the animals of the Western Desert or the goddesses of the Western Desert.

They appeared in the form of strangely shaped animals, sometimes a tiger or a lion with the head of a tiger or the head of a falcon, and sometimes this tiger or lion is winged. Sometimes it has a human head. These symbols are still somewhat mysterious in ancient Egyptian doctrine, but they were among the sacred symbols in ancient Egypt that were directly associated with the Western Desert specifically, and with the gods of the Western Desert.

The Mysterious Gods of the Western Desert

The Gazelle in Ancient Egypt: Enemy of the Sun and Sacred Sacrifice

Gazelles were in ancient Egypt, and still until now in Egypt, there are three species that live in the Egyptian land, and we can distinguish between gazelles and some of them by horns, the gazelle is characterized as an animal that when the sun rises in the morning, it starts to jump up strongly, then runs away to the west, and therefore the ancient Egyptians considered the gazelle afraid of sunlight, and therefore the ancient Egyptians considered the gazelle afraid of sunlight. Thus, they considered it to be an enemy of the sun.

The Egyptians did not worship the gazelle, but always considered it a symbol of evil that must be sacrificed, and there was a specific type of gazelle known as the Arabian oryx that lived in Egyptian territory until the early 20th century, characterized by very long and pointed horns.

This gazelle was the sacrificial offering made to the god Min, the god of fertility and reproduction, the god of the Eastern Desert. Therefore, any military expedition or expedition to bring stones, minerals or precious stones from the Eastern Desert, before entering the desert, had to sacrifice an Arabian oryx to satisfy the god Min in order to give good fortune to the expedition entering the desert.

Conclusion: Animals of Chaos and Fear in Ancient Egyptian Beliefs

At the end of the article, we realize that the ancient Egyptian's view was not always neutral towards the creatures around him.

From the camel to the donkey, from the gazelle to the symbols of the Western Desert, each animal had a story to tell...

Perhaps the “enemy” was not so much an animal as a symbol of the incomprehensible... and what is not meant to be understood.

For more about sacred symbols in ancient Egypt

Key Takeaways

Not all animals were sacred in Ancient Egypt—some signified chaos, enmity, or “outsiders.”
The camel was tied to Set and desert raiders, remaining outside temple symbolism.
The donkey’s bray was seen as offensive to the gods; it became a hostile emblem, later linked to the Hyksos.
Mysterious hybrid beings from the Western Desert reflected fears of disorder beyond the Nile’s order.
Gazelles (incl. Arabian oryx) were enemy-of-the-sun figures and sacrificial offerings to Min before desert missions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why were some animals viewed as “evil” in Ancient Egypt?

They were associated with chaos, foreign threats, or behaviors considered disruptive to divine order.

Why wasn’t the camel depicted in Pharaonic temple scenes?

It was linked to desert outsiders and Set; it sat outside Egypt’s sacred animal system.

How did the donkey become a hostile emblem?

Its bray was thought to offend the gods; texts tie it to Set and later to Hyksos enemies.

What are the “mysterious desert beings” in Egyptian art?

Hybrid, winged or composite creatures tied to Western Desert deities and ideas of disorder.

Why was the gazelle seen as an enemy of the sun?

Its sunrise flight fed a mythic image of fleeing light; some species became ritual sacrifices.

Which god received gazelle/oryx offerings?

Min, the desert and fertility god—especially before expeditions into the Eastern Desert.

Was Set always “evil”?

No—he had protective roles; but over time he became associated with chaos and foreignness.

Did Egyptians ever use camels practically?

Known in late periods, but they remained marginal in Pharaonic religious imagery.

Are donkey sacrifices mentioned in texts?

Yes—ritual references appear in later religious sources and anti-Set contexts.

Do hybrids reflect myth or geography?

Both; they signal desert margins (geography) and embody forces beyond ordered creation (myth).

Were these “evil” animals always demonized?

They could serve ritual roles (e.g., offerings), channeling danger back into cosmic order.

What’s the big picture?

Animals mapped Egypt’s worldview—some upheld order, others marked the boundaries of chaos.

References

Hornung, Erik. Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many. Cornell University Press, 1982.
Teeter, Emily. Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt. Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2003.
Pinch, Geraldine. Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press, 2004.
Ikram, Salima. Divine Creatures: Animal Mummies in Ancient Egypt. American University in Cairo Press, 2005.
Ritner, Robert K. The Mechanics of Ancient Egyptian Magical Practice. Oriental Institute, 1993.
Baines, John & Málek, Jaromír. Atlas of Ancient Egypt. Facts On File, 1980.
Dunand, Françoise & Zivie-Coche, Christiane. Gods and Men in Egypt: 3000 BCE to 395 CE. Cornell University Press, 2004.

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H. Moses

I’m an independent academic scholar with a focus on Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. I create well-researched, engaging content that explores the myths, gods, and forgotten stories of ancient civilizations — from Egypt and Mesopotamia to the world of Greek mythology. My mission is to make ancient history fascinating, meaningful, and accessible to all. Mythology and History