In ancient Egypt there was no unified belief system, but rather a wide variety of different belief systems and practices that varied widely depending on location, time period, and social class. Despite the chaos of different religions in ancient Egypt, one factor remained the same: animals. Animals of all types were significant to the ancient Egyptians. The Egyptians' understanding of the specific characteristics of animals was broad and extensive, but it was often limited to animals with powers that humans lacked. The ancient Egyptians believed that animals were symbols. For example, the Egyptians noticed how the scarab buries itself and therefore used it as a symbol of survival. The ancient Egyptians had different relationships with animals; lucky animals were pets or helped in agriculture, unlucky animals were food or offerings to the gods. Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses were depicted as animals, represented by one animal itself, a combination of several animals, or human bodies with animal heads, but this does not literally refer to them as animals. The representations were symbolic of certain qualities or characteristics of certain animals. The ancient Egyptians did not worship the animals themselves, but only the qualities and characteristics. A clear example of this is Horus, the sky god, who was said to have hawk-like qualities. He was depicted as a hawk but with other qualities of a bird of prey such as falcon, raptor and eagle qualities due to his high intelligence, good vision and quick reflexes. After 1554 BC, the civilization of ancient Egypt was run by pharaohs, considered half-men, demigod pharaohs were believed to have spirits that lasted eternity. The pharaohs had to be protected; the cobra was the pr...... center of the paper ...... the secrets of the animal cults in Egypt. Available: http://heritage-key.com/blogs/sean-williams/salima-ikram-talks-about-secrets-animal-cults- Egypt. Last accessed June 21, 2011.Ollie,D. (2002). Animals and beliefs. Available: http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/AnimalMummification.html. Last accessed 23 June 2011. Videos-heritagekeymedia channel. (2009). Dr. Salima Ikram shares the secrets of animal cults in Egypt. Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-KR-OkScp0&feature=relmfu. Last accessed 25 June 2011.Libri-GC Macaulay. (1890). The story of Herodotus. Available: http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hh/index.htm. Last accessed 21 June 2011. Frankfurt, H (2000). Ancient Egyptian religion: an interpretation. New York: Columbia University Press. p4-31.Lloyd, A (1998). Herodotus, Book II: Commentary. 2nd ed. Netherlands: EJ Brill. page 99-123.