In ancient Egypt, there was no unified belief system, but rather a wide variety of different belief systems and practices that varied greatly depending on the place, period and social class. Throughout the chaos of ancient Egypt's different religions, one factor remained the same: animals. Animals of all kinds were important to the ancient Egyptians. Egyptian understanding of the specific characteristics of animals was broad and extensive, but 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 beetle buries itself and therefore used it as a symbol of survival. Ancient Egyptians had varied relationships with animals; lucky animals were pets or helped with agriculture, unfortunate animals were either food or offerings to the gods. Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses were depicted as animals, represented by an animal itself, a combination of different animals or human bodies with animal heads, but this does not literally refer to them as animals. The representations symbolized certain qualities or characteristics of certain animals. The ancient Egyptians did not worship animals themselves, but only their qualities and characteristics. A clear example of this is Horus, the sky god, who is said to have falcon-like qualities. It was depicted as a falcon but with other bird of prey qualities such as falcon, raptor and eagle for its great intelligence, good vision and quick reflexes. After 1554 BC, ancient Egyptian civilization was ruled by pharaohs, who were considered half-men. , the demigod pharaohs were believed to have spirits that lasted for eternity. The pharaohs had to be protected; the cobra was the pr...... middle of paper ...... the secrets of 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 belief. Available: http://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/AnimalMummification.html. Last accessed June 23, 2011. Videos-heritagekeymedia channel. (2009). "Dr Salima Ikram shares secrets of Egyptian animal cults". Available: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-KR-OkScp0&feature=relmfu. Last accessed June 25, 2011.Books-GC Macaulay. (1890). The History of Herodotus. Available: http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/hh/index.htm. Last accessed June 21, 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.