Ancient Egypt exhibit attracts crowds to the Met museum

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City launched on October 12th its first ancient Egypt exhibit in over ten years, Associated Press has reported. The show, called “Divine Egypt”, focuses on the depiction of gods and goddesses in ancient Egyptian society, and has been attracting large crowds since its opening.

According to Diana Craig Patch, the Met’s curator of Egyptian art, ancient Egyptian culture enchants visitors like no other. From an early age, children are taught about the society with “pyramids, mummies, the great tomb of Tutankhamun… they’re in our popular culture, books, films and now video games”, says Patch.

However, “Divine Egypt” intends to explore a different side of that well-known culture. Through presenting portrayals of gods and goddesses by both members of royalty and the everyday Egyptian, the exhibit wants to challenge the viewer to understand how daily worship functioned outside of temples and tombs.

The exhibit includes over 200 objects, covering all periods of the 3000-year empire. The Met’s collection makes up the majority of the exhibit, with 140 objects, alongside artefacts lent by museums around the world.

Of the pantheon of 1500 gods and goddesses worshipped by ancient Egyptians, 25 were selected for the exhibit. Although the show highlights just a few deities, the preparation required extensive research due to the intricate and ever-changing pantheon of ancient Egypt.

With the display of small figurines and huge limestone statues, the exhibit wants to show “how ancient Egyptians related to their world. Those gods were how they solved problems of life, death, and meaning — problems that we’re still trying to solve today.”

The themes of death and the afterlife, alongside the myths surrounding the creation of the world, are some of the topics explored by the show. Drawing parallels between the ancient Egyptian way of understanding life and our own, Patch says that “most of the exhibition is about life, and that is what all of these deities were about. Even in overcoming death, it was about living forever.”

The objects will be on display in the Metropolitan Museum of Art until January 2026, occupying five different galleries.