Moon Knight: The Egyptian Gods Explained in the MCU

The Moon Knight series has started on Disney+. In the show, Oscar Isaac plays ex-mercenary Marc Spector, museum worker Steven Grant and superhero Moon Knight. Moon Knight possesses a strong connection to the Egyptian moon god Khonshu, while Arthur Harrow (Ethan Hawke), the Marvel series villain, is connected to the goddess Ammit.

All of this is reason enough for us to take a closer look at the Marvel versions of the ancient Egyptian gods. Read here in the overview what role they play in the Marvel Universe and more specifically in the series “Moon Knight”!

The Ennead of the Egyptian Gods

The Ninth or Ennead of Heliopolis are a group of 9 ancient Egyptian gods. In the MCU, they exist in a dimension called the Heliopolis, which is not far from Earth. You can imagine it a bit like Asgard with its gods and goddesses Thor, Loki, Hela and Odin. The connection of the two dimensions on Earth is appropriately located in Egypt.

The Ennead includes a whole series of very well-known ancient Egyptian gods, but they are not that important for the “Moon Knight” series at first. These include: Horus, Osiris, Anubis, Rama-Tut and – perhaps best known in the MCU so far – the panther god Bast, who also plays a role in “Black Panther” and gives the king of Wakanda his abilities.

But for the character Moon Knight and the corresponding series on Disney+, 3 Egyptian gods are of paramount importance: Khonshu, Ammit and Ra.

Moon Knight is Khonshu’s avatar on Earth

The moon god Khonshu saves the life of the mercenary Marc Spector in the Marvel Comics. Spector is killed in action in Egypt. His lifeless body is laid before a Khonshu statue – and the moon god brings him back to life – on condition that Marc Spector acts as Khonshu’s avatar and representative on earth.

For the god is a member of the Ennead and resides in Heliopolis. He cannot physically walk on earth. That is why he is always looking for representatives on earth who will carry out his will.

The god gives Marc Spector his powers – and he’s also the voice that the Marvel hero keeps hearing in his head. The origin story of Moon Knight and his rescue by Khonshu may be featured in the Moon Knight series during Season 1.

Villain Arthur Harrow is connected to Ammit

Arthur Harrow, played by Ethan Hawke, is a religious fanatic and cult leader in the series “Moon Knight”. He is associated with the ancient Egyptian goddess Ammit.

Ammit plays a crucial role in the transition to the afterlife. This was also hinted at in “Moon Knight” when Arthur Harrow held judgment on some people.

Ammit devours the souls of the unworthy after death – thereby preventing them from having any kind of afterlife. Pretty mean.

Ammit has the head of a crocodile – just like Arthur Harrow wields a staff with two crocodile heads.

In ancient Egypt, souls were decided in a ceremony. For this purpose, the heart of a deceased was weighed against a feather of the goddess of justice. When the heart is heavier than the feather, Ammit devours the soul. The symbol for this is a scale

Of course, this is very reminiscent of the scene in Episode 1 of “Moon Knight” when Arthur Harrow judges a number of people, resulting in the death of an elderly woman. Harrow has the symbol of a pair of scales tattooed on his forearm, held up by two crocodile heads.

During the ceremony, the tattoo magically moves as its crocodile-headed staff swings. He says: “I judge you in Ammit’s name.”

Ra and the Sun King

The third ancient Egyptian god significant to the Moon Knight character is the sun god Ra, the king of the gods. Ra is the father of the moon god Khonshu and, like him, cannot physically walk on earth either.

Father and son often don’t get along very well. Like Khonshu, Ra also has an avatar on earth: the Sun King. The two have often clashed in the Marvel comics, although the Sun King has never won here.

However, since Arthur Harrow was introduced in Episode 1 as a villain and adversary of Marc Spector in the “Moon Knight” series on Disney+, it is to be expected that the Sun King and Ra will only appear later – in the future of the series .