 Gods were combined with each other as easily as they were divided . A god could be called the ba of another , or two or more deities could be joined into one god with a combined name and iconography . Local gods were linked with greater ones , and deities with similar functions were combined . Ra was connected with the local deity <unk> to form <unk> @-@ Ra ; with his fellow ruling god , Amun , to form Amun @-@ Ra ; with the solar form of Horus to form Ra @-@ <unk> ; and with several solar deities as <unk> @-@ <unk> @-@ Ra @-@ Atum . On rare occasion , even deities of different sexes were joined in this way , producing combinations like Osiris @-@ <unk> and <unk> @-@ <unk> . This linking of deities is called syncretism . Unlike other situations for which this term is used , the Egyptian practice was not meant to fuse competing belief systems , although foreign deities could be syncretized with native ones . Instead , syncretism acknowledged the overlap between their roles , and extended the sphere of influence for each of them . <unk> combinations were not permanent ; a god who was involved in one combination continued to appear separately and to form new combinations with other deities . But closely connected deities did sometimes merge . Horus absorbed several falcon gods from various regions , such as Khenty @-@ <unk> and Khenty @-@ <unk> , who became little more than local manifestations of him ; Hathor subsumed a similar cow goddess , Bat ; and an early funerary god , <unk> @-@ <unk> , was <unk> by Osiris and Anubis . 
