 Certain features of divine images are more useful than others in determining a god 's identity . The head of a given divine image is particularly significant . In a hybrid image , the head represents the original form of the being depicted , so that , as the Egyptologist Henry Fischer put it , " a lion @-@ headed goddess is a lion @-@ goddess in human form , while a royal sphinx , <unk> , is a man who has assumed the form of a lion . " Divine <unk> , which range from the same types of crowns used by human kings to large hieroglyphs worn on gods ' heads , are another important indicator . In contrast , the objects held in gods ' hands tend to be generic . Male deities hold was staffs , goddesses hold stalks of papyrus , and both sexes carry ankh signs , representing the Egyptian word for " life " , to symbolize their life @-@ giving power . 
