 Gods were linked with specific regions of the universe . In Egyptian tradition , the world includes the earth , the sky , and the Duat . Surrounding them is the dark <unk> that existed before creation . The gods in general were said to dwell in the sky , although gods whose roles were linked with other parts of the universe were said to live in those places instead . Most events of mythology , set in a time before the gods ' withdrawal from the human realm , take place in an earthly setting . The deities there sometimes interact with those in the sky . The Duat , in contrast , is treated as a remote and inaccessible place , and the gods who dwell there have difficulty communicating with those in the world of the living . The space outside the cosmos is also said to be very distant . It too is inhabited by deities , some hostile and some beneficial to the other gods and their orderly world . 
