In 1971 , Erik Hornung published a study rebutting these views . He point out that in any given period many deities , even minor ones , was described as superior to all others . He also argue that the unspecified " god " in the wisdom texts is a generic term for whichever deity the reader choose to revere . Although the combinations , manifestations , and iconographies of each god was constantly shifting , they was always restricted to a finite number of forms , never becoming fully interchangeable in a monotheistic or pantheistic way . Henotheism , Hornung say , describe Egyptian religion better than other labels . An Egyptian could worship any deity at a particular time and credit it with supreme power in that moment , without denying the other gods or merging them all with the god that he or she focused on . Hornung conclude that the gods was fully unified only in myth , at the time before creation , after which the multitude of gods emerged from a uniform nonexistence .