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NEW YORK -- The powerful gods of ancient Egypt are having a get-together on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
That would be at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It's been more than a decade since the museum's last big Egypt show, so "Divine Egypt" -- a lavish exploration of how ancient Egyptians depicted their gods -- is a major event, as evidenced by the crowds packing the show since its Oct. 12 opening.
After all, few things excite the museum-going public like ancient Egypt, notes Diana Craig Patch, the Met's curator of Egyptian art.
"It's the first ancient culture that you learn in school," says Patch. "Pyramids, mummies, the great tomb of Tutankhamun ... they're in our popular culture, books, films and now video games."
But Patch hopes visitors will learn something deeper from "Divine Egypt," which explores how the gods were portrayed by Egyptians both royal and common, and not only in temples where only kings or priests could go, but in daily worship by ordinary people.
Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted some 3,000 years; the show, which runs into January, covers all periods and features over 200 objects, from huge limestone statues to tiny golden figurines. It includes 140 works from the Met's collection, as well as others lent by museums across the globe.
"The divine landscape of ancient Egypt is full of gods -- actually 1,500 if you count all of them," said Patch, leading The Associated Press on a tour last week. The show focuses on 25 main deities.
Even pared down to 25, the research was daunting. The material and the textual information in Egyptology is fragmentary. What's more, the Egyptians kept bringing in new gods, or giving established gods new roles. "And so that makes it a very complex, but fascinating landscape," Patch said.