In Egypt, the Egyptians believed certain animals had special powers, and the gods and goddesses acquired the powers and personalities based on the animals they were associated with.
For instance, Ra, the sun god was represented with the head of a falcon (Or a hawk in some cases).
Another example is the goddess Bast, who was the goddess of cats. She was represented as half feline, and half female.
Commonly, the Egyptian's gods were half human, half animal.
Hope this helps!:)
