Miguel Tovar
April 12,20018
Religion in Ancient Egypt
From the book of the dead, to the mummification process, and all the way to Orisis. Religion played a huge part in ancient Egypt. It was in everything. Religion was interwoven into the lives of all the Egyptians.
Explanation of what the religion was
Ancient Egyptians belief was that there was a god for almost anything, such as the sun god the god of harvest etc. it was really important to the Egyptians all the way from birth to death. The Egyptians practiced polytheism. Some of the most notable religious figures were like Orissis.
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature. The myths about these gods were meant to explain the origins and behavior of the forces they represented. The practices of Egyptian religion were efforts to provide for the gods and gain their favor.
Ancient Egyptian religion was not a monolithic institution, but consisted of a vast and varying set of beliefs and practices, linked by their common focus on the interaction between the world of humans and the world of the divine. The characteristics of the gods who populated the divine realm were inextricably linked to the Egyptians' understanding of the properties of the world in which they lived.
The Egyptians believed that the phenomena of nature were divine forces in and of themselves. These deified forces included the elements, animal characteristics, or abstract forces. The Egyptians believed in a pantheon of gods, which were involved in all aspects of nature and human society. Their religious practices were efforts to sustain and placate these phenomena and turn them to human advantage. This polytheistic system was very complex, as some deities were believed to exist in many different manifestations, and some had multiple mythological roles. Conversely, many natural forces, such as the sun, were associated with multiple deities. The diverse pantheon ranged from gods with vital roles in the universe to minor deities or "demons" with very limited or localized functions. It could include gods adopted from foreign cultures, and sometimes even humans: deceased pharaohs were believed to be divine, and occasionally, distinguished commoners such as Imhotep also became deified.
Polytheism
Polytheism is the religious belief in various gods. In the contrary to other religions like Christianity, there there is only one god, polytheism had various gods that would be interconnected to their daily lives. They for instance had a sun god a water god and a bunch of other gods. Usually the gods were something that can be worshipped in order to receive something back such as a good harvest.
The gods they had
The depictions of the gods in art were not meant as literal representations of how the gods might appear if they were visible, as the gods' true natures were believed to be mysterious. Instead, these depictions gave recognizable forms to the abstract deities by using symbolic imagery to indicate each god's role in nature. Thus, for example, the funerary god Anubis was portrayed as a jackal, a creature whose scavenging habits threatened the preservation of the body, in an effort to counter this threat and employ it for protection. His black skin was symbolic of the color of mummified flesh and the fertile black soil that Egyptians saw as a symbol of resurrection. However, this iconography was not fixed, and many of the gods could be depicted in more than one form.
Many gods were associated with particular regions in Egypt where their cults were most important. However, these associations changed over time, and they did not necessarily mean that the god associated with a place had originated there. For instance, the god Monthu was the original patron of the city of Thebes. Over the course of the Middle Kingdom, however, he was displaced in that role by Amun, who may have arisen elsewhere. The national popularity and importance of individual gods fluctuated in a similar way.
The religion in nature
The ancient Egyptians has harvest cycles that they recorded with the help of astrology. There was gods that were attached to certain parts of nature. The Nile river flooded every year and the ancient Egyptians prayed to a god to keep providing for them
Government
The government system was highly influenced by religious figures. The pharaoh was considered godly and that’s why they were the highest authority in Egypt.
Formal religious practice centered on the pharaoh, the king of Egypt. Although he was a human, the pharaoh was believed to be descended from the gods. He acted as the intermediary between his people and the gods, and was obligated to sustain the gods through rituals and offerings so that they could maintain order in the universe. Therefore, the state dedicated enormous resources to the performance of these rituals and to the construction of the temples where they were carried out
Temples and pyramids
Temples were found everywhere in ancient Egypt as a place to worship their endless pantheon of major and minor gods Each city had a temple built for the god of that city, which acted as a cosmic center by which men had communication with the gods. As the priests became more powerful, tombs became a part of great temples.
The highest priest for any and all gods was of course Pharaoh, who in his turn appointed high priests and other priests to perform his duties to the gods. And it was only Pharaoh or the priest on duty who was ever allowed into the innermost chamber of the temple, where the naos was kept (the shrine built of wood), where the statue of the god was situated. This they did only at the morning ceremony, the midday and evening ceremony. At all other times no one entered that part of the temple.
The rest of the priesthood were the only ones who were allowed beyond the outer court. The worshippers (the Shemsu) were never allowed further than the outer court, where they could leave their offerings to priests who brought them into the temple. So the temple was indeed considered the home of the god, it did not function like the temples of other cultures where people come and go more or less as they please. These temple precincts were the domains of the god, who was believed to be resident in actual fact.
The most important task of the priesthood was to see to it that the god was well cared for and got everything that he could need. They were indeed "servants of the god". They had the duty to ensure that the god wanted to remain in his home and in Egypt so that all would be well. If he were to be discontent he would no longer protect the land but leave it.
But the relationship between the average Egyptian and his god was nevertheless an intense one. Those who lived near an important cult center or even a smaller temple could always go to the outer court and leave their offerings and there was also a backdoor behind the main building where they could hand in their ostraca on which they had scribbled prayers and questions, or they could whisper their troubles to an attending priest. The priests took care of it and usually provided the questioner with an answer of sorts.
Classification of class
Magical texts- book of the dead
The book of the dead is a scripture book that gives a step by step Manuel on how the after life works. The book of the dead was used by priests
Death practice
The ancient Egyptians practiced mummification. They mummified people so they can recognize themselves in the after world. The process of mummification was long, first the diseased person had all their organs removed except for the heart Because they thought that the heart is weighed against all the bad things they’ve done and if they will be condemned. The brain was taken out through the nose with a long stick. Then salts and herbs were placed around the body to dry it up. This happened for approximately 40 days. The dried up body was filled with bags of wood chips in order to make the body look for full and nice. After the body was dried. It was covered in oil. Then it was placed in a sarcophagus. The type of sarcophagus depended on the wealth of the person because it could be just a simple wood box or an elaborate gold plated multiple sarcophagus. Then the sarcophagus was placed where ever the burial was supposed to take place.
Afterlife
Another important aspect of the religion was the belief in the afterlife and funerary practices. The Egyptians made great efforts to ensure the survival of their souls after death, providing tombs, grave goods, and offerings to preserve the bodies and spirits of the deceased.
Legacy
Egyptian religion produced the temples and tombs which are ancient Egypt's most enduring monuments, but it also left many influences on other cultures. In pharaonic times many of its symbols, such as the sphinx and winged solar disk, spread widely across the Mediterranean and Near East, as did some of its deities, such as Bes. Some of these connections are difficult to trace. The Greek concept of Elysium may have derived from the Egyptian vision of the afterlife.
In late antiquity, the Christian conception of Hell was most likely influenced by some of the imagery of the Duat, and the iconography of Mary may have been influenced by that of Isis. Egyptian beliefs also influenced or gave rise to several esoteric belief systems developed by Greeks and Romans who saw Egypt as a source of mystic wisdom. Hermeticism, for instance, derived from the tradition of secret magical knowledge associated with Thoth