The Ancient Egyptian Religion

The ancient egyptians religion was complex in some ways. Ancient Egyptians were polytheistic meaning they believed in more than one god. Many temples were built in honor of the gods. The only people that were allowed in the temples were the priests, priestesses, queens, and pharaohs, other people could only go as far as the temple gates. In total there was about 700 different gods and goddesses and many were combined to create new gods and goddesses. Ancient Egyptians were always polytheistic besides one brief change. King/Pharaoh Akhenaten changed it to monotheism but it didn’t stick and died with him. The most worshiped gods were Isis, Osiris, Horus, Anubis, Ra, Nu, and Set. Isis was the goddess of marriage, fertility, motherhood, magic,

The Ancient Egyptian society’s beliefs based their religion on polytheism which is defined as multiple ‘gods’ which were in charge of an area of life. There were up to 2,000 ‘gods and goddesses’ which controlled every aspect of the Egyptians lives. As a result the beliefs and religion belonging to the society affected the Egyptians to an ample extent. This can be observed through the values of : everyday life - , the judicial system - which was founded on religion and monitored by the religious leaders, the afterlife - to be believed that your body needed to be prepared for the afterlife and your honourable works on earth was judged by Osiris and the approach to the status of animals - for example cats were believed to be an earthly form of

Egyptians strongly believed in the afterlife. By preserving the body, they could ensure that the soul of the person would successfully transfer to the next life. They thought that without mummifying the dead, the body would rot and the soul would be obliterated. Mummifying Egypt’s people was essential because the people in those times had very short life spans. Typically only 40 years, this is why the mummification process and the statistics are so important.

Religion was not a monolithic institution, it consisted of a large variety of different beliefs and practices, all of which were linked by the common focus on the interaction between the Egyptian people and the divine realm, as the gods of this realm linked the Egyptian understanding of the world. As the Ancient Egyptian Religion was an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. Polytheism the belief of multiple deities usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses along with their own mythologies and rituals was an essential aspect of ancient Egyptian religion. As the Ancient Egyptian religion included a large and diverse pantheon of gods and goddesses, and around these deities arose a rich mythology that helped explain the

Ancient Egypt is the origin to one of the most intricate belief systems in the world. This polytheistic religion was composed of various beliefs and rituals. Polytheistic means that they believed in many deities. All of which were linked to the common theme of immortality. Religion laid the foundation for all aspects of Egyptian lives, political structure, cultural achievement and art. Their religion consisted of up 2000 gods and goddess. Only some were worshiped universally throughout Egypt. They were often represented as being half human and half animal. As an example, the Egyptian god Anubis was half man and half jackal. He is associated with mummification and the afterlife in Egyptian mythology. Egyptian religion was oriented toward people 's’ attainment of immortality signified by mummification/preservation of the dead.

Ancient Egyptians believed that if they lived a good life that they would be allowed to live in a paradise in death. When an Egyptian would die, they would be mummified. Properly burying and preserving the body was very important because they believed that the soul would not actually disconnect from the body. Organs deemed important were put in jars and buried with the body. The heart was left inside the body. Once the body was cured in preserving solutions, it was then wrapped in linen cloths. Rich individuals were buried in temples with their most prized possessions. A priest would pray to Anubis for the dead to help them on their journey.

Ancient Egyptian civilization was based on religion. Their belief in the rebirth after death became their driving force behind their funeral practices. Death was simply a temporary interruption, rather than an end to life, and that eternal life could be ensured by means of worship to the gods, preservation of the physical form thru mummification, substantial ceremonies and detailed burial policies and procedures. Even though many today have varying views of an afterlife, many of the funerary practices that originated in Egypt can be seen in present day funeral services.

The Old Kingdom is sometimes described as the “golden age” of Egypt, and as an ideal that the Middle Kingdom tried to emulate, while New Kingdom pharaohs looked to both earlier dynastic eras for inspiration.

They believed that after they had passed they would go to another world, another world, or possible walk the Earth again. The people of Egypt thought that their king or pharaoh to be a god-like being but still remain in human form. They created mummification. Mummification is a method where the preserve the bodies of their fallen people. They would remove the brains and organs from the corpse and store them in containers and wrap them up in cloth.

The Egyptians had a very strong religion. The characteristics of the Ancient Egyptian religion can be divided into five elements of authority, faith, rituals, moral code, and the gods worshipped. The main authority of the Egyptian religion was the Pharaoh, he had divine right over the people and was considered a god. Also, he could change the religion any way he wanted. Religion in Egypt played a very significant role.

The belief in the afterlife answered the enduring questions of purpose and destiny. Ancient Egyptians lived their lives preparing for the afterlife. As soon as a pharaoh came into power he began planning and constructing his tomb, so that if he died early, his journey to the afterlife would not be delayed. The ancient Egyptians' attitude towards death was influenced by their belief in immortality. They regarded death as a temporary interruption, rather than the cessation of life. To ensure the continuity of life after death, people paid homage to the gods, both during and after their life on earth. When they died, they were mummified so the soul would return to the body, giving it breath and life this is known as. The deceased organs were taken out and stored in canopic jars. There were four jars, each for the safekeeping of particular human organs: the stomach, intestines, lungs, and liver, all of which, it was believed, would be needed in the afterlife. There was no jar for the heart as the Egyptians believed it to be the seat of the soul, and so it was left inside the body. When the soul left the body at death, it was thought to appear in the Hall of Truth to stand before Osiris for judgement. The heart of the deceased was weighed on a golden scale against the white feather of Ma’at. If the heart was found to be lighter than the feather, the soul was allowed to move on to the

Organized Religion, Exquisite Art, and a structured Government demonstrate that Ancient Egypt was a highly advanced culture. Religion in ancient Egypt was both organized and successful in ways of life and ceremonial occasions. Egyptian art was detailed, exquisite and represented how much art showed and was cared for. Government in Ancient Egypt depended on rulers and the form of democracy.

The ancient Egyptians’ belief in the afterlife was greatly influenced by their understanding of the gods. The gods were said to have created many ideas involving life after death and how to act in order to be happy in the afterlife. In ancient Egypt, the soul of any living creature was known as the “ka” (“Egyptian

Egyptians buried the dead in the ground and where there are little air and lots of heat and sand which dehydrated the bodies, resulting in the mummified body. During this process of natural decaying, the odor of this would smell and attract animals who would then eat the already decaying body. To prevent this, they created coffins, or boxes, to put the bodies in. Not only did they create coffins, but they also created tombs which they filled with items for the person to use when they reach the afterlife. However, they realized that these bodies were decaying as well. To preserve the bodies for the afterlife, the Egyptians created a process which included embalming, and wrapping the body in linens. This is known today as mummification.

In ancient Egyptian society, religion and politics in were inseparable. Religion affected everything in ancient Egypt. Every community had a guardian deity or “Lord of the city” who illustrate the powers of nature. Art, literature, and philosophy were all influenced by religion. In Egypt, gods and goddesses represented different aspects of life, “natural forces and phenomena”, and the Egyptians would appease them through their offerings and rituals held at temples and elsewhere, so that they would continue to function in accordance with divine order. “Gods were assumed to be present throughout the world, capable of influencing natural events and the course of human lives. People interacted with them in temples and unofficial shrines, for personal reasons as well as for larger goals of state rites. Egyptians prayed for divine help, used rituals to compel deities to act, and called upon them for advice. Humans' relations with their gods