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ANCIENT EGYPTIAN RELIGION General Remarks Most people today in Europe and the United States put religion in a separate compartment from the rest of their life activities. To ancient Egyptians this was unthinkable. Religious rituals permeated their whole life socially, politically, and economically. Art for them was an expression of their religious symbolism. Literature and philosophy were suffused with religious teachings. Mankinds life from the flooding of the Nile to the death of a cat depended entirely on the attitude of the deities. Roots of Ancient Egyptian religion occurred even before the advent of the rulers or pharaohs. In the beginning each city or area appears to have had its local deities. The unification of Upper and Lower Egypt fused gods and goddesses as well as the political structure. Elements of Egyptian Religion: Animistic, Zoomorphistic & Anthropomorphic type of deities Throughout their thousands of years of history Egyptians were polytheistic in their beliefs, with always more deities added. It is estimated that some 2000 deities were worshiped throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. Like most all ancient civilizations, people in Egypt worshipped the natural elements or what is today deemed animism, including the sun, Nile River, etc. Then their gods and goddesses frequently were represented in

animal form or what is formally called zoomorphic worship. Egyptians were either in awe of the power of an animal or admired their nurturing characteristics. The ferocity of a lion, strength of a crocodile or the tender care of a cow for her calf, were transformed into deities. As societies became more sophisticated and the awe of nature diminished, the Egyptian deities were more anthropomorphic than zoomorphic, but traditions do not cease easily, and combinations of nature, animal and mankind became divine. Some of their gods and goddesses were even shown as half-human

half-animal in statues/paintings. For instance, the ferocity of a lion, led to the goddess Sekhmet, who usually had the head of a lion and the body of a woman. Sekhmet was responsible for ensuring the ancient Egyptians carried out their religious duties to the deities faithfully. The god of learning and wisdom, Thoth, was depicted as a baboon or ibis, or then into a man with a head of one of the animals. Hathor, goddess of love and childbirth turned into a beautiful goddess, but she was also shown as a cow, where the pharaoh suckled from her teats, as a woman with cow ears or horns too. Anubis became the judge of the dead and god of mummification. He was shown as a jackal or pharaoh dog, as a man with a jackal head, and undoubtedly the main practitioner of mummification put on a mask replicating Anubis to oversee the entire funeral process. At times live animals associated with deities were kept in temples, and lived in pampered luxury. As the ancient Egyptians domesticated the cat to kill the rodents,

since grain was so important as a food source, the cat or cat-headed goddess appeared as one of their important deities. Creation Myths Ancient Egypts creation myths evolved over time, and showed complexity of their ideas. Initially Nut (many other spellings of her name) created the sun, moon, and mankind. There are many painted ceilings in the Valley of the Kings tombs that show her swallowing the sun disks as it goes through its 24-hour cycle. In other myths the god Ptah was given credit for conceiving the universe through masturbation and thought. Ptahs words were he created through thought and wordsall the divine order really came into being through what the heart thought and the tongue commandedafter he had made everything Ptah rested. Ra, the sun god

also received credit from the ancient Egyptians for his creator role.1 Religious Rituals Many rituals developed over the centuries for the worshiping of their deities. Temples were built for a specific god or goddess. Many temples were like small cities that had schools, workshops, libraries, granaries, and storerooms. The most important room was the sanctuary where the deity lived. Each morning a celibate, circumcised priest, newly shaved and washed entered this sanctuary. Taking the statue of the god out of its
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The other names for Ra were Re, Amon-Re, Amun, etc.

shrine, the priest sprinkled water on it, changed its clothing, offered it food and drink, and then put it back into the shrine. Leaving the doors open until evening, the priest exited. Women served as part-time priestesses, and even performing the same functions as the priests. Mostly, the priestesses encouraged people to worship a particular deity by singing, playing a musical instrument, and dancing, swinging a sistrum or castanets. People brought various offerings to the gods in the form of votive tablets inscribed with ears on them so that the gods would hear their prayers. Temple at Karnak The great temple complex known as Karnak in what today is Luxor, was the most sacred worship center for Ra.2 There are a considerable number of myths that relate how important the sun god was to the Ancient Egyptians beginning with the Old Kingdom, and this is clearly seen in this two hundred and fifty acre site. By the New Kingdom, each pharaoh was adding his or her special touch to this impressive temple. Queen Hatshepsut added two obelisks to the entrance and Ramses II added a dual row of ramhead sphinxes. Impressive twelve feet in diameter columns that are nearly 80 feet high are in the Hypostyle hall. These were painted bright colors, and were not monochromatic as it looks today.

It is believed to be the largest religious edifice ever built and the Hypostyle Hall itself could contain most medieval cathedrals.

Monotheism under Akhenaton and Nefertiti Under the rule of Akhenaton, he decided to only worship the sun god, Aton, and prohibit the worship of the other deities, even going as far as shutting down the many other temples to the other deities. Together with his famous wife Nefertiti, then moved the capital of ancient Egypt to Akhenaton or Amarna. Some scholars suggest that Nefertiti was a Hittite princess and she brought with her to Egypt the concept of worshipping Arinna, the sun goddess of the Hittites. All these efforts were in vain for during the reign of his successor, King Tutankhamen, Egypt returned to polytheism. Egyptian Trinity: Osiris, Isis, and Horus Perhaps the most notable aspect of ancient Egyptian religion was the worship of the trinity of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Osiris and Isis were husband and wife, brother and sister. He was worshiped at Abydos, where pilgrims went to see his mummified head, and miracles would sometimes ensue. Osiris is clearly recognized as the first mummy with a plumed crown, and the crook and flail, symbols of his office. He was not only the god of the Nile and god of resurrection, but Osiris own death and resurrection, were promises of immortality for the ancient Egyptians. He died each year, and his wife, Isis, would bring him back to life. As Osiris had triumphed over death, so too would individuals who worshiped him. They too would have everlasting life. The stories or myths that relate these events are complex

and changing, but the main theme is that after Osiris was killed by his evil brother Seth, Isis searched for him and finally located his many body parts and put them back together. Unfortunately, his male organ was missing so Isis assumed wings and hovered over him, thus immaculately conceiving their son, Horus. Isis was the chief female goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. She had many symbols that represented her various powers and duties. Sometimes on her head was a sycamore throne, that indicated new pharaohs needed to receive her permission to become recognized as a legitimate pharaoh. Other times she had the sun disc surrounded by cow horns. Her wing span image according to art historians became the

iconography for angels, and when she is shown nursing baby Horus, again these scholars attest that this is the original image that will ultimately lead to the Virgin Mary holding baby Jesus. In paranoiac Egypt she stood for many other things too: teaching agriculture, the healing arts, instituting marriage, magical arts, and perhaps what was the single-most admired trait of Isis was her role as sorrowing wife and devoted mother. According to legends Isis tears that she shed over her slain husband caused the Nile River to flood each year.
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Long after the fall of Egypt, temples were

dedicated to Osiris and Isis all over the Mediterranean region in Greece and Rome, but mainly to Isis. The famous island of Philae with its major temple

There are so many different myths connected with this trinity, but all have most items in common

to Isis was built during the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan, although the original one was built circa 2500 B.C.E. Horus as the son of Osiris and Isis was shown as a hawk or as a man with a hawk head. He lost his eye to his evil uncle Seth and that is now the symbol for modern pharmacies. Pharaohs were identified with Horus the son when alive and then after their death with Osiris the father. The pharaohs

had an extremely important role in ancient Egyptian religion. The New Testament injunction Render to Caesar those things that are Caesars and to God the Things that are Gods would have meant nothing to the Egyptians. The pharaoh was considered the child of the sun god Re or Ra, and Horus in human form. The pharaoh was not simply a mediator between the deities and the Egyptian people, but he was a guarantee to them that the gods cared for them. O Atum, what is my duration of life? The deity replies Thou art destined for millions and millions of years, a lifetime of millions. The Pyramids: Their design and Construction Undoubtedly, the most famous part of ancient Egyptian religion is their burial customs. To provide for their lifetime of millions of years, the pharaohs designed tombs and mortuary temples that would last forever. The Egyptian people willingly labored to build these monuments for their rulers. Why this happened was that the laborers believed their own well-

being inextricably tied to that of their rulers. If the pharaohs journey well to their eternal home, then life on earth would flourish. These grand edifices such as the pyramids were not built by slaves, but by workers who identified themselves as: vigorous team, enduring team, craftsman gang. This construction took place during the summer when the Nile was flooded, easing the placement of the stones. These workers were paid in a variety of ways, including beer, and provided good accommodations and food. The majority of the pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom as tombs for the pharaohs during a span of just five hundred years. About eighty pyramids survive today. The first pyramid was the step pyramid of the Pharaoh Zoser. His architect, doctor, and chief counselor, Imhotep, inaugurated this design.
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Originally the tomb was a mastaba, a raised rectangular tomb, but

it is believed that between Imhotep and Zoser they conceived the idea to put smaller succeeding mastabas on top of each other to construct the pyramidal shape. A necessary addition to the tomb was a mortuary temple where the bereaved people could pay their respects regularly. It is here that the first columns appeared, denying the ancient Greeks of this honor. For the construction techniques of building the complete pyramid, there are lots of interesting hypotheses, but as there are no illustrations of this in the painted tombs or on surviving papyri. Scholars and amateurs alike generate theories, from outer space aliens work to pyramids made out
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The Ancient Greeks will elevate Imhotep to the god of medicine,, Aesculapius.

of concrete. Anyone that has been to Egypt, however, will give the ancient Egyptians themselves credit for these, the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world still standing. Limestone quarries were close to the pyramids, so during the flooding of the Nile in the summer, the water came right up to the site, allowing for the unloading of these giant blocks. As granite was six hundred miles away it was used sparingly. As the ancient Egyptians had only copper, water, and wood, ramps and causeways were built from mud bricks, not wood scaffolding as shown in Disneys The Prince of Egypt. As the ancient Egyptians had no wheels at the time, wooden sledges must have been used. The latest theory is that these pyramids were built from the inside out. What is remarkable is how level these giant pyramids are. The greatest pyramid of Cheops is only half an inch from being completely level. Most of the pyramids were solid, and the burial chamber was then carved out so grave robbers could not find the tombs. There was a series of labyrinthine passages, false doors, and dummy chambers. The pharaohs were buried with gold, jewelry and household objects. Only the Tomb of King Tutankhamen was not robbed during antiquity. The pyramid of Cheops or Khufu was built in twenty years between circa 2580-2560 B.C.E. It is nearly five hundred feet high and the base

covers nearly fifteen acres. Originally covered with polished white

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limestone, it was stripped over the years to build buildings in Cairo in the Middle Ages. Probably 100,000 men worked on this. Some Amazing Observations Some amazing observations have been offered using the Hebrew or Egyptian cubit (18 or 21 inches), which is the distance between a persons elbow and finger tips. The baseline of this pyramid of Cheops when using the cubit measures 365.2422 cubits, the exact number of days in the solar year. When you double this figure and divide the result by the height of the pyramid, you arrive at the number 3.14159, which is the figure for pi. For every ten feet you go up the side of the pyramid you rise only nine feet in altitude. If you multiply the height of the pyramid by ten to the ninth power, you get 91,840,000, or the same distance from the earth to the sun. The other significant pyramid at Giza is the one for the pharaoh Chephren, and it still has some of the original limestone casing on the top. Chephren was the son of Cheops, and it is thought that he had the Sphinx built in his image. Of the thousands of Sphinx statues in Egypt this one at Giza is the largest. It was originally covered with plaster and painted with bright colors just like the Hypostyle Hall at Karnak. From the earliest period of Egyptian history it was customary to represent the Pharaoh as a lion to symbolize his strength and divine role. This huge sphinx was carved from a

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natural bluff and is sixty-six feet tall. The sphinx wears the Uranus or cobra headdress, the symbol of sovereignty over Lower Egypt. Valley of the Kings Queen Hatshepsut Over time, the expense of building pyramids overwhelmed the Egyptians, and they moved the burials of their pharaohs to the Valley of the Kings on the West Bank of the Nile opposite Karnak, and the capital at Thebes. All of the tombs were robbed during antiquity with the exception of King Tutankhamens. Perhaps the most impressive mortuary temple was the great temple of Queen Hatshepsut, now called Deir El Bahari. She was the first effective woman ruler, and her reign was from 1490-1468 b.c.e. As the daughter of a pharaoh, wife, and step-mother, she served originally as regent for her stepson, Tuthmoses III, but as he was quite young, she assumed the throne herself, claiming that her father was the sun god Ra. Many of the sculptures of her show that she posed and dressed as if she were a man, but we also have found her sculptures and paintings as a female. After much research and excavation, Hatshepsut has achieved an impressive record of accomplishments for ancient Egypt. She ordered a trading expedition to the land of Punt (Ethiopia today) that brought back invaluable plants of myrrh and frankincense, and other items that stimulated the ancient Egyptian economy. Recent research credits her with revising and establishing the main religious tenets of ancient Egypt that were followed for the next one thousand and five hundred years. She also had

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the two obelisks built for the entrance to Karnak that much later were referred to as Cleopatras needles. These obelisks had hieroglyphic inscriptions detailing her accomplishments for her people. In ordering the building of her mortuary temple at Deir El Bahari, it is now recognized as the largest edifice ever built by a female ruler in history. Uncovered now are the carvings on the walls, showing her accomplishments, including the trade mission to Punt, and even show her pregnant. After her death, her step-son tried to wipe out any memory of Hatshepsut by eliminating her statues, cartouches and paintings. Pharaoh Ramses II Perhaps the most successful of all the pharaohs that ruled ancient Egypt was Ramses II, 1290-1224 B.C.E. He had the longest reign, sixtyseven years, and lived to be eighty-seven. While he had over two hundred wives and concubines, and over one hundred and fifty children, his favorite wife was Nefertari. Recent excavations in the Valley of the Kings have

found tombs of fifty of his sons. We do have his mummified body now residing in the Cairo Museum. Known as a conqueror and builder of thousands of sculptures, he might be most famous for some people to believe that he was the pharaoh that gained an infamous reputation as the oppressor of the Hebrews under Moses. His major battles were against the Hittites. At the famous battle of Kadesh in the Near East, both the Egyptians and Hittites agreed to a truce, and signed the first peace treaty in history

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that also had a proviso that they would collaborate against the growing threat of the Assyrians. Throughout Egypt are thousands of his likeness in sculpture, including the famous site at Abu Simbel, that was moved there when the Aswan Dam was constructed. Four colossal statues of Ramses were built and next to his mortuary temple was a lesser sized temple to Nefertari. It is, however, a minor pharaoh, King Tutankhamen that has received the most publicity today because of his tomb that survived centuries of grave robbers, and was only discovered in 1922. He ruled after Akhenaton and brought back polytheistic religious worship to the ancient Egyptians. From Natural Desiccation to Mummification The ancient Egyptians placed great emphasis on the preservation of their dead in reasonably lifelike form. It is believed that this belief probably originated from the observation of the natural preservative effects of burials in shallow sand-filled graves in the desert, a practice the earliest Egyptians used. Some must have been uncovered by jackals or pharaoh dogs, and to stop this desecration of the remains, their burial methods were altered. Mummification using a variety of methods now took place instead of the natural desecration of the body. Over time the ancient Egyptian beliefs saw mummification as a life-giving process. If the body fell to pieces it would be as if the person had never existed. The jackal was turned into the god

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Anubis, who became the god of mummification.

The chief priest or

embalmer would wear the mask of Anubis, overseeing the mummification process. As the person had both a soul or ka, and a physical vitality or ba, as long as the body remained, the soul would live for eternity. Since it was not known by the ancient Egyptians how well the soul would function in the afterlife without the physical body or ba, mummification was the solution to this dilemma. Depending on the family finances, mummification could be simple or elaborate. Over the centuries the process changed from wrapping the corpse in resin-soaked linen, where the body decomposed, but the wrappings retained the appearance of the body, to more complex processes. Natron salts that were found locally in Lower Egypt were used as the dehydrating agent. As the new kingdom progressed, mummification was at its apex, which meant that even the hair and fingernails were preserved. The entire process took a long time, and included eventually the following elements: the brain was reduced to liquid through the nostrils and emptied out of the body as the Egyptians did not recognize the value of the brain. Next came a slit that was cut in the left side of the body, and the internal organs and blood were removed. The four main internal organs (the liver, stomach, intestines, and lungs were preserved in four canoptic jars made for this purpose. Then the body was stuffed with natron salts to dry it out. Then when the body was sufficiently dry they stuffed it with spices and sand. Then linen strips were wrapped around the body held in place by resin or

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gum. That way the body could be kept indefinitely. It is estimated that mummification was used for almost three thousand years, and even adopted by invaders to Egypt like the ancient Greeks and Romans.5 Judgment of the Deceased Person The final stage was the judgment of the deceased person. Osiris was the chief judge and lord of the underworld. The heart of the person was then placed on one of the scales and on the other one was a feather of Maat (who was the goddess of justice) was placed. If the person had committed sins, then the heart would be heavy with these burdens, and it would weigh more than the feather of truth. If this happened then the deceased was eaten by a baboon. Otherwise eternal life was guaranteed. For those families who could afford more surety, carved scarabs were placed between the various layers of linen6 that were inscribed with all the good deeds done by the deceased and an admonishment to the heart to not admit any evil actions done by the deceased. Once the usual 70-day mummification process was completed, the funeral took place. Official mourners together with relatives and friends buried the body. In the tomb was placed food, beverage, and other
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There are many fascinating sources on mummies. It is estimated that over 730 million people and animals were mummified. Over 30,000 mummies have been found and analyzed. In the early modern period royalty and others used ground up mummies for cures. Even the American Bag Company got its start using the brown linen wrappings to make bags hence brown paper sacks today. In the 19th century when Britain was building the Egyptian railroad system, the workers used mummies as cross ties for the tracks. In the 19th century every museum in the world had an Egyptian mummy. 6 Eventually the most elaborate wrappings were up to three miles in length

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perceived-necessary items that the deceased would need in the afterlife. Later on these objects were painted on the tombs and the deceased had the magic key to turning these into real items. Included over time were inscriptions in hieroglyphic symbols that had prayers and incantations needed by the deceased. Eventually these were compiled into what is now called The Book of the Dead. Mummification of Animals People were not the only ones mummified in ancient Egypt. Many different animals were mummified, especially cats as by circa 2000 b.c.e. the cat was domesticated to catch snakes and rodents, a job that originally belonged to the Mongoose, but it had been hunted to extinction. The penalty for killing a cat was death, and in a fire cats were the first beings to be rescued from the house. The entire household would go into mourning when the cat died and was mummified. Bastet became the cat goddess, and had her special temple site in Lower Egypt. There are huge cat cemeteries throughout Egypt with the one at Thebes containing hundreds of thousands of mummified cats. Conclusion In summary of ancient Egyptian religion, it is evident that many of their traditions survived throughout the centuries into modern times. A few of these are the use of mourners at funerals, leaving of food offerings at the

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burial or mortuary sites, saying prayers at regular intervals, and burning of incense to eliminate the unpleasant odors. In doctrinal matters it has been suggested that the Egyptian triad of gods: Osiris, Isis and Horus, influenced the concepts of the Christian trinity, and the imagery of Isis nursing baby Horus transferred to Christianity also.