Egyptian Mythology
The Ancient Egyptian Religion
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Ancient Religion Series #Post2
Egyptian Mythology
The ancient Egyptians made used a number of stories as a means of understanding the world around them. Their accounts of creation, gods, goddesses and symbolism helped them understand a variety of natural phenomena around them. The ancient Egyptians saw the world as a collection of recurring patterns, and their myths addressed not only the original creation of the world but also the cycles seen in nature.
Egyptian mythology is based on totemism - the belief in sacred animals. It is characterized by gods with human bodies and animal heads; however, there are exceptions.
One of the major parts of ancient Egyptian religion is the belief in the afterlife, as evidenced by a large number of tombs found, among which are the largest pyramids, as well as a large number of mummies, statues, and many deities associated with the afterlife.
Most gods have the ankh -- the holy sign of life. The ancient Egyptians made deities of everything – the sun, animals, the desert, the sky, and the weather. They created, and worshiped, many gods.
Some gods took on human form, some were depicted as having animal bodies, and some were a mixture of the two. In addition, the same god often went by different names. For example, the deity Ra was also known as ‘The Sun God.’ He was depicted in Egyptian art as having a human body but the head of a hawk. Egyptian religion was localized, meaning that various regions had their own myths and gods. However, it is fair to say that some gods were widely recognized. These included Ra (the sun god), Shu (god of the sky and offspring of Ra), Tefnut (another of Ra’s children and sister-wife of Shu, goddess of rain), Osiris (grandson of Ra, god of nature and principle judge of character in the afterlife), and Hathor (goddess of love and women, shown in Egyptian artwork as possessing the head of a cow).
All Egyptian Pharaohs were also worshiped as gods. The Egyptians made reference to a creation myth in explaining how the earth came into being and why it contains good and evil. According to tradition, at the beginning of time, there was nothing except a state of chaos known as Nun. One day, the sun god Ra came from the waters and gave birth to his two children, Tefnut and Shu. His children then created Geb (the earth god) and Nut (the sky goddess). Humanity was created from Ra’s tears.
However, as Ra became older and weaker, the human race began to work against him and conspire to bring about his downfall. When he found out, he ordered the goddess Hathor to kill off humankind, which she did until only a small percentage of the population remained. Before humanity could be wiped out altogether, Ra granted them a pardon. He ordered Shu to rule in his place, and he took up residence far away in the heavens. Geb and Nut married, defying Ra. Shu, the air god, was ordered to separate them and did so successfully. Nut was pregnant, but Ra decreed that she could not give birth to her baby at any time during the year. Thoth, the god of learning, managed to help her by securing five extra days for the Egyptian calendar, enabling Nut’s children to be born. Osiris, Horus, Set, Isis, and Nepthys were born in due course. Set and Osiris became the incarnations of evil and good respectively.
According to ancient Egyptian religion, this tale accounts for the existence of both states in the world. There is extensive mythology around the fights between Osiris and Set. In brief, Osiris ruled Egypt successfully until he left to bring similar prosperity to other parts of the world.
While he was gone, his wife Isis continued his reign. However, his evil brother Set plotted to bring about his downfall. When Osiris returned, he was captured and killed. Years of turbulence followed until finally Isis and Horus, her son, were able to defeat Set and revive Osiris. Horus went on to father four sons who, it was believed, represented the lineage from which all of Egypt’s Pharaohs were descended.
Egyptian religion was similar to Mesopotamian for they also believed that human beings are co- workers with the gods to maintain the order. However, the principle of harmony was the most important in Egyptian life, as well as in the afterlife, and their religion was integrated into every aspect of their existence. Their religion was a combination of magic, science, medicine, spiritualism, mythology, etc.
The gods were friends with human beings, providing them the perfect land to live in and eternal home to enjoy once they die. This is probably the most important difference between Egyptian and Mesopotamian religion.
Egyptians strongly believed in the afterlife. Their afterlife was the Field of Reeds. It was a mirror of the life on earth. Egyptians saw earthly existence just as one part of an eternal journey. They were very concerned about passing from this life to the next phase so much that they created pyramids, temples and funerary inscriptions (Egyptian Book of Dead) in order to help the soul's passage.
The Egyptians worshiped gods and offered them sacrifices. They considered them the masters of the world. They believed in a thousand gods, except for the period of Amarna. By order of the Pharaoh Akhenaton, all the temples were closed and the new city - Amarna was built. In Amarna, people worshiped Aten - solar disk.
During the invasion of Greeks, Thoth was associated with Hermes. During the Roman Empire, Egyptians were introduced to Christianity and temples were closed. Romans issued an order to ban the worshiping of pagan gods.
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