Introduction
The ancient Egyptian religion was an animistic belief system that expressed itself as a set of polytheistic beliefs and rituals. Its underlying worldview beliefs assumed that humans could interact with various deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces of nature. People would perform rituals, offer prayers, and give offerings in an effort to please the gods and gain their favor. It involved magic, mythology, science, medicine, spiritualism, belief in a higher power, and a belief in life after death.
The religious practice was designed to maintain balance in the universe. When both the people and the gods performed their proper functions, balance could be maintained; gods were able to provide success, pleasure, and happiness for humans, and humans, by their religious practice, enabled the gods to better perform their work.
Animistic belief systems have different forms in different places, and in ancient Egypt that form centered on the pharaoh, who they believed possessed divine power because of his position. The pharaoh, while not considered fully a god himself, served as an intermediary between the people and the gods. His job was to support the gods through special rituals and offerings in order to help them in their work of maintaining order in the universe.
The religion also operated on the individual level. In addition to the religious work of the pharaoh on behalf of the nation, individuals too had the ability to directly petition the gods by prayer. Beyond that, they also believed they could compel the gods to act by use of magic. This more individual aspect of the religion was practiced from early times, but became even more prominent later in Egyptian history as the status of the Pharaoh declined.
The animistic religious form in Egypt had its roots in prehistory and lasted for over 3,000 years. It should be noted that over the course of this 3000 year history, many of the details of religious belief and practice changed as the importance of various gods ebbed and flowed based on who was in power, and sometimes what region was in control of the country.
As we think of the influence the religion of Egypt had on Israel, we immediately look to the four hundred years that Israel spent in Egypt – first as guests, then as slaves. It is unreasonable to think that having lived there that length of time, the Israelites would not have become throughly familiar with the Egyptian religion. It is even possible that while they lived in Egypt, certain elements of the religion even syncretized into Israelite belief and practice. They were certainly aware of Apis, son of Hathor and the herald of Ptah, who was represented as a bull, and Hathor, the mother of Horus who was represented as the cow-goddess.
There is not a consensus among Bible scholars as to why Aaron specifically chose to create a golden calf as the idol of choice while Moses us up on the mountain meeting God and receiving the Ten Commandments. The influence of the Egyptian religion had to be a part of the reason, however. The golden calf itself, and the worship practice of the people around it, mimicked the Egyptian beliefs about deity. At that point, the Israelites were wanting a god that would satisfy the human desire for a visible and tangible religion, rather than the invisible and mysterious Yahweh. This is exactly what Aaron delivered to them.
History
The early history of the ancient Egyptian religion was greatly influenced by its geographical location. Being located in the fertile Nile Delta, and surrounded by deserts and lawless raiders and nomads, the Egyptians saw their land as an oasis of stability in the middle of regions of infertility and lawlessness. The cyclical movement of the sun and seasonal activity of Nile floods that kept the soil fertile became central themes in their mythology. They saw the sun and water as symbols of life that were expressed in a pattern of order, chaos, and renewal. These themes became the primary characteristics of the ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses.
In addition to the geography, certain historical events also played a part in the development of the Egyptian pantheon of gods. By around 3100 B.C., the Egyptian pharaohs united the Upper and Lower regions of what became the land of Egypt. This expression of power elevated them in a way that also became associated with the work of the gods.
Predynastic Dynastic Period
The beginnings of Egyptian religion extend into prehistory, so what we know of that era comes primarily from archaeological findings. Based on burial finds from the Predynastic Period, it is evident that the people of that time period did believe in an afterlife. In burial plots from that time, archeologists have found ritually buried animals. This probably points to the development of the various animal gods that became prominent in later forms of the religion.
As was common in so many other lands, it appears that each region in prehistoric Egypt had its own patron deity. However, as is also seen in other regions, as various communities conquered each other in wars, the gods of the defeated groups were either incorporated into the victor’s pantheon or completely eliminated. The ultimate result of this process created a situation where some gods continued to exist only as local deities, while others became more universally worshiped.
Early Dynastic Period
Egypt was finally unified around 3000 B.C. This unification resulted in The Early Dynastic Period. With a central government in place, certain deities were elevated and began to be worshiped throughout the entire nation. And with the advent of the rule of the pharaohs, belief in the divinity of the pharaoh also emerged and became the main focus of religious activity.
Old Kingdom
Egypt’s Old Kingdom dates from around 2650-2150 B.C. During that period, the priests of the major deities began to organize the pantheon of gods that were in existence at that time into groups, and from that created a single creation myth. It was also during this period that they began building pyramids for the pharaohs.
It is noteworthy that while the pyramids were huge, the temples to the gods were relatively small. This seems to suggest that the divinity of the pharaoh was more important than the various individual deities.
The god Ra came to be considered the most important and most powerful of the Egyptian gods during this period. Additionally, Ra became closely connected to the worship of the pharaoh; to the extent that pharaohs came to be called “the son of Ra.” Ra’s temple was located at Heliopolis and became the nation’s most important religious site. It was also during this period that Osiris became the primary afterlife deity.
In the 2100s B.C., the Old Kingdom collapsed and some of the important religious beliefs and practices began to change. In particular, funeral practices that had originally been the domain primarily of royalty began being practiced by the common people. With this, the god Osiris increased in importance.
Middle Kingdom
After the Kingdom of Egypt collapsed, it divided into Northern and Southern regions. However, eventually Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II, the ruler of Thebes, reunified the Egyptian nation – around 2030 B.C. This set the stage for a renewal of Egyptian culture. It was at this time that Thebes, in the southern part of the country, came into prominence for the first time and served as the country’s capital and cultural center.
During this period, the Theban pharaohs promoted their patron god Monthu (Montu) – the falcon-god of war. Over time, however, Amun (Ra) became increasingly popular and overtook the worship of Monthu. The Middle Kingdom lasted until 1650 B.C.
New Kingdom
The Middle Kingdom fell apart around 1650 B.C., but was once again reunited by the Theban rulers, probably sometime between 1570 and 1544 B.C. This era marked Egypt’s most powerful and prosperous time in history, and it was during this era also that Israel spent time there. It was these rulers who became the first pharaohs of the New Kingdom. As was noted earlier, the god Amun became increasingly popular during the Middle Kingdom. With the advent of the New Era with its headquarters in Thebes, Amun became the supreme state god. The association of Ra with the royal family also continued, and Ra and Amun were later syncretized. With this, Ra, and his temple at Karnak in Thebes, became the center of worship.
During this era, numerous other dieties were added to the Egyptian pantheon of gods. Much of that was due to the fact that there was a great deal of contact with other Near Eastern peoples, and some of their gods were adopted.
There was a period during the New Kingdom when Amun was replaced as the state god by Aten. This happened when Akhenaten took control as pharaoh. In fact, Akhenaten not only replaced Amun, but also eliminated the official worship of most of the other Egyptian gods. He also moved the capital to Amarna. This change elevated the pharaoh to godlike status. His approach was that only he could worship the Aten, and the common people had to worship him. It seems that ordinary Egyptians never connected well to this pattern, and later pharaohs ultimately restored the previous gods and practice.
The offshoot of this disruption in religious practice was that the people looked more to Amun as the ultimate god and true ruler of Egypt. On the other side of the ledger, the status of the pharaoh was lowered – his appeal as divine was diminished and he was seen to be more human. All of this shifted more power and influence to priests, and this change slowly undermined the structure of society. It ultimately led to the breakdown of the New Kingdom. Along with this cultural breakdown, Egypt was also involved in several wars that gradually drained its treasury and weakened the country. In addition to that, there were also a series of natural problems that included droughts, below-normal flooding of the Nile, famine, civil unrest, and official corruption. All of these together led to the collapse of this era around 1550 B.C.
Later Periods
Obviously, the Egyptian dynasties continued on after the New Kingdom era. However, Israel did not significantly interact with the country in these later times and it is not important for this study to delve more deeply into Egyptian religious history.
Authority
Ancient Egyptian religion was an animistic system that underwent various changes over its roughly 3000 year history. The reason for the many changes relates to the nature of its authority source. While there have been various religious texts uncovered over the years by archeologists and others, they mostly tell mythological stories or explain magic and rituals associated with the practice of the religion. There is nothing that is actually looked to as a divine source of authority.
As an animistic belief system, Egyptian religion was simply assumed to be true by those who practiced it. Its ultimate authority source was the religious tradition that was passed down from generation to generation. Those who invented this worship pattern did so based on their interpretation of, and interaction with, events in the world. They then passed down their beliefs and practices to succeeding generations in the form of stories and legends. The religious specialists who were the keepers of this information in each generation were the priests of the religion.
Evidence for the Authority
The ancient Egyptian religion has no objective source of authority. It was an animistic belief system that depended on the beliefs and observations of those who were adherents. The understanding of reality in this belief system is based on subjective perceptions, anecdotal stories, and traditions passed down through generations; all of which depended upon the presuppositions of an animistic worldview. No objective evidence supports its validity.
Worldview Beliefs
God
The overall view of ultimate reality in the Egyptian religious system was that it consisted of two parts – a material world and a spirit world. The center of this reality was considered to be Egypt. Humans lived in the material world, and the gods in the spirit world. Humans and gods were understood to have a symbiotic relationship with one another. Working together, the primary purpose of the humans and the gods was to hold back the disorder that was trying to break into the cosmos from the outside. It was believed that the order that now exists emerged from the disorder on the outside, and would eventually revert back to it. In the meantime, it was up to the humans and the gods to keep it at bay.
The pharaoh, as the leader of Egypt, had the task of placating the gods so they could do their part in maintaining order against disorder in the cosmos. It was believed that the solar cycle, with its daily movement from dark to light, was a constant reminder of the need to maintain order. As such, the primacy of the sun god was recognized in this cycle, and the association of the sun god with the pharaoh affirmed his legitimacy and helped preserve order in the kingdom.
In Egyptian belief, the cosmos was inhabited by three types of sentient beings; one was the gods, another was the spirits of deceased humans who existed in the divine realm and possessed many of the gods’ abilities. Living humans were the third category, and the most important among them was the pharaoh who bridged the gap between the humans and the gods.
Man
As an animistic belief, the ancient Egyptian religious system viewed man as a spiritual being who lived a human existence on earth. It was understood that at death, an individual would either transition to the spirit world as a spirit, or be annihilated – depending on how life was lived as a human.
Salvation
The belief about salvation in the ancient Egyptian religious system is expressed in its mythology. The belief was that at death, the soul traveled to the underworld which was the home of various gods. The overall concept was that after death, a person’s soul had to avoid various supernatural dangers in the realm of the dead (the Duat) before facing a final judgment known as the “Weighing of the Heart.” The ancient Egyptians believed that in order for the soul to enter the afterlife, a person’s heart had to be “light.” This kind of lightness was gained by doing good deeds during one’s lifetime. After a person died, or while on the way to the afterlife, individuals had to travel through the Hall of Maat. There, certain gods, called Assessors of Maat, weighed a person’s heart. Maat represented the ancient Egyptian concepts of truth, balance, order, harmony, law, morality, and justice. There were particular Laws of Maat that the Assessors used as a means for measuring people’s hearts. In making this judgment, the gods compared the actions of the person while they were alive to the Laws of Maat to determine whether or not they were worthy. The soul of individuals judged worthy was allowed to exist in the underworld. All others had their heart eaten by a monster named the The Devourer, and were excluded.
During the long history of ancient Egypt, there were several different beliefs concerning the nature of the afterlife. In some, the dead were said to dwell in the realm of Osiris, which was a lush and pleasant land in the underworld. Another version believed that the soul of the deceased would travel with Ra, the sun god, on his daily journey through the sky. Still another belief was that the soul of the dead person was able to travel in the world of the living and affect what went on there.
Other Beliefs and Practices
Primary Egyptian Gods
As has already been noted, the prominence of various gods ebbed and flowed throughout Egyptian history. As such, it is not possible to give a compete explanation of all the Egyptian gods. However, it is still useful to have a sense of the most prominent ones that influenced Egyptian religion and life over the centuries.
1) Nun and Naunet – The Primeval God and Goddess
Most places that have a mythological story begin with some explanation of its primordial origins, and Egyptian mythology is no exception. That part of the story is about the ancient Egyptian gods Nun and Naunet (a male and a female).
The ancient Egyptians saw Nun as the watery abyss that held the universe. This abyss, with its depth, was seen to represent both nothingness and infinity. It was also seen as the source of everything that was divine and earthly. Nun was generally associated with the forces of chaos. At different times, he was represented as a bearded man with blue or green skin, a frog or a frog-headed man, and sometimes as a hermaphrodite with discernable breasts.
Naunet was Nun’s consort and was represented as a cobra. She was the sky-goddess that hovered over the watery expanse of Nun. While Nun was primeval matter, Naunet was primeval space as she hovered in the heavens above Nun.
2) Amun, Ra, and Amun-Ra – the Gods of Sun and Wind
Amun was the god that represented the air and the sun. He was often considered to be one of the most important of the ancient Egyptian gods, sometimes even honored as the king of gods. He was also the patron god of Thebes – which was the capital city during the New Kingdom era. In earlier times, Amun was a minor local god. However, when the tribes from Thebes took over the kingship during the New Kingdom era, their God was elevated to a higher status. He was venerated as the “Self-Created One”.
Ra, also the sun god, had an earlier origin and was associated with the Pharaoh. In fact, the connection was such that most pharaohs were symbolically considered to be “the son of Ra.” During the New Kingdom era, Amun and Ra were merged into a composite god known as Amun-Ra and was heralded as: the Lord of truth, father of the gods, maker of men, creator of all animals, Lord of things that are, and creator of the staff of life. Amun-Ra combined the invisible force of wind with the visible majesty of the life-giving sun. With that merger, Amun-Ra became an all-encompassing god that accouted for most of the elements of creation.
3) Hathor – The Cow Goddess
The ancient Egyptian goddess of joy, feminine love, and motherhood was Hathor, which means “Domain of Horus” (Horus was the Falcon God, and God of the sky). Hathor was closely associated with a primeval divine cow goddess called Mehet-Weret. Mehet-Weret was understood to be be responsible for bringing the floods to the Nile in order to fertilize the land. Hathor was also understood to be the mother of the sun god Ra.
Hathor was sometimes depicted as a woman with the head of a cow, and at other times as having the form of an entire cow. In a later period, she was portrayed with a woman’s face but having a cow’s ears or horns. Another element associated with her was a sistrum (a musical instrument that was used to drive out evil from the land).
4) Bastet/Sekhmet – The Feline Goddess
Early on, the ancient Egyptians were known for domesticating cats. This was reflected in their pantheon of gods. The Feline Goddess was Bastet (also sometimes called Bast). Bastet was the goddess of the home, love, fertility, joy, dance, women, and secrets. She was depicted with a cat-like head on woman’s body.
Bastet also had an alter-ego called Sekhmet. Sechmet was the warrior lioness. She was considered to be the fiercest hunter in all of Egypt. Legend has it that her very breath formed the desert. Some of the Pharaohs considered her to be their protector in war.
5) Maat – The Goddess of Order
Maat was the ancient Egyptian goddess of truth, justice, and the cosmic order. She was the daughter of Atum (or Ra) and was responsible for regulating the stars and the seasons. She provided the rules for the kind of human behavior that would conform to the will of the gods. In doing that she helped establish order in society as she laid out the virtues of truth, family life, and the proper way to worship the various deities.
Maat was usually depicted as a winged woman with an ostrich feather on her head. The feather was what she used in the Weighing of the Heart ceremony in the afterlife. After death, people’s souls were weighed against the feather in a “scale of justice.”
6) Ptah – The Creator God
Ptah was considered the personification of creation. Ptah’s wife was Sekhmet, and he had a daughter named Nefertum. Ptah was understood to be the ultimate creator who fashioned the universe and breathed life into the creatures in the world. Ptah was also believed to have been self-created. Based on that belief, he became the patron deity of artisans such as sculptors, painters, and builders. He was often depicted in art as a mummified bearded man who had green skin.
7) Isis – The Magic Goddess
Isis is probably the most famous Egyptian goddess. She was initially associated with Hathor (see Cow Goddess above) and was considered the personification of many motherly qualities. During the Old Kingdom period, however, she became one of the prominent characters of the Osiris myth by resurrecting her murdered husband Osiris and giving birth to Horus.
The name Isis is derived from the Egyptian word Eset, meaning the seat. This “seat” reference is to pharaoh’s throne, so she is a goddess with a particular connection to royalty. She came to be thought of as the divine mother of the kings, while her son Horus was associated with the Pharaohs themselves. Isis is depicted in art wearing a headdress and carrying an empty throne that signified the seat of her slain husband.
8) Osiris – The Dead God
Osiris was an Egyptian god that became prominent during and after the Old Kingdom period. It seems that Osiris was the only Egyptian deity that was directly referred to as a god. Many considered him to be Egypt’s first pharaoh. He was the husband of Isis and father of Horus. His brother was Set. Osiris was often considered to be the king of the underworld.
Osiris became the lord of the underworld after he was murdered by his brother Set. He also became the Judge of the Dead – the one who weighs the heart of the deceased and decides their fate. He was generally depicted as a mummified bearded king with green or black skin.
9) Horus – The Falcon God
The most well-known of all ancient Egypt’s bird gods was Horus. Horus, also known as Horus the Younger, was the son of Osiris and Isis. He was worshiped as a powerful sky god and was considered a divine protector of the pharaohs. Horus was usually depicted as a falcon-headed man wearing the pschent (a double crown worn by rulers in ancient Egypt) that was considered the symbol of kingship over unified Egypt.
In the mythology, Set murdered his father, and from that time on Horus and Set were rivals. The story goes that there was an epic mythical battle between the two and Horus emerged victorious. It was this victory that ended up uniting the two parts of Egypt. Recognized as a great warrior, Horus was also considered to be a god of war. Soldiers would often invoke his name before actual battles as a means of strengthening themselves.
10) Set – The Antagonist God
Set was the brother of Osiris, and was ancient Egypt’s antagonist god. He was responsible for murdering his brother. Set was depicted as a composite creature (called the Set animal) comprised of an aardvark, a donkey, and a jackal. In later periods, artists depicted him with a donkey head.
Originally, Set was seen as a benevolent god and worked with Ra to protect oases in the deserts. Later, he took on a more sinister aura and became associated with frightening things like eclipses, storms, and thunder.
11) Anubis – The Jackal God
Possibly the most visually recognizable of the ancient Egyptian gods was Anubis (also called Anpu or Inpu). He was represented as a jackal-headed entity associated with the rites of embalming the deceased. Like many of the ancient Egyptian gods, Anubis also had other characteristics, but his core attributes were always related to matters of death.
Interestingly, Anubis did not have special temples where he was worshiped. Rather, he was worshiped at tombs and shrines that contained the mummified remains of dogs and jackals. He is understood to be the deity who ushered souls into the afterlife. In later times, he was considered to be the main judge in the Weighing of the Heart ceremony.
12) Thoth – The Ibis God
Another important ancient Egyptian deity was Thoth. Thoth was the god of writing, magic, wisdom, balance and equalibrium, and the moon. He was the husband of the goddess Maat, the deity of truth, justice, and the cosmic order. Thoth was often depicted in art either as a man with the head of an ibis or as a seated baboon. He was the patron deity of scribes, astronomers, priests, and even of some pharaohs. He was also credited as the inventor of the alphabet, mathematics, surveying, geometry, and botany.
The story of Thoth changed somewhat over time, with the earlier mythology having him born from the lip of Ra, or as self-born as the ibis that laid the cosmic egg that held all of the creation. Later stories had him born when Set accidentally swallowed Horus’ seed.
13) Taweret – The Hippo Goddess
Taweret, meaning “she who is great,” was the ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth. She was particularly regarded as the divine protector of women and children. Taweret was also worshiped as a goddess who had the power to ward off evil influences and bad luck. In order to invoke her protection, Egyptian mothers often carried charms that were carved with her image. She was often depicted as a pregnant hippopotamus that walked upright on two legs. Interestingly, her limbs were somewhat cat-like, and her rear end resembled a Nile crocodile.
14) Khepri – The Beetle God
The scarab is a species of beetle and is known for rolling balls of dung across the surface of the desert. Adult scarabs lay their eggs inside the dung, and the babies emerge from it when it is time for them to be born. The god Khepri is associated with the scarab and is typically depicted as a man with a beetle head. The name comes from the Egyptian word kheper which means “to change.”
Khepri is associated with Ra, the sun god, and is considered subordinate to him. The image of the scarab pushing its round ball across the desert symbolizes the sun god carrying the sun through the sky. Khepri was understood to be the morning sun, while Ra was seen as the brighter midday sun.
Egyptian Mythology
Egyptian myths were stories that explained the actions and roles of the various gods as they interacted with humanity and with nature. There are numerous versions of the myths that developed and changed over time, so there are some conflicts between various versions. There are very few full narratives of the various myths, and what does exist are generally episodes from, or allusions to, a larger story. Most of what we know about Egyptian mythology came from hymns that speak of the roles of the various gods, from ritual and magical texts, and from funerary texts that deal with the roles of various deities in the afterlife.
The Origin of the Universe
The picture of the ancient Egyptian universe was that the air god Shu, assisted by other gods, holds up Nut, the sky, as Geb, the earth, lies beneath. Below the earth existed an underworld and an undersky. Beyond that was the infinite expanse of skys and the primeval waters of Nun – the chaos that had existed before creation. The Egyptians also believed in a place called the Duat. This was a region associated with death and rebirth. It was believed to exist in the underworld or in the sky. It was thought that Ra traveled over the earth every day, and at night passed through the Duat and was reborn at dawn.
Philosophically, the concept of the universe centered on Maat, the Goddess of Order, that additionally includes truth and justice. This order was understood to have existed from the time of the creation of the world, and without it the world would lose its connectedness. This principle applied both to the eternal order of the universe, as well as in human society. Maat was understood to be continually under attack from the forces of disorder, and it was up to the people in society to help maintain it by supporting the gods. This was done by giving offerings and by performing various rituals.
Creation Myths
It seems there are several versions of the creation myth in ancient Egyptian mythology. All of the variations teach the initial establishment of Maat and the pattern for cycles of time. The core beliefs of the stories share that the world emerged as a dry space in the primeval ocean of chaos. The first rising of Ra marked the moment of this emergence as it provided the necessary light and heat for life to exist. One story also teaches that the primordial god Atum turned into the elements that form the world. Another indicates that the creative speech of the god Ptah created these elements, while still another story points to an act of Amun.
Osiris Myth
Probably the most important Egyptian myth was the story of Osiris and Isis. This myth recounts how Osiris, the divine ruler, was murdered by Set, his jealous brother. After the murder, Osiris’ sister and wife resurrected him so that he could conceive an heir. This union begat Horus. Following Horus’ birth, Osiris entered the underworld and became the ruler of the dead. When he was grown, Horus went forth to fight Set. He defeated him and himself became the king.
Another element of importance in this myth is that Osiris’ death and rebirth explained the Egyptian agricultural cycle. The cycle began with the annual overflowing of the Nile to fertilize the land so crops could be produced. It was also an example to explain the resurrection of human souls after death.
Still another important motif of the myth involved the journey of Ra through the Duat each night. The story goes that as Ra takes this journey every night, he meets with Osiris in order to have his life renewed. Each night Ra also fights with Apep, a god representing chaos. Ra’s victory over Apep each night ensures that the sun will rise the next morning, as order wins out over chaos.
Another important element of this myth lies in the fact that it provided a basis for the rule of the Pharaohs as the representatives of the gods to maintain order in the world. It also provides a rationale for understanding the order that exists in the natural world.
The Divinity of the Pharaoh
While the Egyptians recognized that the Pharaoh was a human being with human weakness, they also recognized him as a god. They considered that the divine power of kingship was embodied in him. It was his job to act as an intermediary between the people and the gods. His job was to uphold Maat in human society. He did this by overseeing all state religious activity, and by maintaining justice and harmony in society.
Pharaoh was particularly identified with Horus, and was considered a son of Ra. Later the pharaoh also became associated with Amun. At death, he was considered to have entered the spirit world and became one of the gods.
Afterlife
In typical animistic fashion, the Egyptians believed that humans possessed a ka (life-force) that left the body at death. While still living as a human being, the ka within a person received its nourishment from physical food. The belief was that after death, it must continue to receive offerings of food for it to be sustained in the afterlife. It was up to living humans to provide that food as offerings to the gods.
Every person was also believed to have a ba (spiritual characteristics unique to the individual). While the ka left the body at death, the ba remained attached to the body. It was finally released from the body by funeral rituals. When freed, it was able move freely and to reconnect with the ka. Once reconnected, it was able to live on as an akh (a being in the afterlife with its ka and ba combined).
Egyptians also believed it was important to preserve the body of those who died. They believed that the ba would return to its body every night in order to receive new life. With this, it would emerge every morning as an akh.
The Book of the Dead
Probably some of the most famous religious texts that exist from the ancient Egyptian era are those related to funeral rituals. The purpose of these texts was to make sure departed souls successfully made it through to the afterlife. The earliest texts consisted of spells that were inscribed on the walls of the pyramids designed specifically to magically help the pharaohs join up with the gods in the afterlife.
During a later time, a new set of funeral texts began to show up geared more for the general population. Some of these included material from the Pyramid Texts, but also contained additional illustrations, or vignettes. In this later period, these were seen in both tombs and inscribed on the coffins of ordinary people. The most well-known of these texts is the Book of the Dead. It was copied on papyrus and sold to ordinary people to be placed in their tombs.
The content of these texts included detailed descriptions of the underworld and instructions on how to overcome its hazards. In addition to the Book of the Dead, there were other books that also served the same purpose. These included: the Book of Gates, the Book of Caverns, and the Amduat. They contained portrayals of Ra’s passage through the Duat, which was a pattern for how the deceased person’s soul could successfully make it through the realm of the dead.
Animal Cults
Ancient Egyptians often worshiped individual animals. They believed that these animals were manifestations of various gods. In later times, some temples actually raised stocks of animals and selected those they deemed to be divine manifestations. One such animal was the Apis Bull worshiped in Memphis. Apis was understood to be a manifestation of Ptah. Later still, some cults began mummifying particular animal species to be used as an offering to the god they worshiped. Mummified cats, birds, and other creatures have been found buried at various temples in honor of the gods. People would pay the priests to obtain a mummified animal and place it at a grave to find favor with the gods.
Oracles
The Egyptians often used oracles to get knowledge or guidance from the gods. These oracles were primarily priests who spoke and interpreted the messages of the gods. This practice is particularly known based on findings from the time of the New Kingdom, but probably existed much earlier. People, including the pharaoh, would ask the oracles questions concerning legal disputes and other matters where a decision needed to be made. When Moses confronted Pharaoh and threatened him with plagues from God, these were the people Pharaoh consulted as he responded.
There were various methods for consulting an oracle. One was to simply ask a question to a divine image being carried in a festival procession. They would receive an interpretation based on the image’s movements. Another means was for an oracle to interpret the behavior of cult animals. Still other methods included drawing lots, interpreting dreams, and consulting statues. This practice is seen in the Bible when Joseph was brought to Pharaoh to interpret his dreams.
Popular Religion
The most well known ancient Egyptian religious practices were those associated with the state’s official cults. Because of the resources the pharaohs and other royalty had, they were able to build large temples and tombs, and to create other objects that have been preserved over time. However, the people in the regular population were also involved in the worship of the gods; it is just that there is not as much evidence left of this more popular worship.
Popular religion tended to center around matters related to major life transitions such as birth, child naming, and death. There was a particular emphasis put on death ceremonies because these were important to help people’s soul’s make it in the afterlife.
Private religious practice included prayer to the gods and the giving of private offerings. As is common in many animistic worship beliefs, the Egyptians believed that the gods directly intervened in individual lives by punishing wrongdoers and helping those who do right. People would often go to official temples to offer prayers and offerings, but there also existed more local chapels that tended to be smaller but more accessible to the general public. Worship was also common in individual households. Houses would have their own small shrines in order to give offerings to gods or to deceased ancestors.
The gods worshiped by the common people tended to be those more closely associated with everyday life; such as the fertility goddess Taweret, the household protector Bes, and various gods affiliated with their own region or profession.
Magic
The ancient Egyptians believed heka (magic) to be a natural phenomenon. It was understood to be the force the gods used to create the universe, and by which they accomplished their will in the world. The use of magic usually involved written or spoken incantations, generally together with ritual actions. These incantations were used to invoke the power of one of the gods to accomplish a desired action.
In typical animistic tradition, the Egyptians believed that humans could also use magic, and it was a seemingly common practice throughout society. That said, it was particularly associated with religious practice. This is seen in the fact that the regular rituals performed in temples were done as magic by the priests. It was the priests who were considered the professionals in this area, and temple libraries generally contained numerous magical texts. Priests also hired themselves out to others to perform magical services to the citizenry. This practice is seen in the Bible when the Egyptian priests initially matched the miracles Moses performed before Pharaoh.
It was not just the priests, however, who used magic. Individuals also utilized it in their personal lives. It was primarily seen as a way for humans to prevent or overcome negative events from happening. Various professions, such as doctors and scorpion charmers, also used magic as part of their work. There was also, seemingly, a large market for magical amulets. The general populace would wear these to bring good fortune and ward off evil.
© 2018 Freddy Davis