Anthony C. Di Paolo: 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,

Egyptians believed in Egyptian Gods for more than 3,000 years. It started being believed in, in 2800 B.C.E. Egyptian mythology was believed in across Egypt. Religious Cults played a big role in Egyptian Mythology. The Creation of Earth created the Gods so they can have features in the Earth. The “End of the World” ended the belief in Gods nearly 100 years later.

With the cyclical nature of Egyptian society blossomed their desire for order and law. This order in ancient Egyptian civilization was referred to as Ma’at. All aspects of life were based around this concept and their religion could “‘be defined as the realization of Ma’at’” (Charles 1). Ma’at was not only an idea, but a goddess to the Egyptians. She was associated with balance and harmony on Earth. With the existence of Ma’at came the importance of consistency in Egyptian beliefs and practices; one of these consistencies was the importance of the afterlife. Ancient Egyptian people believed in the existence of life after death. They left items with the dead to go with them as they passed and the people also worked to maintain

Egyptians would bury their dead with treasures like gold and other things that they believed that they could use in the afterlife. Egyptians also mummified the people so that they could preserve their bodies. Nowadays people just have a funeral or cremate the

In the Egyptian society women had the same rights, both legal and economic, as the men in their society. They could both work the same job and earn the same regardless of sex. Each member of the relationship maintained and respected the ownership of what was brought into the marriage. It is not known why these rights existed for women, especially during this time period. Women could even become pharaoh. Nowhere else in the ancient world did something like this exist. The women bore and raised the children. They were basically responsible for all of the more usual or domestic related relationships, while the men taught their growing boys about the world and their own trade. Men in ancient Egypt were often expected to form a life for themselves before going out to find a wife. The males would rarely be able to choose their own careers. It was more common for the men to receive the job their father had when they reached working age. The Egyptian society was

Osiris (shown above) the god of the afterlife, or underworld, Osiris was the King of Egypt, murdered by his brother Seth and then resurrected by his sister/ wife Isis as the king of the dead, a king from which every Egyptian hoped to join in the afterlife. Osiris was a god originally connected with fertility, he is known primarily through the story of his death, murdered by his brother Seth over the jealousy of his throne, and

In Greek and Egyptian mythologies, there is a supreme God. In Greek tradition this was Zeus, “Zeus was now King of all the gods and lived on Mount Olympus.” (Corsar, Reid Rooney, and Smith 9) In Egyptian mythology, this position was first held by Osiris, and the other deities herald him by saying “He lives, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, beloved of Ra, living forever! Heir of Geb, Osiris, beloved of the gods, Osiris, given life, endurance, joy, health, all happiness, like Ra!” (Kaster 81) After being murdered by Set, he became ruler of the Netherworld, and was replaced as King of Upper and Lower Egypt, by his son, Horus. The idea of a supreme deity is common in both Greek and Egyptian traditions.

Ancient Egypt believed in many gods, making them polytheistic. One of their major gods was Ra, the god of the sun. They believed in a process called mummification. Mummification is a process that an important man in Egypt had to go through before going into the afterlife. The afterlife was very important to the Egyptians because they believed in second chances in life. Osiris and Anubis would judge an individual 's heart to the feather of Ma’at. If the heart outweighed the feather, then Ammut would devour the heart, condemning the individual to oblivion (Book of the Dead, Pinedjem II).

The Ancient Egyptians everyday lives really showed through in their beliefs and religion. They were polytheistic and believed in over 2,000 gods including Re, the sun god, Osiris, the god of death, and Isis, the goddess of maternity who also resembled the ideal mother and wife. To them, their pharaohs were not just pharaohs, they were the actual gods themselves. They also believed in the afterlife. When they died it was really just a continuation of their regular life. The god Anubis weighed their souls, if it was lighter than a feather, they were free to pass into the afterlife, any heavier and the Devourer of Souls would eat it. The Egyptians would also mummify their pharaohs to preserve their bodies for the afterlife. The process was very

Isis was the goddess of magic. She was the sister of Nephthys, Seth, and Osiris. She was the daughter of Nut and Geb, and had a child named Horus with Osiris. She has the crown of the North and south. When her husband, Osiris was

Ancient Egyptians had a lot of gods and goddesses.Thoth is one of the gods he is the god of knowledge another god is Osiris, Osiris is the ruler of the underworld and the god of death.God and goddesses were very important to Egyptians, most religions people depended on their gods and/or goddesses with whatever decision they made.

The Egyptians had gods that depicted the Sun or life and Night or death. The Sun god Re and the god Osiris portrayed the relationship between death and resurrection. Osiris plays a huge role in Egyptian funerary text because he is described as the “ruler of the realm of the dead”. Osiris rose to power as the king of the dead after being murdered by his brother Seth. Since he was the ruler of death, he was a model for how each person’s life was treated after his or her deaths. When the deceased transition to the afterlife, rituals were required for their journey to be successful. Osiris’ body was brutally

The people of ancient Egypt made there own religion.Their Religion was based of of the gods and how many gods they had.Thoth was the first god,and according to the sacred writings of ancient Egypt,Thoth was the divine intelligence of the universe.Back in then older than Egypt there were two Egypts.Back in then older than Egypt there were two Egypts north and south.Both Egypt's had lots of religions.so when the Egypts combinded that is what gave them lots of religions.The Egyptians had to take part in religious activities to keep their gods happy.The ancient Egyptians participated in religious rituals and traditions so that their gods and goddesses would help to give them happy lives with an abundance of food. Priests and priestesses were assigned

The earliest ancient Egyptians buried their dead in small pits in the desert sand. The heat and dryness of the sand dehydrated the bodies quickly, creating lifelike and natural mummies. The arid, desert conditions benefited the poor, who could not afford the elaborate burial preparations available to the elite. Wealthier Egyptians began to bury their dead in stone tombs and, as a result, developed the process of mummification. Mummification was the way in which the Egyptians attempted to control the decomposition of the flesh and preserve the body. It was considered vital to one’s afterlife and was an important process necessary for immortal existence. The mummified body provided a place for a person’s ba, or spirit to return to the body after

The ancient Egyptians relied heavily on their religion. In addition to their religion, the Osiris myth was famous among the people because it implied that any deceased individual can get to the afterlife. The deceased would endure a ritual of mummification. Their organs