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Egyptian mythology (or Egyptian religion) is the name for the succession of beliefs held by
the people of Egypt until the coming of Christianity and Islam.
The timespan involved is nearly three thousand years, and beliefs varied considerably over time, so an article or, indeed,
even one whole book, cannot do more than outline the many entities and subjects in this complex system of beliefs. Egyptian
Mythology is different from Greek or Roman Mythology, in that in Egyptian Mythology most deities are of human body and animal head or vice
versa.
Afterlife
Egyptians believed they had the right to an afterlife. Egyptians believed for
the soul to survive death, the body had to be
preserved. Therefore, embalming and mummification was practiced. The weighing the heart occurred before proceeding to either the
afterlife or the devourer.
Egyptian embalming
Main article: Mummification
Since preservation of the body was instrumental in keeping the Ka and Ba souls, embalming was developed by the Egyptians
around the 4th Dynasty. Egyptians would conduct the mummification process. All soft
tissues like the brain and internal organs were removed. The cavities were washed and then packed with natron, and the body
buried in a pile of natron. The intestines, lungs, liver and the stomach were
preserved separately and stored in jars protected by the four sons of Horus: Duamutef
(stomach), Qebhsenuef (intestines), Hapy (lungs), and Imsety (liver).
The Ka could only return in a body that was well preserved. A damaged body could not be recognised by the Ka and this
destroyed the chance of an afterlife. The fear of this led the Egyptian people to place great importance on the mummification
process and the burial itself. This 'second death' could be used to take revenge on someone after death by destroying the
mummy.
Other creatures were also mummified, sometimes thought to be pets of Egyptian families but more frequently or more likely they
were the representations of the Gods. The ibis, crocodile, nile perch and baboon can be found in perfect mummified forms.
Burial
Book of the dead
Main article: Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead was a series of almost two hundred magical
texts, hymns and illustrations
recorded on papyrus, which were placed with the dead in order to ease their passage
into the underworld. In some tombs, the
texts have also been found on the walls. One of the best examples of the Book of the Dead is 'The Papyrus of Ani', created in
1240 BC. As well as the texts themselves, it also contains many pictures of Ani and
his wife on their journey through the land of the dead.
Egyptians saw death as being the start of a perilous journey, rather than the end of life. In order to reach the land where
the gods dwelt, and to live amongst them, they must first traverse the land of the dead. Each Book of the Dead was tailored to
some extent for the individual who would be taking the journey. It contained the spells and hymns thought to be most appropriate
to the life that the person had led, as well as the pleas and speeches that would be used to pass each test on the journey.
Crucially, these included the test of the Weighing of the Heart.
The weighing of the heart
To the Egyptian, the heart notes all good and bad deeds of a person's life. It was the data that is analyzed in a ceremony, upon death, in a judgment for afterlife. The
ceremony of the weighing of the heart occurred in the Hall of Judgement. The deceased is led into the hall by Anubis. The deceased's heart is placed on one scale pans and weighed against the Maat's feather of
truth. Anubis then adjusts the scale's plummet. Thoth records the verdict. The deceased is taken by Horus before Osiris after a proper verdict if rendered
in favor. A crocodile, lion, and hippopotamus shaped demon, the devourer (e.g., "Eater of Hearts"), destroys those
that the verdict is against.
External influences
Libyan period
Main article: Libyan Egypt
22nd - 25th Dynasty
Egypt has long had ties with Libya. After the death of Rameses XI, the priesthood in the person of
Herihor wrest control of Egypt away from
the Pharaohs until they were superseded (without any apparent struggle) by the Libyan kings of the 22nd
Dynasty. , The first king of the new Dynasty served as a general under the last ruler of the 21st Dynasty. It is known that
he appointed his own son to be the High Priest of Amun, a post that was previously a hereditary appointment.
The scant and patchy nature of the written records from this period suggest that it was unsettled. There appear to have been
many subversive groups which eventually led to the creation of the 23rd
dynasty which ran concurrent with the 22nd.
Ptolemaic period
Main article: Greek
Egypt
304 BC - 30 BC
Started with Ptolemy I of Egypt and ended with Cleopatra VII. As Ptolemy I Soter ("Saviour"), he founded the Ptolemaic dynasty, which was to rule Egypt for 300 years. All the male rulers of the dynasty took the
name "Ptolemy". Because the Ptolemaic kings adopted the Egyptian custom of marrying their sisters, many of the kings ruled
jointly with their spouses, who were also of the royal house. This custom made Ptolemaic politics confusingly incestuous, and the
later Ptolemies were increasingly feeble. The last of the Ptolemies, the famous Cleopatra, was the only Ptolemaic queen to rule on her own, after the death of her brother/husband,
Ptolemy XIII.
Roman period
Main article: Roman
Egypt
30 BC - 639 AD
Egypt was incorporated into the Roman Empire, and was ruled first from
Rome and then from Constantinople
(until the Arab conquest). The most revolutionary event in the history of Roman Egypt was the introduction of Christianity in the 2nd century. It was at first vigorously persecuted by the Roman
authorities, who feared religious discord more than anything else in a country where religion had always been paramount. But it
soon gained adherents among the Jews of Alexandria. From them it rapidly passed to the Greeks, and then to the native Egyptians,
who found its promise of personal salvation and its teachings of social equality appealing.
Monotheism developments
A short period of monotheism occurred under the reign of Akhenaten, and was
focused on the Egyptian sun deity Aten. Akhenaten outlawed the worship of any other god and
built a new capital (Amarna) around the temple for Aten. The religious change survived
only until the death of Akhenaton's son Tutankhamun, but it was highly
unpopular and was quickly reverted afterwards. In fact, Akhenaten and Tutankhamun's removals from the Wall of Kings are likely
related to the radical religious change.
According to some Egyptologists, it is incorrect to regard this period as monotheistic. People did not worship the Aten but worshipped the royal family as a pantheon of gods who received their divine power from the
Aten. Afterward, the original Egyptian pantheon survived more or less as the
dominant faith, until the establishment of Coptic
Christianity and later Islam, even though the Egyptians had encountered monotheism in
other cultures (e.g. Hebrews). Egyptian mythology put up surprisingly little
resistance to the spread of Christianity. Possibly its long history of collaboration with the Greek and Roman rulers of Egypt had
robbed it of its authority.
Temples
temples as representations of the world...
Some temples today are still standing, which you can see in Egypt. Others are in crumbles from wear and tear. Pharaoh Ramses II built a lot of temples in his day.
Some known temples include:
The World
Creation
Heaven and earth
The Nile
The river Nile gave life to the entire Egyptian civilisation. Its annual spring floods
bringing water and rich nutrients to fields that would otherwise be swallowed up by the Sahara Desert. The river provided food, transportation, building materials and papyrus. Egypt's new year was deemed to begin at the flooding of the Nile. The river's course, from south to north,
was seen as being in perfect harmony with the sun god Ra's daily journey from west to east in
his boat across the ocean of sky. It was the Pharaoh's duty each year to influence the gods and bring forth the floods, as well
as organising the building and repair of the irrigation systems. His success or
failure as a ruler was measured by the prosperity brought by the Nile. The Nile itself did not play a major role in Egyptian
religious beliefs. It was known simply as 'the river' and even the annual flood was given over to a minor god named 'Hapy'.
See also
External links and references
- Hare, J.B., "Ancient Egypt ". (sacred-texts.com)
- "Ancient Egyptian architecture: temples ". University College London.
- O'Brien, Alexandra A., "Death in Ancient Egypt ".
- Telford, Mark Patrick, "Death And The Afterlife ".
- Crystal, Ellie, "Ancient Egypt ". Crystalinks Metaphysical and Science.
- Schulz, R. and Seidel, M., "Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs". Könemann, Cologne 1998.
Egyptian mythology articles
A
Aalu - Aaru - Ahemait - Ailuros - Aker -
Akert - Akeru - Am-heh - Amathaunta - Amaunet - Ament - Amentet -
Amenthes - Amenti - Ammit - Ammon - Ammut -
Amon - Amon-Min - Amon-Re -
Amset - Amun - Andjety - Anedjti - Anezti -
Anhur - Ankt - Anouke - Anqet - Anti - Anubis - Anuket - Anukis - Apep - Apepi - Apet - Apis - Apofis - Ap-uat - Arensnuphis - Ari-hes-nefer - Arsnuphis - As - Aset - Ash - Astennu - Aten - Athor ? Ausaas
B
Ba - Baba - Babi - Babu - Bakha -
Banebdedet - Baneb Djedet
- Banebdjetet - Ba Neb
Tetet - Ba-Pef - Bast - Bastet - Bat - Bata -
Beb - Bebti - Behedti - Bes - Beset ?Bisu - Buchis - Buto
C
Chem - Chensit - Chenti-cheti - Chenti-irti -
Chepri - Cherti - Chnum - Chons ? Chontamenti
D
Dedun - Dedwen - Djebauti - Djeheuty - Duamutef - Duat
E
Edjo - Egyptian soul - Ehi - Ennead - Ernutet
G
Geb
H
Ham - Hap - Hapi
- Hapy - Harachte - Harakhti - Har-em-akhet - Harendotes - Harensnuphis - Harmachis - Har-mau - Harmerti - Har-nedj-itef - Haroeris - Har-pa-Khered - Harpocrates - Har-pa-khered - Harsomtus -
Hathor - Hatmehit - Hatmehyt - Hauhet - Hedetet - Heget - Heh - Heka - Heket - Hemen - Hemsut - Hemuset -
Heqet - Her-akhety - Heru-sa-Aset - Har-sa-iset -
Harsiesis - Har-wer - Heru-ur - Heryshaf - Hesat - Hetepet - Het-hert - Het-Heru - Hetyt Serket - Hez-ur - Hike - Horakhety - Hor-Hekenu - Horus -Hr - Hrw - Hu ? Huh - Hwt-Hert
I
Iaru - Ihu - Ihy
- Imiut - Immutef - Imset - Inmutef - Ipet -
Isdes - Isis ? Isten - Iunmutef - Iusas
J
Jah - Joh - Juesaes ? Junit - Jusas
K
Ka - Kauket - Keb - Kebechet - Kebechsenef - Kebehsenuf - Kematef - Kemwer - Khem - Khensu - Khentamenti - Khentimentiu - Khenty-irty -
Kheper - Khepera - Khepri - Khert Neter - Kherty - Khnum - Khons - Khonsu - Kis ? Knum - Kuk
M
Maahes - Maat - Maàt - Maàt - Mafdet - Mehen - Mahes - Mehet-uret - Mehet-Weret - Mehturt - Mehurt - Mekhenty-er-irty - Menchit - Mendes - Menhit ? Menthu -
Mentu - Mert - Meret - Meretseger - Mertseger - Mesenet - Meshkent - Meskhenet - Meskhent - Mesta - Mesti -
Mihos - Min - Mnevis - Mnewer ? Mont -
Month - Montu - Mut - Miysis
N
Naunet - Neb-er-tcher -
Nebet-het - Nebt-het - Nechbet - Nehmet-awai - Nechmetawaj - Neferhor - Nefertem - Nefer-Tem - Nefer-Temu - Nefertum - Neheb-Ka - Nehebkau - Nehebu-Kau - Neith ? Nekhbet - Nekhebit - Nenun - Nenwen - Neper -
Nephoros - Nephthys - Nepit - Neter-khertet - Nopheros - Nu - Nunet ? Nut
O
Ogdoad ? Onuris - Opet - Ophois - Osiris
P
Pachet - Petbe - Petesuchos - Psais - Ptah-Seker-Osiris - Ptah-Seker ? Ptah
Q
Qebehsenuf - Qebshenuf -
Qetesh
R
Ra - Ra-Herekhty - Ra-Heru-akhety - Re - Re-Harakhti -Renenet - Renenutet - Renpet - Reret ? Ruti
S
Saa - Sachmet - Sai - Sakhet - Sakhmet - Saosis - Sates - Sati - Satis - Satjit - Seb - Sebek - Sechat-Hor - Seker - Sekhmet
- Sektet - Selchis - Selket - Selkis -
Sentait - Sep - Sepa - Septu - Serapis - Serket - Sesat - Seshat - Seshata - Sesheta - Sesmu - Set - Setech - Setekh - Setesh - Seth - Seti - Shait - Shu - Sia - Sobek - Socharis -
Sochet - Sokar - Sokaris ? Sopd - Sopdu -
Sopdet - Sothis - Suchos - Sutech - Sutekh
T
Tahuti - Tanen - Ta-tenen - Tathenen - Taueret - Taurt - Taweret -
Tefnut - Tehuti - Tenenit - Thot - Thoth -
Toeris - Tuamutef
X
Udjo - Upuaut - Usiris - Uto
Y
Yaaru
Wadjet - Wadjit - Wepwawet - Wep-wawet
Z
Zebauti - Zehuti
See also
A Note on Pronunciation
A "received pronunciation" of the names of ancient Egyptian deities has formed. By and large, this pronunciation is acceptable
for most consonants and utterly wrong for the vowels. The actual vowels of ancient Egyptian are essentially unknown.
Egyptologists developed a set of conventions to make it easier to talk about the terms they used. Two distinct different glottal
consonants were both replaced with "a". A consonant similar to the "y" in the English word "yet" was replaced with "i". A
consonant similar to the "w" in the English word "well" was replaced with "u". Then, "e" was inserted between other consonants.
Thus, for example, the Egyptian king whose name is most accurately transcribed as "R?-mss" is known as "Rameses", even though
cuneiform tablets that mention him suggest that a more accurate rendering with vowels might have been "Ri`amasesa".
See also: Egyptian language
External links
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