Egyptian mythology

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.

Table of contents

1 Burial

1.1 Afterlife
1.2 Egyptian embalming
1.3 Book of the dead
1.4 The weighing of the heart

2 External influences

2.5 Libyan period
2.6 Ptolemaic period
2.7 Roman period

3 Monotheism developments
4 Temples
5 The World

5.8 Creation
5.9 Heaven and earth

6 The Nile
7 See also
8 Futher reading
9 External links and references
10 Egyptian mythology articles

10.10 A
10.11 B
10.12 C
10.13 D
10.14 E
10.15 G
10.16 H
10.17 I
10.18 J
10.19 K
10.20 M
10.21 N
10.22 O
10.23 P
10.24 Q
10.25 R
10.26 S
10.27 T
10.28 W
10.29 X
10.30 Y
10.31 Z
10.32 See also

11 A Note on Pronunciation
12 External links

Burial

[To do]
- Egyptian Burial Chambers
- Natural mummies

There were several elements to account for.

the ka
the ba
the akh

Afterlife

Egyptians believed they may in part survive to an afterlife. Egyptians believed that the soul (or the Ka (human personality)) could survive death if the body was 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. The Priests' of Anubis would conduct the mummification process under the watchful eyes of Anubis. Since it was a stoneable offence to harm the body of the Pharoh, even after death, the person who made the cut in the abdomen with a rock knife was ceremonially chased away and had rocks thrown at him. All soft tissues like the brain and most of the 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). After coming out of the natron the bodies were coated inside and out with resin to preserve them, then they were wrapped with linen bandages. Important religious amulets and tailsmans were embedded within the linen.

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, cats, nile perch and baboon can be found in perfect mummified forms.

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

Egypt exchanged ideas with Libya during it's early unsettled period. Egypt was also influenced by the Greek Ptolemaic dynasties, which was to rule Egypt for 300 years. Cleopatra was the only Ptolemaic queen to rule on her own. Egypt was incorporated into the Roman Empire, and was ruled first from Rome and then from Constantinople (until the Arab conquest).

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. Hebrewss). 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:

Abu Simbel -- Complex of two massive rock temples in southern Egypt on the western bank of the Nile.
Abydos (Great Temple of Abydos) -- Adoration of the early kings, whose cemetery, to which it forms a great funerary chapel, lies behind it.
Ain el-Muftella (Bahariya Oasis) -- Could have served as the city center of El Qasr. It was probably built around the 26th Dynasty.
Karnak -- Once part of the ancient capital of Egypt, Thebes.
Bani Hasan al Shurruq -- Located in Middle Egypt near to Al-Minya and survived the reconstruction of the New Kingdom.
Deir el-Medina -- Temples and tombs ordered by the pharaohs and other dignitaries during the New Kingdom period.
Edfu -- Ptolemaic temple that is located between Aswan and Luxor.
Kom Ombo -- Controlled the trade routes from Nubia to the Nile Valley.
Luxor -- Built largely by Amenhotep III and Ramesses II, it was the center of the festival of Opet.
Medinet Habu (Ramesses III Memorial Temple) -- Temple and a complex of temples dating from the New Kingdom.
Hatshepsut -- Mortuary temple complex at Deir el-Bahri with a colonnaded structure of perfect harmony nearly one thousand years before the Parthenon.
Philae -- Island of Philae with Temple of Aset which was constructed in the 30th Dynasty.
Ramesseum (Ramesses II Memorial Temple) -- The main building, dedicated to the funerary cult, comprised two stone pylons (gateways, some 60 m wide), one after the other, each leading into a courtyard. Beyond the second courtyard, at the centre of the complex, was a covered 48-column hypostyle hall, surrounding the inner sanctuary.

The World

[todo]
- Balance, justice, and truth : Ma'at
- Storms, evil, and confusion : Seth

Creation

[todo]
- Creation : Ra, Amun, Ptah, Khnum, or Aten

Heaven and earth

[todo]
- Sun : Ra, Aten
- Moon : Thoth, Khonsu
- Heaven : Hathor, Bat, and Horus
- Earth : Osiris, Ptah
- Annual Nile flooding : Hapi.

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'.

Futher reading

Schulz, R. and M. Seidel, "Egypt: The World of the Pharaohs". Könemann, Cologne 1998. ISBN 3895089133
Budge, E. A. Wallis, "Egyptian Religion: Egyptian Ideas of the Future Life (Library of the Mystic Arts)". Citadel Press. August 1, 1991. ISBN 0806512296
Harris, Geraldine, John Sibbick, and David O'Connor, "Gods and Pharaohs from Egyptian Mythology". Bedrick, 1992. ISBN 0872269078
Hart, George, "Egyptian Myths (Legendary Past Series)". University of Texas Press (1st edition), 1997. ISBN 0292720769
Pinch, Geraldine, "Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt". Oxford University Press, 2004. ISBN 0195170245

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.

Egyptian mythology articles

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

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

The Pronunciation of Ancient Egyptian.
Egyptian Ministry of Tourism's extensive information on Egyptian Deities