Ancient Egypt: A Glimpse Into Religion

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Ancient Egypt A Glimpse Into Religion
Explore the myths and legends that the Ancient
Egyptians valued to find their place in the
universe. Find out why the Egyptians used
mummification rituals and why the cat was placed
high on the list of sacred animals. Discover what
made up the human soul.
Presented by Shawna Soller, Intro to Hum,
Online
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Table of Contents

• History of Ancient Egypt
• Mythology The legends and Gods of the people
• Embalming
• Mummification Process
• Cats The Sacred Animal
• The Soul
• Bibliography
• Bibliography Cont.
• Paper
• Paper Cont.

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History
The time known as Ancient Egypt lasted from
around 3300BC until it became an independent
state in 1300BC. During this time, there were
about 9 dynasties or periods, in which different
pharaohs ruled (Kinnaer). During the Early
Dynastic Period, the development of writing
called hieroglyphics began. This period also
began constructing large scale buildings and
begun the trade line outside of the Nile valley.
Another period that had a great impact on the
Ancient Egyptian life, was the Old Kingdom.
Historians have dated that this is when the art
of embalming, or mummification began (History of
Ancient Egypt). The Middle Kingdom about 2055BC,
is most likely when military campaigns against
foreign nations began. Around 2575BC another
great accomplishment was made by Pharaoh Khufu.
His pyramid of Gaza, is now one of the most
famous and greatest pyramids known. The fall of
the Egyptian dynasty came around 527BC when Egypt
fell under the rule of the Persians (History of
Ancient Egypt).
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Mythology The Birth of the World
The mythology of Ancient Egypt centers around
nature, the earth, sun, moon, sky, stars and the
Nile River. According to legend, the Egyptian
Empire began with the creation of Nu. Nu was a
swirling watery chaos and then the waters began
to subside, a land appeared (Egyptian Mythology).
Atum is the God whom emerged from the Nu and is
the creator of the world. This God is also know
as the great scarab beetle. Atum gave birth to
two children, Shu and Tefnut. Atums children
represented the air and the rain. According to
legend Atum then parted with his children and
when they were reunited, his tears of joy created
the men on the earth.
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Embalming
The earliest Egyptians buried their dead in
small pits where they would eventually dry out
from the heat, leaving life-like mummies
(Mummification). Many years later, people began
placing the dead in coffins to protect them from
the wildlife. This process proved to be
unacceptable, as the bodies would decompose since
it wasnt exposed to the heat. This is when the
process of embalming began. The embalming
process was a long and grotesque process in some
cases. The first stage of the embalming process
was to take the body to the ibu and wash it
with good smelling palm wine and then wash it
with water from the Nile River. After this was
done, a incision would be made to the left side
of the body which would allow for the embalmer to
remove the internal organs (The Religion of
Ancient Egypt). The only organ not taken out of
the body was the heart, as this was the center of
intelligence and feeling which was needed in the
afterlife. The body was then stuffed and covered
with natron, which allowed the body to dry out.
After forty days, the body was then washed again
and covered with oil. Once again the body is
covered with oil after the embalmers stuffed the
body. The body was then ready for wrapping.
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Mummification
After the body was finished the long embalming
process, the body was ready to be wrapped. You
would think that this process would be pretty
fast and easy, but in actuality it wasnt. This
process was very detailed and precise. First the
head, neck, fingers and toes were wrapped. Then
each arm and leg would be wrapped separately.
Between each layer, an amulet would be placed
allowing for protect in the afterlife. During the
mummification process, a priest would read spells
out loud to ward off any evil spirits. Finally
the arms and legs of the dead would be tied
together and in between them was a papyrus scroll
with spells from the Book of the Dead. More cloth
was wrapped around the body and on the last
linen, a picture of the God Osiris would be
painted. The body is then placed inside one
coffin and then that coffin is placed inside
another. After this last step, the body is the
prepared for the burial services with family
members (Mummification). The mummification
process allowed for the body of the dead to be
preserved and for the soul to life on. Once the
person got to the after life, his/her soul would
be judged and accordingly sent to the right
place. In the Egyptian religion, this would be
either the Field of Reeds or eternal torture.
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Cats The Sacred Animal
Although many cultures have had cats, the
Ancient Egyptians were the first to domesticate
and allow them in their homes. During the first
years of the domesticated cat, these animals were
most likely used to chase off rodents and snakes
from the crops and homes of the Egyptians. Slowly
however, these animals were eventually revered a
God. People began placing cats on tombs and
outside their homes to protect the inhabitants
and ward off evil spirits. The first famous cat
deity was Bastet (Watson). She was the goddess of
fertility and was the protector of the children
and cats. Sekhmet was Bastets counterpart and
known as the goddess of war and pestilence (Cats
in Ancient Egypt). Together the two maintained
balance of nature. Cats were so highly
recognized that they were often waited on and
when they died, they were mummified just as a
person would be. The mummified corpse would then
be offered to Bastet. After the death of the
animal, the owner would go into deep mourning and
even shaved their eyebrows to show their great
loss (Cats in Ancient Egypt). Laws also
protected the cat. Suppose a human killed a cat,
whether intentional or not, that human was
sentenced to death. The cat definitely held a
powerful spot in Ancient Egyptian history.
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The Egyptian Idea of the Soul
As mentioned before the soul was the entire
reason why the mummification process occurred.
According to the Ancient Egyptians, the soul was
made up of three elements the Bah, Ka and Akh.
Each part of the soul relied on the other and if
one died, they all died (Ancient Egyptian Idea of
Soul). The Bah was depicted as a human headed
bird. It represented the personality and
individuality of the dead. This part of the soul
lived inside the tomb but could come and go at
will. The Ka, was an exact physical and spiritual
replica of the deceased. It was to remain close
to the body and could never leave the tomb. This
aspect of the soul relied on the food, drink and
clothing that were buried with the body. Without
these items, the Ka could not survive. Finally
the Akh was the immortality of the dead. This
part of the soul was often to represented as a
bird and could only make the journey to the
underworld (Ancient Egyptian Idea of Soul). The
soul was definitely an important aspect of the
Ancient Egyptian religion. It was held high and
everyone took great strides to ensure it was
preserved accordingly.
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Additional Links for Information

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ancient_Eg
  ypt
• http//www.ancientegypt.co.uk
• http//www.ancient-egypt.org
• http//www.touregypt.net
• http//www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/relig
  ion/religion.html
• http//www.aldokkan.com/mp3/mp3.htm
• www.sacred-texts.com/egy

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Bibliography

• "History of Ancient Egypt." Wikipedia The Free
  Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. 22 Nov.
  2005 lthttp//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Anci
  ent_Egyptgt.
• "The Religion of Ancient Egypt." The Ancient
  Egyptian Culture Exhibit. 1998. Minnesota State
  University, Dept. of Anthropology. 10 Nov. 2005
  lthttp//www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/reli
  gion/religion.htmlgt.
• "Mummification." Ancient Egypt. 1999. The British
  Museum. 10 Nov. 2005 lthttp//www.ancientegypt.co.u
  k/mummies/home.htmlgt.
• Kinnaer, Jacques. "The History of Ancient Egypt."
  The Ancient Egyptian Site. 15 1997. 15 Nov. 2005
  lthttp//www.ancient-egypt.orggt.
• Watson, John. "An Overview of the Ancient
  Egyptian Religion." Tour Egypt. 22 Nov. 2005
  lthttp//www.touregypt.net/featurestories/religion.
  htmgt.
• Watson, John. "An Overview of the Ancient
  Egyptian Religion." Tour Egypt. 22 Nov. 2005
  lthttp//www.touregypt.net/featurestories/religion.
  htmgt.

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Bibliography (Pictures)

• "Large Bastet the Goddess Protector." The Museum
  Store. Talaria Enterprises. 22 Nov. 2005
  lthttp//www.talariaenterprises.com/products_lg/559
  6.htmlgt.
• Beebe, Judy. "Canopic Jars." Planetlightworker.com
  . New Earth Publications. 22 Nov. 2005
  lthttp//www.planetlightworker.com/articles/judybee
  be/may_images/symbol3.jpggt.
• Mummification." The Ancient Egyptian Culture
  Exhibit. 1998. Minnesota State University, Dept.
  of Anthropology. 10 Nov. 2005 lthttp//www.mnsu.edu
  /emuseum/prehistory/egypt/religion/religion.htmlgt.
  
• Atum." Ancient Egypt. 1999. The British Museum.
  10 Nov. 2005 lthttp//www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummie
  s/home.htmlgt.

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Paper
During the research of this project, I obtained
all of my information from various internet
resources. The best resources that I found where
the ones from the British Museum and the
Minnesota University websites. Both of the
websites offered detailed information on many
topics, especially on religion. During the
project, I found that it was pretty hard to place
my opinions as opposed to just facts. I did
however find that if you place little excerpts
every now and then, it is a little easier. In
order to complete this virtual museum, I used
power point which was actually pretty easy to
navigate. Since the websites that I used offered
great information, it made it pretty easy to put
everything together. Although the materials made
it less complicated to put together the project,
I must say it was definitely more difficult then
I thought it would be to get everything together.
Its a little difficult distinguishing between
the research aspect and the actual opinions. I do
better with one or the other not both together.
After doing all the research that I did, I
definitely found it very interesting that the
Ancient Egyptians did everything in their power
to preserve the soul. The process by which they
do the mummification was long, but they still did
it for every body, including cats. The Ancient
Egyptian culture is most definitely something
that one should study because it is a completely
different culture than ours, yet there are
similarities between the two. I thought I had a
pretty good understanding about the life of the
Ancient Egyptians before, but I must say that
after researching the topic, I learned much more.
Continued on next slide.
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Paper continued

• I think that the viewer of this project should
  come away having learned more about the Egyptian
  religion and the things that they believed in. A
  viewer should definitely know about the embalming
  and mummification process in great detail, as
  well as have a better understanding about how the
  Ancient Egyptians thought the world was created
  and how cats became to be worshiped. A viewer
  should find all the information in this project
  educational, as most people probably have only a
  general knowledge of the Egyptian religion.
  Aspects such as mummies are portrayed as evil
  in todays movies etc., but in actuality the
  mummies were basically made to prevent evilness.
• Interesting Facts
• During the embalming process, the brain was
  smashed with a long hook and removed via the
  nose.
• There are about 70 god/goddess that the Ancient
  Egyptians believed in.
• The priest that performed the mummification
  ritual wore a terra cotta mask shaped like
  Anubis.
• The entire embalming/mummification process took
  70 days.
• Cats had their own mummification process of six
  steps.