The religion of ancient Egypt

The people of ancient Egypt developed their religion based on gods and goddesses and the powers that they had. They had a deep belief in the supernatural and that their lives were controlled by their deities.

In old Egypt, there were two Kingdoms called Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt. Both of these kingdoms had their own religions. When the two kingdoms became one many of the religious beliefs and cultures were combined. The Egyptian civilization lasted over 3,000 years and during this time many of the beliefs and customs changed. The people of ancient Egypt were also influenced by their main source of life, which was the Nile River. The Nile gave them water for growing crops, drinking, sailing and trade.

Ancient Egyptians believed that the world was flat and made of clay. They thought that it floated on a large sea of water and that the Nile River was one of the springs from this water. They thought that all of the forces of nature could be identified as the children of a creator god. They believed the universe was set in an established way of ‘balance’ as well as ‘truth’, and that this could not be changed.

The pharaoh was the king and leader of Egypt and was thought to be both man and god. He could control nature, protect the people, start wars and keep their country successful. The other gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt each had a job or role in the daily life and existence of ancient Egyptians and there were many temples built to honor them.

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 to the temples to help in watching over the contributions and helping the people pay tribute to the gods.

Many of the ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses were thought to look like humans and animals. Each was show in pictures with different bodies or heads of animals, depending upon the type of job that the god might have and the power that they associated with the animal or bird.

The gods and goddesses were often set up in sets of two, each showing the opposite site, such as life and death. Other gods were associated together because they were similar, such as Amun, the god of hidden power who was paired with Ra, the god of the sun.

Some of their gods and goddesses were shown to be more powerful than others. They changed throughout the Egyptian history as some were raised above others.

One of their main beliefs was that when a person died they would go to an afterlife and live the same kind of life they had on earth. In order to live that kind of life they had to have their body and be able to take all of the things with them that they would need. This is why the Egyptians created mummies and put all of the possessions in the burial tombs.

The ancient Egyptians believed that in order to enter the afterlife, the person would go to the Hall of Truths and would have to take a test. Annubis, the god of the dead, would weigh the heart on a scale and on the other side of the scale would be an ostrich feather. If the feather weighed more than the heart, it showed that the person led a good life and they could enter the afterlife. If it didn’t the soul of the person would be eaten by Ammit, a female Egyptian demon that had the body of a lion and the head of a crocodile.

The ancient Egyptians devoted their lives to honoring their gods and goddesses through rituals and building temples to honor them.

Ancient Egyptian Houses

Almost all of Egypt is a desert, and in ancient Egypt they needed to use any fertile land for growing crops. This means that there weren’t that many trees for building houses. The Egyptians had to use whatever they had around and that included mud and reeds. Since the Nile River floods lasted three months out of the year, their housing construction often suffered.

Early in Egyptian history, the people made huts for their houses out of mud and papyrus reeds (a local plant). Since the Nile River would flood every year, it would wash away the mud huts.  They decided to start using the mud to create bricks, which were stronger than just plain mud. The bricks were created by mixing up mud with straw, placed in a form and then they left them in the sun to bake and dry. When they stacked the bricks up, they could make stronger walls and homes. They also learned to build the homes so that it allowed the outside wind to keep the houses cool.

Poor people had homes that usually had only one row of bricks, but the wealthier people often had two and even three rows of bricks.  The mud bricks were cheap to make, but they found out that in a couple of years, they started to crumble. The very richest people had enough money to have homes made out of stone and also had granite stone gateways.  Most of the houses had three rooms and all of the homes had flat roofs. The stone gateways were common for both rich and poor houses and they had the ability to be locked from the inside. Archeologists have found ancient keys that dated back to 1550 BCE. Poor people had gateways that were usually made out of limestone.

As the Egyptian civilization developed, they began to build houses with two floors. Usually the top floor was where they lived and the bottom floor was used for crop storage. The created reed canopies to give them shade against the hot Egyptian sun and even had small windows for the upper rooms. All windows and doors had reed mat coverings to keep flies, dust and heat out.

Many of the homes of the wealthy people were built so that they had a courtyard in the center. These courtyards had areas to grow fruits and vegetables as well as flower gardens. Some of these homes had indoor toilets and bathrooms. Sewage from all of the people’s houses was eliminated by digging cess pits as well as tossing it into the streets or the river. Beginning in the time of the New Kingdom a number of rich people had their own private wells for their drinking water. The poor people had to use shared public wells that were found throughout the towns, and some had to use the Nile River water or water from canals.

The inside of the ancient Egyptian homes were not furnished with wood furniture like we have today. Most families had low stools and the very poor just sat on the floor. The homes of the wealthy had beds and even mattresses, but the poor people had to be satisfied with sleeping on straw mattresses or possibly a floor rug. The Egyptians used reed baskets to store anything that they had in the home.

Papyrus reeds are a plant that grows everywhere in Egypt, even today. The reeds were used for many purposes, including creating baskets, roofs and paper. The ancient Egyptians learned to build their houses using a system of ‘vents’ to allow the hot air to escape and keep the inside of the homes cooler. The reed roofs helped in the cooling process since it let the hotter air escape.

Egyptian Clothing

Egypt has hot and dry weather because so much of it is a desert. The ancient Egyptians had to have clothing that was not too hot and allowed free flowing air to cool their bodies. Most of the clothes they wore were made of linen that was made from the flax plant. The type and quality of linen depended upon how rich the person was.

Egyptians used as much of the natural resources from their area as they could. Early on they discovered the strength of flax plant for making linen cloth. Each flax plant takes about 100 days to grow from seeds. When they bloomed, they were gathered together and placed in a moist vat, because the flax plant actually got stronger when it was wet. The plant dried very fast and when used, it lasted longer than almost all of the other fibers.

The ancient Egyptians were very concerned about their appearance and, unlike so many of the other cultures in the area at that time, chose to create individually hand sewn pieces, instead of just one big piece of cloth wrapped around their bodies. They wore a kind of ‘tunic’ made of white linen that might make you think of a t-shirt. A man’s tunic would reach his knee area, while a woman’s tunic would go all the way to the ankles. Women’s clothes looked more like a dress, and could have one or two shoulders covered and the linen cloth for women was made with a much better quality than the men’s.

When men were working they wore a kind of ‘loin cloth or kilt’ made of linen that was wrapped around the legs and waist. The length of the kilt depended upon what was in fashion at that time. There is no evidence that men or women wore any kinds of hats. This is probably due to the hot desert sun. Wearing a hat could make the person overheated. They did wear headdresses for special occasions. Many of the Egyptians went barefoot, but the rich are shown with sandals that are made from leather; poor people wore sandals made of woven papyrus reeds, which were a kind of straw.

If someone was very wealthy, they would be seen wearing a much better type of linen and would often add jewelry made of fine gemstones for decoration. The linen was so fine that you could almost see through it. It seems that the Egyptians do share some of the same things as people of today. The wealthy were very fashion conscious and were always trying to keep up with whatever fashion trends would happen. Some of these trends were set by the royal family, while others were influenced through the imported fashions and things from other countries.

People that were poor wore a more course or rough type of linen and could not afford jewels but might have added feathers or beads.

Children did not wear any clothes until they reached the age of 6. While they didn’t have any clothes, there are pictures of kids wearing anklets, collars, bracelets and hair accessories as decoration. Almost all slaves are shown with hardly any clothes and they worked without wearing anything at all. After they reached the age of six, most children wore the same type of clothes as their parents.

The royal family members wore the finest of linens and they were custom made for each member. They also wore the best jewels, gems and gold jewelry and the pharaoh typically had animal skins as decoration.

Unlike today, men and women both wore makeup. They had green and blue eye shadow and for special occasions. The lined their eyes in black kohl to help protect their eyes from the bright sunlight. The dark liner would reflect the sun away from their eyes.

Canopic Jars

The ancient Egyptians had a strong religious belief that when a person died they would return to an ‘afterlife’ that was almost the same as the life they had when they were alive.  In their belief, the body needed to be preserved so that the person could return. This is why the Egyptians created mummies. The process required that not only the outside of the person’s body be mummified, but also all of the internal organs. Canopic jars were created to contain all of the organs, so that upon entering the afterlife, the person would be complete.

We might find the practice of preserving the internal organs and placing them in jars, a bit odd. The ancient Egyptian religions were very specific about the way someone needed to be prepared so that they could enter the afterlife.  Each of the Canopic jars had a specific purpose and were designed to honor the four sons of Horus. Horus was the Egyptian god of the sky and the contents of the Canopic jars would go along with the person as they passed through and entered the afterlife and protect the remains.

Canopic jars were highly decorated and the top of each jar was a kind of lid or ‘stopper’. Each lid had a representation of the head of each of Horus’ four sons and contained a different organ.  They were put into a special chest that was placed in the tomb of the person that had died. If there wasn’t a chest to put the jars into, they kept all four jars together and put them close to the mummy.

The four jars were:

• Imsety had a human head and carried and protected the liver.
• Qebehsenuf had a falcon’s head and carried and protected the intestines.
• Hapy had the head of a baboon and carried and protected the lungs.
• Duamatef had the head of a jackal and carried and protected the stomach.

Part of the Egyptian religious belief was that as a person prepared to enter the afterlife, they would have to be tested to see if they had led a good life. Their heart would be placed on a scale with a feather on the other side. If the feather was heavier than their heart, they could pass. It was because of this belief that the heart was left in the body and not placed into a jar. They thought the mummified body needed the heart so that it could pass the test.

Strangely, the Egyptians didn’t think the brain was important. They thought the center of the body and soul was the heart. When they created a mummy, they destroyed the brain.

The original Canopic jars were hollow and the internal organs were wrapped in linen along with their holy oils and placed inside the jars. This process was thought to preserve the internal organs for all eternity. As the Egyptians got better at making mummies, they would mummify the internal organs and put them back in the body of the person that had died and then complete the mummification. They continued to put the four Canopic jars into the tomb, even though they were empty. This was a symbol to honor the four sons of Horus and allow them to protect the person as they crossed over.

The jars could be made of a number of different things” limestone, calcite or alabaster. The Old Kingdom of Egypt was around 2686-2181 BC and during that time there was hardly ever any inscription or writing on the Canopic jars. By the Middle Kingdom, 2025-1700 BC, they began to put writing on the jars. It wasn’t until the Nineteenth Dynasty and later that they began to decorate each of the jars with the heads of the four sons of Horus.

The Ba and the Ka

The ancient Egyptian people lived their lives with two main concerns: a happy life here and being able to enter the afterlife when they had died. They spent a lot of time worshiping their gods and goddesses and asking them to help them in their lives. They believed that even though a person might die, their soul would survive. They gave the soul two different names: the Ka and the Ba.

The Ka part of the soul was what we might call the life force of the person. The ancient Egyptians thought that when someone died the Ka, or the life force, left the physical body and could then move around. They believed the Ka could drink and eat, but was stuck in the tomb in the body of the mummy or the small statues that were left in the tomb.  The symbol of the Ka was often a picture of two raised arms.

The Ba part of the soul had more freedom and could go on journeys to follow their gods. After someone died, the Ba was the main way for the person who had died to stop being stuck in the tomb and they would be joined together. Once they were united, they could fly to the underworld, pass the test and then reach the afterlife.  The symbol of the Ba is often shown as a bird with a human head and wings.

Ancient Egyptians believed in magic and their religion was based on many magical spells and miracles. When the Ba and Ka join together, the ancient Egyptians called that a divine spark and it was named ‘Akhu’. The prayers that were said during the funeral rites allowed the physical body to make the change into a spiritual body called the Saku.  They believed that the Saku could move around the burial tomb and talk to the parts of its soul. It was the Saku that would eventually for into the afterlife and join with the gods.

Creating a mummy was of the highest importance. If the process wasn’t completed and the human body was allowed to decompose, it would not give the Ka and Ba the amount of time needed to be joined and this would cause a ‘second death’.  The ancient Egyptians were afraid of the second death and this is why creating a mummy was so important. There were more afraid of the second death than their death in life because it meant that they would lose their memory completely and they would end up as a ghost wandering the world for eternity.

Understanding the ancient Egyptians beliefs in the spiritual world after death has helped some of the Egyptologists.  There funeral rituals were very involved and included the building of burial tombs that contained all of their personal belongings. Priests conducted special rituals that included reading from the Book of the Dead and placing amulets that they thought were filled with magical spells to help the spirit. The physical body of the mummy was called the “Khat” and it could not be allowed to decay.

Burial tombs in ancient Egypt often have paintings on the walls that show images of the Book of the Dead. Pictures of Ba standing over the human that has died are also seen and Ba is also present while the spirit is taking their test to pass to the afterlife.

Religion for the ancient Egyptians meant that they lived their earthly life well so that they could pass the test in the underworld and the Ka and Ba would come together for their next life with the gods. It took many years of study for Egyptologists to try to figure out the details of the ancient Egyptian beliefs.

Egyptian Amulets

An amulet is an item that someone might wear or carry around with them in the belief that it will bring them good luck or protect them. People in today’s world often carry amulets like a good luck coin. In the times of ancient Egypt, part of their religious beliefs included that amulets were very important in bringing protection to them in their lives.

In ancient Egypt amulets were created for a number of reasons. There were deities (gods) and symbols that transferred the powers that they represented. These were sometimes found on common everyday items such as headrests.  The ancient Egyptians believed that magic was in an amulet and the type of magic could be understood based on its shape.  They also believed that the shape, the material it was made up and certain magical ingredients that were rubbed on the amulet would enhance the power.

In the Predynastic Period (before the age of the pharaohs), amulets were usually in the form of animals. By the Old Kingdom time (2649-2150 B.C.), amulets were either animals or were symbols. Some of these were based on hieroglyphs and might include the form of humans.

The ancient Egyptian gods started appearing on amulets by the Middle Kingdom time (2030-1640 B.C.) and there were many more types of amulet styles and designs by the New Kingdom (1550-1070 B.C.) 

Amulets with magic or special spells were wrapped in the linens of the mummy’s chest burial. The ancient Egyptians thought that the amulets would help the person that died enter the afterlife and was a kind of good luck charm. The amulets for the dead were called the Four Sons of Horus and were a requirement for the mummy. All four of the gods have the bodies of men, but each has a different shaped head: One is human, one is an ape, one is jackal and one is a falcon.

Both the rich and the poor people of ancient Egypt wore amulets. These could be found in jewelry and were from precious jewels all the way to inexpensive stone.  The wealthy people in ancient Egypt had easier access to the priests and temples, but the poor often wore amulets as a replacement for being able to be in the temples.

Inscriptions or writing were sometimes included on amulets for special blessings or protection from a specific god.  A type of glass-like material called ‘faience’ was used in jewelry in ancient Egypt and the word means ‘dazzling’ or ‘shining’. Faience was a popular material used in amulets because it represented immortality, rebirth and the symbol of life.  Other popular amulets included the ‘eye’ which was associated with the god Horus and shaped like a falcon’s eye and the Knot of Isis; both were usually made of a stone called jasper.

Popular materials that were used to make amulets included: peridots, emeralds, feldspar, carnelians, malachite, lapis lazuli, turquoise, tiger’s eye, chalcedony, and amethysts. These were also materials that were used in jewelry that was worn by a variety of Egyptians.  Amulets have also been found that are made from metals such as gold, bronze, iron and copper as well as natural materials like wood and a kind of clay.

Amulets were worn for many purposes, some for protection, others to bring good luck and even some so that the gods would bless a family with more children. Amulets can be found in many shapes and there are some that are with or without writing or inscriptions. The people of ancient Egypt believed in the power of their magic more seriously than we would take a good luck charm today.

Egyptian Government

From the beginnings of the Old Kingdom until the end of the New Kingdom, the most powerful person in Egypt was the king and occasionally the queen.  The king was known as the Pharaoh.  This is an Egyptian word meaning ‘great house’.

The pharaoh:

• Was the political leader. 
• He held the title ‘Lord of Two Lands’ because he ruled both Upper and Lower Egypt. 
• He owned all the land in Egypt. 
• He made the laws. 
• He collected the taxes. 
• The pharaoh could lead his people into war if Egypt was attacked or if he wanted to expand his power. 
• He was also the religious leader. 
• He was the ‘High Priest of Every Temple’. 
• He represented the Gods on earth. 
• He performed rituals and built temples. 

Most Egyptians worked in the fields along the banks of the Nile, growing crops for themselves and to pay in taxes.  They did not own their land or their house.  Everything belonged to the pharaoh.  The Egyptians accepted this, for 3000 years, because it was part of their religion.  The pharaoh was a god and it was important not to upset the gods.

The wall paintings show Egypt as a peaceful place with men and women working in the fields, people catching wild birds in snares, bakers baking bread, carpenters and shipwrights building ships, goods being transported on the Nile.

The pharaoh, however, maintained this peace by making sure that rulers in other lands did not attack Egypt.  We have a whole series of wall paintings which shows the Pharaoh Ramses II invading Nubia and conquering the people there.  Here is Ramses attacking the Nubians from his chariot.  You can see that several of them have already been killed or wounded.

 

Since the Nubians were defeated, they had to bring Ramses gold, food, wild animals, and many other objects.  Here Ramses is sitting on his golden throne in front of a procession of defeated Nubians bringing him tribute (the goods a defeated people paid to the conqueror).

 

The Egyptian pharaoh was expected to be able to lead his people

In order to govern the whole country, the pharaoh had many officials. There were royal officers and sheriffs in every Egyptian town who made sure that everyone paid their taxes and obeyed the Pharaoh.

The most important official was the pharaoh’s vizier.  There was also a network of mayors, scribes and priests. Some of the tasks of the government were:

• Maintaining a police force to keep the country peaceful; 
• Maintaining the courts to give people justice and to punish criminals; 
• Maintaining an army; 
• Building the royal monuments such as temples; 
• Controlling the supply of food; distributing the food. 
• Holding a census to count the population in order to collect taxes; 
• Collecting the taxes; 
• Keeping the state records; everything of importance was written down; 
• Maintaining important industries such as ship-building, brick-making and stone quarrying; 
• Keeping the annual records of the Nile’s water level. 

When a pharaoh died, he was usually succeeded by a son or other relative. If the new pharaoh was a child, the high court officials guided and advised him, but he still had to attend rituals and play the part of a king.

Usually a young prince was well-trained in the skills he needed to become a pharaoh.  He was expected to be expert at sports such as hunting and using a bow and arrow.  He needed to be expert in driving a war chariot and understand how to command an army.

These skills were necessary to defend the rich land of Egypt against its neighbours.  It was then possible for the government to maintain peace at home.

One of the strangest things about ancient Egypt is that there are hardly any cases known of a pharaoh being assassinated (murdered by one of his own people).  The few cases where a pharaoh was murdered seem to be when there was a plot at court to replace him with another prince (perhaps because the other prince was a better leader in war). 

Unlike almost all other early (and later) civilisations, however, most of the rulers of ancient Egypt died peacefully of old age.