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Ancient Egyptian mythology
How religion influenced ancient egypt
Religious beliefs of the Egyptians
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Recommended: Ancient Egyptian mythology
Myths and burial customs
Myths
1)
Aten is the disk of the sun in ancient Egyptian mythology. The Aten, the sun-disk, is first related to The Story of Sinuhe. The dead king is described a god to the heavens and came back together ( united ) with the the sun disk.
Ammut was a creature which lived in the Hall of Ma'at waiting the choice of the dead that are able to go to the afterlife . Those souls who were found unable to go into the Afterlife were eaten up by Ammut. The part of the decision involved measuring the weight of the dead person's heart on the feather of Ma'at. If the heart was found to be heavy with darkness and did not balance with the feather, Ammut would eat them.
Aker was an ancient earth-god in Egypt. He was believed
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These rituals and a set of rules included mummifying the body, magic believed to make the person go to the after life and buried with certain grave goods.
The burial process used by the ancient Egyptians evolved throughout time as old customs were not used anymore and new ones were used, but several important elements of the process were challenging. Although specific details changed over time, the making of the mummy, the magic rituals involved, and the grave goods provided were all essential parts of a proper Egyptian mummy.
Over the years the organs were removed from a body and placed in hollow canopic jars.
Over time the embalming practices changed of people who preserved people. They began putting back the internal organs to bodies after the organs had been dried in mineral salt. Solid wood or stone canopic jars were still buried with the mummy to protect the organs.
The different kinds of canopic jars
Imsety the human-headed god who takes care the liver.
Hapy the baboon-headed god who takes care of the lungs
Duamutef the jackal-headed god who takes care of the
In the ancient Egyptian culture, the belief was that there was a life force and spirit inside of the body, known as the ‘Ka’. Therefore, mummification was performed as a ritual to preserve the physical features of the body as well as to protect its inner spirit, mainly to ensure that the ‘Ka’ could recognize the body where it may dwell in the eternal life. Thus, the funerary psychology of ancient Egyptians was that death did not bring an end to living, but instead was only an escape from the physical human life and a gateway to immortal being. Due to the fact that a being’s life span was short in ancient times, people’s main hopes rested in their afterlives, where they would be with the gods (Stockstad 121).
The Egyptians during this period took ample time and detail on the mummification process to ensure a successful transition from the netherworld to rebirth. The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, 1025-980 B.C., it’s a depiction of how the Egyptians valued and honored their elite members of society, as well as their gods. The Coffin of Tentkhonsu, itself dates back to the III intermediate period in Egyptian culture. The Egyptian believe was to join Osiris, whom was believed to have ascended to Netherworld and accomplished eternal life.
The history and tradition of Egypt is one of the most greatly studied and admired of all past world civilizations. The lure of the pyramids and the specter of the sphinx have led many archeologists to dedicate his/her life to unraveling the mysteries of ancient Egyptian culture. Arguably, the most captivating aspect of Egypt’s past is that of mummification. Why did the Egyptians mummify their dead? What beliefs did the Egyptians have regarding the after life? What portion of the Egyptian civilization was mummified? What was the Book of the Dead? This is a mere sampling of the questions that come to my mind when I think of ancient Egyptian culture. I hope to lay forth answers to these questions and many more in the following pages dedicated to the history and purpose behind Egyptian mummification.
The elements that will be focused on are the multiple functions of the tomb and rituals, specifically the mummification of bodies. Ancient Egyptian tombs had many functions; the main function being to hold the bodies of the dead. Tombs were typically built during a person’s lifetime and were ready by their time of death (Olson, 2009). Before bodies were put in the tombs, they underwent a process called mummification to help preserve the body and keep it intact. The tomb was also a place where family members could come and visit the deceased. In the early years, tomb structures were very simple; they consisted only of one chamber (Grajetzki, 2003: 3-4). Later on, façade tombs were built— which consisted of two parts; an “underground chamber for the dead and the superstructure built above the ground, over the shaft and the burial chamber” (Grajetzki, 2003: 8). Next, the Egyptian tombs and ...
This play is ultimately concerned with one person defying another person and paying the price. Antigone went against the law of the land, set by the newly crowned King Creon. Antigone was passionate about doing right by her brother and burying him according to her religious beliefs even though Creon deemed him a traitor and ordered him to be left for the animals to devour. Creon was passionate about being king and making his mark from his new throne. Although they differed in their views, the passion Creon and Antigone shared for those opinions was the same, they were equally passionate about their opposing views. Creon would have found it very difficult to see that he had anything in common with Antigone however as he appears to be in conflict with everyone, in his mind he has to stand alone in his views in order to set himself apart as king. Before he took to the throne Creon took advice from the prophet Tiresias who had so often had been his spiritual and moral compass, and yet in this matter concerning Antigone he will take advice from no one, not from the elders of Thebes, or even his own son Haemon.
The funerary rituals introduced by the Egyptians were the most intricate, spiritual rites in their times and, perhaps, even to this day. Their elaborate customs, tombs, and gifts to the dead were representative of their pious, devoted nature. Albeit not all were as imposing as the oldest and still remaining Seven Wonder of the World, the Pyramids of Giza, all were meaningful and sacred. The Egyptians, highly reverent of their dead, adopted ornate, religious burial practices to fit to every member of their society.
Speaking of organs, most of the internal organs were removed after the brain was taken out to preserve the body. Taking the brain out was either hooked through
were 10 doors and at end there was a statue of Osiris, the god of the
... was allowed to pass through the gates of Yaru and into the after-life, but if the heart weighed more than the feather, the heart was consumed by the devourer to be gone forever.
The Book was originally intended as a set of spells and incantations meant to insure safe passage for the soul of a deceased person into the Underworld. Some of the ending chapters include instructions on not dying a second time, meaning how not to die in the underworld and thus having no chance of being reborn or living a full afterlife. The original text--at least, the bits and pieces that modern scholars possess--consists of a set of hymns, beginning with the Hymn to Osiris. This hymn is meant to call up the king of the underworld and make him aware of the presence of the soul. After summoning Osiris, the presiding priest would begin a series of ceremonies designed to give the spirit all the faculties it possessed in life, such as speech, movement of the limbs, internal organ functions, and sight. After these rites were completed, the corpse was removed to the tomb where prophetic portions of the Book were read.
Upon completion of this procedure, the body will now be ready for burial. Egyptians used other methods of embalming. One method attributed to the lower class was to bury the body in the desert sand for a lengthy period of time. Then the sand was sunk. The result of this method dried the skin of the body into a leathery shell.
The ancient Egyptian burial practices are fundamental to the beliefs of ancient Egyptians. There are many different forms of burial practices; however the main form of practice of ancient Egyptians was the mummification process as seen in source B. Through the use of source B along with other sources, the following response will analyse the ancient Egyptian burial practices.
In the present time, Ancient Egypt is one of the most notable early civilizations that took care in preserving the bodies of their dead (Wikipedia.com). However, preservation of the deceased’s body advanced during the Age of
Making of the mummy. Taking out the water and moisture out of the body was the main thing to do. The first thing they would do in the making of the mummy was covering the body with a crystal substance called natron that would dry out the body. Then they would take out the organs. After that they would let the natron dry out for 40 days, once it was dried out they would use lotion to preserve the body. Then they would wrap the body in linen. The total process could take up to 40 days. After you were done you would put your body in a coffin and go to the afterlife.
The Egypt people believe that all the wet gooey stuff that keeps us ticking. They figured if you scooped out those rotting hearts and lungs also livers, the body would stay preserved. They were right too. Could you believe that. Well if you wanted to go into the afterlife all you had to was just a good slash on the left side of the dead persons abdomen, reach in and pull. The important organs were each put in their little own pots called “Canopic jars.”They were the statue of a god,they were the ones who would protect the body parts. Then the insides of the body were rinsed with wine. That sounds crazy…..like wow. Now the brain part would have to come you would have to use a long wire with a little spoon to get the gray stuff out. Then you would stick it through the nose and get higher and higher until you reached the top. After words you would scoop it out little by little. They didn’t think it was important so what they would do was toss it out the back then let the dogs (strays) eat it up. Now they would leave the heart because the Egyptians believed that when you go to the afterlife they would weigh your heart on a scale 1-10. This was against a feather to see if you were a light heart or a heavy heart. The next step would have to take 70 days. They would cover the body with natron and let it sit there for 2 and a half months. Also it is like a salt but with different chemical composition. This salt would absorb the body. After that the body was painted with a varnish like substance. Then, a mixture of oil wax and more natron was rubbed in the skin. The inside was filled with sand, pieces of cloth, even saw dust. Then it was time were you got the body wrapped witch I told you in the last part. Well thats all there is too it.