Ancient Egypt's Religion and Its Affects on Civilization

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Ancient Egypt's religion was a major part of what made them such a unique civilization. Although they began like many other ancient civilizations, on a river side, they quickly became one of the longest lasting empires the world had ever seen. Their religion helped to create this by introducing an unchanging element into their culture. Religion was also a very strong part of their government. Both of these factors helped to add to their stability and adaptability which was one of the most impressive in both the ancient and the modern world. Ancient Egypt's culture, government, adaptability and overall stability came from their extremely intricate and ever present religion. Egypt’s culture was one of the most diverse and religious cultures of its time. Much of early Egyptian culture was based around the flooding of the Nile and the nutrients it brought for them to farm. The river was their oasis in the middle of one of the harshest environments. It was this that helped them to become a very hardened and capable society that could withstand the tests of time. Their religion also reflected their hard steadfastness since it was of their own creation. Other than a few of the well known gods of creation each village and town in Egypt had a different set of gods. With each place having the freedom to do what they wanted with the religion they could “personalize” it to suit their individual needs. Egyptian people realized that they were not perfect, this fact is clearly represented in their religion and mythology. It was also seen in their religious art, such as on the walls of pyramids, that they believed that the deceased would be judged in the afterlife for what they did. This judgment would dictate wether or not they wo... ... middle of paper ... ...ty; this was because of their deep-rooted religion that affected every part of their life from birth until after they died. The long lived Egyptian society survived the tests of time that many others crumbled beneath. Because of its religion Egypt was one of the strongest and most predominate societies of the ancient world. Works Cited Finer, S. E. The History of Government From the Earliest Times. Vol. 1 New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999. 132-209. eBook. Judge, Edward, and John Langdon. Connections: A World History: Combined Volume. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson College Inc, 2009. 38-9. Print. Reilly, Kevin. Worlds Of History: A Comparative Reader. 4th ed. Vol. 1. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. 62-72. Print. (Primary Source Used) Weigel, James. Cliffs Notes on Mythology. Lincoln, Nebraska : Cliffs Notes, Inc., 1991. 18-24. eBook.

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