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Impact of ancient Egyptian civilization
The rise and fall of the Egyptian civilization
The rise and fall of the Egyptian civilization
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Religion was a very important part of Ancient Egypt and helped form the basis of an intricate social structure. Ancient Egyptian religion and the records of it tell us a lot about how this age-old civilisation functioned. Gods, temples, priests, mummification, the journey to the afterlife and the afterlife were all significant parts of being an ancient Egyptian. One of the things Ancient Egyptian life revolved around were the gods. The Ancient Egyptian people believed that the gods could govern the present and the future. They thought that Amun (the king of gods) created many gods, each one watching over and controlling important facets of their lives. Ancient Egyptian people would worship their gods, to ensure life kept going smoothly. …show more content…
Gods were depicted in different ways to symbolise their responsibilities and character traits. Some gods had animal heads, were fully human or fully animal some had more than one form. Some of the most worshipped gods included; Mut, who was the "Mother Goddess", Osiris, former god of living Earth, and then the god of the underworld, Ra, who was the god of the sun, depicted with the head of a falcon, and was sometimes merged with Amun to be Amun-Ra (Amun-Ra was also widely worshipped,) Isis the goddess of magic and life, Thoth the god of writing and knowledge, depicted with the head of an ibis, and Horus the god of war and protection against evil, known as the falcon god, he was depicted with a falcon head.
The reason gods were so important was because the people of Ancient Egypt had a very strong belief in gods and the power they had over their lives. In the honour of their sacred gods, the Ancient Egyptians erected Temples. These cherished temples are another thing we associate with Ancient Egypt today. Some important Ancient Egyptian temples you may have heard of are Karnak, Abu Simbel, the temple of Edfu and the Philae Temples. Abu Simbel is two temples built by King Ramses II. In ancient times they were located in Abu Simbel, but were relocated to Aswān muḥāfaẓah in 1964 due to the prospect of flood destruction. The temple was built to honour the gods Ra-Horakhty, Ptah, and Hathor, as well as Ramses II, and his favourite
wife. Karnak, otherwise known as The Karnak temple complex, was a group of temples, chapels, pylons and other buildings built to honour Amun-Ra and many other gods. It was built on the east bank of the Nile in Thebes. This temple complex was built over 2000 years ago and is not in the best condition today, but still a very impressive sight. Temples were usually built near populous areas and added to over time. The purpose of the temples was to keep the gods happy and meet their needs. The public funded the building of these temples, as keeping the gods satisfied was beneficial to everyone. Ancient Egyptian Temples were not really known as places of worship, like Roman temples, because normal people were not allowed to go inside them except for festivals and ceremonies. The penalty, if the strict rule was disobeyed, was death. It was during religious festivals that ordinary Egyptians joined in: people would worship as gods shrines were moved from the temple to temple, and there would be public feasting. Temples were important to The Ancient Egyptian civilisation because temples were where Priests satisfied the needs of the gods. The Ancient Egyptians believed this would make for a happier and more prosperous life. However, not everybody was forbidden to set foot in a temple- Priests and sometimes Pharaohs and Priestesses were allowed in temples. The Priest's role in Ancient Egypt was to satisfy the needs of the gods, within these main responsibilities were other smaller tasks, which were shared out amongst the Priests. Unlike priests from other religions, they were not required to look after the public's morals or educate people of the religion. The priests believed that daily rituals like making sacrifices, praying, burning incense, singing hymns and offering food, drink, clothing and jewellery would keep the gods in a good mood, ensuring life went to plan. The Temples were self-sustaining and Priests grew and raised any plants or animals needed for Gods and Priests at the temple. Priests were required to be "pure," morally and physically, to make contact with the gods, which meant they had no hair or body hair, washed several times a day and often wore linen clothing or leopard skins. Priests were important to Ancient Egypt because they performed ceremonies, rituals and offerings which were said to keep the gods happy. They believed without Priests to perform these duties, gods would be unsatisfied, and make life difficult. Pharaohs ruled upper and lower Egypt, and acted as a human representation of the gods- they did this by building temples and helping to perform rituals. Pharaoh’s had a lot of power in Ancient Egypt; they created laws, collected taxes and protected Egypt from outside intruders. The Ancient Egyptian royalty system worked in almost the same way as our monarchy. Pharaohs were usually descended from Ancient Egyptian royalty. Some famous Pharaohs you may have heard of are, Khufu, who is remembered for building the Great Pyramid of Giza, Khafra the son of Khufu, remembered for his tomb, the Second Pyramid of Giza, and the Great Sphinx, Amenhotep, known for leading the Egyptian army into battle at Nubia, Thutmose, who was known for his military campaigns in Syria, and his victory at Megiddo and also his victory in Kadesh, Tutankhamun, made famous for his amazing tomb full of treasure in the valley of kings, Cleopatra, known for being the last Pharaoh ever, and her tragic but interesting life, Ramses II, known for the many beautiful temples he built and Hatshepsut, remembered for her trading expeditions and being the first female Pharaoh, a very rare thing at the time. Another large element of Ancient Egyptian culture was the afterlife, and along with that came their belief in embalming and mummification. Mummification, otherwise known as embalming, was the preservation of the human body. The importance of embalming was the belief that a person would need their ka or spirit in the afterlife, and for this to happen the body needed to be preserved. At first embalming was only for the wealthy or important, but soon embalming became a trade and there were options to suit less wealthy families- almost anyone could have a body embalmed. Embalming was so significant to the Ancient Egyptians that they had a god - Anubis who was said to watch over the embalming of bodies. The process of embalming included; removing and preserving of the important organs (but not the heart which was believed to be needed in the afterlife,) washing the body with wines and spices, preserving the body with salt and letting it dry out for a number of days, stuffing the body with linen rags and rubbing the body with oils. Linen bandages were then wound around the body to help keep it dry, and in some cases sacred amulets and charms against evil were wrapped in with the linen. As the body was bandaged prayers were read aloud from the book of the dead. The wrapped body was then encased in a sarcophagus (an Ancient Egyptian coffin) and taken in procession down the east bank of the Nile. Ceremonies were then performed by Priests and the family to help with the dead man's journey to the afterlife. The dead person was thought to need furniture, clothes, jewellery, hunting equipment, food and servants. Most of these things were placed in a tomb, except for food which was left daily in an adjoining shrine. Servants were left with the dead person in the form of statues. Embalming or mummification was important because it was the pathway to eternal life and immortality, a strong belief and desire of the Ancient Egyptians. After the person's body and ka or spirit was preserved and all their needs satisfied, the journey to the afterlife would begin. The first step to this was through the underworld, a dangerous region ruled by the god Osiris. Throughout the journey, they would have to contend with god’s, strange creatures and gatekeepers in order to get to Osiris and the hall of final judgement. To assist this, a scroll of papyrus with some carefully chosen spells was buried with the person in their tomb. Once they were in the hall of judgement, the first part of the judgement- standing before the 42 divine judges- would begin. In order to proceed to the second part of the judgement, they would have to plead the innocence of any wrongdoing they had done throughout their life. Even if they were not a completely innocent, they may still have had a chance, because the book of the dead supplied them with the correct thing to say to each judge, convincing them of their innocence. The last part of the judgement was the weighing of the heart. The heart held each person's past actions: if the person’s past actions were bad, then their heart would be heavy whereas if they were good, it would be light. The heart was then weighed by the god Anubis, against the feather of the goddess Ma’at. If the heart was heavier than the feather, the person would be fed to Ammut the devourer, if it was the same weight or lighter than the feather, then the person would be free to proceed to the afterlife. afterlife was known amongst the people as the field of reeds. It was almost exactly like life on earth. The differences? There was no sickness, disappointment or death. The journey to the afterlife and the afterlife were important to the Ancient Egyptians because the civilisation loved being alive and had a wish to live forever. There was a strong belief that with the right preparation a person could hope to continue their life after death. As you can now see, life in Ancient Egypt was centred around the beliefs and rituals of Ancient Egyptian religion. Ancient Egyptian religion symbolises Ancient Egypt in many ways and is part of the puzzle in figuring out what life in Egypt would have been like 5000 years ago.
The Old Kingdom of Egypt (from 2700 to 2200 B.C.), saw the commencement of many of the rigid, formal beliefs of the Egyptian civilization, both in regards to their religious and political beliefs, as they were very closely intertwined. "... There was a determined attempt to impose order on the multitude of gods and religious beliefs that had existed since predynastic times... and the sun-god Re became the supreme royal god, with the ki...
In Ancient Egypt, huge pyramids were created to serve as tombs for pharaohs. I believe that a temple was included for Egyptians to make offerings for their kings. Ancient Egyptians had a belief of Polytheism, meaning that they worshipped their gods, which led them to worship their Pharaohs very much. The Egyptians weren’t the only ones that had the belief of Polytheism. The Ancient Mesopotamia did too have the same belief. I mentioned earlier that the Sumerians and Akkadians rely on their gods. Well, by briefly examining the illustration on Document 6, the size of the temple tells me that the Sumerians placed high value on their gods that they look up to them for their own happiness and prosperity. Polytheism was very important for both civilizations. It contributes to how they govern their civilization.
After his ascent to the throne, the kingdom prospered and the young Pharaoh poured his energies and national treasures into building temples and monuments honoring his father, Egypt's gods and himself. In Nubia he constructed six temples, two of which were carved out of a Cliffside at Abu Simbel, with their four colossal statues of the king, are the most magnificent and the best known. Engineers designed the temple so every year on February 22 and October 22 the earliest sunrays shine on the back wall of the innermost chamber and lights up the pharaoh's statue, and fitting, he sits with the three gods of the sun. In all of his monuments he had his name cartouche and texts engraved so deep that no successor would be able to remove it.
How did people revere their gods differently among three civilizations? Did they worship with the same general intent? What were gods’ role(s) in people’s lives? A brief exploration into the religions of Egypt, Greece, and the Hebrew people may bring insight to these questions. Although the main idea of higher beings remains constant throughout societies’ religion, their form of presence in people’s lives varies. I will present the relationship between the leaders and the gods, as well as resemblance to monotheism and systems of government.
In conclusion, Ancient Egypt has a very complex religion and beliefs that would be considered bizarre in many parts of the world. They believed in many gods, some took part in the creation of the universe. Others brought the flood every year, offered protection and took care of people after they died. The ancient Egyptians thought that it was important to recognize and worship the gods because they represented the peace and harmony across the land.
Religion was a major part of Ancient Egyptians’ lives. Their faith was so engrained in them that it was more of a lifestyle than a set of beliefs. The Egyptians practiced polytheism, or the worship of many gods, and they believed that their pharaoh was a god on Earth (Doc 3). The people worshipped the pharaoh and gave him all respect and power. They believed that their two main goals in life were to keep the pharaoh and the other gods happy and to live a good life so that they may enjoy a happy life after death. Their shared faith strengthened their society because everyone was working toward the same goal. Groups were not divided based on what god they worshipped. Instead, the fact that every person lived to please the same gods and wished to go to the same afterlife gave them something in common and brought them together as a community. Sumerians also practiced polytheism and believed that their priests were connected to the gods. The people thought it was their responsibility to keep the gods happy, and believed that if the gods were pleased, they would allow their people to be content as well (Doc 6). Because of their desire to please the gods, Sumerians performed every task to the best of their ability. For example, they invested lots of time and money into their ziggurats, or temples, because they only wanted to give their best to the gods. The Sumerians’ devotion to every task ensured that everything was done well and helped their civilization
Ancient Egypt was a very important time in our time period. They had their own way of life. Egyptians had their own writing, burials, government, religion, cooking, and games. They were educated people with many talents. They were good with their hands and brains. Ancient Egyptians were a magnificent race of people.
Like I said before this monument is an important part of Egyptian history because it dedicates itself to the pharaoh Hatshepsut, and allows the Egyptians to remember their past. This temple teaches people about Egypt past, present, and future by the walls of hieroglyphics, older architecture and teaching them about their longest running pharaoh Hatshepsut. The Egyptians thought very highly of their pharaohs because they were considered gods on earth. Lastly most people today consider slavery as a cruel thing but in Egypt it was considered a common practice in their culture. At this time the slaves in Egypt thought of slavery as an honor to be building all these
The practice of religion in the worship of gods and goddesses had a significant role in everyday life in ancient Egypt. My goddess is Hathor. Hathor is the woman with the ears of a cow, And she is the half cow half cobra. Also, she is the woman with a headdress of horns and a sun disk. Hathor is the sky, love and joy goddess. The responsibilities that Hathor did were to make people enjoy life get protected and feel lovable. Next, Hathor is the Greek god and a Ancient Egyptian god. Hathor is related to Ra, mother of Pharaoh, and wife of Horus. Even so, people would pray for Heather for protectiveness, love and joy, She also would help pregnant women. Hathor had people pray to her for protectiveness, love and their for their children to live
“ The Egyptians believed that temples were the homes of the gods.” - History textbook page 104 paragraph 3. Also the text states, “In many cases, these columns were covered with paintings and hieroglyphics,
The temple of Edfu is an ancient Egyptian temple located in Aswan city on the west bank of the Nile river. It was built in the ptolemaic period between 237 and 57 BC by the Egyptians, under the rule of king Alexander, who was from a Greek family that ruled Egypt for three centuries. The architect of this temple is Imhotep, who is known for designing the famous step pyramid in Saqqara. It is considered to be one of the eldest and largest temples of the Ptolemaic period (Lloyd et al.169). The temple was built to worship one of the main five gods in Egypt, Horus.
Although there are few religions that still consider the ways of the ancient Egyptian culture important, they are still out there. They are influenced every day by the history, which permeates their rituals, scriptures, and more. Furthermore, Egypt’s political influence may be outdated and not the clearest system, but it led the way for further development and refinement for future use. Without the influence of Egypt, we would not be the civilization that we are
Religion was very important to the ancient Egyptians the believed in many gods, meaning they were polytheistic.
In Egyptian they built shrines,temples and statues to represent and also please their gods throughout the country
"Temples, tombs and pyramids - all have witnessed this earth for thousands of years. What better than to say that these architectural achievements show us that Egypt's greatest virtue lay in its architecture" (Fumeaux:11, 1964)