Ancient Egypt had a very advanced culture. The Egyptians’ culture was very elevated because of their formalized religion, government, and art/architecture. Religion influenced many aspects of Egyptians’ life. Egypt’s government was an essential part of Egyptian’s daily life. The ancient Egyptians used art and architecture to explain their lives. Ancient Egypt's religion influenced many aspects of ancient Egyptians’ life by helping them define what happened in their lives. The Egyptians believed in more than one god, which made them polytheism. It was their way of expressing what happened in their world. They believed in life after death. They used their religion to explain the things that they didn’t understand in their life, like death. They thought if someone died their spirit would live on in the afterlife. Some of their religion took a long time. They understood life …show more content…
They believed in an eye for an eye. Egypt’s system of laws were inspired by Maat. “Maat was also the name of the goddess of truth and justice” and “was the concept of justice and balance”The kenbet, the local court, and The Great Kenbet, the High court, was how people that committed crimes were punished. They had ranking, so everyone was somewhere. The ranking they had in Egypt was very important. There was ranking in ancient Egypt. Pharaoh and Queen at the top, because they were most important. Nobles, Grand Viviers, High Priest and Priestess, and Governor after them, because their importance wasn’t that much lower than the Pharaoh and Queen’s. After was Craftworkers, artist, Scribe's, Tax Gatherers, and Priest/Priestess, because they were needed. The last ranked group was Builders, Wab, and Slaves. They were at the bottom because people didn’t care for their health and well being. They just wanted a day’s work to be
Ancient Egypt was a single tightly organized state for much of its history (Centanni, n.d.). In all its phases, the Egyptian government was led by the pharaoh. The pharaoh was held to be descended from gods, with the power to assure success and control the rituals that assured the flow of the Nile and the fertility derived from irrigation. Wanting gods to favor Egypt, the entire population of people did not hesitate to carry out laws that the pharaoh placed upon them. Egypt’s pharaohs claimed additional power and authority as actual incarnations of the gods
The Egyptians were very polytheistic. Religion controlled every aspect of their lives. They believed in many gods, such as the Nile God and the pharaohs. The Egyptians believed the Nile was a god. The Nile River flooded every year, depositing silt onto the land so the Egyptians were able to farm and grow crops. Because of these actions, the Egyptians would pray to the Nile God to flood. They would make chants, such as “Hail to thee, oh Nile, that come to keep Egypt aliveeeeee. They believed that Egypt was the gift of the Nile. Also, the Egyptians would treat the pharaohs, who ruled Egypt, as a God. They ruled the government, religion,
Ancient Egypt was a complex civilization because it had all of the important civilization indicators, Every complex society has a government the Government In Ancient Egypt the king was known as the pharaoh. The pharaoh was the most powerful person in Egypt what the pharaoh did was he made the laws, Collected taxes, and he was the political leader. The pharaoh was called the Lord of Two lands because he was the ruler of Upper and Lowers Egypt since he was the king he owned all the land in Egypt. The government was a well respected and organized government. Ancient Egypt could not achieve much without all the levels cooperating together.
Similar to Byzantium and Rome, in Egyptian society, the King was the most powerful figure, and everyone else was seen as lesser beings. Unlike Byzantium and Rome, Egypt had a king or pharaoh whereas Byzantium and Rome had an emperor.
The Egyptians believed very much in life after death. As Taylor states in Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt, “It is often observed that they appear to have devoted greater efforts and resources to preparing for the afterlife than to creating a convenient environment for living” (Taylor, 2001:12). The Egyptians viewed life on earth as one stage and death as the beginning of another. They believed that, “human existence did not end with death and that survival of the body played a part in the new life” (Taylor, 2001:12). One of the key elements in the Egyptian culture and religion was the preservation of the body. The body was the most important aspect because it was like a portal through which an individual could continue to live after death (Taylor, 2001:46). The Egyptians began building tombs for these bodies to keep them from decaying.
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.
I believe that Religion was a vital part of every Egyptian’s life. Egyptians understood that their Gods had already finalized each task, and their job was to embrace it and give thanks. The Egyptians believed that in the beginning, there was Nun. Nun was believed to be swirling chaotic waters. Next, a hill emerged from the waters. This hill is known as Ben Ben. Atum, who was believed to be the first God, stood on the hill, and created the God of air and the goddess of moisture. Their names were Shu and Tefnut .
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
In the early years there were two ‘kingdoms’ that operated like two different countries. Each had a ruler and their own religious beliefs and ways of doing things. After the two kingdoms were united, they became a lot more organized and over the years developed a system of what is called a ‘hierarchy’. This was a class system and each person living in ancient Egypt knew where they existed in the system and had specific rights of that class.
During his time of rule Egyptian had very barbaric characteristics. He is believed to have taught the Egyptian the way of agriculture and how to worship gods. However, with the conflict faced between Seth and Osiris he also became the god of the afterlife. After his time of rule, the book of the dead became a very important piece of history for the people of ancient Egypt, especially when it pertained to the idea of the afterlife. The book of the dead was “a collection of spells and illustrations written on a papyrus roll” (Taylor 5). The purpose of the book of the dead was a guide for the journey through the netherworld. “The Book of the Dead describes the “Weighing of the Heart” ritual. During this ritual, … a tribunal of 43 deities judged the behavior of the dead” (Ancient Egypt). Based upon their religion and the emphasis put upon life after death, Egyptians dedicated time for their journey in the
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.
Egypt had many intricate structures that have made history, but the most important of the designs is their social structure. The society of Egypt was structured as a pyramid with the pharaoh at the top. The elite part of society contains the nobles, priests, viziers, and government officials. Next, soldiers and military are used for protection and to keep order throughout the kingdom. The scribes record and keep records about the kingdom. Merchants, artisans, and farmers are a large section of the pyramid. They supply the kingdom with food, money, and jobs. Last, slaves and servants are their to help and support the people above them. Each part of society has their role to benefit the kingdom as a whole. The pharaoh is at the top of the pyramid and must control all of society.
Ancient Egypt is considered to be one of the most significant eras in history, due to its lengthy existence and its overwhelming contributions to the development of western civilization. You could say that Egypt provided the building blocks for Greek and Roman culture, and through them, influenced all of Western tradition. Today Egyptian imagery, concepts, and perspectives are found everywhere; you will find them in architectural forms, on money, and in our day to day lives. We are able to distinguish various elements of its culture that played a key role in its development, such as agriculture, architecture, religion, and government to name a few. Egypt 's impact on later cultures was and still is immense.
Religion was very important to the ancient Egyptians the believed in many gods, meaning they were polytheistic.
...e. They believed the physical body had to be preserved to allow a place for their spirit to dwell in the afterlife. Because of this, mummification was performed to preserve the body.