Text 4: Religion Shapes Ancient Egyptian Life

Topic 2 Lesson 4 Egyptian Civilization

Important Gods and GoddessesThe chief god was the sun god Amon-Re

Pharaoh, whom Egyptians viewed as god as well as king, was closely linked to Amon-Re

Only the pharaoh could conduct certain ceremonies for the sun god

Egypt was a type of theocracy, meaning the pharaoh had religious authority to rule

Important Gods and GoddessesMost Egyptians related more easily to the god Osiris and the goddess Isis

Their story touched human emotions such as love, jealousy, and fear of death

Important Gods and GoddessesAn Egyptian myth tells how Osiris ruled Egypt until he was killed and carved up by his jealous brother, Set

Isis, the wife of Osiris, finds the scattered parts of her husband's body and brings him back to life

Because Osiris could no longer rule over the living, he became god of the dead and judge of souls seeking admission to the afterlife

Important Gods and GoddessesOsiris was especially important to Egyptians

He ruled over the underworld

God of the Nile and controlled the annual flood that made the land fertile

Important Gods and GoddessesIsis had special appeal for women, who believed that she had first taught women to grind corn, spin flax, weave cloth, and care for children

Like Osiris, Isis promised the faithful that they would have life after death

Egyptian Views of the AfterlifeBelief in the afterlife affected all Egyptians, from the highest noble to the lowest peasant

To win eternal life, Egyptians believed that each soul had to pass a test

After the dead was ferried across a lake of fire to the hall of Osiris, the god weighed each soul’s heart against the feather of truth

Egyptian Views of the AfterlifeThose he judged to be sinners were fed to the crocodile-shaped Eater of the Dead

Worthy souls entered the Happy Field of Food

Egyptian Views of the AfterlifeTo survive the dangerous journey through the underworld, Egyptians relied on the Book of the Dead

This book contained spells, charms, and magic formulas meant to help the dead in the afterlife

MummificationEgyptians believed that the afterlife would be much like life on Earth

As a result, they buried their dead with everything they would need for eternity

To give a soul use of its body in the afterlife, Egyptians perfected scientific skills in mummification

MummificationAt first, mummification was a privilege reserved for rulers and nobles

Eventually, ordinary Egyptians also won the right to mummify their dead, including beloved pets

King Tutankhamen’s TombMany pharaohs of the New Kingdom were buried in the Valley of the Kings

Their tombs, filled with treasures were a temptation to robbers

As a result, most royal tombs were stripped of their treasures

King Tutankhamen’s TombIn 1922 British archaeologist Howard Carter unearthed the tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamen which had remained almost untouched for more than 3,000 years

The tomb and its treasures have provided scholars a wealth of evidence about Egyptian civilization

King Tutankhamen’s TombThe mummified body of the 18-year-old “King Tut” had been placed in a solid-gold coffin, nested within richly decorated outer coffin

Today, the objects found in the tomb fills several rooms in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo

King Tutankhamen’s TombThe objects include:

Chariots

Weapons

Furniture

Jewelry

Toys

Games

An Attempt to Reshape ReligionAbout 1380 B.C.E. a young pharaoh challenged the powerful priests of Amon-Re

He devoted his life to the worship of Aton, a minor god whose symbol was the sun’s disk

The pharaoh took the name Akhenaton meaning “he who serves Aton”

An Attempt to Reshape ReligionWith the support of his wife Nefertiti, Akhenaton tried to sweep away all other gods in favor of Aton

He ordered priests to worship only Aton and to remove the names of other gods from their temples

An Attempt to Reshape ReligionScholars disagree about whether or not Akhenaton was trying to introduce a new religion based on worship of a single god

Akhenaton’s radical ideas had little success

Priests of Amon-Re resisted and nobles deserted the pharaoh because he neglected his duty of defending the empire

An Attempt to Reshape ReligionAfter Akhenaton’s death, priests of the old gods reasserted their power