ANCIENT EGYPTIAN HISTORY CLASS – 4 – PANTHEON OF GODS AND PYRAMID TRADITION
Joe BoisvertInstructor Gulf Coast Community College – Encore – Spring 2010
Early Egyptian Burials from Ceremonial to Mastubai’s to Pyramids
Fourteen Principal Gods of Egypt
Egyptian Gods Partial List
Atum In the creation myths, Atum is the primal creator
Ra is the eagle god of the sun.
Anubis god of the dead Bastet is the Cat goddess. Sehkmet goddess of fire,
war and plague Nut is the goddess of sky
and stars, mother of gods. Geb is the green god of
Earth. Horus is the god with
falcon's head, god of pharaohs.
Osiris is the god of the afterlife.
Isis is the goddess of magic and healing, wife of Osiris.
Egyptian Gods Continued
Seth is the god of deserts and evil.
Thoth is the scribe god.
Ma'at is the goddess of truth.
Amun is the god of Thebes, king of gods in New Kingdom.
Wadjet is the goddess of pregnancy and motherhood, goddess in snake form.
Anuket is the goddess of river Nile.
Hathor is the goddess of the moon and children.
Ptah is the creator god
Bes is the dwarf god of safe journey The Egyptians worshipped Scarab Beetles
and cats.
Ptah (Pteh, Peteh) was the predynasticMennefer (Hikuptah, Memphis) god of craftsmen, pottery and creation. The Egyptians believed that he was a god who created everything from artifacts to the world egg to the other deities themselves. The Opening of the Mouth ceremony was believed to have been devised by him. He was a god of creation and rebirth.
Isis Symbols: throne, kite, scorpion,Myths: "Isis and Osiris", "Isis and the Seven Scorpions"Cult Center: Heliopolis,
Isis was the sister of Osiris (who was also her husband), the daughter of Nut and Geb and the mother of Horus the Child.
Osiris (Asar, Wesir, Ausar, Unnefer)Symbols: crook and flail, djed, White and Atef Crowns, bull, mummified form, throne, Bennu (phoenix)Cult Center: Abydos, Busiris and HeliopolisMyths: "Isis and Osiris"A god of the earth and vegetation, Osiris symbolized in his death the yearly drought and in his miraculous rebirth the periodic flooding of the Nile and the growth of grain. He was a god-king who was believed to have given Egypt civilization.
Osiris
Seth
(Set, Suetekh)
Symbols: Seth-animal, pigs, donkeys, fishesCult Center: Tanis, OmbosLinks: the Ennead of HeliopolisRegarded as the Lord of Lower (Northern) Egypt, Seth was represented by a big-eared imaginary animal with red hair resembling a donkey or maybe an aardvark. He was associated with the desert and storms. The Greeks associated Seth with their god, Typhon.
Horus (Hor, Heru, Her)Symbols: hawk/falcon, bull, Double Crown, Winged Disk,Udjat, Sphinx, weapons, iron, blacksmithsCult Center: Edfu, Buto and HeliopolisMyths: Isis and Osiris
The falcon-headed god, the kings of Egypt associated themselves with Horus. Horus was among the most important gods of Egypt, particularly because the Pharaoh was supposed to be his earthly embodiment. Kings would eventually take the name of Horus as one of their own.
Reason for Burials ???
Love, Loss,
Respect,
Honor,
Afterlife,
Religion, Gods
Anubis the God of Death
Mastabas First Burial Tombs
At first, the kings of Egypt were buried in what are known as mastabas in southern Egypt, mainly at a place called Abydos.
Mastaba is an Arabic word meaning bench, because these tombs looked like a bench.
They consisted of a pit where the dead were buried in the ground covered by stones above ground.
Later mastabas sometimes had many rooms below ground and many above ground for the storage of items that the dead person wished to take with him or her into the afterlife.
Mastabas First Burial Tombs (Bench Like Shape)
• Tomb was discovered at the Middle Nile River in Upper Egypt. •. The site was built about 3150 BC.• Three rooms of the tomb contained about 700 jars and inside the jars was discovered a residue of an early form of herbal wine. • The recipes identified within the pots illuminate a long history of the Egyptian use of grape wines.
The tomb, has been attributed to one of the earliest of Egyptian kings, Scorpion I, from Dynasty 0
Tomb, has been attributed to one of the earliest of Egyptian kings, Scorpion I, from First Dynasty
Beasts of burden found nestled in graves dating back 5,000 years. One of the earliest Egyptian kings carried his "beasts of burden" into the afterlife.
Egyptians Brought Pets into the Afterlife
EARLY PYRAMIDS JUST
STACKS OF ROCKS TO KEEP ANIMALS OUT ??
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pyramids/pepi.html
Link to National Geographic Section on Pyramids
Step Pyramid of Saqqara, Egypt's Oldest Pyramid built 4,800 years ago
King Djoser, who reigned from 2630 bc to 2611 bc Built the Step Pyramid
1. Built a more elaborate royal tomb known as the Step Pyramid.
2. This tomb started out as a mastaba, but its architect, Imhotep, first expanded the mastaba then topped it with successively smaller mastabas.
Djoser’s Tomb – Step Pyramid The Step Pyramid and later
pyramids of the 3rd Dynasty were constructed of small, almost brick-sized stones that were laid in vertical courses and inward-leaning to create the sloped sides.
In the end, Djoser’s tomb looked like a rectangular wedding cake with six layers.
The ancient Egyptians loved pyramids. There are sixty-seven, of various sizes, scattered around the city of Cairo alone. The most famous, and largest, are at Gizeh, where what is believed to be the three tombs of Khufu, Khafre, and Menkure, are lined up side by side.
Ancient Step Pyramid
Djoser Step Pyramid in Saqqara2630 bc to 2611 bc
King Snefru Pyramid in Meydum
King Snefru Pyramid in Meydum
King Sneferu, the father of Khufu, built the initial true pyramids, developing the new technique during construction. The earliest true pyramid, at the town of Maydom, began as a step pyramid with inward-leaning walls and eight levels.
The Bent Pyramid at Dahshur Would have surpassed the height of the
Great Pyramid had it been completed as designed, but the foundations could not support the weight and the plans had to be changed.
Egyptian pyramids were modeled on a sacred, pointed stone called the benben. The benben symbolized the rays of the sun; ancient texts claimed that pharaohs reached the heavens via sunbeams. (National Geographic.
Giza Pyramid
The Giza Pyramids Now
Old Hand Colored Photo of Giza Pyramids
The Mummy
1937