Egyptian Religion

Religion• It was a polytheistic religion.• They wanted to provide for the gods and

be in the gods' favor.• Approval = approval, support, or liking for

someone or something. • Religious practices were centered around

the Pharaoh, who was descended from the gods.

Religion• Pharaoh was the intermediary between the

people and the gods.• Intermediary = a person who acts as a link

between people in order to try and bring about an agreement.

• Maintained order in the universe through rituals and offerings.

• Individuals could interact with the gods by praying and asking the gods to use magic.

Afterl ife• The belief in the afterlife was important, as

were the funeral practices.• Great efforts were made to make sure their

souls survived after death.

Afterl ife• They made tombs, goods for the graves,

and offerings to the gods to preserve the bodies and the spirits of the dead.

• Mummification!!!

Burial Customs• Kings built pyramids for their tombs.

Burial Customs• Mummification of the body• Casting magic spells• Burial with specific items needed in the

afterlife

Burial Customs• Buried with decorated jars, figures,

furniture, jewelry, games, weapons, make-up, and food.

Burial Customs for the Pharaoh & Wealthy

• Pharaoh's and nobles were sometimes buried with their servants.

• Servants were killed when the Pharaoh died so that the Pharaoh could have the same lifestyle in the afterlife as in life.

• They were strangled or poisoned.• Showed power over the people and

showed that the Pharaoh and the country were worth dying for.

Burial Customs for the Pharaoh & Wealthy

• Servants social status would raise in the afterlife.

• Servants killed and buried with the Pharaoh included: whores, minor palace officials, court dwarfs, and dogs.

• More servants were buried with the Pharaoh than the nobility.

Burial Customs for the Pharoah & Wealthy

• King Aha had 41 servants killed and buried with him.

• King Djer had 587 servants killed.

• King Djet had 236 servants killed.

• King Den had 230 servants killed.

• King Qaa had 30 servants killed.

Mummification• Bodies were mummified, • Wrapped in linen bandages, • Covered with molded plaster• Placed in stone sarcophagi or plain wooden

coffins.

Mummification• Canopic containers held their internal

organs. • Amulets of gold, faience, and carnelian

protected different parts of the body.

Mummification

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MQ5dL9cQX0

Mummification

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBlwUM9uFes

Amun• Man with a ram-

head and an ostrich plumed hat

• Amun was one of the most powerful gods in ancient Egypt.

• He was called the 'King of the Gods'.

Anubis• Man with a jackal

head• Anubis was the

god of embalming and the dead.

• They believed that Anubis watched over the dead.

Aten• A sun disk with rays which end in hands• Aten was a form of the sun god Ra.

Atum• Man with the

double crown• Atum was a

creator god. • Atum was the first

god to exist on earth.

Bastet• Woman with the head of a cat• Bastet was a protective

goddess. • Bastet was usually seen as a

gentle protective goddess. • She sometimes appeared with

the head of a lioness to protect the king in battle.

• The cat was a symbol of Bastet. 

• Bastet was one of the daughters of the sun god, Ra.  

Bes• Dwarf with lion

and human features

• Bes was the protector of pregnant women, newborn babies and the family.

• Bes protected against snake and scorpion bites.

Hathor• Woman with the ears of

a cow• Woman with a

headdress of horns and a sun disk

• Hathor was a protective goddess. She was also the goddess of love and joy.

• Hathor was the wife of Horus, and was sometimes thought of as the mother of the pharaoh.

Hapy

• Man with a pot belly, shown with water plants

• Hapy was the god of the flood every year.

Horus

• Man with the head of a hawk

• Horus was a god of the sky.

• He was the protector of the ruler of Egypt.

Isis• Woman with

headdress in the shape of a throne.

• A pair of cow horns with a sun disk.

• Isis was a protective goddess.

• She used powerful magic spells to help people in need.

Khepri• Man with the head

of a scarab beetle.• Khepri was a god

of creation, the movement of the sun, and rebirth.

Khnum• Man with the head

of a curly-horned ram

• Khnum was a creator-god, molding people on a potter's wheel.

Ma´at• Woman with a

feather on her head• Ma'at was the

goddess of truth, justice and harmony.

• She was associated with the balance of things on earth.

Nephthys• Woman with

headdress showing her name in hieroglyphs

• Nephthys was a protective goddess of the dead.

Nun• Man carrying a bark.• According to an ancient Egyptian creation myth,

Nun was the waters of chaos. • Nun was the only thing that existed on Earth

before there was land. Then, the first land (in the form of a mound) rose out of Nun.

Nut• Woman whose body arches across the sky,

wearing a dress decorated with stars.• Nut was the sky-goddess, whose body created

a vault or canopy over the earth.• At the end of the day, Nut swallowed the sun-

god, Ra, and gave birth to him again the next morning. 

Ra• Man with hawk head

and headdress with a sun disk.

• Ra was the sun god. He was the most important god of the ancient Egyptians.

• He was swallowed every night by the sky goddess Nut, and was reborn every morning.

• He travelled through the underworld at night.

Shu• Man wearing a headdress with feathers• Shu was the god of the air.• Shu held up the figure of Nut so that the

earth and the sky were separated.

Geb• Man lying down below the arch of the sky

goddess Nut• Man with a goose on his head• Geb was the god of the earth.• They believed that earthquakes were

Geb's laughter.

Osiris• A mummified man

wearing a white cone-like headdress with feathers

• Osiris was the god of the dead, resurrection, fertility, and ruler of the underworld.

Ptah• Man wrapped in a

tight white cloak carrying a staff

• Ptah was the god of craftsmen.

Ra-Horakhty• Man with the head

of a hawk, with a sun disk headdress

• Ra-Horakhty was a combination of the gods Horus and Ra.

• He was thought of as the god of the rising sun.

Sekhmet• Woman with the

head of a lioness• Sekhmet was the

goddess of war.

Seshat• Woman wearing a

panther skin dress and a star headdress

• Seshat was the goddess of writing and measurement. 

Seth• Man with the head

of a 'Seth animal' (unidentifiable)

• Seth was the god of chaos.

• Seth represented everything that threatened harmony in Egypt.

Sobek• Man with the head

of a crocodile and a headdress of feathers and a sun-disk

• Sobek was a Nile god and protected the Pharaoh.

Tawaret• Head of a

hippopotamus with the arms and legs of a lion, the back and tail of a crocodile, and the breasts and stomach of a pregnant woman.

• Tawaret was a goddess who protected women during pregnancy and childbirth.

Tefnut• Woman with the

head of a lioness• Tefnut was the

goddess of moisture.

Thoth• A man with the head

of an ibis holding a writing palette

• Thoth was the god of writ ing and knowledge.

• The ancient Egyptians believed that Thoth gave them the gift of hieroglyphic writing. Thoth was also connected with the moon. 

Mummification

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBoXtO4Mcv4