William Bradley
April, 29 2006
Philosophy 110
Religion of Ancient Egypt The religion I chose to research was the religion of the ancient Egyptians. It was a very complex system of polytheistic beliefs which were part of the ancient Egyptians everyday society. The multitude of gods that they interacted with were believed to be in control of the forces of nature. Also the myths of the gods and the stories that surrounds them are to explain the origins. The ancient Egyptians religion was an effort gain the gods trust. The religion the ancient Egyptians practiced was mostly centered on the pharaoh, all though the pharaoh was human they were believed to have been a descendant of the gods. The pharaoh also acted as more or less a middle man between the gods and his or her people and also felt obligated to please the gods thru different offerings and rituals so they could be able to maintain order in the universe. Through the pharaoh was not the only means by which the individuals could interact with the gods they could use prayer or magic. Another big aspect of their religion was the belief in the afterlife and funerary practices. They made huge efforts to ensure the survival of their souls after death by building tombs and giving goods for the grave and preserving the bodies and spirits of the deceased. The ancient Egyptian religion can be traced back to Egypt’s prehistory and it can also be shown that it lasted more than 3000 years. The way they worshipped and their beliefs changed over time depending on how the importance of one god would rise or fall. There was a brief period of time during the reign of pharaoh Akenaten, the region had a single god aka the Aten which took the place of the traditional pantheon, but the old system always endured even when there were several years of foreign rule, until Christianity showed up in the early centuries. When the religion fell it left behind numerous religious writings and monuments. It also left huge influences on cultures both ancient and modern. The beliefs of the now known as ancient Egyptian religion was in every part of their culture. …show more content…
It was nothing like the modern day counterpart and was not a monolithic institution instead it consisted of a vast and varying set of beliefs based on their focus of the interaction between the divine and human worlds. The gods they believed in were based on the Egyptians understanding of the world they lived in. They believed in a lot of gods which were involved in all parts of their society. The gods also lived lives that resembled human lives very closely. They could die, they went into battle, they hunted, they had to eat and drink, and they also gave birth and had all the normal human emotions. The importance of the gods and goddesses also changed depending on the beliefs of the Pharaoh or king who was in power at the time and certain ones were worshipped in different areas. A god named Amun-Ra was a Theban god called Amun and became the national god of Egypt under this name. Atum was a god that created himself. He held the form of a combination of human and serpent. ISIS was a goddess and she was also the most popular of the goddesses. She was referred to as the mother and the protector of the pharaohs and was worshipped as the divine mother goddess. She was also known as the mother of Horus. Horus had the shape of a falcon and had the moon and sun as his eyes. He was …show more content…
A lot of historians see this as the first case of true monotheism in history. A lot of the details of this theology are still unclear. A lot of people say that Akhenaten practiced monolatry instead of monotheism because he did not deny the existence of the other gods he just did not worship any of them but Aten. Under Akhenaten’s successors Egypt reverted back to the traditional religion and Akhenaten actually became reviled as a heretic. The time of this religion is known as Atenism and lasted about 20 years before the traditional gods were returned and the pharaohs who were associated with Atenism were erased from all Egyptian
April, 29 2006
Philosophy 110
Religion of Ancient Egypt The religion I chose to research was the religion of the ancient Egyptians. It was a very complex system of polytheistic beliefs which were part of the ancient Egyptians everyday society. The multitude of gods that they interacted with were believed to be in control of the forces of nature. Also the myths of the gods and the stories that surrounds them are to explain the origins. The ancient Egyptians religion was an effort gain the gods trust. The religion the ancient Egyptians practiced was mostly centered on the pharaoh, all though the pharaoh was human they were believed to have been a descendant of the gods. The pharaoh also acted as more or less a middle man between the gods and his or her people and also felt obligated to please the gods thru different offerings and rituals so they could be able to maintain order in the universe. Through the pharaoh was not the only means by which the individuals could interact with the gods they could use prayer or magic. Another big aspect of their religion was the belief in the afterlife and funerary practices. They made huge efforts to ensure the survival of their souls after death by building tombs and giving goods for the grave and preserving the bodies and spirits of the deceased. The ancient Egyptian religion can be traced back to Egypt’s prehistory and it can also be shown that it lasted more than 3000 years. The way they worshipped and their beliefs changed over time depending on how the importance of one god would rise or fall. There was a brief period of time during the reign of pharaoh Akenaten, the region had a single god aka the Aten which took the place of the traditional pantheon, but the old system always endured even when there were several years of foreign rule, until Christianity showed up in the early centuries. When the religion fell it left behind numerous religious writings and monuments. It also left huge influences on cultures both ancient and modern. The beliefs of the now known as ancient Egyptian religion was in every part of their culture. …show more content…
It was nothing like the modern day counterpart and was not a monolithic institution instead it consisted of a vast and varying set of beliefs based on their focus of the interaction between the divine and human worlds. The gods they believed in were based on the Egyptians understanding of the world they lived in. They believed in a lot of gods which were involved in all parts of their society. The gods also lived lives that resembled human lives very closely. They could die, they went into battle, they hunted, they had to eat and drink, and they also gave birth and had all the normal human emotions. The importance of the gods and goddesses also changed depending on the beliefs of the Pharaoh or king who was in power at the time and certain ones were worshipped in different areas. A god named Amun-Ra was a Theban god called Amun and became the national god of Egypt under this name. Atum was a god that created himself. He held the form of a combination of human and serpent. ISIS was a goddess and she was also the most popular of the goddesses. She was referred to as the mother and the protector of the pharaohs and was worshipped as the divine mother goddess. She was also known as the mother of Horus. Horus had the shape of a falcon and had the moon and sun as his eyes. He was …show more content…
A lot of historians see this as the first case of true monotheism in history. A lot of the details of this theology are still unclear. A lot of people say that Akhenaten practiced monolatry instead of monotheism because he did not deny the existence of the other gods he just did not worship any of them but Aten. Under Akhenaten’s successors Egypt reverted back to the traditional religion and Akhenaten actually became reviled as a heretic. The time of this religion is known as Atenism and lasted about 20 years before the traditional gods were returned and the pharaohs who were associated with Atenism were erased from all Egyptian