Ancient Egypt:
A Glimpse Into Religion
Explore the myths and legends that the Ancient
Egyptians valued to find their place in the
universe. Find out why the Egyptians’ used
mummification rituals and why the cat was
placed high on the list of sacred animals.
Discover what made up the human “soul”.
Presented by: Shawna Soller, Intro to Hum, Online
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Table of Contents
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History of Ancient Egypt
Mythology: The legends and Gods of the people
Embalming
Mummification Process
Cats: The Sacred Animal
The Soul
Bibliography
Bibliography Cont.
Paper
Paper Cont.
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History
The time known as “Ancient Egypt” lasted from around 3300BC until it became
an independent state in 1300BC. During this time, there were about 9 dynasties or
periods, in which different pharaohs ruled (Kinnaer). During the Early Dynastic Period, the
development of writing called hieroglyphics began. This period also began constructing
large scale buildings and begun the trade line outside of the Nile valley. Another period that
had a great impact on the Ancient Egyptian life, was the Old Kingdom. Historians have
dated that this is when the art of embalming, or mummification began (History of Ancient
Egypt). The Middle Kingdom about 2055BC, is most likely when military campaigns against
foreign nations began. Around 2575BC another great accomplishment was made by
Pharaoh Khufu. His pyramid of Gaza, is now one of the most famous and greatest
pyramids known. The fall of the Egyptian dynasty came around 527BC when Egypt fell
under the rule of the Persians’ (History of Ancient Egypt).
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Mythology: The Birth of the World
The mythology of Ancient Egypt centers around nature,
the earth, sun, moon, sky, stars and the Nile River. According to
legend, the Egyptian Empire began with the creation of Nu. Nu
was a swirling watery chaos and then the waters began to
subside, a land appeared (Egyptian Mythology). Atum is the God
whom emerged from the Nu and is the creator of the world. This
God is also know as the great scarab beetle. Atum gave birth to
two children, Shu and Tefnut. Atum’s children represented the air
and the rain. According to legend Atum then parted with his
children and when they were reunited, his tears of joy created the
men on the earth.
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Embalming
The earliest Egyptians’ buried their dead in small pits
where they would eventually dry out from the heat, leaving life-like
mummies (Mummification). Many years later, people began placing
the dead in coffins to protect them from the wildlife. This process
proved to be unacceptable, as the bodies would decompose since it
wasn’t exposed to the heat. This is when the process of embalming
began.
The embalming process was a long and grotesque
process in some cases. The first stage of the embalming process
was to take the body to the “ibu” and wash it with good smelling palm
wine and then wash it with water from the Nile River. After this was
done, a incision would be made to the left side of the body which
would allow for the embalmer to remove the internal organs (The
Religion of Ancient Egypt). The only organ not taken out of the body
was the heart, as this was the center of intelligence and feeling
which was needed in the afterlife. The body was then stuffed and
covered with natron, which allowed the body to dry out. After forty
days, the body was then washed again and covered with oil. Once
again the body is covered with oil after the embalmers stuffed the
body. The body was then ready for wrapping.
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Mummification
After the body was finished the long embalming process,
the body was ready to be wrapped. You would think that this
process would be pretty fast and easy, but in actuality it wasn’t. This
process was very detailed and precise. First the head, neck, fingers
and toes were wrapped. Then each arm and leg would be wrapped
separately. Between each layer, an amulet would be placed allowing
for protect in the afterlife. During the mummification process, a
priest would read spells out loud to ward off any evil spirits. Finally
the arms and legs of the dead would be tied together and in
between them was a papyrus scroll with spells from the Book of the
Dead. More cloth was wrapped around the body and on the last
linen, a picture of the God Osiris would be painted. The body is then
placed inside one coffin and then that coffin is placed inside another.
After this last step, the body is the prepared for the burial services
with family members (Mummification).
The mummification process allowed for the body of the
dead to be preserved and for the soul to life on. Once the person
got to the after life, his/her soul would be judged and accordingly
sent to the right place. In the Egyptian religion, this would be either
the “Field of Reeds” or eternal torture.
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Cats: The Sacred Animal
Although many cultures have had cats, the Ancient Egyptians
were the first to domesticate and allow them in their homes. During the
first years of the domesticated cat, these animals were most likely used
to chase off rodents and snakes from the crops and homes of the
Egyptians. Slowly however, these animals were eventually revered a
God. People began placing cats on tombs and outside their homes to
protect the inhabitants and ward off evil spirits. The first famous cat
deity was Bastet (Watson). She was the goddess of fertility and was the
protector of the children and cats. Sekhmet was Bastet’s counterpart
and known as the goddess of war and pestilence (Cats in Ancient
Egypt). Together the two maintained balance of nature.
Cats were so highly recognized that they were often waited
on and when they died, they were mummified just as a person would
be. The mummified corpse would then be offered to Bastet. After the
death of the animal, the owner would go into deep mourning and even
shaved their eyebrows to show their great loss (Cats in Ancient Egypt).
Laws also protected the cat. Suppose a human killed a cat,
whether intentional or not, that human was sentenced to death. The cat
definitely held a powerful spot in Ancient Egyptian history.
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The Egyptian Idea of the Soul
As mentioned before the soul was the entire reason why the
mummification process occurred. According to the Ancient Egyptians,
the soul was made up of three elements; the Bah, Ka and Akh. Each
part of the soul relied on the other and if one died, they all died
(Ancient Egyptian Idea of Soul).
The Bah was depicted as a human headed bird. It
represented the personality and individuality of the dead. This part of
the soul lived inside the tomb but could come and go at will. The Ka,
was an exact physical and spiritual replica of the deceased. It was to
remain close to the body and could never leave the tomb. This aspect
of the soul relied on the food, drink and clothing that were buried with
the body. Without these items, the Ka could not survive. Finally the
Akh was the immortality of the dead. This part of the soul was often to
represented as a bird and could only make the journey to the
underworld (Ancient Egyptian Idea of Soul).
The soul was definitely an important aspect of the Ancient
Egyptian religion. It was held high and everyone took great strides to
ensure it was preserved accordingly.
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Additional Links for Information
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ancient_Egypt
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk
http://www.ancient-egypt.org
http://www.touregypt.net
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/religion/religion.html
http://www.aldokkan.com/mp3/mp3.htm
www.sacred-texts.com/egy
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Bibliography
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"History of Ancient Egypt." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation,
Inc. 22 Nov. 2005 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Ancient_Egypt>.
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"The Religion of Ancient Egypt." The Ancient Egyptian Culture Exhibit. 1998.
Minnesota State University, Dept. of Anthropology. 10 Nov. 2005
<http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/religion/religion.html>.
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"Mummification." Ancient Egypt. 1999. The British Museum. 10 Nov. 2005
<http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/home.html>.
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Kinnaer, Jacques. "The History of Ancient Egypt." The Ancient Egyptian Site. 15
1997. 15 Nov. 2005 <http://www.ancient-egypt.org>.
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Watson, John. "An Overview of the Ancient Egyptian Religion." Tour Egypt. 22 Nov.
2005 <http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/religion.htm>.
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Watson, John. "An Overview of the Ancient Egyptian Religion." Tour Egypt. 22 Nov.
2005 <http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/religion.htm>.
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Bibliography (Pictures)
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"Large Bastet the Goddess Protector." The Museum Store. Talaria Enterprises. 22
Nov. 2005 <http://www.talariaenterprises.com/products_lg/5596.html>.
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Beebe, Judy. "Canopic Jars." Planetlightworker.com. New Earth Publications. 22 Nov.
2005
<http://www.planetlightworker.com/articles/judybeebe/may_images/symbol3.jpg>.
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“Mummification." The Ancient Egyptian Culture Exhibit. 1998. Minnesota State
University, Dept. of Anthropology. 10 Nov. 2005
<http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/prehistory/egypt/religion/religion.html>.
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“Atum." Ancient Egypt. 1999. The British Museum. 10 Nov. 2005
<http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/mummies/home.html>.
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Paper
During the research of this project, I obtained all of my information from various
internet resources. The best resources that I found where the ones from the British Museum
and the Minnesota University websites. Both of the websites offered detailed information on
many topics, especially on religion. During the project, I found that it was pretty hard to place my
opinions as opposed to just facts. I did however find that if you place little excerpts every now
and then, it is a little easier. In order to complete this virtual museum, I used power point which
was actually pretty easy to navigate. Since the websites that I used offered great information, it
made it pretty easy to put everything together. Although the materials made it less complicated
to put together the project, I must say it was definitely more difficult then I thought it would be to
get everything together. It’s a little difficult distinguishing between the research aspect and the
actual opinions. I do better with one or the other; not both together.
After doing all the research that I did, I definitely found it very interesting that the Ancient
Egyptians’ did everything in their power to preserve the soul. The process by which they do the
mummification was long, but they still did it for every body, including cats. The Ancient Egyptian
culture is most definitely something that one should study because it is a completely different
culture than ours, yet there are similarities between the two. I thought I had a pretty good
understanding about the life of the Ancient Egyptians before, but I must say that after
researching the topic, I learned much more.
Continued on next slide….
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Paper continued…
I think that the viewer of this project should come away having learned more
about the Egyptian religion and the things that they believed in. A viewer should
definitely know about the embalming and mummification process in great detail, as well
as have a better understanding about how the Ancient Egyptians thought the world was
created and how cats became to be worshiped. A viewer should find all the information
in this project educational, as most people probably have only a general knowledge of
the Egyptian religion. Aspects such as “mummies” are portrayed as “evil” in today’s
movies etc., but in actuality the mummies were basically made to prevent evilness.
Interesting Facts:
•During the embalming process, the brain was smashed with a long hook and removed
via the nose.
•There are about 70 god/goddess that the Ancient Egyptians’ believed in.
•The priest that performed the mummification ritual wore a terra cotta mask shaped like
Anubis.
•The entire embalming/mummification process took 70 days.
•Cats had their own mummification process of six steps.
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