Religion in Ancient Egypt How Religion Affected Egyptian Political, Legal, and Creative Thought

Impact of Geography on Religion: The Nile Rose and the land was covered with water; the Nile subsided and land, now full of life was ready to be sewn and produce crops Consequently, Egyptians accepted water as the beginning of everything Water revered in the form of a creator-god named Atum, who emerged from the first hill that rose from the water Atum was “the perfect one” that created the earth and sky, who later had children

Impact of Geography on Religion: Climate From the Old Stone Age man had buried the dead, and early Egyptians did too Hot, dry climate meant that body did not rot, but desiccated and remained a wholly recognizable corpse Consequently developed unparalleled emphasis on continued existence of physical body after death Sun also recognized as another great life-giving force (hence Sun-god Re)

The Development of Deities Atum ejected from his being Shu (air) and Tefenet (moisture) (the sun itself) Atum also known as Ra Separated sky (Nut) from the earth (Geb) Geb and Nut had children: the gods Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys Anubus born out of love between Nephthys and Osiris—helped Isis by embalming king’s body Local gods, such as Amon (Thebes) began to emerge during Middle Kingdom

Nut (goddess of the sky and heavens) is depicted with her husband-brother Geb. Together they bore 5 children (Osiris, Horus the Elder, Seth, Isis, and Nephthys

The Depiction of Deities: Atum Atum is rarely depicted as a human, but rather as a crown or as one of his many totem animals (i.e. a black bull, cobra) Not only the father of the gods, but also the father of the pharaohs Atum, wearing the double crown, worshipped by the deceased Lady Tashenat; Third Intermediate Period; in the Louvre

Religious Beliefs Aside from their physical body, each person had a ka, ba, and akh Ka is a person’s spiritual duplicate, which was stored in the heart and separated from the body at death Ba is essentially the person’s character or personality; left the body at death; depicted as a human-headed bird Akh is the form the person would exist in in the afterlife (through spells said over the mummy)

Religion and Political Thought Concept of the god-king was central Pharaoh believed to be the earthly embodiment of the god Horus (son of Amon-Re) Partial divinity of king helped to ensure stability since the word of the king would be considered the word of the gods The Pharaoh owned all of the land in Egypt, the people, and their possessions

Religion and Legal Thought Believed law was infused into the world by the gods at the time of creation Goddess Ma’at personified law (truth, righteousness, and justice) Despite absolute power, the king must rule over Egypt subject to Ma’at Goal was to maintain equilibrium According to Ma’at, the goal of all people was to maintain the correct balance of the universe

Depiction of Ma’at Ma’at is personification of law, justice, order, and truth Depicted as a young woman sitting or standing Held scepter in one hand and ankh in other Sometimes has wings or ostrich feather

Religion and Legal Thought Likely because of Ma’at, Egyptians generally law abiding, stability-seeking people Unlike the Mesopotamians, Egyptians did not have a codified body of laws Legal system was based on precedent Courts ensured that laws were consistent

Ma’at and Economics Pharaoh had absolute control over means of production and distribution of wealth See influence of Ma’at in employment Skilled trades were passed down from father to son Led to stability and continuity in Egypt

Religion and Culture: Art Virtually all art was produced for religious purposes Pharaoh chief patron and subject of the arts Art not innovative, but rather sought to remain unchanged Art served to capture for eternity the ideal form of the individual represented

Religion and Culture: Sculpture Sculptures ranged from small statues to huge works (I.e. Sphinx) Looked straight ahead Not engaged in activity Lacked emotion Captured grandeur

Religion and Culture: Reliefs and Paintings Reliefs are pictures cut into stone Most commonly found in tombs Aimed to convey to the gods the character of the deceased Illustrated activities to be enjoyed in afterlife Not concerned with realism or perspective