Ancient Egyptian Religion

Bellringer Make a list of objects or images that come to mind when you think of Ancient Egypt 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

What kind of religion did the Ancient Egyptians practice? Lesson Objective: Analyze the religious structure of Ancient Egypt Know that Ancient Egyptians were polytheists with beliefs and rituals that were an important part of their society. Food for Thought: Every item in your list was related to the religion of the Ancient Egyptians

Know that Ancient Egyptians were polytheists with beliefs and rituals that were an important part of their society. Difference between a belief and a ritual… Belief is an idea you believe in Ritual is an action that you do

Know that Ancient Egyptians were polytheists with beliefs and rituals that were an important part of their society. You have mastered this when you can: 1. Define polytheism 2. Name two beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians 3. Name two rituals of the Ancient Egyptians

Introduction Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. Religion played a part in every aspect of the lives of the ancient Egyptians because life on earth was seen as only one part of an eternal journey, and in order to continue that journey after death, one needed to live a life worthy of continuance. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with many deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces of nature.

Check for Understanding Why was religion important to the Ancient Egyptians?

Answer Religion was important for two main reasons: The gods were in control of everything, the forces of nature, life and death The Ancient Egyptians believed in an Afterlife and to have a good afterlife meant that they had to live a good life while alive

Polytheism The Ancient Egyptians were polytheists, worshipped more than one god. Polytheism was practiced for 3,000 years. There were 2,000 gods and goddesses and many were combined to create new deities. There was a hierarchy of gods, and Amun Ra (the Sun God) and Isis often juggled the supreme position. The ancient Egyptians devoted their lives to honoring their gods and goddesses through rituals and building temples to honor them.

Check for Understanding What is polytheism? How long was polytheism practiced? About how many gods were there? Which two gods were considered the most powerful? How did Ancient Egyptians honor their gods?

Answers Belief in more than one god 3,ooo yrs 2,000 gods Amun Ra and Isis Had rituals and built temples

Pair Share Even numbers share with odd numbers: What does polytheism mean?

Belief –Creation The creation myth is recounted in the sacred hieroglyphic writings found on pyramids, temples, tombs and sheets of papyrus. These writings describe how the earth was created out of chaos by the god Atum. The earth was seen as a sacred landscape, a reflection of the sky world where the gods resided. The creation of the universe took place over a long period of time when the gods lived on earth and established kingdoms based on the principles of justice. When the gods left the earth to reside in the sky world, the pharaohs inherited the right to rule.

Check for Understanding Where have archeologists found the stories of creation? Earth is said to be a reflection of what? Who ruled the Earth after the gods left?

Answers in sacred hieroglyphic writings found on pyramids, temples, tombs and sheets of papyrus of the sky world where the gods lived The pharaohs

Belief- The Pharaoh was a King/God The king seems to always have been central to the ancient Egyptian religion. The pharaoh was thought to be both man and god. The Egyptians believed their pharaoh to be the mediator between the gods and the world of men. He could control nature, protect the people, start wars, and keep their country successful. In the Old Kingdom, kings were viewed as incarnate gods, the physical manifestation of the divine. In the Middle Kingdom, however, kings were considered divinely appointed representatives of the gods on earth.

Check for Understanding Why was the pharaoh called a god-king? What powers did the Ancient Egyptians believe the pharaoh had? How did the idea/image of the pharaoh change from the Old Kingdom to the Middle Kingdom?

Answers He was part man and part god He could control nature, protect them, make the empire successful, etc. He was first thought to be an actual god in human form, then in the Middle Kingdom he was thought to be a representative of the gods on Earth

Belief- The Afterlife Ancient Egyptians loved life, but their life expectancy reached only 40 years old at best. They wanted their lives to continue beyond death, and strongly believed in preservation of the body and providing the deceased with all of the essentials they would need in the afterlife. To them, death was merely a brief disruption in life, and if the funeral practices were followed correctly, the deceased could live without pain in the Fields of Yalu. Without the process of embalming, the ancient Egyptians believed a person couldn’t pass into the afterlife successfully.

Check for Understanding About how long did Ancient Egyptians live? Why did they preserve/embalm bodies and bury possessions with the dead?

Answer About 40yrs They believed in an Afterlife

Belief-The heart had to be light.. The more good deeds a person participated in, the lighter their heart became. Ultimately, upon the person’s death, Anubis weighed their heart against a feather from Ma’at’s (Goddess of Truth and Justice) headdress. If the heart was heavy with bad deeds, it would be devoured by Ammut (soul eater), and the person would not live on in the afterlife. This belief ensured that the ancient Egyptians worked hard at making their souls light.

Check for Understanding What would make your heart light? The heart had to be lighter than what? What happened if your heart was not light?

Answer Good deeds in life A feather Your heart was eaten and you would not live on in the Afterlife

Turn and Share Odd numbers share with even numbers: Name two beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians

Ritual- The Book of the Dead The Egyptian Book of the Dead is a collection of “spells” which enable the soul of the dead to navigate the afterlife. In order to reach paradise in the Afterlife, one needed to know where to go, how to address certain gods, what to say at certain times, and how to conduct one's self in the land of the dead If someone was sick or thought to be dying, a scribe would be hired to write a copy of the book to have after death Each copy of the book was written for that individual person, depending on the person’s life, how many chapters, pictures, etc. Copies were buried in tombs with the dead

Check for Understanding What was the purpose of The Book of the Dead? Or Why were the Ancient Egyptians buried with their own personal copy? Who wrote the books?

Answer So you could survive in the Afterlife- know what to do, etc. A scribe

Ritual- Embalming It was important because the Egyptians wanted the bodies to be preserved well for the afterlife. Using special processes, the Egyptians removed all moisture from the body, leaving only a dried form that would not easily decay. The mummification process took seventy days. Special priests worked as embalmers, treating and wrapping the body. They left only the heart in place, believing it to be the center of a person's being and intelligence. The other organs were preserved separately, with the stomach, liver, lungs, and intestines placed in canopic jars. Surprisingly, the brain was one of the few organs the Egyptians did not try to preserve. They weren't sure what it was for, but they assumed you wouldn't need it in the next world.

Check for Understanding Why was it important to preserve the body of the dead? How many days did it take to embalm a body? Which organ was not removed? Which organ was not preserved?

Answers The body was needed in the Afterlife 70 days The heart The brain

Pair Share Even numbers share with odd numbers: 2 rituals of Ancient Egyptians

Priests The ancient Egyptians participated in religious rituals and traditions so that their gods/goddesses would help to give them happy lives with an abundance of food. Priests, like scribes, went through a prolonged training period before beginning service. Once ordained, they took care of the temple, performed rituals and observances (such as marriages, blessings on a home or project, funerals), performed the duties of doctors, healers, astrologers, scientists, and psychologists, and also interpreted dreams. They blessed amulets to ward off demons or increase fertility, and also performed exorcisms and purification rites to rid a home of ghosts.

Check for Understanding Why was it important for the Ancient Egyptians to keep their gods happy? What kind of rituals did a priest do?

Answer So the gods would ensure that they had plenty of food and survived marriages, blessings on a home or project, funerals, exorcisms and purification rites to rid a home of ghosts

Temples Temples were built to honor the gods the ancient Egyptians worshiped. These temples contained features like enormous statues, gardens, crocodiles (on occasion), inscriptions and more. Only the pharaoh, the queen, priests and priestesses were allowed inside temples. Others could only go as far as the temple gates.

Check for Understanding Why were temples built? Who was allowed in the temples?

Answer To honor the god or goddess The pharaoh, queen, priests, and priestesses

Activity Assign each group a social class. Ask each group to make connections between Egyptians' belief in the afterlife and the area they were assigned. Groups should present their findings to the class. To help students, ask: if you were a scientist or a doctor, how might your belief in the afterlife affect your work? (You might learn about the human body from the embalming process as you prepared bodies for the afterlife.) If you were an Egyptian priest, how might your belief in the afterlife affect your work? (You would prepare dead bodies for the afterlife by mummifying them, and you would feel a great responsibility to do your work well.) If you were an ordinary worker, how might your belief in the afterlife affect you? (You might live a good life so that you could achieve eternal life in the afterlife.)

Extra Questions What did the ancient Egyptians think the afterlife would be like? Who was allowed to reach the afterlife?

Answers They thought it was even better than the present life. At first, Egyptians believed that only the pharaohs could achieve the afterlife, but later during the New Kingdom, all Egyptians believed they could.

Lesson Objective Mastery Objective: Know that Ancient Egyptians were polytheists with beliefs and rituals that were an important part of their society. Show mastery by: Define polytheism. What were two beliefs of the Ancient Egyptians? What were two rituals of the Ancient Egyptians?