Religion of Egypt

Religion guided every aspect of Egyptian life Religion guided every aspect of Egyptian life. Egyptian religion was based on polytheism, or the worship of many deities. The Egyptians had as many as 2000 gods and goddesses.

Some, such as Amon, were worshipped throughout the whole country, while others had only a local following. Often gods and goddesses were represented as part human and part animal.

Horus, the sky god, had the head of a hawk, and body of a human. bull, the cat, and the crocodile Their two chief gods were Amon- RA and Osiris. Amon-Ra was believed to be the sun god and the lord of the universe. Osiris was the god of the underworld and the one that made a peaceful afterlife possible. http://www.education.com/slideshow/egyptian-gods/egypian-god-khnum/

The Ancient Egyptians had many tales about how the world began. Temples were considered dwelling places for the gods. They were everywhere. Each city had a temple built for the god of that city.

The purpose of the temple The purpose of the temple? to be a cosmic center by which men had communication with the gods. As the priests became more powerful, tombs became a part of great temples. The priests duty was to care for the gods and attend to their needs. The priests had many duties such as funeral rites, teaching school, supervising the artists and works, and advising people on problems.

Belief in the Afterlife

Egyptians regarded death as a temporary interruption, rather than the end of life. To ensure the continuation of life after death, people honored the gods, both during and after their life on earth. When they died, they were mummified so the soul would return to the body, giving it breath and life. Treasures were placed outside the tomb's burial chamber to provide for the person's needs in the afterworld. Written funerary texts consisting of spells or prayers were also included to assist the dead on their way to the afterworld.

The Book of The Dead showed how to overcome obstacles, revealed routes, gave clues to shortcuts, taught passwords and prayers to navigate safely and kept the dead from otherwise losing their way. It would also guarantee the help and protection of the gods while proclaiming the deceased's identity with those gods

The Egyptians believed that there were six important aspects that made up a human being: the physical body, the shadow, their name, ka (their spirit), ba (their personality), and the akh (immortality).

The ka was a person's double The ka was a person's double. It is what we would call a spirit or a soul. The ka was created at the same time as the physical body. The doubles were made on a potter’s wheel by the ram-headed god, Khnum. It had the same needs that the person had in life, which was to eat, drink, etc. The Egyptians left offerings of food, drink, and worldly possessions in tombs for the ka to use

The ba can best be described as someone's personality The ba can best be described as someone's personality. Like a person's body, each ba was an individual. It entered a person's body with the breath of life and it left at the time of death. It moved freely between the underworld and the physical world. The ba had the ability to take on different forms.

The akh was the aspect of a person that would join the gods in the underworld being immortal and unchangeable. It was created after death by the use of funerary text and spells, designed to bring forth an akh. Once this was achieved that individual was assured of not "dying a second time" a death that would mean the end of one's existence

An intact body was an important part of a person's afterlife An intact body was an important part of a person's afterlife. Without a physical body there was no shadow, no name, no ka, ba, or akh. By mummification, the Egyptians believed they were assuring themselves a successful rebirth into the afterlife.