Download How did Religion influence Egypt - study notes

How did religion influence the development &
sustainability of Ancient Egypt? – ppt notes
What was the “SOUL” of Ancient Egypt?
THE NILE was considered the SOUL as it was the source of life and path to immortality
Egyptians lived on Eastern side but buried on Western side
River was symbol of passage of one life to next (eternity)
Yearly flooding – essential for agriculture
Creation story began in swirling waters of the Nile when god Horus gave power to Pharaohs
Egyptian Deities
What did the (gods and goddesses) resemble? Why?
Why have so many gods and goddesses?
The deities married, had families and children- why?
Egyptian God- THOTH
God of Wisdom, Time, Writing
Represented by a male body with the head of an Ibis.
Ibis=stork like bird with long legs and beak to catch fish in mud
Ibis, symbolized wisdom because beak
shaped like a pen and dips in the mud as
if it was ink
Egyptian God- OSIRIS
God of Vegetation and Underworld
Represented by a male body with a greenish complexion and
usually depicted wrapped in white linen
The greenish complexion draws the connection with vegetation
Wrapped in white linen like a mummy to connect with the underworld
Notice: Osiris’ legs are bound together like a mummy different from most Gods.
Goddess: Ma’at
Ma’at- represented truth, righteousness and justice
GUIDING QUESTIONS
How would the concept of ma’at create balance and order in Egypt?
How would ma’at affect everyone (from the Pharaoh to the people)?
What is the connection of ma’at to life and the afterlife?
Egyptian Theocracy
How did Pharaoh’s rule?
-absolute rulers of the land
-believed to be the earthly embodiment of the god Horus who was the son of Amon-Re.
therefore they had the divine right to rule
-This allowed the Pharaoh to move between god and their people (hourglass analogy)
-People followed their orders because they believed they were from god = cult like status in
life and in death
-No one would challenge the King’s authority and he could rule in relative peace
Fun Fact…-The throne passed on to eldest son of Principal Queen who was usual the
eldest daughter of the previous king therefore the king’s ______________
Pharaoh’s regalia:
Dress of the Pharaoh
Fit for a Pharaoh
Crook and Flail
Double Crown
Royal Cobra (Eye of Ra)
Headcloth
Shaved heads
Prominent Beard
Gold
Sceptres
Education
All children, regardless of social class, received some education,
though most were trained in their family’s trade.
Followed a moral and ethical guide “Instructions in Wisdom”
Goal for education was to ensure youth exhibited self-control and
good manners
Education respected for creating a well-rounded individual
Law
Law was governed by religious principle of Ma’at
Laws were applied equally to all classes, specifically protected the
family (children and wives)
Women shared the same legal rights as men (free slaves, make
adoptions, divorce, own property)
Punishments for crimes could be quite severe- act as a deterrent or disgrace the guilty (Examples:
minor crimes had 100 lashes; corrupt officials had their hands amputated; crimes that resulted in
a death sentence could have choice= devoured by a crocodile, suicide, burning alive)
Egyptian Wealth - What determined Egypt’s Wealth?
-Agriculture made up most of Egypt’s wealth – grain, vegetables, fruit, cattle, goats, pigs and fowl
-Abundance and management of food supplies (not royal treasury) was the measure of Egypt’s
wealth = full granaries, plenty of wildlife and fish, and thriving herds were the signs of prosperity.
-These were the images used in the tombs of the Pharaohs to illustrate the wealth of their reign
Economy and Trade
-Simple economy based on food production and
minerals from desert
-access to the Mediterranean their routes
extended trade as far as Northern Europe,
subtropical
Africa and the Near East
-Trading was done by bartering goods (grain, oil,
wheat)
-Taxes, salaries and loans were all paid entirely
on goods
-extensive trading made Egypt a powerful influence on culture, art, ideas and technology (ie. -the
Western calendar was taken from the Romans who had borrowed it from the Egyptians)
-Trade eventually grew and expanded, bringing new ideas and goods into Egyptian society
Social Roles
Role of Women
-Well treated and had considerable legal rights compared to other civilizations
-Left women to be economically independent
-Primary role was in domestic life
-Common title for a married women in ancient Egypt was “nebet per” meaning “the lady of the
house”
-Bear and raise children
Role of Men
-Head of the family
-Men could have numerous wives but economically men had only 1 wife
-Labourers, craftsmen
-Jobs were hereditary
Jobs
-Labour required for construction projects and was mostly filled by poor, serfs
-Stability of Egypt thrived as skilled trades were passed from father to son
-Children always learned the trade from parents; seldom could choose occupation
The Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone is a stone with writing on it in two
languages (Egyptian and Greek), using three scripts
(hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek). It was carved in 196 BCE.
Why is it in three different scripts?
The Rosetta Stone is written in three scripts (hieroglyphs for
religious documents; demotic- common script of Egypt; Greeklanguage of the rulers of Egypt at that time)
The Rosetta Stone was written in all three scripts so that the
priests, government officials and rulers of Egypt could read
what it said.
When was the Rosetta Stone found?
The Rosetta Stone was found in 1799 by French soldiers who were rebuilding a fort in Egypt (in a
small village in Delta called Rosetta (Rashid)
What does the Rosetta Stone say?
The Rosetta Stone is a text written by a group of priests in Egypt to honour the Egyptian pharaoh.
It lists all of the things that the pharaoh had done that were good for the priests and the people of
Egypt.
Afterlife: How is death is a new beginning?
mummification = significance and connection to nature
Monuments = significance of stone
Items in tomb = significance
Egyptian Art:
“Funerary Scene”
Ka (soul /spiritual
duplicate)
ba (personality)
akh (form mummy took
in afterlife)
ankh (the key of life)
Anubis, Ma’at, Ammit,
Thoth, Horus, Osiris