Download GVRL Ancient Religions of Egypt

“Ancient
Religions
of
Egypt
and
Mesopotamia”
from
page
48
of
the
World
Religions
Reference
Library,
a
Gale
Virtual
Reference
Book:
Beliefs
in
Ancient
Egypt
Egyptians
believed
that
the
world
was
brought
into
being
by
Atum
or
Ra,
whose
descendants
were
Osiris,
Set,
and
Isis.
These,
however,
were
just
a
fraction
of
the
gods
worshipped
by
Egyptians.
Some
estimates
put
the
total
number
as
high
as
one
or
two
thousand
different
deities.
What
began
as
animal
worship
led
to
an
immense
pantheon.
Amen
or
Amen‐Ra
became
the
most
powerful
of
the
gods,
center
of
the
national
cult;
the
cult
of
Osiris
was
second
most
powerful.
The
worship
of
the
sun
god
Ra
led
to
the
construction
of
immense
pyramids
for
the
pharaohs,
sons
of
Ra.
The
pharaoh
was
considered
a
living
god,
appointed
by
Horus
(son
and
avenger
of
Osiris).
For
ancient
Egyptians
the
gods
were
subject
to
the
same
sense
of
order
and
justice,
maat,
that
mortals
were.
The
universe
had
been
created
through
maat
as
a
replacement
for
the
chaos
that
once
existed.
Interaction
with
the
gods
was
intended
to
establish
maat
in
society.
It
was
the
duty
of
the
pharaoh
to
interpret
the
word
of
the
gods
in
order
to
establish
order
and
justice.
The
ancient
Egyptians
also
strongly
believed
in
an
afterlife.
Much
of
their
religon's
focus
was
centered
on
ensuring
an
afterlife,
which
contained
all
of
the
joys
and
pleasures
of
the
living
world.
Egyptians
believed
in
at
least
three
different
kinds
of
souls.
When
a
person
died
one
soul,
the
ba,
left
the
body
permanently,
while
a
different
kind
of
soul,
the
akh,
remained
with
the
body.
The
ka,
a
third
type
of
soul,
was
a
spiritual
duplicate
of
the
dead
person,
and
left
its
body
to
journey
to
the
underworld
for
judgment.
The
ka
had
to
return
to
its
body
periodically
during
the
time
it
was
undergoing
judgment.
If
the
body
was
damaged
or
decayed
during
this
period,
the
ka
might
lose
its
way
and
be
lost,
a
kind
of
eternal
damnation.
Page
48
|
Top
of
Article
Mummification
solved
the
problem
of
the
ka
by
preserving
the
body
after
death,
giving
the
spirit
a
familiar
house
to
return
to.
The
process
of
mummification,
which
could
take
up
to
two
months
to
complete,
was
at
first
only
used
for
royalty.
Later
the
practice
was
opened
up
to
include
anyone
who
could
afford
the
specialists
and
the
expensive
ingredients
required
for
the
process
of
preservation.
By
the
Middle
Kingdom
the
nobility
and
even
some
commoners
(non‐royalty)
were
being
buried
in
elaborate
tombs
and
having
their
bodies
embalmed,
or
preserved.
Egyptians
also
worried
about
passing
the
tests
they
believed
they
would
face
in
the
afterlife.
Elaborate
manuals
were
written
as
guides
to
these
tests.
These
included
the
Book
of
Amdurat,
the
Book
of
Gates,
the
Book
of
Caverns,
and
for
those
commoners
wealthy
enough
to
have
a
scribe
make
a
copy
for
them,
the
Book
of
the
Dead,
also
called
Spells
for
Going
Forth
by
Day.
The
most
important
trial
the
spirit
faced
before
being
allowed
into
the
afterlife
was
the
Judgment
of
the
Dead.
The
deceased
began
by
making
confessions
and
acts
of
atonement,
or
apology,
to
the
gods.
Anubis,
the
god
of
embalming,
then
led
the
person
by
the
hand
to
the
Hall
of
Maat.
The
deceased's
heart
was
weighed
on
a
scale
against
the
feather
of
truth,
a
symbol
of
the
goddess
Maat.
If
the
heart
was
lighter
than
the
feather,
the
deceased
was
admitted
into
the
afterlife.
If
the
feather
was
lighter
than
the
heart,
however,
the
goddess
Ammut,
Devourer
of
the
Dead,
consumed
the
deceased,
destroying
the
soul
forever.
If
the
deceased
passed
the
judgment
he
or
she
was
led
off
by
Horus
to
meet
with
Osiris
and
enter
the
Underworld.
Citation:
"Ancient
Religions
of
Egypt
and
Mesopotamia."
World
Religions
Reference
Library.
Ed.
Julie
L.
Carnagie,
Michael
J.
O'Neal,
J.
Sydney
Jones,
Marcia
Merryman
Means,
Neil
Schlager,
and
Jayne
Weisblatt,
et
al.
Vol.
1:
Almanac.
Detroit:
UXL,
2007.
37‐67.
Gale
Virtual
Reference
Library.
Gale.
Cal
Young
Middle
School.
4
Dec.
2009
<http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=GVRL&u=calyoungmidsch>.