Beliefs and gods of the ancient Egyptians. About the religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians
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Ancient Egypt is one of the most ancient civilizations, which not only built extraordinary pyramid tombs, but also had its own writings and culture. Religion in the development of Ancient Egypt had one of the most important roles.
Ancient Egypt, although it was one of the most developed civilizations in the world, was not the only one. Thus, there were mentions of him in ancient writings of Greek writers who knew about events both in the middle of the state and outside its borders. The Greek authors who are best known even today are Hecataeus, Herodotus, Strabo and Diodorus Siculus. But the fact that they were still writers and did not have all the information about Ancient Egypt means that their “works” are not generally considered reliable.
Written in Greek The history of Egypt by the priest Manetho (of Egyptian origin) was directed by a description of the events that took place after its conquest by Macedonia. The author himself divides the entire history of Egypt into three periods - Ancient, Middle, New Kingdom.
In the biblical stories, Egypt is mentioned quite often, but does not describe the complete history, since all events are connected only with Jewish history. It is not wise to rely on such sources.
The greatest amount of information is contained in the works of the Egyptians. They made sure to leave behind as many reminders as possible - objects, writings, documents, inscriptions. Although the hieroglyphs were not deciphered immediately after the finds, they still brought a lot of information about the religion of Ancient Egypt in our time.
Religion in Ancient Egypt
Many peoples had their own deities, who in one way or another had a direct connection with the forces of nature. The Egyptians were no exception, and this is how gods arose, who later became the basis for the development of the entire kingdom. The pharaohs were also considered gods, who, according to the inhabitants, were the sons of the supreme sun god, Ra (Fig. 2).
Rice. 1 - Religion of Ancient Egypt
The emergence of the world. Although there is one people, the views on how the world came to be have been different at all times. It all started with the fact that before the emergence of the world there was Chaos - Nun. But from it Atum was created, who created the Earth and the gods for it - Shu and Tefnut (air and moisture), and later Geb and Nut (earth and sky). These gods gave birth and so the following appeared - Isis, Nephthys, Set, Osiris. Next there is different versions where people came from. The difference is precisely the participation of one or another god in their creation.
Residents of certain territories had a version that the pioneer was Ptah, who created eight gods, one of them was Atum. There is an option that four gods and goddesses created an egg in the ocean, from where Atum (aka Ra) emerged, emerging from the ocean, the era of the creation of the world began.
There are many more versions that would explain the emergence of both the supreme god and the entire universe.
Gods in Ancient Egypt
The Egyptians worshiped the forces of nature in every possible way, which is why they idolized the moon, the sun, the Nile River, animals, and the desert. Lord of all natural phenomena They considered the pharaoh who owned all powers, ruled agriculture and people.
Religious system of Ancient Egypt went through a large process of formation and correction. Since Egypt was in a certain isolation from other continents, all religious processes were formed there uniquely without the influence of other religious systems.
Among existing gods About a thousand have been identified from ancient Egypt. They were divided into those that were recognized throughout the kingdom, but there were also those that were revered in a particular nome and even village.
Rice. 2 - God of Ancient Egypt: Ra
Worshiped by the gods, which were recognized throughout the territory Ancient Egypt, there were such representatives:
- Ra (Fig. 2) - the most important representative, who, according to the Egyptians, became the founder of the world, later became known as Amon-Ra because of the attitude of the inhabitants of Thebes to a god similar to their view, and eventually he became known as double name; was considered the patron of military power and royal power; depicted as a hill that protrudes from the watery chaos.
- Osiris or Osiris (owner of the kingdom of the dead, personifies dying and resurrecting nature, patron of dead souls).
- Isis (goddess of motherhood and marital love, regenerator of all living things, wife of Osiris).
- Horus (god of sky and light, son of Isis and Osiris, was considered the protector of the pharaoh and his earthly personification).
- Thoth (embodied wisdom and knowledge).
- Sokhmet (personified power and strength).
- Hathor (considered the goddess of fun, prosperity, sky, love).
- Hapi (patron of the Nile River).
- Maat (goddess of justice, fairness).
- Sia (personification of knowledge, insight).
Later, the appearance of new deities that were of foreign origin was noticed. This was due to Egypt's close political and trade relations with Nubia, Syria and Palestine. These are deities such as Astarte, Anat, Dedun, Reshef. Totemism and fetishism flourished, which is why the gods were represented in the form of various animals. Next, transformations took place in the images. Gods began to be depicted as separate objects or symbols.
There were so many gods that there were attempts to order, systematize and distribute them into hierarchies (families, types). But this attempt was not completely successful. It was also not possible to agree on the theory of the origin of the world.
Akhenaten's reform. Numerous attempts to create a single deity who could personify all processes on earth were unsuccessful. As a ruler, Akhenaten put forward a more specific concept of a single deity. He decided that Aten was the only god who created the world. He was far from being represented in statues, animals, and he also did not have a wife or children. Other gods were rejected as possibly existing. Aten was depicted as an abstract deity in the form of the sun and its rays, which give life and light to all people.
Another aspect of Akhenaten's reform was the abandonment of sacrifices. Decision pharaoh was required until he died. After his death, the Reform was canceled and remained unaccepted in Egypt.
Organization of a cult
The Egyptians always imagined the gods as powerful and formidable. According to people, the gods specially created them to serve them. And if people dared to forget about this, then they will not suffer severe punishment from the gods. For a happy and prosperous life, deities need to serve and adhere to certain rules. Then you could count on their mercy.
To honor the gods, people built temples in their honor, made statues with their outlines, and priests made sacrifices for them from specially raised sacrificial animals. Ceremonies and celebrations were held. The statues were then sent down the Nile while hymns and chants were sung. The development of religious poetry was preceded by the study of hymns, and the development of literature was supported by stories about the gods and what actions they perform in certain situations.
Mortuary cult in ancient Egypt
The funeral cult occupied a special place in the religion of Egypt. He was assigned the most important role in the life of every person. It was generally accepted that a person is a kind of synthesis of three substances - the physical body, the spiritual double (ka), and the soul (ba). For immortality, the existence of all these substances is necessary, since only thanks to them is it possible immortal life. Because of such beliefs, the physical aspect (the body) was mummified and sealed in a tomb. It was believed that ka and ba would always be present near the body. They believed in the continuation of the previous earthly life, where a wealthy person remained that way after death, and an ordinary peasant remained just a peasant. All the usual things, as well as miniature figurines of servants, were placed in the tomb.
Rice. 3 - Mortuary cult of Ancient Egypt
With the advent of the New Kingdom, the idea developed that after death everyone would repay what they had done during their lifetime. In the Book of the Dead there is detailed description the trial that takes place over the deceased. As a result, he is determined to continue to remain in grace or to be devoured by a monster. Everything depended on the righteousness of life. But this cult did not receive further development and was forgotten.
But the ritual of burial of all rich nobles and pharaohs was popular for a long time. This is how tombs were built in the rocks, entire palaces and pyramids were created, they were filled big amount wealth - gold items, valuable works of art. This prompted the further development of sculpture, architecture in Egypt, as well as other artistic manifestations.
conclusions. Although there were beliefs in numerous gods in Egypt, there were also people who denied their existence and did not worship them. The truth of the teachings was questioned. But thanks to the active religious position For the rest of the inhabitants, Egyptian deities were central to the lives of the entire people.
Lesson 10. Religion of the ancient Egyptians
Subject: history.
Date: 10.10.11.
Purpose: to show and reveal the reasons for the deification of the forces of nature in the Egyptian religion; give an idea of the priesthood as the most important support of the pharaohs.
During the classes
– New concepts: temples, priests.
Current control of knowledge and skills.
Task 1 – questions and answers:
1) What was the Egyptian army like?
2) What purposes did Pharaoh’s army serve?
3) Tell us about the conquests of Thutmose III.
4) Based on the table, draw conclusions about the conquests of the Egyptian pharaohs.
Task 2 – work on the map.
1) Show on the map the territory of the state of Egypt before the conquests.
2) Show on the map the areas conquered under Thutmose III.
3) Show the territory of the state of Egypt after the conquests.
Plan for learning new material
1. Beliefs of the Egyptians.
2. Priests are the largest landowners and slave owners.
3. Reflection of nature, activities, and inequality in religion.
1. Study the first question of the plan. Egyptian beliefs.
Teacher's explanation
Religion originated in Egypt during the times of primitive communal relations. Life then depended on successful hunting and gathering, so the Egyptians worshiped animals, birds, fish, and insects, endowing them with supernatural properties. These beliefs persisted throughout the history of Ancient Egypt.
The Egyptians believed in many gods, who were depicted in the guise of people with animal, bird, and snake heads. Pharaohs were depicted next to the gods and of the same height as them to emphasize their power.
The Egyptians believed that housing was needed not only by people, but also by the gods.
Vocabulary work
The temple is the home of the gods.
In ancient times, temples were built from reeds and clay, later temples began to be built from stone, and they became like palaces. The temples consisted of 4 main parts: 1 – huge pylons (towers tapering towards the top), between which the entrance was located; 2 – courtyard surrounded by columns; 3 – main hall with massive columns; 4 – sanctuaries where only priests and the pharaoh had access.
2. Study of the second question of the plan. Priests are the largest landowners and slave owners.
Teacher's explanation
At the temples there were priests, or “servants of the gods,” as they called themselves. “Only to us,” said the priests, “do the gods reveal their will. And only we can appease the gods. Don’t skimp on gifts to the gods - bring sacrifices to the temple!”
Vocabulary work
Priests are servants of the gods.
Work based on a painting (painting by K. Bektashev “Temple management in Ancient Egypt”).
In the picture we see a river, near the river there is a stone temple. Around him - fertile lands. The priests manage this land, bulls, tools, slaves. To the right, in the shade of palm trees, stands the priest. Not trusting the overseers, he personally supervises the plowing and harvest. Ships are sailing along the Nile, perhaps they are bringing new gifts from the pharaoh to the priests.
Question for the class. Why did the pharaohs give rich gifts to the priests, and they, in turn, were considered large landowners and slave owners?
Textbook material
Gods and priests. The ancient Egyptians believed that people and nature were controlled by powerful gods. If people do not please the gods, they will become angry and bring disaster to the entire country. Therefore, they tried to appease them with gifts, begging for mercy and mercy.
People built houses for the gods - temples. They carved large statues of gods from stone or made figurines from bronze or clay. The Egyptians believed that God inhabited the image and heard everything that people said and accepted their gifts.
At the temples there were priests - servants of the gods. It was believed that it was the priest who knew best how to talk to God - he knew special prayers that were kept secret from other people. The chief priest entered the temple where the god lived. He rubbed the statue with fragrant oils, dressed it, offered a tasty treat, and then walked away, backing away so as not to turn his back on God. The pharaohs gave the temples gardens and arable land, gold and silver, and numerous slaves. Gifts were made to the gods who supposedly lived in the temples. The priests disposed of them.
The priests were rich and powerful because the Egyptians believed that they spoke for the gods themselves.
3. Study of the third question of the plan. Reflection of nature, activities, inequality in religion.
Instruction to the teacher
The question about the gods, about reflection in religious beliefs Egyptians nature, occupations, inequalities to consider in the process self-filling students tables.
Working in a notebook
Draw a table:
Using the text of the paragraph, students fill out the second column of the table.
Textbook material
What did the Egyptians say about their gods? The Egyptians considered the Sun to be the most important god. The Sun God was called Ra, Amon or Amon-Ra. Every morning Amon-Ra appears in the east. While the day lasts, he slowly sails across the sky in his magnificent boat. On the head of the god a round solar disk sparkles dazzlingly. Plants come to life, people and animals rejoice, birds sing, glorifying Amun-Ra. But now the day is approaching evening, because the boat of Amon-Ra descends from the heavens. At the western edge of the sky, she floats through the gates of the underworld. Here, the god of light Amon-Ra enters into mortal combat with the god of darkness, a fierce serpent whose name is Apep. The battle continues all night. When the serpent is defeated, the crown of the sun god shines again, heralding the coming of a new day.
People live on earth, and above them lies a huge tent of heaven. The Egyptians depicted the god of the earth named Geb as a man with the head of a snake: after all, a snake is the most “earthly” animal. The sky goddess Nut was represented as a huge cow; her dark body is dotted with stars.
At the beginning, Earth and Heaven were inseparable: Nut was the wife, and Geb was the husband. Every evening Nut gave birth to stars. And all night they floated along her body, to the edge of the sky. And early in the morning, when Amon-Ra appeared, Nut swallowed all her children. Geb was angry with his wife, saying: “You are like a pig devouring its own piglets.” It ended with Geb and Nut beginning to live separately: the sky rose high above the earth.
The god of wisdom, Thoth, was especially respected - he has the head of an ibis bird with a long beak. It was he who taught people to read and write. Goddess B A steth - a flexible black cat - the patroness of women and their beauty.
The Egyptians worshiped animals - birds, snakes, fish, insects. At one of the temples in Memphis they kept a large black bull with a white mark on its forehead. His name was A pis. The whole country was plunged into sadness when this bull died. The priests were then looking for a new Apis. Archaeologists find in the sands of Egypt entire cemeteries of sacred bulls, cats, crocodiles, buried according to special rules.
The Myth of Osiris and Isis (myth - a legend about gods and legendary heroes). Once upon a time the god Osiris was the king of Egypt. Large dark eyes sparkled on his dark face, and his hair was shiny and black, like the land itself on the banks of the Nile. Good Osiris taught the Egyptians to grow grain and grapes and bake bread. The younger brother of Osiris, Set, was the god of the desert and sandstorms. He had small, angry eyes and sandy hair.
Set was jealous of Osiris and hated him. One day Seth came to a feast in the royal palace. Servants carried behind him a luxurious coffin, decorated with images and inscriptions. “Whoever fits this precious coffin,” said Seth, “will get it!” The guests were not surprised by the gift: the Egyptians from a young age prepared for life in the “land of the dead.” One by one the guests lay down in the coffin, but it was too big for them. It was Osiris' turn. He barely hit the bottom wooden box, Seth's servants slammed the lid. They picked up the coffin and threw it into the waters of the Nile. Osiris died.
The faithful wife of Osiris, the goddess Isis, wept bitterly. She was hiding from Seth in dense thickets on the banks of the Nile. She nursed her little son there - the god Horus. Horus matured and decided to take revenge on Seth for the death of his father. Horus entered into single combat with him and defeated the enemy in a fierce battle. Isis searched for a long time in the swamps of the delta for the coffin with her husband’s body. Having found it, she miraculously revived Osiris. God resurrected, but did not want to stay on earth. He became a king and judge in the “land of the dead,” and Horus became the patron saint of earthly pharaohs. Isis became the protector of all wives and mothers.
In Egypt, the most difficult time of the year is the drought in May-June. The Egyptians believed that Osiris died then. But then the waters of the Nile overflowed, the fields and trees turned green - Osiris came to life again.
What did the Egyptians say about the “kingdom of the dead?” There is light and warmth, blue water flows in the canals, grain ripens in the fields and sweet dates grow on the palm trees. But not everyone will be allowed to live in that kingdom after death.
God An rules there at bis, who was depicted with the body of a man and the black head of a jackal. Taking the deceased by the hand, he leads him to the court of Osiris, who sits on the throne. The deceased, standing in white robes, swears:
I did no harm. I didn't kill. I didn't order the killing. I didn't steal. I didn't lie. I wasn't the reason for the tears. I did not raise my hand to the weak. I wasn't jealous. I didn't curse. I did not say anything bad about the king. I did not neglect the gods. I'm clean, I'm clean, I'm clean, I'm clean!
The testimony of the deceased is recorded by the god Thoth. The veracity of the oath is checked: a person’s heart is placed on one scale, and on the other - a figurine of the goddess of truth Ma A t. Balance means that the deceased did not lie: he was a kind and righteous person. Next to the scales, a ferocious monster with the body of a lion and the toothy mouth of a crocodile rests on its front paws. It is ready to swallow the one who lied and did evil during his life. And the righteous will be allowed into the wonderful fields of the dead.
But to exist in the “kingdom of the dead,” a person needs a body into which his soul could inhabit again. Therefore, the Egyptians were very concerned about preserving the body of the deceased. It was dried, soaked in resin and wrapped in thin bandages - it turned into a mummy. Then the mummy was placed in a coffin - a sarcophagus, on which spells were written and gods were depicted. The tomb where the sarcophagus stood was considered the home of the deceased.
The Egyptians deified the pharaoh and called him the son of the Sun. They believed that Amon-Ra was a king among the gods, and his son, Pharaoh, was a king among the people inhabiting Egypt. Without a pharaoh, just like without the Sun, life on Earth is impossible. The Egyptians prayed to Pharaoh to make sure that there was good harvest, cows gave birth to calves, and sheep gave birth to lambs. The Nile flooded regularly at certain times of the year, but the Egyptians said that there would be no flood unless the Pharaoh ordered the river to flood. Everything must obey the will of the pharaoh - not only people, but also nature itself.
Self-control questions:
1) What are the similarities between the religious beliefs of the Egyptians and primitive people?
2) In the story of Sinukhet (p. 41), the pharaoh promises to build a stone tomb for him. Why was having such a tomb important to the Egyptians?
3) What natural phenomena are reflected in the myths about Osiris and Set, about Hebe and Nut?
4) Remember what the deceased, who was considered a good person in Ancient Egypt, swore at the court of Osiris.
Homework:§10; fill out the table completely; prepare one of the myths for oral retelling, and make a drawing in your notebook on the theme of the prepared myth.
Ancient Egypt is a powerful civilization of antiquity; it still attracts researchers with its mystery and grandeur. The ancient Egyptians had special treatment to religion, which left a huge imprint on their culture and way of life.
The role of religion in ancient Egypt
The daily life of the Egyptians was closely intertwined with beliefs and religious traditions. The ancient Egyptians believed that cults had the ability to directly influence their destiny. In that era, even small trifles were given a fatal meaning, and they were regarded as important signs sent from above. It was considered the abode of heavenly saints, in whose honor celebrations were organized and sacrifices were made. Each house had an altar, in front of which prayers were said to the patron gods and ancestors were worshiped.
Features of the religion of Ancient Egypt
A characteristic feature of the ancient Egyptian religion was a special attitude towards the afterlife, as an eternal continuation of earthly existence. could scrupulously prepare for life after death from a very early age. This is confirmed by grandiose burials, in which many necessary and precious items were left to the deceased. Main holy scripture in ancient Egypt there was a Book of the Dead, describing the afterlife and the judgment of Osiris over the soul after death.
Religious beliefs of Ancient Egypt
The pharaoh was considered the deputy of God in the material world; he was called the son of the sun. For the Egyptians, the sun was a symbol of immortality and rebirth. Just as the disk of the sun, giving life, set beyond the horizon in the evening and was then reborn in the morning, so the kings provided a guarantee of well-being, light and prosperity for the entire country. According to ancient Egyptian beliefs, a person consisted of a spiritual and material shell. The safety of the body ensured immortal existence. That is why it was important to preserve not only the soul, but also the body after death. This is where the tradition of mummification and pyramid building originated.
History of religion of Ancient Egypt
The beginning of the formation of the ancient Egyptian religion dates back to the VI-IV centuries BC. At that time, Egypt was heterogeneous and consisted of separate tribes, each of which had its own pantheon of religious cults. Over time, disparate areas Egyptian land united, so attempts were made to unite the cults of the gods. Each dynasty had its own main cult. So during the period of the third dynasty, when the capital of Egypt was in, Horus was recognized as the main deity. And in the era of the Middle and New Kingdom supreme god considered the Theban Amon.
Image of the starry Sky and the cult of Nut Religion and mythology of Ancient Egypt
Gods in Ancient Egypt were depicted as people with parts of animal bodies: head, torso, tail. The most revered were the bull, ram, snake, crocodile, cat, lion, jackal and ibis. It was with these sacred animals that the great gods were associated.
The god of the ancient capital of Memphis is Ptah. The Egyptians believed that he created other gods and the whole world. The sun god Ra gave the earth and people light, warmth, and life. Over time, the cult of the god Ra merged with the cult of the god Amun. Amon-Ra was the main god of the Egyptian state, the king of the gods. God Ra was depicted as a man with a head crowned with a golden disk, or as a huge red cat. By submission Egyptians In the morning, the god Ra sailed out on a solar boat and moved across the sky all day. By evening, Ra's boat descended beyond the horizon, into the underworld, where he fought with the spirits of darkness and defeated the terrible serpent Apophis, who wanted to swallow the sun. Escaped from the underground kingdom. Ra sailed again on his boat to heaven. A new day was dawning.
The earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut were considered the children of Ptah. Of all the ancient peoples, only the Egyptians had a man as the god of the earth. Other peoples tended to represent the earth in the form of a mother goddess. Geb was depicted as a man with the head of a snake, and Nut as a woman or a celestial cow, studded with stars. In the morning, when Ra's boat appeared in the sky, Nut swallowed her children - they were the stars. This made Heb very angry.
The Egyptians especially revered the god of wisdom Thoth. He was the scribe of the gods and taught people letter , account, different knowledge. He was also a guide of souls to the kingdom of the dead. Thoth was depicted as a man with the head of an ibis bird or as a monkey.
Each god had his own sacred animal. The sacred bull of Amon-Ra, whose name was Apis, lived in a special one. The symbol of the god Ra was a beetle rolling balls of dung and dust with its front legs. It was called a scarab. When sacred animals died, their bodies were turned into mummies and buried with great honor. Killing a sacred animal could result in severe punishment and even the death penalty.
2. Osiris and Isis.
This married couple was among the most revered gods of Egypt. IN myth it is said that the goddess Nut and the god Geb gave birth to twins Osiris and Isis, Seth and Nephthys. Osiris was the first king of Egypt and Isis was the first queen. They wisely ruled the country and took care of its inhabitants. Osiris taught people to grow wheat and barley, build houses, smelt ore, and make dishes. But his brother, the desert god Set, was jealous of Osiris. Seth made a beautiful sarcophagus and brought it to the house of Osiris, where guests gathered. Seth said that he would like to know who the height of this coffin would be. The guests began to try it on. When Osiris lay down in it, Seth quickly closed the lid of the sarcophagus and threw it into Nile.
Isis found the body of dead Osiris near the shore and wept bitterly over him. But the evil Set again stole the body of Osiris, cut it into pieces and scattered it throughout Egypt. Isis searched for the remains of Osiris for a long time. From them she extracted vitality, and she had a son, Horus. Horus became the solar god and was considered the patron saint of the pharaohs. He was depicted with the head of a falcon.
When Horus grew up, he began to fight Set. At first he was defeated, and Seth tore out his eye - all-seeing eye Mountain. But, gathering his strength, Horus defeated Set and returned the magic eye. He let his dead father Osiris, and he came to life. Osiris did not remain on earth, he became the ruler of the underworld, a judge in the world of the dead.
Osiris weighed the hearts of the dead on special scales. A heart was placed on one bowl, and a feather from the goddess Maat was placed on the other. If the cup with the heart sank down, it means that the person was evil during his lifetime and did a lot of bad things. As punishment, Osiris ordered that he be given to a monster with the body of a lion and the mouth of a crocodile. If the cup remained in place, it means that the person behaved well in earthly life. Osiris settled him in the fields of bliss. Here an eternal pleasant life awaited a person. Isis, the wife of Osiris, patronized people in the earthly world. But at the same time she is also the main goddess, the mistress of heaven.
3. Temples and priests.
Temples were erected in honor of the gods and pharaohs. The temple, as a rule, consisted of many structures. The gates to the temple were framed by high protruding walls - pylons, covered with stone reliefs. The reliefs depicted the deeds of the gods and pharaohs. Inside the temple there were spacious courtyards with statues of gods, with tall, tapering upwards (usually tetrahedral) stone pillars- obelisks. Inscriptions glorifying the gods and pharaohs were carved on the obelisks. Some temples were decorated with avenues of sphinxes.
Columns in stone depicted palm trunks or bundles of papyrus. The most mysterious room was the altar of a god or goddess. A deity statue was placed here. Only priests and priestesses could enter the altar. The worshipers were in the square in front of the temple.
During the service, the priests carried a statue of a god (or goddess) out of the sanctuary, to whom they made sacrifices - grain, wine, jewelry.
Priests constituted a special category of people whose main task was serving the gods and improving sacred rites. They were passing special training and had to know everything about religion. The priests conducted astronomical observations and even created a calendar. Egyptian priests did a lot for the development of mathematics, medicine and other sciences. It was not for nothing that in the Ancient World they were considered sages, keepers of the most ancient knowledge of mankind.
Great wealth was accumulated in the temples. The priests had enormous power and influence over the people. Sometimes they tried to compete with the pharaohs. It happened that some of the most daring and successful priests themselves became rulers of Egypt.
4. Reforms of King Akhenaten. At the turn of the 15th - 14th centuries BC. e. In Egypt, a pharaoh reigned, who considered that the priests of the god Amun had too much power. He decided to put an end to this. But it was not only “the power of the priests that caused concern to the king. He was the first of the rulers to think about why people worship many gods. Thinking deeply and reading the sacred books, the pharaoh came to the conviction that there was only one god. He ordered his subjects to pray to the one god Aten. With the symbol it was proclaimed as the golden disk of the sun. The rays of the solar disk of Aten reached the earth. Each ray of the sun ended with a palm that affectionately stroked people.
Pharaoh Akhenaten and his family worship Aten. XIV century BC. From Tel El Amarna
The pharaoh changed his name and, in honor of the god Aten, began to be called Akhenaten, which meant “pleasing to Aten.”
The pharaoh moved the country's capital to the specially built city of Akhetaten - the "Horizon of Aten". This is how the cult of a single god was established in Egypt. Belief in one God is called monotheism. The statues of Akhenaten are not like the frozen, solemn statues of the pharaohs of previous times. Akhenaten ordered to depict himself without embellishment, with all his inherent shortcomings. The images of Akhenaten, Nefertiti and their daughters are distinguished by their naturalness.
After Akhenaten's premature death, the priests abolished all the innovations he had introduced. The capital Akhetaten was abandoned and covered with sand.
IN AND. Ukolova, L.P. Marinovich, History, 5th grade
Submitted by readers from Internet sites
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Images of numerous deities discovered in ancient Egyptian monumental structures caused a number of serious disagreements regarding the religion of the first inhabitants of this region. The religion of ancient Egypt, at first glance polytheistic, was in fact monotheistic, like all great religious teachings. Today, scholars have come to the agreed conclusion that the numerous deities of the Egyptian temples should be considered intermediaries or incarnations of the Supreme Being, the one God who was worshiped by the priests, initiates and sages who lived in the temple. At the top of the Egyptian pantheon sits one God, immortal, eternal, invisible and hidden in the incomprehensible depth of his essence. He generates himself in the infinity of the Universe and contains within himself all the attributes of divinity. In Egypt they did not worship many gods, but, on the contrary, under the name of some deity - a secret God, having neither name nor image; the dominant idea was the one primordial God...
The Egyptian priests defined it this way: “He who exists by himself; The first cause of all life; Father of fathers; Mother of mothers." They also said: “From him flows the essence of all other gods,” “By his will the sun shines, the earth is separated from the sky and harmony reigns in his creation.” But in order to make it easier for the people to believe in one God, the priests expressed his attributes and his various incarnations in the form of sensory representations. One of the most perfect images of God was presented in the form of the sun with its main characteristics: shape, light, heat. The soul of the sun was called Amon, or Amon-Ra, which means “hidden sun.” God is the father of life, and all other deities are just components of his body. Here we can talk about the famous Egyptian triad. The apostles of this ancient theology even argued that the Supreme Being - the creator of the Universe - even if one in its essence, is not one in its incarnation. He does not need to go out of himself to be fruitful, and he generates himself in himself: he is at the same time the Father, Mother and Son of God, without leaving God. These three essences are “God in God” and, without dividing the divine nature, all three of them strive for infinite perfection. The Father represents the creative power, and the Son, the repetition of the Father, confirms and expresses his eternal attributes. Each Egyptian province had its own triad of closely related deities, and this in no way violated divine unity, just as the division of Egypt into provinces did not violate the unity of the central government. The most important triad, or great triad of Abydos, consisted of Osiris, Isis and Horus. This triad was the most popular and revered throughout Egypt, since Osiris was the embodiment of Good; he was usually called “the good God.” Ptah, Sekhmet and Nefertum formed the Memphis triad; Amon, Mut and Khonsu - Theban. The Trinity, however, is not the only dogma preserved in Egypt from the original revelations.
In their sacred books one can find the concepts original sin, atonement for sins, future resurrection in the flesh. Each change of dynasty was accompanied by an increase in monotheism, which ensured the Supreme Being's dominance over other revered deities. The religious revolution of Akhenaten was preceded by the revolution of Menes, and long before him - Osiris (5th millennium BC). Some historians believe that a radical change in religion occurred in the era of Osiris, the Theban king (4200 BC), the most mysterious of all rulers, under whom monotheism was universally established. The same Osiris will preside over the supreme judgment over the souls of the dead. According to the ritual of “psychostasis” (literally: weighing the soul) - the ceremony of the final judgment of the deceased - the soul, after the death of the body, was transported on a sacred boat along the waters of the Champs Elysees. Along the way, the boat illuminated the places where the incarnations of the damned souls were, and they joyfully gesticulated at the sight of the hitherto forbidden light shining upon them. The boat continued on its way, and after crossing a brighter place, which in some degree corresponds to our idea of \u200b\u200bpurgatory, it approached the supreme court, presided over by Osiris with his forty-two judges. The heart of the deceased was placed on one scale, and on the other was a feather - a symbol of the goddess Maat. If the deceased has done more good than evil, he becomes a "righteous man" and could become part of the mystical body of the god Osiris; otherwise, his heart would be devoured by a monster with the head of a crocodile and the body of a hippopotamus, and he would lose all hope of an afterlife. And the “righteous” could end up in Yala, that is, in the Champs Elysees. In this regard, the question may arise: why were so many everyday objects found in pyramids and tombs? The answer is simple: the cornerstone of the religion of the ancient Egyptians was the belief that human life is eternal, even after physical death.
Sacred animals
The monotheism of the ancient Egyptian religion, in the opinion of modern people, has all the features of fetishism. However, one should be well aware that the countless images of the gods of the Egyptian pantheon are just a manifestation of various hypostases of the one God, his manifestation of the face of the eternal divine essence. In this regard, one can understand the meaning of the cult given in different regions Egypt to the sun, earth, sky and some animals living in Egypt. Indeed, only in a later era did the Egyptian gods accept human form. Previously, their symbols were plants and animals: the goddess Hathor lived in a sycamore tree ( fig tree); the goddess Neith, who gave birth to children while remaining a virgin, and whom the Greeks identified with Athena, was depicted as a shield with two crossed arrows; Ne-fertum, identified with Prometheus, was depicted as a lotus flower. But most often the Egyptian god appeared to believers in the form of an animal. Here are some examples: Horus the hawk, Thoth the ibis, Bastet the cat, Khnum the ram.
In addition to worshiping animal gods, the Egyptians also worshiped animals as such, endowed with certain qualities and marked with special signs. A striking example of this is lush cult Apis - a sacred bull revered in Memphis. For a bull to be recognized as sacred, it had to have certain characteristics that only the priests could know. After the death of Apis, the priests, after a long fast, began searching for a new Apis, who should have a white triangle on his forehead, a spot resembling an eagle on his neck, and another spot in the shape of a waxing moon on his side. In Memphis, Apis lived in a pen in front of the temple of Ptah, the creator of the Universe, and there he accepted offerings from those who worshiped him and gave prophecies. Until the 19th Dynasty, each bull had its own special tomb. Then Ramesses II ordered to bury them in a common necropolis - the Serapeum. The origin of this name is as follows: the deceased Apis received the name Osor-Apis, from which the Greek name Serapis came. The French archaeologist Auguste Mariette, following precise instructions from Strabo's text, discovered the legendary Serapeum in Saqqara in 1851: a wide, long underground gallery with burial chambers. There, the mummies of sacred bulls were placed in monolithic sarcophagi made of pink granite, limestone or basalt, reaching 4 meters in height and weighing up to 70 tons. In gratitude for the help that some birds provided to farmers, the ancient Egyptians also considered them sacred. There, in Saqqara, there is a necropolis of sacred birds - ibises. Ibises were supposed to have a naked, matte black head and neck, bluish-gray legs, magnificent white plumage with individual blue-black feathers on the wings. The living ibis was dedicated to the god Thoth - the Greek Hermes; after death it was mummified and placed in a clay vessel. In Thebes there was a special cult of the crocodile, which lived there, tamed, decorated with gold earrings and rings, receiving signs of veneration and reverence from everyone. However, according to Herodotus, not all cities of Egypt had a crocodile as a sacred animal. For example, in the city of Elephantine and its environs, crocodile meat was even eaten. In Egyptian religion, an important role was assigned to the cat, which was called “meow,” an onomatopoeic word that has passed into languages; The verb “meow” comes from it. The cat, dedicated to the goddess Bastet, personified the blessed solar heat. Her cult especially flourished in Lower Egypt. The city of Bubast (today's Zigazig), where the temple of the goddess Bastet was erected, was named in her honor. The cat was considered such a sacred animal that even accidentally killing it led to the death penalty. A huge number of embalmed cat mummies were found at Beni Hassan.
Immortality of the soul
The ancient Egyptians believed in the immortality of the soul. Pyramids, mastabas and tombs were built in different valleys to house the souls of the dead. Ka is the spirit of the Universe, or the spiritual substance that gives life to any entity. The body is for the earth, the soul is for the sky, and human nature identified with self-awareness. After earthly death, the soul hovers over the mummy - this is its Ka, its double - until the soul is transformed into an astral spirit, and both - Ka and Ba (the divine “spark” is one of the spiritual characteristics of a given individual) - are connected by a thread Osiris with the higher mind to form a single mind (spirit). Numerous frescoes depicting the immortality of the soul and other religious subjects were discovered in brick buildings- the dwellings of the pharaohs. All mortuary temples and tombs are painted with scenes of the eternal afterlife, hence their name - “houses of eternity.” The cross with the Ankh loop also symbolized future life with its three attributes: peace, bliss and serenity.
Burial and mummification
The art of embalming corpses and turning them into mummies was believed to be of divine origin; it was attributed to Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis. The word “mummy” is of Arabic origin and, according to the 12th-century Arab traveler Ab-el-Latif, means tar, or a mixture of resin and myrrh: a composition that was widely used for processing corpses and was the subject of brisk trade in the Middle Ages, even in Europe.
Previously, a distinction was made between artificial and natural mummies, which were preserved without any special processing. Today it is believed that the amazing safety of Egyptian mummies depended only partly on perfect embalming techniques, but the main reason was the extremely dry climate of Egypt, which prevented the development of bacteria in the air and sand.
Thanks to bas-reliefs and paintings found in tombs, we know how funeral ceremonies took place in ancient Egypt. At the head of the funeral procession, a group of slaves carried donations and personal belongings of the deceased: if it was a warrior, weapons and his horse; the peasant - his tools. Then came the hired mourners, who uttered shrill, pitiful cries, tore their hair and sang funeral hymns. And finally, behind the funeral director and priest was a hearse in the form of a solar boat, mounted on a sleigh pulled by a team of oxen. Behind the hearse were the family, relatives and friends of the deceased in deep mourning, they were crying and emitting pitiful cries. Last came a group of women singing funeral hymns to the deceased. The procession was accompanied by a crowd of curious onlookers. If the cemetery was on the other side of the Nile, the cortege would stop to board barges and cross the river. On the other bank, the mummy was again mounted on the sleigh, and the groups of accompanying people lined up in the same order. Arriving at the burial site, relatives and friends said goodbye to the deceased and brought tributes to the mummy, then proceeded to the “opening of the eyes and mouth ceremony,” which symbolically returned the deceased’s ability to feel. And finally, the mummy found peace in its tomb.
Now let's look at how the embalming of the corpse proceeded. The body of a person who had just died was handed over to embalming specialists. The very first operation involved removing the brain through the nostrils using a thin hook-shaped instrument. After this, the skull was filled with a composition based on liquid tar, which, as it cooled, hardened. Artificial enamel eyes were inserted into the eyeballs instead of eyes. The intestines and entrails were then removed through an incision in the left side made with a sharp stone. The innards, after being processed in a boiling bitumen composition, together with the liver and brain, were sealed into four canons (special vessels) made of clay, limestone or alabaster, as well as stone or metal, depending on the social status deceased. Four different heads - a man, a jackal, a hawk and a baboon - images of four afterlife spirits crowned the lids of these urns, which were placed all together in one ark next to the mummy. The abdominal cavity was thoroughly washed with palm wine and dried with aromatic powders. Then it was stuffed with crushed myrrh or scented sawdust. After such preparation, the body was immersed for 70 days in a bath with a solution of natron (sodium carbonate). Thus, the flesh and muscles were completely dissolved and only bones covered with skin remained. Men's hair was cut short, while women were left with their long, luxurious hairstyles. With narrow bandages impregnated with resins, they first bandaged each finger separately, then the hand and arm. This is how they bandaged the arms, legs and, finally, the body. The head was processed even more carefully. A muslin type cloth was placed directly on the skin. The face was successively covered with several layers of this fabric so tightly that the removed multi-layer mask could serve as a mold for casting a plaster portrait of the deceased. And finally, the elongated bandaged body with arms crossed on the chest or lying along the hips was wrapped with ribbons of fabric along its entire length. The bodies of the pharaohs were wrapped in a shroud or covered with a case of beaten gold that repeated the shape of their bodies.
Mummies kept in the Egyptian museums of Cairo and Alexandria or in other museums around the world are in a state of almost perfect conservation. The oldest known mummies are those of Sekke-ram-Saef, one of the sons of Pepi I (VI Dynasty). It was found in 1881 at Saqqara, near Memphis, and is now kept in the Cairo Museum. The art of embalmers has brought the faces of the great pharaohs to the present day: on the wrinkled face of Merneft (many attribute his reign to the era of the exodus of the Jews), one can still discern the characteristic family nose and thick eyebrows; An x-ray showed that the great Ramesses II suffered from toothache.
Hieroglyphs
Deciphering the mysterious Egyptian inscriptions has long worried the whole world. In 1799, French army captain Bouchard supervised fortification work at the Saint-Julien fortress, four kilometers from the city of Rosetta. Unexpectedly, the workers discovered a stone that became famous in the history of archaeology: it was the “Rosetta Stele”, which made it possible to decipher the hieroglyphs. By a whim of history, this stone ended up in the hands of the British, who turned it into a pearl British Museum. This is a slab of black basalt, very hard, one plane of which has a tri-ling inscription, consisting of three texts located one above the other. The first contains 14 hieroglyphic lines. The second text consists of 32 lines of demotic script (“demos” in Greek for “people”), as opposed to hieratic script (“hieros” meaning “sacred”), which could only be used by priests and scholars. Finally, the third inscription of 54 lines in Greek was understandable.
The inscription spoke of a sacred decree in honor of Ptolemy Epiphanes; it ended with a formal order: “This decree, engraved on solid stone slabs in three types of writing - hieroglyphic, demotic and Greek, is to be exhibited in all the large temples of Egypt.”
The honor of deciphering the hieroglyphs was shared by two scientists: the Englishman Thomas Young and the Frenchman Francois Champollion, who set to work almost simultaneously; The efforts of both were crowned with success. However, Champollion should be considered the true translator of the hieroglyphic inscription. What Young deciphered intuitively, Champollion discovered thanks to scientific methodology, which allowed him to deepen his research so much that by the end of his life, by 1832, he had compiled a grammar and dictionary.
What does the text consist of, which the Greeks called hieroglyphic (“hieroglyphic” means “ sacred signs")? The ancient Egyptians called their writing “the speech of the gods.” According to legend, the god Thoth taught people writing during the earthly reign of Osiris. For many centuries, the writings retained their sacred character; they were even attributed magical power. Egyptian writing included about 700 characters, each of which denoted a sound or an object, and whoever knew how to write them was highly respected. The names of kings and queens received an oval frame, which archaeologists call “cartouches.” It is known that, taking as the initial names the names of Cleopatra and Ptolemy, circled with “cartouches,” Champollion began his work on deciphering the texts.
The ancient Egyptians carved hieroglyphs into the stones of temples, painted them on the walls of burial chambers, or wrote them with a reed pen on papyrus scrolls. What is papyrus? This perennial the reed family, the stem of which reaches two to five meters in length and is crowned with a wide umbrella inflorescence. The white spongy core of the stem was cut into thin slices, spread on a flat surface and glued at the edges. The first layer was covered with a second layer of fibers across. It was then moistened and dried in the sun. The resulting sheet was pressed and ground to make it thinner. Then several sheets were glued into a long strip, rolled into a roll, and the text was written in dense columns.