Firstly, you should know that the ancient Egyptian's beliefs and religion impacted their lives greatly in multiple ways, one of which was the afterlife. The Egyptians believed that the afterlife was even better than present life, so obviously they had a very positive outlook on the afterlife. But you couldn't have a wonderful afterlife if you didn't work for it, so the Egyptians led good lives and studied prayers and magic spells from an important piece of writing called the Book of the Dead to prepare. And thought that Osiris,(god thought to be an early pharaoh that gave the Egyptians laws and taught them to farm) greeted the dead at the gate to the other world, and if the people were prepared, they would receive eternal life. So the ancient Egyptians all devoted their lives to preparing for the afterlife. Secondly, the ancient Egyptians needed the sun and Nile River to grow crops and make the soil fertile, so their two most important gods were Re the sun god and Hapi the river god. And made sure to please them so growing crops would be successful. And finally, the Egyptians believed that their pharaoh was a god, so they respected and accepted him as Pharaoh.
Characteristics of Ancient Egyptian Religion/Beliefs
Additionally, some characteristics of the ancient Egyptian's religion/beliefs were:
1, The ancient Egyptians worshiped many gods, over 700! And unlike Mesopotamia, which also worshiped many gods, the Egyptians believed their gods called deities had more power and controlled human activities as well as natural forces. Some examples of deities they had were Re the sun god, Hapi the river god, Amun the king of gods, Geb the god of earth,and Seshat the goddess of writing and measurement, but of course, those were only a few.
2. The Egyptians believed that everyone could hope for eternal life, both rich and poor, so the people developed the process of embalming, also known as mummification, which you'll read more about on this page. And the reason why embalming emerged was because the Egyptians thought that if the person's body decayed, their soul wouldn't have a place to reside.
3. One ancient Egyptian legend was that Osiris (mentioned before) used to be a early pharaoh that created laws for the people and taught them how to farm, and along with his wife Isis, who represented the mother and faithful wife, they ruled the world of the dead together.
1, The ancient Egyptians worshiped many gods, over 700! And unlike Mesopotamia, which also worshiped many gods, the Egyptians believed their gods called deities had more power and controlled human activities as well as natural forces. Some examples of deities they had were Re the sun god, Hapi the river god, Amun the king of gods, Geb the god of earth,and Seshat the goddess of writing and measurement, but of course, those were only a few.
2. The Egyptians believed that everyone could hope for eternal life, both rich and poor, so the people developed the process of embalming, also known as mummification, which you'll read more about on this page. And the reason why embalming emerged was because the Egyptians thought that if the person's body decayed, their soul wouldn't have a place to reside.
3. One ancient Egyptian legend was that Osiris (mentioned before) used to be a early pharaoh that created laws for the people and taught them how to farm, and along with his wife Isis, who represented the mother and faithful wife, they ruled the world of the dead together.
Pyramids
Because the ancient Egyptians mummified the dead instead of burying them, they needed a place that could hold a a pharaoh and his belongings for the afterlife, as the Egyptians believed pharaohs would be happy in the afterlife if they had their personal belongings, so huge stone pyramids were built to protect the pharaoh's body from wild animals, floods, and robbers. This was their way of honoring their pharaoh.
But how were these great pyramids built? You might ask. And the answer to that is that workers searched for stone. Next, skilled artisans used tools made of copper to cut the stone into blocks. Then, the laborers used rope to get the blocks onto wooden sleds. The sleds were then pulled along a log path to the Nile. There, the blocks got transferred to boats that transported them to the building site. And finally, the workers unloaded the blocks and either pushed or dragged them up ramps to be placed at each level of a pyramid.
However, you may be wondering why pyramids are on a page about religion and beliefs, after all, pyramids are just buildings right? Wrong, the reason why pyramids are on this page is because the Egyptians thought of their pharaohs as gods, so to honor their deaths, they decided to build pyramids.
But how were these great pyramids built? You might ask. And the answer to that is that workers searched for stone. Next, skilled artisans used tools made of copper to cut the stone into blocks. Then, the laborers used rope to get the blocks onto wooden sleds. The sleds were then pulled along a log path to the Nile. There, the blocks got transferred to boats that transported them to the building site. And finally, the workers unloaded the blocks and either pushed or dragged them up ramps to be placed at each level of a pyramid.
However, you may be wondering why pyramids are on a page about religion and beliefs, after all, pyramids are just buildings right? Wrong, the reason why pyramids are on this page is because the Egyptians thought of their pharaohs as gods, so to honor their deaths, they decided to build pyramids.
How to Make a Mummy:
Step 1: Get the person you're mummifying.
Step 3: Cut open the left side of the body near the stomach. Step 5: Let the internal organs dry. Step 7: Place the heart back in the corpse. Step 9: Cover body with natron (salt) for 70 days. Step 11: Rap whole body with bandages after 70 days. |
Step 2: Take out a hook and pull the brain out through the nose
Step 4: Remove the internal organs. Step 6: Place the lungs, stomach, liver, and intestines into a jar. Step 8: Rinse the inside with spices and wine. Step 10: Stuff body with linen or sand after 40 days. Step 12: Place in sarcophagus |
Primary Source:
After looking inside and reading from the Egyptian The Book of the Dead, we found this passage that states what people who get a happy afterlife would expect:
Wheat and barley... shall be given unto him
therein,
and he shall flourish there just as he did upon
earth."
Wheat and barley... shall be given unto him
therein,
and he shall flourish there just as he did upon
earth."