The main ancient religions of Egypt. Religion and mythology of ancient Egypt

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

The ancient religions of Egypt have always been inseparable from the mythology and mysticism inherent in this part of the globe. It was thanks to the ancient Egyptian myths and legends that paganism in Russia was further formed.

Echoes of this culture can also be observed in modern Judaism, Islam, Christianity. Many images and legends spread throughout the globe and eventually became part of the modern world. Assumptions and hypotheses regarding Egyptian culture and religion still torment scientists around the world, desperately trying to unravel the mysteries of this amazing country.

Main destinations

The religion of ancient Egypt is diverse. It combines several directions, such as:

• Fetishism. Represents the worship of inanimate objects or materials, which are attributed to mystical properties. It can be amulets, paintings or other things.
• Monotheism. It is based on the belief in one god, but at the same time allows for the existence of other supernatural forms or several divine faces that are the image of the same character. Such a god may appear in different guises, but his essence remains the same.
• Polytheism. A belief system based on polytheism. In polytheism, there are whole pantheons of divine creatures, each of which is responsible for a separate topic.
• Totemism. Very common in ancient Egypt. The essence of this trend is the worship of totems. Most often, these are animals that are presented with gifts in order to appease the gods through them and ask them for a happy life or peace in another world.

All these directions have been formed for more than 3 thousand years, and, of course, over such a long period, the religion of ancient Egypt has experienced many changes. For example, some gods, who were in the last place in their importance, gradually became the main ones, and vice versa. Some symbols merged and turned into completely new elements.

A separate part is occupied by legends and beliefs concerning the afterlife. Due to this versatility, various branches and constantly changing rites, there was no single state religion in Egypt. Each group of people chose a separate direction or deity, which they later began to worship. Perhaps this is the only belief that did not unite all the inhabitants of the country, and sometimes led to wars due to the fact that the priests of one commune did not share the views of another, worshiping other gods.

Magic in ancient Egypt

Magic was the basis of all directions and was practically presented to people as a religion of ancient Egypt. It is difficult to summarize all the mystical beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. FROMon the one hand, magic was a tool and directed against enemies, on the other hand, it was used to protect animals and people.

Amulets

The greatest importance was attached to all kinds of amulets, which were endowed with extraordinary power. The Egyptians believed that such things could protect not only a living person, but also his soul after the transition to another world.

There were amulets on which ancient priests wrote special magic formulas. Rites were taken especially seriously, during which spells were cast over amulets. It was also customary to put a sheet of papyrus with words addressed to the gods on the body of the deceased. Thus, the relatives of the deceased asked the higher powers for mercy and a better fate for the soul of the deceased.

Figures of animals and people

The myths and religion of ancient Egypt include stories about all sorts of animal figurines. The Egyptians attached great importance to such amulets, since such things could not only bring good luck, but also help to curse the enemy. For these purposes, a figure of a person who needed to be punished was sculpted from wax. In the future, this direction was transformed into black magic. The Christian religion also has a similar custom, but on the contrary, it is aimed at healing. To do this, it is necessary to fashion a sick part of the human body from wax and bring it to the church to the icon of the saint, from whom relatives ask for help.

Along with amulets, drawings and all kinds of spells were of great importance. Initially, there was a tradition to bring to the funeralroom food and put it next to the mummy of the deceased to appease the gods.

After a while, when the food spoiled, the Egyptians brought fresh offerings, but in the end it all came down to putting an image of food and a scroll with certain spells next to the mummified body. It was believed that after reading the cherished words over the deceased, the priest could convey a message to the gods and protect the soul of the deceased.

Words of Power

This spell was considered one of the most powerful. The ancient religions of Egypt attached particular importance to the pronunciation of sacred texts. Depending on the circumstances, the specified spell could produce a different effect. To do this, it was necessary to give the name of a particular creature that the priest wanted to call. The Egyptians believed that it was the knowledge of this name that was the key to everything. Remnants of such beliefs have survived to this day.

Akhenaton's coup

After the Hyksos (who influenced the ancient religions of Egypt) were expelled from Egypt, the country experienced a religious upheaval, the instigator of which was Akhenaten. It was at this time that the Egyptians began to believe in the existence of a single god.

Aton became the chosen god, but this belief did not take root due to its ex alted character. Therefore, after the death of Akhenaten, there were very few worshipers of a single deity. This brief period of monotheism, however, left its mark on subsequent lines of Egyptian religion.

According to one of the versions, the Levites whomMoses, were among those who believed in the god Aten. But due to the fact that it became unpopular in Egypt, the sect was forced to leave their native lands. During their journey, the followers of Moses united with the nomadic Jews and converted them to their faith. The ten commandments that are known today are strongly reminiscent of the lines of one of the chapters of the Book of the Dead, which is called "The Commandment of Denial." It lists 42 sins (one for each god, of which, according to one of the Egyptian religions, there were also 42).

Currently, this is only a hypothesis that allows us to consider in more detail the features of the religion of ancient Egypt. There is no reliable evidence, but many experts are increasingly leaning towards this formulation. By the way, the controversy over the fact that Christianity is based on Egyptian beliefs still does not fade away.

Egyptian religion in Rome

At the time when the mass spread of Christianity began, and Alexander the Great died, the Egyptian religion completely merged with ancient mythology. At a time when the old gods no longer met all the requirements of society, the cult of Isis appeared, which spread throughout the entire territory of the Roman Empire. Along with the new current, great interest began to appear in Egyptian magic, the influence of which by this time had already reached Britain, Germany and began to spread throughout Europe. It is difficult to say that it was the only religion of ancient Egypt. Briefly, it can be represented as an intermediate step betweenpaganism and gradually emerging Christianity.

Egyptian pyramids

These buildings have always been shrouded in hundreds of legends and beliefs. Until now, scientists are trying to unravel the mystery of how any organic objects are mummified in the pyramids. Even small animals that died in these buildings are preserved for a very long time without embalming. Some people claim that after spending some time in the ancient pyramids, they experienced a surge of energy, and even got rid of some chronic diseases.

The culture and religion of ancient Egypt are tightly connected with these extraordinary buildings. This is understandable, since the pyramids have always been a symbol of all Egyptians, regardless of which religious direction was chosen by one or another group of people. Until now, tourists who come on excursions to the pyramids claim that in these places blunt razor blades become sharp if they are correctly placed, focusing on the cardinal points. Moreover, there is an opinion that it is not so important what material the pyramid is made of and where it is located, it can even be made of cardboard, and it will still have unusual properties. The main thing is to keep the right proportions.

Religion and Art of Ancient Egypt

The art of the country has always been closely related to the religious preferences of the Egyptians. Since any image and sculpture had a mystical connotation, there were special canons according to which such creations were created.

In honor of the gods, huge temples were erected, and their images were imprinted in stone orprecious materials. God Horus was depicted as a falcon or a man with a falcon's head, thus symbolizing wisdom, justice and writing. The guide of the dead, Anubis, was depicted as a jackal, and the goddess of war, Sekhmet, always appeared in the form of a lioness.

Unlike Eastern cultures, the ancient religions of Egypt presented deities not as frightening and punishing avengers, but, on the contrary, as majestic and all-understanding gods. Pharaohs and kings were representatives of the rulers of the world and were revered no less, therefore they were also drawn in the form of animals. It was believed that the image of a person is his invisible double, which was called "Ka" and was always presented as a young man, regardless of the age of the Egyptian.

Each statue and painting had to be signed by their creator. An unsigned creation was considered unfinished.

Religion and mythology of ancient Egypt pay great attention to the organs of vision of man and animal. Since then, it has been believed that it is the eyes that are the mirror of the soul. The Egyptians believed that the dead were completely blind, which is why so much attention was paid to vision. According to Egyptian myth, when the god Osiris was treacherously killed by his brother, his son Horus cut out his eye and gave it to his father to swallow, after which he was resurrected.

Deified animals

Egypt is a country with a rather poor fauna, however, the ancient Egyptians honored nature and representatives of flora and fauna.

They worshiped the black bull,who was a divine creation - Apis. Therefore, in the temple of the animal there was always a live bull. The townspeople worshiped him. As the famous Egyptologist Mikhail Alexandrovich Korostovtsev wrote, the religion of ancient Egypt is quite extensive, it sees symbolism in many things. One of these was the cult of the crocodile, which personified the god Sebek. Just as in the temples of Apis, in the places of worship of Sebek there were always live crocodiles, which were fed only by the priests. After the animals died, their bodies were mummified (they were treated with the highest respect and reverence).

Falcons and kites were also held in high esteem. For killing these winged ones, you could pay with your life.

Cats occupy a separate place in the history of Egyptian religion. The most important god Ra was always presented in the form of a huge cat. There was also the goddess Bastet, who appeared in the form of a cat. The death of this animal was marked by mourning, and the body of the four-legged was taken to the priests, who cast spells over them and embalmed him. Killing a cat was considered a huge sin, followed by a terrible retribution. In case of a fire, the cat was rescued from the burning house first, and only then the family members.

Reviewing ancient Egyptian mythology, one cannot fail to mention the scarab beetle. This amazing insect plays a huge role in the religion of ancient Egypt. The summary of the most famous myth about him is that this particular beetle personifies life and self-rebirth.

The concept of the soul in ancient Egypt

The Egyptians sharedhuman being into several systems. As mentioned earlier, each person had a particle "Ka", which was his double. An additional coffin was placed in the burial room of the deceased, in which this very part was supposed to rest.

The “Ba” particle represented the very soul of a person. At first it was believed that only the gods possessed this component.

"Ah" - the spirit, depicted as an ibis and represented a separate part of the soul.

"Shu" is a shadow. The essence of the human soul, which is hidden on the dark side of consciousness.

There was also a part of "Sakh", which personified the body of the deceased after his mummification. A separate place was occupied by the heart, since it was the receptacle of the entire human consciousness as a whole. The Egyptians believed that during the afterlife, a terrible judgment, a person could keep silent about his sins, but the heart always revealed the most terrible secrets.

Conclusion

It is rather difficult to list all the ancient religions of Egypt in a short and accessible way, since over such a long time they have undergone a lot of changes. One thing can definitely be said for sure: the mysterious Egyptian history contains a huge amount of the most unusual and mystical secrets. Annual excavations bring incredible surprises and raise more and more questions. To this day, scientists and people simply interested in history find unusual symbols and evidence that this particular religion formed the basis of all beliefs that exist today.