Ancient Egyptian Beliefs and Practices

Summarize Ancient Egyptian History.

Old Kingdom 2700 to 2200 BCE.
The Old Kingdom was a period of great prosperity. This time is also called the
pyramid age, because the great pyramids were built during this time.
Egyptian kings came to be known as Pharaohs. The Pharaoh was seen as divine, or
godlike. The people believed that the Pharaoh controlled many things including the
flooding of the Nile itself. The Pharaoh wielded absolute power, but used advisers to
help them. The Chief adviser to the Pharaoh was the Vizier

Middle Kingdom 2050 to 1652 BCE.

After the fall of the Old Kingdom there was a period of chaos for about 150 years. A
new dynasty took over in Egypt, bringing a period of stability. Egypt expanded into
Nubia to its south.
The government also sent troops into Palestine and Syria and sent traders to Kush,
Syria, Mesopotamia, and Crete
In the new kingdom the Pharaoh took new interest in the common people. The
Pharaoh also implemented many public works projects.

New Kingdom 1567 to 1085 BCE.

The Middle Kingdom ended with the invasion of a people called the Hyksos. The
Hyksos had Chariots and superior weapons to the Egyptians. The Egyptians were
easily defeated. Eventually the Egyptians overthrew the Hyksos and established the
New Kingdom. The Pharaohs of the New Kingdom took a more aggressive ruling
style Egypt became the most powerful state in Southwest Asia.

Decline.
Egypt fell into a period of decline and foreign invasion. Egypt was ruled by different
people and eventually defeated by the Romans. The last Pharaoh of Egypt was
Cleopatra VII, who committed suicide rather than surrender to the Romans.

Summarize the history of Ancient Egyptian Mythology. Ancient Egyptians worship of 2000
different gods. Before Egypt was united, their were 40 tribes all with different gods. After
unification, all the gods were kept since any gods had similar characteristics. Animals were
considered the living images of the gods.
Describe the clothes of the gods.
1. Tunic with suspenders.
2. Dress with suspenders.
3. The short loincloth
4. The short-sleeved overall
5. The full-length dress
Outline the appearances and roles of the main Egyptian gods and goddesses.
Ra (re) the Sun God.
Appearance: A man with the head of a Hawk wearing a sun disk headdress.
Role: He was the most important God. The ancient Egyptians believed that each night
Ra was swallowed night by Nut, the sky goddess then reborn in the morning.

Thoth.
Appearance: A man with the head of an ibis holding a writing palette.
Role: Thoth was the god of Knowledge and writing. It was said that he gave the gift
1/4

of hieroglyphics.

Maat.
Appearance: A Woman with a feather on top of her head.
Role: Ma'at was the goddess of truth, justice and harmony. Maat was often
associated with the balance of things on earth.

Anubis.
Appearance: A Man with the head of a jackal.
Role: Anubis was the god of embalming and the dead. Jackals were often seen found
in cemeteries. Thus, it was believed that Anubis watched over the dead. He was also
the keeper of poisons and medicines. Anubis performed the Opening of the Mouth
ceremony which was performed at the funeral to restore the senses of the deceased.
The ceremony was done by touching the mouth of a mummy or statue of the
deceased, it was believed to restore the senses in preparation for the afterlife

Horus.
Appearance: Man with the head of a hawk.
Role: Horus was a god of the sky. He is the protector of the ruler of Egypt. It was
believed that the pharaoh was the 'living Horus'. Horus was the son of Osiris (The
god of the Dead) and Isis. It was said that he avenged the death of his father he was
considered to be the model of a dutiful son

Amun.
Appearance: A Man with a ram-head wearing an ostrich feather hat
Role: Amun was one of the most powerful gods in ancient Egypt. At the height of
Egyptian civilization he was called the 'King of the Gods'.

Osiris.
Appearance: A mummified man who is wearing a white headdress with feathers.
Osiris was the god of the dead, and ruler of the Underworld. Osiris was also the god
of vegetation (plant matter) thats why he is green in appearance. This means that he
is the god of resurrection.

Atum.
Appearance: Man with the double crown.
Atum was a creator god. It was believed that Atum was the first god to exist on earth.

Isis
Appearance: A winged goddess. She may represent the wind.
Role: In the Osiris legend there are references to Isis wailing and moaning like the
wind. She restores life to Osiris by flapping her wings and filling his mouth and nose
with air. Isis was a great enchantress, the goddess of magic. She was the embalmer
and guardian of Osiris. She is often rendered on the foot of coffins with long wings
spread to protect the deceased.

Describe the ''Book of the Dead.

In ancient Egyptian, it is called reu nu pert em hru which translates into "The Book of
Coming forth by Day." It contains spells, charms, passwords and numbers to help secure an easy
passage for the deceased into the after life. It was written on papyrus. The papyrus was rolled,
put inside a hollow statue and placed in the tomb with all the other things which the dead person
would need for the afterlife Egyptians believed that knowledge of the appropriate spells was
2/4

essential to achieving happiness in the next life.

The Book of the Dead provide instructions for burial. The day of burial was when the
dead person was thought to move from the world of the living to the world of the dead. The
Book of the Dead shows the ceremonies that took place at the burial of a wealthy Egyptian.
Archeologists found the first inscription on the sarcophagi of the deceased in 1600 BCE,
then it later written on papyrus paper. There are many versions of the Book of the Dead
including:
1. Heliopolitan version which is known from five copies inscribed in the tombs of Kings
from the fifth dynasty and edited by priests of Annu.
2. Theban version which is the most modern version written on papyrus paper and
organized into chapters containing only hieroglyphics.
3. Saite version which is strictly organized. Spell no. 125 is one of the most well known
segments describing the judgment of the soul done by Osiris and his 42 judges.
The weighing of the heart against Ma'at is considered one of the more important chapters.
The gods judged how the dead person had led their life to decide if they deserved eternal life in
the afterlife. The dead persons heart was weighed against the feather of truth. If shown to be free
from evil, they were declared true of voice and admitted to the afterlife. If not, their heart was
eaten by the Devourer and they would cease to exist forever.
Describe the Complete version of the Book of the Dead. The Book of the Dead created for the
ancient Egyptian Nesitanebisheru is one of the largest surviving complete scrolls. In the early
1900s it was cut into 96 separate sheets to make it easier to study, store and display. Today it is
sometimes known as the Greenfield Papyrus after Edith Mary Greenfield who donated the roll to
the British Museum
Explain the purpose of the Book of the Dead. "Book of the Dead" was meant to aid the
deceased in not dying a second time and becoming an akh.
Explain the purpose of the spells in the Book of the Dead. The spells in the Book of the Dead
gave the dead person the power to control their body and keep it safe. They also allowed them to
turn into different animals, provided information which they would need to repeat at certain
points on their journey and offered protection against hostile creatures
Describe Ancient Egyptian Mummification. Mummification is described into two main
stages: Embalming and Wrapping.
Embalming
1. Wash the body with good smelling palm wines and rinse with water from the Nile.
2. Cut a slit in the left side of the body and remove internal organs the liver, stomach,
lungs and intestines are placed in canopic jars:
Imsety the human headed god holds the liver.
Hapy the baboon headed god holds the lungs.
Duamutef the jackal headed god holds the stomach.
Qebehsenuef the falcon headed god holds the intestines.
3. A hook is then inserted up the nose to remove the brains the heart remains in the body
because the Egyptians believed that your heart was the most important aspect of the
human.
4. The body is then covered and stuffed with which will help to dry out the body
5. The body is then placed in the desert for 40 days. After the 40 days the body is then
washed again with Nile water the skin is the covered in oils.

Wrapping.
1. The head and neck are wrapped with linen. The fingers and toes are wrapped
individually. The arms and legs are wrapped separately from the body
3/4

2. In the layers the embalmers place amulets to protect the body in the underworld. The
'isis knot' amulet protects the body and ' Plummet' represents personal balance
3. Priests read out spells while the mummy is being wrapped.
4. Papyrus scroll filled with spells from the book of the dead is wrapped in the
mummies hands
5. A cloth is then wrapped over the whole body and a painting of Osiris is Painted on
top.
6. A funeral is then held for the dead person before the body is layered to rest they have
a ritual called 'the opening of he mouth' this lets the dead person eat and drink one last
time.
Explain the Ancient Egyptian Concept of Afterlife.
Death is not seen as the last stage of life. Before the mummy can reach the underworld it
has to pass through seven gates, aided by the magic spells inscribed upon the funerary objects. In
the underworld, the dead person travel through a landscape with paths, rivers, mountains, caves,
lakes and fields. They had to pass through many gates and doors guarded by gods. Then, the
dead person arrives in the presence of Osiris. Osiris performs a ceremony called the 'weighing of
the heart'. Here, the Heart of the dead person is weighed on a scale by the jackal headed god
Anubis against the feather of Ma'at. Balancing the scale meant immortality. If the scale did not
balance, then Amemet would eat the heart, and Seth, murderer of Osiris ate the rest of the body.
If the heart is equal to the feather, then the dead person can proceed to one of many
afterlives. The dead person might travel with the sun god Ra in his boat sailing though the sky
each day and the netherworld each night or they might go to the Field of Reeds, a landscape like
Egypt, with rivers to sail on and fields of crops to ensure the dead never went hungry.

4/4