Ancient Egyptian Religion Essay

490 Words2 Pages

Ancient Egyptian religion was polytheistic, meaning that it involved the worship of multiple gods and goddesses. The gods were believed to have control over life, agriculture, and the afterlife and were often depicted in human form with animal heads. The religion also had a complex system of rituals and ceremonies. One of the very strong traditions is called Divine Kingship. One of the things they say is the Pharaoh was not only a king but a god as well. Pharaoh is related to the son of Re the sun god; Horus. It is believed that once he died he became a god called Osiris. The priests in ancient Egypt were seen as very powerful. For example, if everything was going swell they thanked the gods and the priests. But when things went downhill they …show more content…

The souls that would pass this judgment would be capable of still interacting with the living, as the Egyptians believed in the continued existence of the soul and that the deceased could influence the world of the living. They used mummification to preserve the bodies, they also built large pyramids and they acted as tombs for the pharaohs in the old kingdom. The Egyptian spirit is divided into five parts: Shadow, soul, name, heart, and vital spark. Egyptian souls were called the Ib, pretty much-meaning hearts. In Egyptian Religion the heart was the key to the afterlife. Sheut, meaning a person's shadow, was always present. You could not exist if you didn't have a shadow for that is what they believed in. A person's name (ren) was given at birth and it would live for as long as that name was spoken. The larger the number of places the name is used the greater the possibility of survival to be read and spoken. Ba means the soul, which would be similar to a person's personality. The vital spark meaning Ka “distinguished the difference between a living and dead person” (Auburn, Religion). Egyptians also believed that the Ka was sustained through food and drink. This is why they give food and drink offerings to the