Religion And Ritual In Ancient Egypt Summary

Teeter,Emily. Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011, Print.

Teeter, transports you back in time to get the inside view on how Egyptians viewed the

world and how that worldview effected how they practiced their religion. You are given

a glimpse into the temples, tombs and everyday life of the Egyptians and how religion

shaped and supported their society. Emily Teeter, PhD, is a Research Associate and

Coordinator of Special Exhibits at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago.

She has curated temporary and permanent exhibits of Egyptian art at the Oriental

Institute Museum, the Seattle Art Museum, and the Art Institute of Chicago. The author

Teeter's thesis contends that "The

Egyptians had a pragmatic view of the world that led to a religion and rituals that widely

permeated their culture and formed a society with complex beliefs and practices that

held their society together and allowed it to flourish for more then three thousand

years."(1) While,Teeter thesis is not a new one, she is very clear in supporting it with

specific examples and her excellent choice of pieces of evidence that support her claim. Before, I

read Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt I never realize the extent that religion played

in the everyday life of the Egyptians.

Chapter one," The Egyptian Mind" Teeter describes how the Egyptians viewed the

world. She states, "The Egyptians were visually oriented and were tremendously

keen observers of their environment." (9)"Their worldview was based entirely on

concrete principles that they could see around them" (9). The chapter then wraps

up with and an brief overview of what included in each chapter of the

The use of gods played a

big part in keeping social order.(115)

Chapter 7, "Death and Funeral Rites" tells how Egyptian economy was greatly helped

by people spending so much money preparing for death. It tell how they hated and feared

death was,even thought they thought they would be reborn in the afterlife.(119)They

believe they would have the same needs after death as they had during life. They would

still needed drinks,food, and clothing,etc...(136) It explains how they prepaired tombs

and after death the mummy's for the afterlife. It also looks at how funerals were

conducted.

Chapter 8," Communicating with theDead "is about how the living and dead talked to

each other.. They communicated with an Akb,which was a spirt of a dead person that

lived in the world of gods and the dead..Teeter states" The Akb lived in the world of the

gods and the dead,but was able to communicate with and to aid,or hinder,the

living."(149). The most common way to talk to the Akb was through letters given to

them at the temple or talking to them while dreaming or having a