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Ancient Egyptian Mythology

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The Ancient Egyptians:
To understand the everyday life of ancient Egyptians, Egyptologists drew on many valuable sources including tomb paintings, writings, and objects included in tombs that the Egyptians used in their daily life. Artifacts excavated and hundreds of documents written by the ancient Egyptians shed additional light on their life.
The fundamental social unit of ancient Egypt was the working family. While the father was responsible for the well-being of the family, the mother took care of the household and cared for the children, and their upbringing. Although Egyptian children are occasionally depicted at play with toys, their time was spent in preparing for their adulthood, by training on work. Farmer's children accompanied their parents into the fields; craftsmen got their male offspring helping as apprentices to their fathers. Scribes and officials children normally received formal education to become scribes or army officers.

Religion in Ancient Egypt:
The religious beliefs of the ancient Egyptians had a dominating influence in the development of their culture, although a unified theological system, was never intended to exist among them. Egyptian belief was based on a collection of ancient myths, ritual worship, and adoration of the innumerable local deities. Religion guided all aspects of ancient Egyptian daily life. Egyptian religion was based on polytheistic triads, or the worship of a pantheon of gods, abolished during the reign of King Akenaten. Egyptian gods and goddesses were represented as part human and part animal. Some, such as Amon, were worshipped nationwide, while others had only a local following.

Egyptian Creation Myths:
Ancient Egyptians had many mythical tales about the world beginning. According to one Myth, it started with an ocean in darkness, out of which dry land came up and the sun god Re appeared, creating light and all other things. Another version has the sun God appearing as a scarab beetle on the eastern horizon, or emerging from a sacred blue lotus, out of mud. Temples were everywhere, being dwelling places for the gods, so men could communicate with them. Later, tombs became a part of great temples.

Mummification & Burial:
Burying the dead was of main religious concern in Egypt, and Egyptian funerary rituals had become the most sophisticated the world has ever known. The Egyptians believed that the vital life-force was composed of several psych elements, of which the ka, was the principal. The ka, a twin duplicate of the body, accompanied it throughout life and, after death, when it departed from the body to take its place in the kingdom of the dead. However, the ka, vanished without its body; therefore, every effort was to be made, to preserve the dead body. After a person died, the priests recited prayers in an attempt to revive the deceased. The deceased body was then washed and perfumed before it was then taken to the embalmer's hall. All the organs were removed through a cut in the left side, and stored in special jars. The body was filled a mummifying salt, natrun for forty days. Thereafter, the body cavities were filled with linen and natron, then it was wrapped in bandages with amulets within the layers. A facial icon (portrait mask of the deceased) was placed over the head by the Embalmers, who wore a jackal mask to represent Anubis. The mummy, was then placed into a multi-layer coffin.

Ancient Egyptian Gods & Heros:
When a united state was created, by King Menas, a national religion grew out of the various local religions. There were still various inconsistencies as various priests attempted to unify and systematize the gods and their religious myths. The status of the local gods followed in the political power of their localities. Amon became Egypt's most prominent deity, and by similar shifts of political dominance of a city or regions others followed suit. Nevertheless, shifts and changes when occurred, made for new identifications and associations (Amen-Ra).
Great Egyptian Heroes, Doctors and Architects like Amenhotep rose to Eternity, after death. Egyptian religion was remarkable for its reconciliation and union of conflicting beliefs. Some scholars have held, in fact, that the syncretism of Egyptian religion reveals a basic trend toward monotheism. But only during the reign of Ikhnaton, who based his theology on the solar god Aton and denied recognition to all other god. That unique monotheistic cult proved not compatible with ancient Egyptian traditions; after Ikhnaton's death, polytheistic worship rituals were restored.

Major Worship Cults:
Of the many forms of Egyptian worship, the most prominent were that of Osiris and of Ra. Osiris was especially important as judge of the dead, but he was identified as well with the waters of the Nile, with the fertility of the earth, and with the moon. A bountiful and loving king, Osiris was the omni protector of everyone, the poor and the rich. His murder by his brother Set, and his restoration to life by his wife Isis made him the great symbol of the eternal persistence of life. His myth, portraying the highest ideals of family devotion, expressed aspirations that were valued by the people. The revenge exacted by his son and successor Horus showed the eternal triumph of good over evil.

Forty's presentation:
This book is a concise but beautiful and impressive introduction to the mysterious world of Ancient Egypt. Forty's presentation centered around the power of Egyptian mythology, which unlike Greek mythology took life, and religion seriously. The glory of the Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the temples with their colonnades and colossal needles depicted a highly organized life and an inspiring moral wisdom. The author introduced his view in an impressive clarity for a first encounter, his selection of plates is superb.
Illustrated Who was Who in Kemet is informative, while The Nomes, linking cities with their gods is unique, followed by an archaeological list of Egyptian temples. I wonder how could he pack the informative chapters in 64 pages so elegantly appealing.