Ancient Ancient Egyptian Egyptian ReligionReligion

Worshipping the Gods & The Story of

Mummification

Main Beliefs

• Religion guided every aspect of Egyptian life.• Based on:

– Polytheism.– Worshipping Gods – temples– Funeral ritual – mummification as

preparation for afterlife

• Pharaohs were living Gods• Priest were also of great importance.

The Eye of Horus(or Ra) – symbol of protection, royal power and good health

Who were the Gods?

• The Egyptians had as many as 2000 gods and goddesses. – Some, were worshipped throughout the whole

country, while others had only a local following. – Many of them representing different aspects of

life and nature.

• Often gods and goddesses were represented as part human and part animal.

• The Egyptians had many tales about how the world began.

Egyptian Mythology• The first humans were created by the happy tears of Ra

(the sun god) when he was reunited with Shu (god of air) and Tefnut (goddess of moisture)

• Nut and Geb were the children of Shu and Tefnut.• Their children were:

Isis, Osiris,

& Set

• Isis was worshipped as the perfect mother & wife– Friend of slaves & sinners– Source of the Nile’s annual floods (tears for husband’s

death a gift that helped farmers

• Osiris was honoured as the bringer of civilization– Killed by jealous brother Set– Became the merciful judge of the dead

• Set was god of the desert, storms, and chaos

http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/story/main.html

Worshipping the Gods

• Egyptians built temple complexes along the Nile River.

• Temples were considered dwelling places for the gods.

• Each city had a temple built for the god of that city.

• The purpose of the temple was to be a cosmic center by which men had communication with the gods.

Funerary Ritual

• The Egyptians saw death as a transitional stage in the progress to a better life in the next world.

• They believed they could only reach their full potential after death.

• Each person was thought to have three souls, the "ka," the "ba," and the "akh.“

• For these to function properly, it was considered essential for the body to survive intact.

• Their belief in the rebirth after death became their driving force behind the mummification process.

Ancient Egyptian mummification developed over time.

The first burials in the hot desert sands led to natural mummification of the whole body.

Later, placing the body in a coffin meant that only the skeleton survived.

Then the Egyptians learned how to artificially mummify the body before putting it in the coffin.

Early mummification was a natural process.

The desert sand was hot and dry.

Dehydration (drying out) preserved the whole body.

Bodies placed in the hot sand dehydrated because the hot sand absorbed the water in the body.

The result is a natural sand-dried mummy.

preserved skin grave goodsburial in sand

But bodies buried in the desert sands were at risk from wild animals.

Munch munch…

How could the ancient Egyptians protect the bodies of the dead?

If animals attacked the bodies they would not be preserved and would not reach the afterlife intact.

So the Egyptians started to place the body in a coffin.

Will this work?

• This is a skeleton (not a mummy).

• The soft tissue rotted away.

• The whole body needed to be preserved for the afterlife. Why was the body not preserved?

• The hot dry sand could not reach the body to dry it out…

• thus, the soft tissue rotted away.

Artificial Mummification

The ancient Egyptians realised they needed to mummify the dead bodies artificially before they placed them in the coffin.

• they artificially dehydrated the body and the internal organs

• they wrapped the body in linen bandages and placed it in a coffin

• the put the organs in canopic jars…

• and put the coffin, canopic jars and grave goods into the tomb.

This process was very expensive so over 95% of the population were buried in the sand and ended up like the first natural sand-dried mummy.

Herodotus provides us with written evidence of the process of mummification. The British Museum contains objects and documents

which help us to understand how this process was carried out.

The Egyptians did not understand what the brain was for. They needed to take it out to preserve the body. The easiest way to do this was through the nose with a hooked probe.

A small incision (cut) was made in the left side of the body to remove the internal organs.

They left the heart inside the body. It would be needed during the journey to the afterlife where it was weighed against the feather of truth.

They removed the other organs and dried them to preserve them.

The organs could be placed in Canopic jars to keep them safe.

Which organ goes in each canopic jar? Look at the heads.

Qebehsenuef the falcon-headed god looks after the intestines.

Hapy the baboon-headed god looks after the lungs.

Duamutef the jackal-headed god looks after the stomach.

Imsety the human-headed god looks after the liver.

They washed the body with pleasant smelling liquids.

They then covered it in natron (natural salt) for 40 days. This dehydrated (dried out) the body and stopped it rotting. This ensured the body was preserved.

Once the body had dehydrated it was washed again using perfumes and oils.

The clean and dehydrated body was then carefully wrapped in linen sheets and strips.

The body was wrapped very carefully to look like a human figure. This shape could be used in the afterlife if the person’s body itself did not survive very well.

Amulets were placed in the mummy wrappings. These were like good luck charms and were used to protect the body.

The mummified body was placed in a coffin. This coffin could be shaped like a human.

The coffin could be painted or embellished with other decoration such as gold.

The family then took the coffin to the tomb.

Funeral ceremonies were performed and the tomb was sealed with the hope that the dead person would reach the afterlife.

The After Life

• 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.

• The dead arrives in the presence of Osiris (god of the underworld)• A ceremony called the 'weighing of the heart‘ is performed• The heart is weighed on a scale by the jackal headed god Anubis

(god of dead) against the feather of Ma'at (goddess of truth)• Balancing the scale meant immortality.• If the scale did not balance then Amemt (crocodile headed god)

would eat the heart, and Seth, murderer of Osiris ate the rest of the body.

The After Life

• 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.

• The dead arrives in the presence of Osiris (god of the underworld)• A ceremony called the 'weighing of the heart‘ is performed• The heart is weighed on a scale by the jackal headed god Anubis

(god of dead) against the feather of Ma'at (goddess of truth)• Balancing the scale meant immortality.• If the scale did not balance then Amemt (crocodile headed god)

would eat the heart, and Seth, murderer of Osiris ate the rest of the body.

The Priesthood

• As the priests became more powerful, tombs became a part of great temples.

• The priests duty was to care for the gods and attend to their needs.

• The priests had many responsibilities such as funeral rites, teaching school, supervising the artists and works, and advising people on problems.