Ancient Egypt :: Ancient Egypt Egyptian History

Ancient EgyptOne of the most interesting scenes of antiquated Egypt is its religion. The wisdom of Egyptian thinking and rich imagination displayed in the creation of ideas and images of the gods and goddesses is beyond compare. On elaborating their beliefs, the Egyptians were working on the cosmic plane searching for an arrangement of the most basic laws of the universe (Religion). The ancient Egyptians instilled their religion into every aspect of life including their art and architecture. The Egyptians were humanistic, naturalistic and polytheistic in their ardent faith. They were humanistic in that they worshiped man, particularly the pharaoh naturalistic in that they deified the forces of nature and polytheistic in that they believed in thousands of gods and goddesses (Thompson). These gods were responsible for all aspects of their existence (Cunningham). The Egyptians saw no attribute between the creator and his creation. They believed the gods to be powers, which could b e manipulated by man for his take in benefit (Thompson). Because they believed in so many gods, the Egyptians invented rituals to praise them all. The rituals in tump over affected the daily life of every Egyptian (Soul). These deities included Hathor, the goddess of ravisher and love Bes, the god of war Anibus, the god of death and Hapi, the god of the Nile. The Egyptians likewise praised animals such as, the jackal and the cat (Cunningham). The Egyptians treasured life in this ground and did everything in their power to ensure immortality in the next life (Thompson). The ancient Egyptians attitude towards death was influenced by their belief in immortality. They regarded death as the beginning of life, instead of the end (Life). All Egyptians were offered the hope of survival in the next world as a reward for a high-priced life in a form that was thought of in literal, forcible terms (Cunningham). The funerary customs and beliefs of the Egyptians called for the preservation of the body and ample furnish for the afterlife (OBrien). Of the provisions provided for the afterlife were food, drink, clothing, and boats. They buried two boats with the deceased so that they would have a smooth sail into their after life (Soul). The funeral rites with their means were described in a series of blessed text cognise collectively as the Book of The Dead (Cunningham). Osiris was the god who presided over the ceremonies (Cunningham). The Egyptians except conjectured that the deceased would go before the god Anibus, and if they passed a series of sacred test they would eventually move on to live with the gods for all eternity (Hieronimus).