International fair paper

The religious beliefs that governed the ancient Egyptians, is one of the most intriguing aspects of the early civilization. If it were not for its religion Egypt would not as famous as it is today. There would be no pyramids or demigod kings. Religion was inscribed in their everyday life, and their desire to move on to the afterlife served as a motivation to honor their gods. However throughout history, their religious beliefs gradually change with different dynasties. New concepts are introduced and incorporated to old ones. The aim of this paper is to look at their religious beliefs, where they stem from and how they gradually change.

Countless myths and legends have been associated with ancient Egyptian society; its culture, beliefs and way of life are being studied to this day. Religion played a major role in ancient Egyptian life; different dynasties brought about religious reforms that changed the country from a polytheistic to a monotheistic nation.
The beginning of ancient Egyptian civilization was brought about by the legendary if not mythical, King Menes, who successfully united upper and lower Egypt thus commencing the well-known age of pharaohs, this event brought rise to one of the earliest organized societies (Metz, 1990).
The unification of the Black Land of the Delta, which was named for its dark soil, and the Red Land of Upper Egypt, which is named after the blazing sun that baked the deserts, was one of the first prominent political events of this era. The crown that the pharaoh wore best symbolized the unification. Since rulers of Upper Egypt wore the sedge as their enigma and had a white crown, and the rulers of lower Egypt’s crown was red and they bore the bee as their symbol. The crown was a double crown c...

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...e but since Egyptians believed that their pharaoh were part human and part cosmos. He too was preserved as a demi-god, but during his reign hundreds of years of culture and tradition were exchanged for new concepts. Priests and citizens alike had to abandon their customs, old gods were disregarded and temples were shut. These changes did not occur without at least a little bit of hostility.
Following Akhenaten’s death, the Aten cult that was created seized to exist. His son Tutankhaten came into power, but since he was too young to reign Ay- Akhenaten’s vizier-acted as co-regent. The capital city was moved back to Thebes, the priests came back to power, and all the temples that were built in honor of Aten were destroyed. Inscriptions to Aten were erased, and all evidence of Akhenaten and the Amarna period were demolished and Akhenaten legacy was that of a heretic.