Religion In Ancient Egyptian Culture

1397 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Compare Greek and Norse gods

Religion has been around since the beginning of time. Every culture worshipped in different ways, whether it was a god, goddess, or idol. The Egyptians, the Vikings, and the Greeks all worshipped gods. However, each culture had slightly different beliefs and different gods. Then we have the Egyptians who worshipped the Egyptian gods, which includes many gods with various animal heads. The Vikings worshipped the Norse gods which include gods that are still used to this day (Loki and Thor). For example, the Greeks worshipped “the big twelve” and their children (Minor gods).
One of the earliest religions is found in the Egyptian culture. They worshipped many gods with unique and different powers. Some examples include the god Amun, who was popular for being the god of air. He was also known for his son Khonsu, the moon god. Horus was better known for his animal figure, the celestial falcon. Many people believe that he was considered this because of the translation or meaning of his name (“the one on high”) referring to the flight of the falcon. Bastet is the Egyptian goddess of the home, domesticity, women's secrets, cats, fertility, and childbirth. She was known to be the protector of homes, keeping them safe from evil spirits and disease, especially diseases associated with women and children. (Millmore n.p.)
The first Egyptian gods …show more content…

Today in America religion has branched off and separated into different styles and beliefs. America is known for having the freedom of religion, unlike the topics discussed above, where the government or leader was in charge of deciding who was worshipped. Religion back then was meant to be celebrated and talked about in schools and at work. Whereas in today's society, it is frowned upon for praising and praying in a public environment other than our designated place for

Show More
Related

  • Early Egyptian Religious Beliefs and Akhenaten?s Reforms

    2786 Words  | 6 Pages

    During the New Kingdom of Egypt (from 1552 through 1069 B.C.), there came a sweeping change in the religious structure of the ancient Egyptian civilization. "The Hymn to the Aten" was created by Amenhotep IV, who ruled from 1369 to 1353 B.C., and began a move toward a monotheist culture instead of the polytheist religion which Egypt had experienced for the many hundreds of years prior to the introduction of this new idea. There was much that was different from the old views in "The Hymn to the Aten", and it offered a new outlook on the Egyptian ways of life by providing a complete break with the traditions which Egypt held to with great respect. Yet at the same time, there were many commonalties between these new ideas and the old views of the Egyptian world. Although through the duration of his reign, Amenhotep IV introduced a great many changes to the Egyptian religion along with "The Hymn", none of these reforms outlived their creator, mostly due to the massive forces placed on his successor, Tutankhamen, to renounce these new reforms. However, the significance of Amenhotep IV, or Akhenaten as he later changed his name to, is found in "The Hymn". "The Hymn" itself can be looked at as a contradiction of ideas; it must be looked at in relation to both the Old Kingdom's belief of steadfast and static values, as well as in regards to the changes of the Middle Kingdom, which saw unprecedented expansionistic and individualistic oriented reforms. In this paper I plan to discuss the evolvement of Egyptian Religious Beliefs throughout the Old,

    Read More

  • Literary Elements of The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mythological Details: My novel is fiction because it involves the Egyptian gods in a modern day world, and also the main characters pet cat had been an Egyptian god, named Bast, that had been ordered to protect them. A quote to support this is "So, yeah. Our cat was a goddess" (Riordan, 114).

    Read More

  • Ancient Egyp Gods and Godesses: From A to Z

    1345 Words  | 3 Pages

    Bastet was the goddess of warfare in lower Egypt, before the unification. She is the goddess of joy, the home and the warmth of the sun. In modern day she is portrayed as a woman with the head of a cat. Before the unification, Bastet was the lioness-goddess, but that role became diminished as Sekhmet, a similar deity became more dominant in the Two Lands (Upper and Lower Egypt). In the 1st millennium BC, during the 18th dynasty when domesticated cats were popularly kept as pets, Bastet started being represented as a woman with the head of a cat, and then ultimately by the end of the 22nd dynasty she became the cat-goddess. She was seen as a protective and gentle goddess, and she would appear with the head of a lioness in battle to protect the King. She was very important to the ancient Egyptians because she was the goddess of protection.

    Read More

  • Religion in Early America

    870 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Protestants who emigrated to America knew from experience of the negative effect the government had on religion when the two were operating together. With the mindset of creating a new, perfect holy land, they decided to make sure both church and state worked separately. While Puritans still did everything they could to enforce their beliefs in New England, including exiling those who did not attend church regularly, the core idea of separation of church and state was in the minds of the people. In order to have a country that values the freedom of religion, the church has to be out of any government policy. Any laws that are created around a single church’s faith, even if the majority of the population believes in them, threaten the freedoms of all other denominations.

    Read More

  • Felines in Egypt

    1184 Words  | 3 Pages

    Egypt is most often known for mummies, pyramids and other famous monuments such as the Sphinx at Giza. Egypt also made a name in art for its paintings, sculptures and the construction of its pyramids. All of these things were customarily created for the pharaohs and the worship of their gods and goddesses. Egyptian religion is polytheistic and their gods were anthropomorphic, meaning they had many gods that could take on both human and animal forms, including the feline. These animals were very well treated and worshiped just like a god or goddess. One of the most important animals considered divine in Ancient Egypt was none other than the feline. Egypt worshiped cats as gods and goddesses, mummified them to join their masters after death and even depicted them in statues and art (Ions, 126).

    Read More

  • Religions of Egypt, Greece, and the Hebrew People

    625 Words  | 2 Pages

    How did people revere their gods differently among three civilizations? Did they worship with the same general intent? What were gods’ role(s) in people’s lives? A brief exploration into the religions of Egypt, Greece, and the Hebrew people may bring insight to these questions. Although the main idea of higher beings remains constant throughout societies’ religion, their form of presence in people’s lives varies. I will present the relationship between the leaders and the gods, as well as resemblance to monotheism and systems of government.

    Read More

  • Geography Of Ancient Egypt

    831 Words  | 2 Pages

    Egyptians worshiped many gods and goddesses. Some of the gods they worshiped were Ra the sun god, Isis the god of nature and magic, Horus the god of war and Osiris the god of the dead. The act of worshiping many gods is called polytheism. The Egyptians had a god for almost everything.

    Read More

  • Hermes

    781 Words  | 2 Pages

    The idea of gods and goddesses began as far back as the ancient Egyptians, but the ancient Greeks were the first group to form a religion based on gods and goddesses. They believed that the gods and goddesses were not different from humans. Some of the few ways humans were different from gods were that the gods were stronger and lived forever. Since the Greeks believe in many gods, they are Polytheists.

    Read More

  • Comparing Homer And Hesiod

    837 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the beginning of the three books religion appears by asking the gods, the muses for strength or thanking Zeus. Belief of the gods and goddesses

    Read More

  • Egyptian Culture

    2607 Words  | 6 Pages

    Egyptian culture and the American culture are similar in their beliefs and industrialism, style and beauty. Egyptians and Americans both used and cultivated the natural raw materials around them, example Egyptian use silk for clothing and Americans use cottons and many different textual from the lands. Each culture thrived off the land and religion is a big part of life.

    Read More

  • Christianity’s Role in American Politics

    1109 Words  | 3 Pages

    Just like in Europe and many other parts of the world, religion has been on the decline for many years now in America. From the historical point of view, religion in America is very different from what it was in Europe. The first amendment of the American constitution forbids the state to establish an official church of the state. In other words, secularization is the very premise that America is built upon. In many European countries it is the complete opposite as in for example Sweden where the state church has played a huge role for centuries, and where the church was separated from the state only a few decades ago

    Read More

  • Religion In Ancient Egypt

    574 Words  | 2 Pages

    The religion in Egypt was part of ones life; they believed and worshipped many gods. The faith they held in the gods were big and religion was bound up with their everyday life. The Egyptians are known as one of the most religious people in the world. Usually they turned to the gods to seek advice, help, and approval in decisions and even to assist in childbirth. The Egyptians had many festivals that they celebrate and it was believed that there was a god for every important event. Some of the gods and goddesses were Osiris (one of the best known), Isis, Anubis, and Set…

    Read More

  • History And History Of Ancient Egypt

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers six percent of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4 percent of the total land area, Egypt is a country in northeastern Africa. There are many interesting facts about Egypt like The Natural World, History, Culture, Geography, and Economy.

    Read More

  • Religions of the Ancient World

    597 Words  | 2 Pages

    Religion is an ever-growing idea that has no set date of origin. Throughout history religion has served as an answer to the questions that man could not resolve. The word religion is derived from the Latin word “religio” meaning restraint in collaboration with the Greek word “relegere” which means to repeat or to read again. Religion is currently defined as an organized system of beliefs and practices revolving around, or leading to, a transcendent spiritual experience. Throughout time, there has yet to be a culture that lacks a religion of some form, whether it is a branch of paganism, a mythological based religion or mono/polytheistic religion. Many religions have been forgotten due to the fact that they were ethnic religions and globalizing religions were fighting to be recognized, annihilating these ancient and ethnic religions. Some of these faiths include: Finnish Paganism, Atenism, Minoan Religion, Mithraism, Manichaeism, Vedism, Zoroastrianism, Asatru, and the Olmec Religion. Religion is an imperative part of our contemporary world but mod...

    Read More

  • EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY

    2116 Words  | 5 Pages

    Egypt is one of the oldest and most complex civilizations of the world. Their religion and beliefs are fascinating and have been a mystery for centuries. Even today, there are some things that we still do not understand. In this research, I will investigate the basic concepts of Egyptian mythology and its gods.

    Read More

More about Religion In Ancient Egyptian Culture

Open Document