Egyptian Gods
Ancient Egyptian Gods, Goddesses and Religion
Ancient Egyptians had such a complicated spiritual world that was completely unique in concepts and details. Most religions and spiritual paths in the ancient and the modern world couldn't really compete with the complexity and might of theancient Egyptian religion, that some people today still strongly believe in, though the ancient nation incarnated into a form that got it completely out of its glory. Egyptian Gods and GoddessesAlthough we know hundreds and hundreds of Egyptian gods by name, we know very few in details, that is not a surprise, since the country witnessed strong religious revolutions and religious invaders. But it is also important to state that the study of Egyptian religion and gods is a very viral topic. Every now and then we learn something new about the ancient egyptian spirituality, not only from the huge temples in Thebes, modern Luxor, and Aswan, but even from the humble house of the common ancient Egyptian man; like those we discovered at Deir el-Medina, the workmen's little town. The statues and images we see throughout Egypt can only reflect the appreciation and power the Egyptian gods had over ancient Egypt on either its national and individual aspects. Many, probably most, ancient Egyptians used to see these images as manifestation to the most powerful beings in their lives and in the afterlives as well. Makes one wonder weather it is fear or love that got the ancient Egyptians so obsessed about their gods. Birth of the Egyptian GodsEgyptian gods apparently existed long before the construction of the ancient Egyptian nation as a unified state. And though that gives us an idea about how old those ancient deities are, it leaves us no clear details of the nature of those gods, since this period of history didn't witness any record of a written language in Egypt. One of the most interesting discoveries that got today's Egyptologist to believe that the Egyptian gods are that old is that ancient Egyptian used to care so much about burying their death in certain ritual ways, even before the construction of the dynastic administration. Not only their human death were cared for that much in the afterlife, it's also some of their animals, they seem to have been buried according to strict standards, that usually doesn't construct outside religion, which requires a god or gods. Power of the Egyptian Gods
Ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses enjoyed huge power over Egypt's social, political and, of course, spiritual aspects. The ruling pharaoh ruled the country in the name of those Egyptian gods, so it was essential for the pharaoh to provide the gods all the protection they needed to stay in power. Temples are probably the most magnificent manifestation of the might of the Egyptian gods, Egyptians spent so much on those temples that would equal many countries GDP's today. The main reason for that is obviously the great importance Egyptian gods had in the country. Apart from the political power, Egyptian gods also enjoyed huge social power over the common Egyptian man's every-day's life. Many ritual figures and spots were found within the typical ancient Egyptian middle-class houses, that shows that not only powerful pharaohs held great honor to the Egyptian gods, but it is also the common man, who dedicated much of his time and hard-earned "salary" to demonstrate his love, respect and need of the Egyptian gods. Forms and Manifestations of the Egyptian GodsWhen Egyptian gods first came into existence, ancient Egyptians pictured them in forms of animals. Cows, dogs and falcons were obviously the first few animals that manifested the gods. Later, as man started gaining more confidence in his formation and power, he started picturing gods in his own form. Those who manifested the Egyptian gods were usually powerful beings. Lion, for example, was physically the strongest animal in the country, while cows portrayed a huge social might since they gave life and also milk, which helped the continuation of life. Egyptian Gods were usually visualized in manifold ways, this clears up the most in the term "nester", the ancient Egyptian word meaning "god", this term that had so many meanings within its small construction. The word was recorded to mean wider meaning than just our understanding of the word "god"; it could address a royal person, spirits and demons and sometimes even a monster, such as the Apophis, the chaos serpent. Egyptian gods dictated the major part of the ancient Egyptian spirituality, but still they were not alone in the invisible world. Ancient Egyptians also had different supernatural beings to fear and to contact when needed, such as demons and spirits. The existence of those beings dates way back to the earliest stage of the construction of the Egyptian spirituality. Writing "Egyptian Gods" in Hieroglyphics
2- A falcon: This was used starting from the New Kingdom era and later on. Usually the falcon would be standing on a perch. 3- A flag-topped pole: For some reason this was the most common sign in hieroglyphics to mean "god" 4- A five-pointed star: This probably has some mixed origin, since it came to use only in the Ptolemaic era. Ancient Egyptians used to repeat the sign in order to write the plural form "gods". They even used the signs in large numbers, like three groups of three signs, ending up with 9 signs, the thing that would probably mean "all the gods" to an ancient Egyptian speaker. The Egyptian Gods and the Revolution of Akhenaten
However, that revolution wasn't meant to last forever, it wasn't long after Akhenaten's death that under the reign of son, Tutankhamun, that all the offices, temples and houses in Thebes were restored back into use. The reason behind that is not evidently known, there are few theories about it that didn't really provide an "acceptable" evidence, however, what one has to realize with this restoration is that it wasn't easy even for a pharaoh to illuminate the power of the Egyptian gods, even by trying to replace them with one powerful god.
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Picture:Worker's house at Deir el-Medina
showing an architectural feature which may have served as
both a bed and a domestic altar. 18th/19th Dynasty.
Western Thebes.
1- A seated deity: This sign was found in use
back to the Old Kingdom era. The seated divine figure
could be of a male or female, so it was usually used
exclusively for human-looking gods and goddesses.
Amenhotep IV, better known as Akhenaten, is
probably one of the most famous names in either Egyptian
or religious history as a whole. After Akhenaten realized
the political and social power of the Theban priests, he
decided to put an end to it all. He, and his famous wife
Nefertiti, created a whole new monotheistic religion based
on the worship of the one god Aten. They also built a new
capital city, Akhetaten, best known as Amarna. They moved
all official offices to the new capital city, and were
also believed, to some extent, to have forced the locals
of Thebes into the new city using the might of their
army.
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