For you to understand the egyptian polytheism, that is, the worship of various gods, it is necessary to clarify some characteristics of the egyptian society. The government in Ancient Egypt was theocratic: administrators ruled in the name of the gods (of religiosity). The main ruler of Egypt, or of the city-states, was called the Pharaoh: he had all the power (assumed several functions: he was the king, judge, priest, treasurer, general) and was considered a living god: son of the Sun (Amon-Ra) and incarnation of Horus (falcon god). Therefore, the religiosity it's the worship of the gods in Ancient Egypt they had great meaning for society.
The Egyptians worshiped several gods (polytheists) and some gods were animals. For example, the cat wiped out rat infestations in the barns with the groceries; the dog assisted in hunting; cattle, in agriculture (pulled the plow), among others.
Animals in Ancient Egypt were considered the incarnations of the gods themselves. The Egyptians also worshiped the forms and forces of nature, such as the Nile River, the Sun, the Moon and the wind.
Each Egyptian city-state had its protector god. There were gods shaped like an animal (zoomorphism), other gods were shaped like a man along with an animal (body of man and animal's head – anthropozoomorphism) and there were also gods with only the human form (anthropomorphism).
Religiosity mattered to the Egyptians even after death, as they believed in immortality. For these reasons, they worshiped the dead and practiced mummification (the conservation of bodies). They believed that the human being was constituted by Ká (body) and Rá (soul). At the moment of death, the soul would leave the body, but could continue to live in the realm of Osiris or Amon-Ra – the return of the soul to the body depended on judgment at the Court of Osiris.
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After the judgment of Osiris, if the soul returned to the body, the dead would come back to life in the realm of Osiris; if not, the soul would remain in the realm of Amon-Ra. Hence the importance of preserving bodies through mummification, if the soul returned to the body, it would not be decomposed.
The main Egyptian gods were:
- Ra, the Sun god, united with the god Amon, forming Amon-Ra, was the main god.
- The goddess Nut, represented by a female figure, was the mother of Ra (Sun). She swallowed Ra, forming the night and making him reborn each morning.
- Isis was the wife of Osiris, mother of Horus, protected vegetation and was the goddess of water and seeds.
- The god Horus was the falcon god, son of Isis and Osiris, worshiped as the rising sun.
- Osiris, god of the dead, vegetation and fertility, was represented by the Nile River. It was Osiris who sought the souls of the dead to be judged in his Court.
- Set was placed as great enemy of Osiris (Nile), it was the hot wind coming from the desert, incarnation of evil.
- The god Amon, considered god of the gods of Ancient Egypt, was worshiped along with Ra (Amon-Ra).
Religious beliefs and cults were at the base of cultural, social, political and economic manifestations in Egypt. Religiosity permeated all of Egyptian society, in the arts, medicine, astronomy, literature and even the government of Ancient Egypt.
Leandro Carvalho
Master in History
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
OAK, Leandro. "Egyptian gods"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/historiag/os-deuses-egipcios.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.