Transcript Egyptian PPT Lecture - Farmington R

Egyptian Mythology:
A Quick Overview
Mr. Upchurch’s
Mythology 101
Lectures Series 5
An Overview &
Background Lecture
Egyptian?
From Egypt ☺
This environment was SUPER influential
to their mythological beliefs.
You could literally have one foot on the
extremely fertile soil of the Nile on one
on in the barren desert. Thoughts of life
and death and their interconnectedness
were central.
Maat (Ma’at, Mayet)
EGYPTIAN MORAL
CODE/BALANCING FORCE
Stemming from realization of the fineline between life and death
A concept personified by a goddess…
Maat the Goddess
The Personification of Truth, Justice, and
Cosmic Order
Daughter of Re (or Sun God)
Emerging with him from Chaos
Helped guide the sun and the daily
“resurrection” ritual
Had a giant ostrich feather that she wore
on her head
Afterlife Judgment
“the deceased was brought into the great
hall of judgment, before Osiris,
accompanied by Isis and Nephthys and
forty-two other gods.... The dead person
would attest to having lived a just life.” -Kenneth Davis
Afterlife Judgment
Heart was weighed against the goddess’
feather on a scale
Heart=all a person was
Pure heart=to feather
Evil heart=heavier
destroyed and eaten by the demon
Ammut.
Initially, this was only for royalty. This
changed later.
Maat the Concept
The rituals that ensured cosmic balance
The opposite of Maat was Isfet (chaos)
Regulated the way the Pharaoh ruled, and
the common people lived.
Pharaohs: building temples, making offerings
to the gods, keeping enemies at bay, and
making honest decisions.
Common People: It was considered a crime
against Ma’at if a person practiced jealousy,
dishonesty, gluttony, laziness, injustice, and
ungratefulness
Kingdoms?
Egyptian History can be divided into 3
major time periods: Old, Middle, and
New Kingdoms
These are interrupted sporadically by
stretches of social upheaval or foreign
rule known as “intermediate periods.”
The beliefs of the kingdoms directly
effected the mythology of the respective
culture (but we will not delve too
deeply into this distinction in this
overview).
Old Kingdom
Pyramid Age (approx. 2686-2160 BC)
Kings/Pharaohs deified
Absolute power—both king & high
priest
Only he would spend eternity with the
gods, continuing to maintain “Maat”.
Complete union of religion and
government
Middle Kingdom
After 1st intermediate period
Approx. 2055–1650 BC
Egypt began to trade with Syria and the
advance Minoan civilization from Crete
Golden Age/“Renaissance”
art, architecture, and religion reach new
heights.
New Kingdom
New succession of powerful kings
Possibly began using the term
Pharaoh?
1150-1295 BC
Egypt became the world’s greatest power
Also, possibly around this time, wealthy,
non-royal people could buy their way into
the afterlife.
Burial Literature
There is no anthology of Egyptian beliefs
or mythology
Nonetheless, they wrote…on
everything
We get much of our information from
their tombs.
These are the primary burial texts:
Pyramid Texts
Coffin Texts
Book of Dead
Pyramid Texts
Some of oldest known religious writings
Sometimes called “spells”
“how-to” manuals/travel guides to the afterlife
They sometimes warned of dangers and
included the correct dialogues with
gatekeepers and governing deities.
They were like a “cheat sheet” of answers to
questions that would vouch for the
legitimacy and purity of, specifically, a king
and his right to be heir of the gods.
Coffin Texts
Ornate coffins developed from an
obsession with proper preparation for the
afterlife.
The texts were then written on the
coffins.
Used by both common people and
royalty
Very similar in content to pyramid texts
Book of Dead
Best known
From the New Kingdom era
200 “spells” for afterlife happiness
The Ultimate “How to Achieve Maat”
Guide
In later years, wealthy Egyptians could
purchase a personal papyrus copy to be
buried with.
Creation Account
See Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTy49
JlgJZE
Approximately 8 variants
Gods and Goddesses
Could be regional, like Celtic, but were
commonly fused.
We’ll try and focus on the 9 most
significant (with a quick reference to
others)
The Great Ennead
The 9 most influential
3 was a number of perfection, power, and/or
balance
3x3=9
The Great Ennead
(almost always in pairs)
Atum (Re, Ra Atum-Ra, Ra-Atum)
Shu
Tefnut
Geb
Nut
Osiris
Isis
Set
Nephthys
He is all powerful
and gave birth(?) to
them.
They were born
intertwined and
married, but were
forced to separate.
Before or after their
separation, they
produced these four
kids.
They were married and gave
birth to them.
Atum (Re, Ra Atum-Ra, Ra-Atum)
All powerful, central god
Symbolically died and came back every
day (was swallowed by Nut)
“This… is the focal point of all Egyptian belief. The
sun’s daily birth and death symbolized the eternal
cycle of life and death. For Egyptians, life and death
and the role of the sun as life-giver were all tied
together in the regular cycle of the flooding of the
Nile, which brought the fertility to the soil and the
harvest that sustained Egypt. It carried over into the
Egyptians’ core belief that humans could also live,
die, and be reborn.”
– Kenneth Davis
Spit out his children Shu and Tefnut
(twins that later married)
Nightly journey represented a journey
through Duat (the underworld)
Ra/Re (variant of Atum)
Later myths re-create Atum as Ra.
Man was created from his tears
Old Kingdom:
Re-Horus (morning sun)
Re-Atum (evening sun)
Middle/New Kingdom:
Amun-Re
Father of the Pharaoh
Shu & Tefnut
Children of Atum/Re (Sneezed out)
Shu (brother) & Tefnut (sister) are paired
together.
They represent that Egyptian concept of
life and death in balance.
•Shu= dry air & preservation.
•Tefnut=moist/corrosive air & change.
Shu is often depicted in his role of
separating Nut and Geb.
Tefnut was depicted as lion-faced woman
with a disk hat circled by two cobras.
Earth god
Geb
Weird, because the earth god is almost always
female
Brother-Husband of Nut
Thus father of Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys
Guided the dead to heaven and he gave
them meat and drink.
He was married to his sister, but also had
forced relations with his mother (Tefnut).
Neither of which were punishable.
He was honored as a great king.
Either depicted famously in his
separation from Nut (he’s on the ground)
or as a man wearing a crown…that
sometimes has a goose on it.
•The goose was his symbol because he is called
the “Great Cackler”.
•His laughs caused earthquakes.
Nut
• Sister-wife of Geb (earth)
• Sky Goddess (cover in stars that were the
spirits of the dead)
• Laughter= Thunder/ Tears=Rain
• Almost always in arched position
• Sometimes portrayed as a woman with a vase
of water on her head
• Mother of all gods
• Played a role in the sun god’s passage
from morning to night
• She gave birth to him in the morning
and swallowed him at night
Osiris
• Oldest son of Geb and Nut
• God of Fertility, Death, and Resurrection
• Originally a god of vegetation
• Credited with bringing plants and seasons to
the earth, teaching humans farm, abolishing
cannibalism, and creating civilization.
• One of the most significant and famous
• 2nd only to Atum/Re
• Later became the judge of the dead—a
crucial part of society.
• Followed Geb as ruler of Egypt
• Civilized Egypt with sister-wife—So he
decided to do the same for the world, &
left Isis in charge while he left to do this.
• Isis ruled wisely in his place
• Set plotted to kill Osiris
Set invited Osiris to attend a banquet
At the banquet was an Osiris- sized,
carved, wooden chest that Set had made
Cinderella scenario—Whoever fits gets
the box as a prize.
• Osiris fit… but Set nailed him inside, sealed it
with molten lead, and threw it into the river
• He died, and the box drifted into the sea…
landing under a tree.
• Eventually the tree grew around, and
encompassed the box (and dead body)
• When the tree was cut down, it became
famous for its great smell
• Isis was so upset by his death that she literally
cried a river… The Nile
Isis, Anubis, and Nephthys went looking for
Osiris’ body
Hearing about the tree… they were suspicious
They found the box and hid it in a swamp
When Isis open the box, she turned into a bird
and flapped air into his lungs—bring him
back to life.
• Osiris lives only long enough to help in the
conception of Horus
• Set finds out that his body has been buried in
a tomb…and chops him into 14 pieces
• Isis is unsuccessful in her search for all of
these pieces
• She finds 13 and buries them
• They became sites of major temples
Osiris then becomes the god/lord of the dead
• He grants or denies permission to enter the
afterlife.
Though not as powerful, he is more
popular than Ra/Atum.
Because he came back to life, he serves as
a motivation for the Egyptian people to
strive for beating death.
• Thus the famous burial rituals.
• Set takes over the throne after he
“defeats” Osiris.
• When Horus grows up, however, he
challenges and defeats Set.
• Thus many pharaohs take the name
“Horus”.
Isis
• Twin-Sister-Wife of Osiris
• Also super significant
• Created the Nile with her tears (after
Osiris died)
• Taught the Egyptians how to grind flour,
spin, and weave
• Was a healer goddess who could cure
illnesses
• Tricked this information out of Atum
• Introduced Marriage
• Widely worshipped as “The Great
Mother”
• Mother, importantly, of Horus
…the beguiling Isis became the most significant
goddess in the Egyptian pantheon—mother of god,
healer, the powerful goddess with deep knowledge
of magical arts…In one legend, Isis tricked the
aging Re into confiding his secret names to her.
Using magic to create a snake that bit Re, Isis
healed the god only after he revealed all of these
names to her. With this knowledge, Isis acquired
unmatched skills in magic and healing. In
Egyptian, her name is related to the word for
“throne,” and she is often depicted in Egyptian art
as a throne for the king.
Kenneth Davis
Seth/Set
Evil
Storm god/ god of Choas
Enemy of Osiris
Originated as a desert deity
Personified rage, anger, and violence
Good Side?—He was charged with
protecting Atum from Apep (evil
dragon/serpent) in his nightly journey
through Duat
Most famous for his hatred toward his
brother Osiris (the favorite child)
He is a Set-Animal (unknown animal now)
and man
Nephthys
Fourth child of Geb and Nut
Once marriage to Set (abandon him)
Considered to be the female version of
Set…the desert (thus early myths call her
barren)
Most known for being the Mother of
Anubis by Osiris
Both mother and son become important to
funeral rites—she’s on the vital organ jars
Other Significant
Gods/Goddesses
Horus
Anubis
Ammut
Bast
Bes
Taweret
Hapy
Hathor
MehetWeret
Sekhmet
Serget
Thoth
Wepwawet
Horus
Very famous Egyptian god.
Known for being the Heir of Osiris and
the representation of Egyptian rule/power
Many Pharaohs took his name and were
thought to be his physical manifestation
He was often portrayed as a man with a
falcon head
The famous “Eye of Ra” is also called the
“Eye of Horus”
Anubis
Jackal-Headed son of Osiris and
Nephthys
Adopted by and faithful servant of Isis
Wrapped Osiris’ body…making 1st
mummy
Important in burial rituals
Would place the heart and feather on the
scales during judgment
Would take those who passed to Osiris
Ammut
Devourer of the Dead
Goddess/demon
Stood by the scales of judgment and
eats failures
No actual record of this happenings
Represented by the three most feared
animals in Egyptian mythology: head of
crocodile, body of lion, and hindlegs of
hippo.
Bast (Bastet)
Daughter of Ra
Catlike goddess of love, sexuality, and
childbirth
In her city, Bubastis, thousands of cats
were mummified in her honor.
Bes & Taweret
Often seen together
Bes was an ugly but benevolent
household dwarf god
Taweret was goddess of childbirth
Lucky but fearsome…a hippopotamus
head, a lion’s limbs, the tail of a crocodile,
a swollen human belly & breasts
Scared away evil spirits
Hapy
God of Nile Floods
He keeps the land along the river fertile
Male… but portrayed as a pregnant
woman (signs of fertility)
Very important feast day in his honor
One ancient text describes 1,000 goats
being sacrificed to him
Hathor
Powerful/Complex goddess
Protector of lovers and women
(especially in childbirth)
Connected to Ra (Wife and/or Daughter)
Helped raise Horus, and aided him
against Set
Sometimes said to marry Horus
Men aspired to be Osiris after death.
Women aspired to be Hathor.
Three forms.. as a woman wearing a
crown consisting of a cow's horns and a
sun disk; as a woman with cow ears; and
as a cow…or woman with cow head
Two sides:
Joyful, benevolent, and fertile (mostly the cowside)…associated with Mehet-Weret the ancient
sky/cow goddess who’s name means “greatflood”
Vengeful: took on the form of the lion-goddess
Sekhmet and tried to destroy humanity (this lion
goddess is said to be very powerful and the one
responsible for punishing the gods.
Thoth (or Djehuty)
Originally a moon god… but known for
his role in judgment
He records the weighing of the scales
•Considered the inventor of writing
Something he is said to have written the
Book of Thoth… a magical book of spells.
Appearance… man with head of an ibis
(bird)… or as a baboon… or as the moon
Wepwawet
Another funeral god
Dog’s body and the head of a jackal
His name means “the opener of ways.”
He guides the dead person’s soul
through the underworld and assists in the
weighing of the heart.
Heroes
• There are no real heroes in Egyptian
mythology just gods and kings.
Good and Evil
Distinct, but in balance…thus a necessary
co-existence.
Trickster
Set
Nature and Animals
They play a very prominent role (possibly
more so than any other mythology)
Many animals are worshipped & many
deities are a combination of animals and/or
humans (i.e. birds, cows, snakes, hippos,
lions..etc.)
Specifically, cats were highly
worshipped.
Remember Bast and the thousand cats that were
mummified in her honor!
Fantastic Beasts
Many of the gods and goddesses
previously mentioned could be classified as
fantastic beasts due to their animalistic
characteristics.
The most famous Egyptian Fantastic
Beast, however, is the Sphinx.
Sphinx
There are Egyptian and Greek versions
of the Sphinx
Egyptian were more frequently
portrayed as male
King/ram/hawk head, lion body
Symbols of power
Both were guardians
Greek more frequently had female faces,
eagle wings, and told riddles
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Works Cited
http://www.eyelid.co.uk/dynasty1.htm
http://www.eyelid.co.uk/dynasty2.htm
http://www.eyelid.co.uk/dynasty3.htm
http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egcr09e.html
http://www.civilization.ca/civil/egypt/egcr02e.html
http://osiris.colorado.edu/LAB/GODS/index.html
http://www.crystalinks.com/egypt2.html
http://kiaoranz.tripod.com/ancientegypt/id4.html
http://www.egyptianmyths.net/section-deities.htm
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/home.html
http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/egyptian_mythology.htm
http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/egyptian_mythology.htm
Davis, Kenneth C. (2009-12-10). Don't Know Much About Mythology (Kindle Location 1190). Harper Collins, Inc.. Kindle
Edition.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/353517/Maat/
http://www.aldokkan.com/pyramid_text/coffin_text.htm
http://rosicrucian.org/publications/digest/digest1_2009/05_web/ws_05_francini/ws_05_francini.pdf
http://www.greatdreams.com/nine/nine.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/set.htm