Transcript Lesson 2: Life in Ancient Egypt

Lesson 2: Life in Ancient Egypt
Polytheism
• Like the Mesopotamians, the religion of
ancient Egypt was polytheistic (the belief
in many gods).
• Religion played a central part in Egyptian
life. It helped people to understand the
world around them and to cope with the
difficulties of everyday living.
The Gods of Ancient Egypt
• The Egyptians believed the gods
controlled everything.
• There were household gods to look after
the family, local gods of the village and the
great universal state gods worshipped on
official occasions.
• The Egyptians worshipped hundred of
gods.
The Gods of Ancient Egypt
• Like the Mesopotamians, the Egyptians had great
gods that they believed created and ruled the world.
• Some Egyptians gods had the body of a human and
the head of an animal. Some gods and goddesses
were identified with particular animals. There was
often a connection between the god or goddess and
the actions of the animal. For example, the goddess
of war, named Sekhmet was sometimes shown with
the head of a lioness to show that she was
• There were gods of music and dancing, of love and
beauty, and of healing and learning.
The Gods of Ancient Egypt
• Ordinary Egyptians would build small
shrines at home and dedicate them to their
favorite gods.
• One of the favorite gods was a dwarf like
god named Bes.
• Bes was the god of the family.
Egyptian Creation Story
Read an ancient Egyptian myth about the
creation of the world
http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/gods/story/ma
in.html
The story of Osiris
chief god of the underworld, or home of the dead
• Osiris was the god-king of Egypt. His brother Set
cut Osiris’ body into pieces. Se4t scattered the
pieces up and down the Nile, so he could seize
the country for himself. Isis found the pieces and
put them back together. Osiris became king of
the Underworld. Horus, the son of Osiris and his
wife Isis, fought with Set for the throne of Egypt.
The gods approved of Horus and he became the
rightful king. By calling their pharaoh “Horus” the
Egyptians were saying that he was their rightful
king.
Osiris
chief god of the underworld, death, and
rebirth
•A mummified man
wearing a white cone-like
headdress with feathers.
•As well as being a god of
the dead, Osiris was a god
of resurrection and fertility.
•The ancient Egyptians
believed that Osiris gave
them the gift of barley, one
of their most important
crops.
Anubis
helper of Osiris
• Anubis had the body of a human and the
head of a jackal.
• His job was to prepare the bodies of the
dead for the afterlife.
• Since jackals were often seen in
cemeteries, the ancient Egyptians
believed that Anubis watched over the
dead.
• Anubis was the god who helped to
embalm Osiris after he was killed by
Seth. Thus, Anubis was the god who
watched over the process of mummifying
people when they died.
• Priests often wore a mask of Anubis
during mummification ceremonies.
Jackal
Isis
goddess of women
•Isis is shown as a woman with
headdress in the shape of a throne and
a pair of cow horns with a sun disk.
•Isis was a protective goddess. She
used powerful magic spells to help
people in need.
•Isis was the wife of Osiris and the
mother of Horus.
•Isis is often shown holding Horus on
her lap.
•Isis is associated with thrones because
her lap was the first 'throne' that Horus
sat upon.
Ra
the sun god
• Ra was the most important god of all.
• Egyptians believed he created and ruled the world.
• Appearance: Man with hawk head and headdress with
a sun disk
• Ra was the sun god.
• The ancient Egyptians believed that Ra was
swallowed every night by the sky goddess Nut, and
was reborn every morning.
• The ancient Egyptians also believed that he traveled
through the underworld at night. In the underworld, Ra
appeared as a man with the head of a ram.
• Later in Egypt’s history Ra would be joined with
another great god, Amon to become Amon-Ra.
Ra
Hathor
goddess of love
• Hathor had the head of a cow
• Hathor was a protective
goddess. She was also the
goddess of love and joy.
• Hathor was the wife of Horus,
and was sometimes thought of
as the mother of the pharaoh.
• Hathor was connected with
foreign places and materials. For
instance, Hathor was the
goddess of the desert and the
turquoise mines in the Sinai.
Horus- the sky god
• Horus had the head of a hawk
• He is probably most wellknown as the protector of the
ruler of Egypt.
• The Egyptians believed that
the pharaoh was the 'living
Horus'.
• The ancient Egyptians had
many different beliefs about
the god Horus. One of the
most common beliefs was that
Horus was the son of Isis and
Osiris.
Eye of Horus
After Osiris was murdered
by his brother Seth, Horus
fought with Seth for the
throne of Egypt. In this
battle, Horus lost one of his
eyes. The eye was restored
to him and it became a
symbol of protection for the
ancient Egyptians. After this
battle, Horus was chosen to
be the ruler of the world of
the living.
Bes
•Dwarf with lion and
human features wearing
the skin of a lion.
•Bes was the protector of
pregnant women, newborn
babies and the family.
•The ancient Egyptians
also believed that Bes
protected against snake
and scorpion bites.
Ptah
•Man wrapped in a
tight white cloak
carrying a staff
•Ptah was the god of
craftsmen.
Worshiping the gods
• If the Egyptians needed to ask a god for
help they would have their prayer carved
on a tablet of stone and place it on a
temple offering table.
• They would put ears on the tablet to make
sure the gods would hear listen