Religion

The ancient Egyptians believed the world was alive with supernatural beings that they could not see, along with the pharaoh whom they could see. About 80 major deities existed, each with a share of devotees. Hun­dreds of priests served in the temples that dotted the Egyptian country­side.

Among the major divinities were Horus, the falcon god; Thoth, repre­sented by the ibis and baboon; and Anubis, who was a reclining jackal and later a human with a jackal's head. The goddess Hathor was pictured as a cow. The fact that the gods appeared so frequently as animals was special to Egypt. The Egyptians believed that there was a divine quality in ani­mals. In a world where little changed from day to day, the Egyptians found confirmation in each new animal generation reproducing its parents.

In addition to the animal gods, there were cosmic ones. The sun, earth, sky, air, and water were all divine. Myths recounted their origins and histo­ry. Ra, the sun god, was the Creator, "Only after I came into being did all that was created come into being."

Each day Ra sailed across the sky in a boat. Then at night when he disappeared, he had to fight a battle with darkness to rise again. The priests in the temple at Heliopolis had to offer prayers on a daily basis to make sure that the sun would rise.

Other deities, Ptah and Khnum, were also creators. During the Mid­dle Kingdom, the story of Osiris and Isis gained great popularity. The myth held that a wicked brother killed Osiris and cut up his body into many parts. Then Isis collected them and wrapped them up restoring him to immortal life. He then became judge of the underworld. After death, Osiris weighed the heart of a person on a scale with a feather. If it was too heavy from bad actions it was eaten, and the person was denied admittance into the land of the blessed.

In Thebes, the major city of Upper Egypt, the favorite god was Amon, pictured with a ram's head. He was the Hidden One, who gave the breath of life and caused the wind to blow. Later Ra was merged with Amon to become Amon-Ra and as a hybrid became the nation's supreme deity. Long hymns of praise to Amon - Ra give testimony to his popularity, especially at Thebes, which was the god's favored city.

One of the basic assumptions of the Egyptians, that the world was always the same, was challenged by death. This often came so quickly, sometimes violently, and made the Egyptians reconsider if they had their world view correct.

They believed that the cosmos was held together by a force known as ma'at. Although open to many translations, ma'at might be considered as the balance that provided right order. It governed the universe from the heavens to the earth, from plants to animals and humans. Even the Nile itself responded to ma'at.

Opposed to ma'at were ignorance, passion, pride, and anything else that upset the comfortable stability that enveloped the Egyptians. Death, of course, was the supreme contradiction. Therefore, it demanded great care and preparation, and consumed a large amount of the time of the living.

The first Old Kingdom tombs are called mastabas. They are found in two of Egypt's oldest sites, Abydos and Saqqara. The Egyptians probably borrowed the idea for their construction from Mesopotamian royal burials.

The first mastabas were brick and rectangular in shape, with sloping walls. A flat roof of cedar beams covered the ceiling. The Egyptians had plenty of stone, so rather than mud brick, later mastabas were made of stone shaped like brick.

During the fourth dynasty, from about 2560 to 2440 ВС, when the power of the pharaohs was at its peak, the mastaba became the pyramid. More than any verbal confirmation, the pyramid testified to the overwhelming power and majesty of the pharaohs. The first, called the step-pyramid, had Imhotep for its architect. He built it over 200 feet high, the first major stone building in world history, for his pharaoh Zoser.