“James Henry Breasted put it best when he said, “There

Essay by EssaySwap ContributorHigh School, 12th grade February 2008

download word file, 6 pages 0.0

Downloaded 1174 times

"James Henry Breasted put it best when he said, "There is no force in the life of ancient man that influence of which so pervades all his activities as does that of the religious faculty." This really says a lot about the Egyptian way of life. Everything they did, and everywhere they went they worshipped their god.

Nun was called "the father of the gods", but he didn't get worshipped or have any temples built for him. Nun had a child named Re.

Re, which is the god of the sun, means 'creator' and is the name of the sun. How Re was born was in the stomach of Nun, which is where he could not be killed. In his stomach, Re enclosed himself in the bud of a lotus until he rose by the effort of the abyss.

Each day Re was born as a child and died as an old man.

Re had many followers and worshippers. He created the first universe different from the present world. He governed the world from a place called 'Prince's Palace' where he lived. He had an archenemy by the name of Apep (a serpent who lived in the Nile). Soon Re vanquished Apep and casted him back to the abyss, but before he got casted back to the abyss Apep had children. Re had two children, Shu and Tefnut who gave birth to Geb and Nut. Geb and Nut had four children Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. Re is represented in many ways.

One way as a child resting on the lotus from which he was born. Another way is as a man seated or walking whose head is surmounted by a solar disk.

Shu was born from Re without having sex with a woman. His name comes from the verb 'to raise' which is translated to 'he who hold up' in Egyptian. Geb and Nut got married secretly against the will of Re. When Re found out he threw Geb and Nut apart and lifted Shu up into the sky where he holds the sky up with his arms. Shu took Re's place as king on earth when Re retired to the sky. Soon the children of Apep attacked Shu and his palace, and like his father Shu vanquished them but not before one of the serpents gave him a horrible disease. Before Shu died he made his son Geb king of the earth and then Shu went up into the sky. Shu is represented in human form, and wears ostrich's feathers on his head.

Tefnut was the goddess of dew and rain. She seems to have been more of an idea than a real person. Tefnut and Shu are twin sisters. The Egyptians worshipped Tefnut as a lioness or as a woman with the head of a lioness.

Geb is the god of the earth. After Geb reported on the condition of every province and every town he handed over his rule on the earth to his oldest son Osiris.

Geb is represented lying under the feet of Shu, (his mother) raised on one elbow, with one bent knew. His body symbolizes the mountains and the earth's crust.

Nut was the goddess of the sky until Geb and her got married secretly against the will of Re. When Re found out, he had the couple separated and ruled that Nut could not have any children. Soon Nut was playing droughts with the moon. She won several games along with seventy-seconds of the moons light, which she composed into five new days. Since the five new days where not part of the official Egyptian calendar (which consisted of 360 days), she was able to give birth to four children: Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys. Nut is represented by a woman with an elongated body, touching the earth with her toes and fingertips, while her belly is often held up by Shu which forms the arc of heaven.

Osiris is the god of the dead. Before he was the god of the dead, Osiris was often worshipped as a nature god and embodied the spirit of vegetation. Osiris was the first son of Geb and Nut and was born in Thebes. Re rejoiced Osiris's birth even though he forbid Nut to have any children. Re liked Osiris so much he made him heir to the throne.

Osiris was very handsome, with dark skin, and taller than all other men. When Osiris's father (Geb) retired to the sky he succeeded him as king of Egypt and married his sister Isis as queen. His first law was to abolish cannibalism. Osiris then taught the Egyptians how to produce grain, wine, and beer. He laid down the rules governing religious practice and invented two flutes, which accompanied him in ceremonial songs. During his rule on earth, he was known as Onnophris, which meant 'the Good One'. Osiris left Egypt wanting to spread his benefits throughout Asia, but when he returned to his kingdom it was in perfect order, because his wife Isis was governing Egypt. Soon after his return his brother Set plotted against him because he was jealous of Osiris. Set soon killed his brother Osiris. Isis along with his vizier (Thoth), the god of death (Anubis), and his son (Horus) resurrected Osiris. After his return he avenged his death by killing Set and then departed from earth and retired to the 'Elysian Fields' where he welcomed souls and reigned over the dead. Osiris is represented either standing by or sitting on his throne, and tightly wrapped in white mummy wrappings. His greenish face is surmounted by the high white mitre flanked by two ostrich feathers, which is the crown of Upper Egypt. Osiris wears a cravat around his neck. A winding sheet is folded across his chest, and he holds a whip and a scepter that shows supreme power.

Isis is the fertility god. She was the first daughter of Geb and Nut. Isis was born in a swamp. At a very young age Isis was given as a wife to Osiris who was the neighboring town's god. When Isis was queen she taught women how to grind corn, weave cloth, and she also taught men the art of curing diseases and instituting marriages.

Osiris and Isis had a son named Horus. When Osiris came back from his trip from Asia, and died by the doing's of Set, Isis cut off her hair, and tore all her robes. The goddess Isis reconstructed Osiris's body and then performed the first ever embalment that restored Osiris to eternal life. After Osiris retired to heaven, Isis went back to the swamp were she raised her son until he was old enough to avenge his father's death. Isis is normally represented as a woman who wears a throne on her head. Later in time the throne was changed to a disk, which sat between cow horns. Every once in a while she is represented as a woman with an entire cow's head on her shoulders.

Set was the evil brother of Osiris and son of Geb and Nut. When Set was being born he tore out of his mothers womb. Set was wild with white skin and red hair. When Set grew up he was very jealous of his older brother Osiris and wanted his throne. Set ended up killing his brother Osiris. How he did that was when Osiris came back from his journey, Set held a banquet for his brother. Set brought in a chest and tells everyone that "Who ever fits in this exactly will own this chest." Osiris was overwhelmed by the banquet he tried it out. When he got in the chest, Set and seventy-two accomplices ran and shut the lid and nailed it shut. Then Set threw the chest into the Nile. Set is usually represented as a man with the head of a strange quadruped.

Horus was the son of Isis and Osiris and he was that solar god. Hor-, which sounded like the word 'sky' in Egyptian, referred to as a falcon soaring in the sky. The hieroglyph, which referred to the word god, was represented by a falcon on its perch.

Nephthys was the daughter of Geb and Nut. Nephthys was the goddess of death.

Nephthys was married to her second brother Set, but wanted a child by her first brother Osiris. She was determined to have a child by Osiris she got him drunk and with out him being aware of it they had a child. Her name was Anubis. When Nephthys's husband (Set) committed the murder of his brother, Nephthys left Set and joined her sister (Isis) in embalming Osiris. Nephthys is usually represented as a woman wearing the two hieroglyphs, which makes her name, on her head.

As you can see religion was very important to the Egyptians. They had many gods and goddess to be exactly sixty-two gods and goddess and each of them where very important to the Egyptians."