Ancient Egyptian Essay Research Paper Ancient EgyptianEgyptian — страница 2

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is with you! My powerful hand will slay a hundred thousand men.” Osiris Osiris was said to be the king and judge of the dead. Because the importance of the afterlife was so immense in the Egyptians, Osiris was a very important figure in worship cults. In fact, for a period, the worshipping of Osiris in the Nile Valley became so popular, it almost exceeded that of the sun god and father of the pharaohs, Ra. The chief reason for his importance was the assistance he gave the Egyptians with embalming, which was considered essential for life after death. Osiris was described as a man with a long black beard. His arms are in the crossed position of mummies and carries a crook and a flail, which symbolized his power over the dead, his nature as a dying and rising god, and his command

over agriculture. He wears the white crown of Upper Egypt. His personal emblem is two stalks of corn placed on top of each other. Isis Isis is the “mother goddess.” She is often illustrated as suckling the child Horus. The name Isis is a Greek rendition of the Egyptian name Ast. Worship of Isis became widespread in the Greco-Roman culture until from it came a mysterious cult that worshipped both her and Osiris. This cult gained much popularity until the spread of Christianity. Horus Horus, son of Osiris and Isis, was depicted as looking much like Ra, apart from the symbol above his head and clothing. Like Ra, Horus had the head of a falcon and the body of a man and holds a staff in one hand and the ankh in the other. Unlike Ra, Horus wears the double crown on his head,

showing that he was king of both Upper and Lower Egypt. Ptah Ptah was illustrated as a mummified man with a shaven or bound head and held a scepter. At first he was most likely a fertility god like Min because his name has connections with the womb. In the third millennium BC, priests serving Ptah claimed that Ptah manifested himself in many ways. It was believed that Ptah “created the gods, made their seats of worship, established their sacrifices, and fashioned their forms.” He was the molder of all things. Ptah became the protector and advocate to sacred arts and crafts. Later, Ptah was associated with lesser deities, especially those related to the dead. He was then known as Ptah-Seker. The name Seker came from the god of the same name, who was the mummiform god of the

dead. In some instances, Ptah was linked to Osiris, thus the name Ptah- Seker-Osiris. Other Deities Aapep – the Egyptian serpent and enemy of Ra, known usually by his Greek name Apophis. Ammut – “The Eater of the Dead.” Part crocodile, part hippopotamus, and part lion, Ammut ate the souls of those unworthy to spend eternity in Osiris’ kingdom. He was usually illustrated with mostly crocodile features. Aten – the deity worshipped as the universal and creator god by the pharaoh Akhenaten. Aten was represented by Ra’s sun disc. After Akhenaten’s death in 1350 BC, Egyptian worship returned to Amon-Ra. Bastet – the cat goddess and daughter of Ra. In some myths, Bastet has some of the destructive qualities of her counterpart, the lion goddess Sekhmet. Both Bastet and

Sekhmet were closely linked to the goddess Mut. In Bastet’s temple, cats were mummified upon their death and kept in the temple. Bes – a popular household god. He was represented as a dwarf with a large bearded face, shaggy eyebrows, long hair, large pointy ears, and a projecting tongue. He protected children, slew poisonous snakes in the towns, helped at childbirth, and kept misfortune at bay. Khonsu – the moon god. He was the son of Amun and Mut. Like Ra, Khonsu was often shown traveling across the sky in a boat. His symbol is a crescent moon in a bowl position supporting a full moon. This symbol appeared above his head. His ability to heal the sick drew many followers. Maat – the goddess of truth and justice. She was the daughter of Ra and was portrayed as a woman with

a ostrich feather on her head. This feather, the “Feather of Truth”, was the same used to weigh the heart of the recently deceased in Osiris’ court. Mehturt – the sky goddess who was portrayed as a cow. Her name means “Great Flood” and she was the celestial river on which Ra and Khonsu’s boats traveled. Menthu – the god of war and a sun god. He was not ever considered to be the supreme sun god, but rather an assistant to Ra, and is often shown with him. He was particularly fond of horses. When Egyptian chariots bore down on the Hittites during the battle of Kadesh in 1286 BC, the pharaoh Ramesses II remarked that he was “like Menthu, shooting to the right and left.” His warlike qualities gained popularity during later times. Mertseger – a goddess with a