Ancient Egyptian Religion

The Egyptian religion is one of the oldest practices when looking at how religions evolve over time. Egyptian religion is seen as a basis of many religions today such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam today, and many of their roots come from Egyptian practices. They had many gods that they worshiped within the duration of the religion which only ended when Christianity came to a head. The Egyptian religions had many gods that they worshiped, and their practices influence many religions today.
Osiris was the god of agriculture. He makes it possible for the crops to grow and the feral Earth to thrive. Osiris had a brother, Set, who was so jealous of his popularity and praise that he killed Osiris. Set then cut his brother up into fourteen pieces
and spread him across Egypt. Isis, Osiris’ wife, gathered all pieces of him except for his penis which is thought to be swallowed by a fish in the Nile. She then used her divine power to put Osiris back together again; he was given the breath of life by Isis who had taken the shape of a kite (a small bird). But he was no longer fit to walk among the living; therefore, he descended to live in the underworld.
After killing Osiris, Set ruled Egypt for a short time. Horus soon argued that it was his right to rule, so they brought their argument to the gods. Horus and Set engaged in several contests to see who was fit to rule. Set cheated, and this resulted in a tie between the two. The gods then asked Osiris and he answered: “his son was the rightful king.” Therefore, Horus became king. Pyramid texts were spells scrawled across the walls of the inside of pyramids. They were spells were written repeatedly, and they helped the king get to the afterlife. The book of the dead is also important to the deceased; it is filled with spells to help navigate on the journey to the afterlife because it is a long and difficult.
The rule in Egypt continues and soon lands upon King Akhenaten. He was different in his rule in the aspect that he said that he was the physical embodiment of Aten, the sun-god. After his fifth year of reign, he began to change the religion to where only Aten was being worshiped.
The readings the Great Hymn to the Aten, written by King Akhenaten, is the praise of the god, Aten.
Aten, an Egyptian god, is described as the only reason people can flourish in life. Aten is the “lord of the disk” who brings light to all of his creations. The king perceives the Aten as the way of life or death. The darkness and cold can also be perceived as death and danger. The hymn mentions when speaking of darkens that “all creeping things bite.” Aten chases the darkness away and gives all living things light so that they can live, grow, and be safe. All beasts rise and plats grow once the Aten has shone his face; therefore, without his light the world cannot thrive. Later in the Hymn it is mentioned that Aten made the sky so that he had a place to watch his creations in the
distance.
Aten is perceived, in the hymn, as the creator of all man. Aten has a hand in the reason women are fertile; he was making it possible for man to grow. He nurtures man even from the conception in the womb and gives man the necessities to live. He gives them the ability to breath, speak, walk, and succeed. Aten is also believed to have put every man in the place that they belong. The hymn states that Aten distinguished skin colors and languages of people and regions, but he still gives each one of his creations the necessities that they need.2
Aten is believed to make the seasons so he can show all of the masterpieces he has made. The Pert which spans from November sixteenth to March sixteenth is a time when the people have time to cool down or “refresh” themselves. While the season Heh which spans from March sixteenth to November sixteenth is so the people can appreciate Aten and “taste thee.” 2
The king then takes time to show his apparition for Aten and how he is the only god in his heart. Earlier in the hymn the king states the Aten is “beautiful and great and sparkling.” So, the King is not shy about his appreciation of Aten. Once again he states how nothing can live or be created without the grateful hand of Aten2
Another major event is that Egyptian religion influenced many other religions today.
Many of Christianity’s traditions are thought to come from Egyptians. There are links between the two from the Old Testament; there are also links between the Hymn to the Aten and Psalms 104. These two both speak of one god and how he created all man. Some of the ideas in the Old and New Testament were Egyptian practices, and some of the practices in Christianity can be traced back to Egypto-Hellenistic forms. Two other Egyptian traditions that can be traced to Christianity is Judgment day and Trinity which is the concept of “three- in-one.” Both texts speak of similar mind sets. There is a mention in both as darkness being death, and they speak of danger in the darkness. The theme running though the two is the concept of light. That in the one true gods light one can live a see and live safely. Although the light is the running theme in both, it leans more towards the Hymn to the Aten because the light, form Aten, literally protects all people. While in psalms 104 it is interpreted as more towards god watching over all people in the day time because he can keep a clearer eye on them with the
light.
The Egyptian religion had focused on different gods at different times in its evolution. Most of the gods were for a specific aspect in life and had a purpose to serve. Like other religion the details of the Egyptian religion change over time and adapted to the environment they lived in. Egyptians also have had a strong influence on many religions today such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam today, and many of their roots come from Egyptian practice.