Egyptian Religion

Chapter 3 Section 3

Afterlife

• Afterlife life after death• With each step of the pharaoh’s funeral,

there were prayers to help his soul on the way to the afterlife.

• Nobles and royal family followed the body as it was carried to the royal tomb.

• Workers closed the tomb and the mourners went home.

• The pharaoh’s journey to the afterlife had begun.

Religion in Egyptian Life

• Important part of daily life• It was the way people explained the workings of

nature.– Believed only magical spirits could control these

events – tired to please their gods

• Each part of Egypt had its own gods and goddesses who had their own temples.– Upper Egypt vs. Lower Egypt (different gods)– Over time came to believe in several groups of gods

• Humans with animal heads• Osiris – the god of the living and the dead

Religion in Egyptian Life

• Amon-Re chief god• Protected the rich and the poor• Believed to be born each morning in the

east and died each evening in the west– West was believed to be the home of the dead

• Osiris had a family– Horus, his son, was the god of the sky.– Egyptians worshipped Isis as the great mother

who protected the health of her children.

Anon-Re

Life Ever After

• The ancient Egyptians believed the spirits of the dead made their way to the afterlife in heavenly boats.

• Once there, if they lived right in this life, they joined with Osiris and lived a life of ease and pleasure.

• Souls couldn’t survive without food, clothing, or other items from this life so Egyptians placed their possessions in the pharaoh’s tomb.

Life Ever After

• Egyptians believed that if bodies were preserved, or made into mummies, the spirit would exist in the afterlife.

• Bodies of important people (royalty) were mummified.

• Process 3 months.– Workers carefully removed the organs.– The body was then filled with a natural salt

and stored for at least 42 days.– Completely dried out during that time

Life Ever After

• Body cleaned and bathed in spices once it was dry.

• Wrapped with long linen bandages.• Arms and legs were bandaged tightly to the

body.• Artisans busy carving the coffin.• A pharaoh had 3 or 4 coffins – fit one inside the

other like a nest of boxes.• The innermost coffin was usually shaped like a

human body, with the dead person’s face painted on the cover.

Mummification

Tombs for the Pharaohs

• Planning for tomb began as soon as he was crowned.

• Tomb building became an art.• Pyramids huge buildings with 4

sloping outside walls like triangles• Most of the pyramids were built

during the Old Kingdom – largest is the Great Pyramid

The Great Pyramid

Tombs for the Pharaohs

• Organization and time• It could take 20 or more years to build

a pyramid.• Project began with the selection of a

site on the west bank of the Nile• Engineers set the pyramid square so

that the sides faced the main points of the compass.

• Workers cut the blocks out of stone.

Tombs for the Pharaohs

• Ancient Egyptians didn’t use the wheel yet.• Workers had to use sleds, wooden rollers, and

levels to put the blocks of stone into place.• Workers had to be fed at least twice a day –

ate huge quantities of wheat bread.• Building pyramids was dangerous work• To build a pyramid was an act of faith –

ensuring the pharaoh’s place in the afterlife.