Describe about the Ancient Egyptian Mythology and Culture for A Distinctive Culture.
Myths reflected human needs, concerns, and imaginations during the ancient times. A close analysis of these myths reveals that there exist a historical background to the human problems and cultures prevailing in the ancient Greek societies. The Ancient Egypt mythology is arguably a concept that has beguiled many archeologists, historians, and other scholars. Egypt’s ancient civilization offers a distinctive culture which captures most scholars’ imaginations more than any other culture that prevailed during its time. The reason owes to the Egyptian style of art ranging from mathematical and monumental styles of art to their colorful and consistent arts. In particular, the pyramids at Giza commands attention throughout the world even in the current century; a fact that proves the theme in the Egyptian art. However, a noticeable element that influenced Egyptian culture was the religion which served as a dominant force in Egyptian way of life and influenced almost everything. Antediluvian (ancient) Egyptians believed in several gods who carried out several functions and their (gods) involvement in the Egyptians’ daily life was vital to their (Egyptian’s) existence. They believed that the gods were responsible for the maintenance of the universe. The composite/complex Egyptian religious practice undertook several milestones of development and thrived in ancient Egypt for millennia. The essay aims at providing a succinct analysis of how the ancient Egyptian myths reflect the Egyptian culture citing felicitous examples that reflect the purpose of this essay.
The society is inarguably a cultural concept in which common behaviors and cultural concepts reflect the relationships people have with each other. As such it is vital to evaluate the cultural impact and aspect of each believe and myth. Richard (2003) defines culture as a reproducible way in which people in a particular society experience and respond to the world around them. Culture serves to provide a set of mechanisms and techniques through which people in a particular society survives. On the other hand, a myth is a complex term owing to its different and contradictory connotations and meanings. While some authors define myth as a fiction that is untrue or dubious others define it as a traditional sacred story characterized by heroes and gods. However, Ashouri (1995) provides a definition that will assist us in analyzing how myths reflect the ancient Egyptian culture and way of life. Ashouri (1995) thus defines a myth as a narrative, whose roots are traceable in folk-ideas, which the society has accepted as the basis of their beliefs and practices which have no simple explanations. A notable point at this point is that the society accepts the folk ideas as a result of many telling.
Johnstone (2004) argues that Egyptian mythology served to provide their belief structure and served as the basis of the ancient Egyptian culture from as early as 4000 BC. Burial practices such as tomb painting serve to evidence the earliest aspect of Egyptian culture influenced by their mythology. Myths relating to the universe and the gods who sustained the world informed almost all aspects of life for the ancient Egyptians. Even more interesting is the fact that, through trade Egyptian religion was transmitted to other regions thus influencing other cultures in several parts of the world. Development of the belief of the existence of life after death and reincarnation reflects the influence/impact of the Egyptian mythology to other cultures.
Religion served as the most dominant and influential force in ancient Egypt. We can trace the concept of Egyptian religion from as early as 3100 BCE through the various milestone of developments of a wide array of gods. An analysis of various explanations for the origin of these gods reveals that the gods developed from the various forces of nature. There existed a famous concept of animism which held that spirits inhabited/resided in various natural world’s features such as rivers, the wind, the sun, and thunders/lightening. According to Hart (2005), polytheism characterized religion in ancient Egypt which means that they subscribed to numerous gods (approximately 700 in total). However, two main gods (Amon-Ra and Osiris) serves as the foundation of the Egyptian culture and civilization. The ancient Egyptians believed that there existed a close link or interdependence between the social, religious, cultural, and political realms. As such, the religious beliefs handled all the cultural, political, and social decisions.
Various studies establish that various ancient Egyptian traditions served to influence the ancient Egyptian religion which caused them (ancient Egyptians) to resist change. Bricault et al., (2007) argues that no Egyptian questioned the beliefs which the society held and their primary aim throughout history was to maintain these beliefs which they believed had the foundation in the dawn of creation. The Egyptians made statues of several gods who they worshiped and appeased. On their parts, the Egyptians believed that the gods provided protection and assisted in the preserving of law and order in their society.
The society held the King as the high priest who had the sole responsibility of appeasing the gods on behalf of the whole society. The king would stand in his place which was ahead of the statue that the ancient Egyptian believed was the gods’ physical home. In return, for appeasing the gods, the latter granted the king his divinity. The Egyptians believed that droughts, hunger, famine, diseases, war, pestilence, and all other forms of calamities resulted from the gods’ displeasure. As a result of this belief, the ancient Egyptians would invoke and appease the gods throughout each day; a fact that played an indispensable role in the ancient Egyptian’s daily lives. Roberts (1968) notes that the major believe that influenced the Egyptian culture was that the gods provided for them and maintained the order of daily life. The word “maat” served to not only personify but also to represent the god Maat, whose role was to balance and maintain the order of the universe. The Egyptians further believed that maat and other gods influenced the flow of river Nile and were responsible for the growth of food.
Given the king’s duty to appease the gods and the consequent divinity granted to the king by the gods, the ancient Egyptian believed that the king (Pharaoh) was not a mere political ruler/king. He was a god who the Egyptians associated with Re the sun god’s son, Horus. Further, they believed that upon the death of the king, he would be reincarnated to an Osiris, one of the two main gods, who would assist the Egyptians once they too died. As a result of this belief, the king had huge/immense powers and attributed anything going well in the society to the king’s well-done job.
Richard (1994) argues that life in the ancient Egypt revolved around the king (Pharaoh) and his royal family. Sam (2003) provides a complete and perfect description of the ancient Egypt when he says that ancient Egypt was like a single community unit with societal divisions which comprised of peasant families/masses and the king’s household (the house of the god who was incarnated in the king).
The king’s household controlled and directed trade and all other economic activities owing to their divine status. As Ruth and John (1968) notes the divine status of the king as a god, resulted in a stable central government that had never been witnessed before in the history of Mesopotamia. Given the king’s god-divine status, the ancient Egyptians believed that no other ruler, regardless of how powerful he was, was divine save for the pharaoh. As such, Pharaoh became the primary religious and political influential figure in the ancient Egyptian widespread culture. He was the link between divinity and humanity, invisible and the visible, life and death (Westendorf, 1968). As such he served as the cynosure of all the political and religious activities in the ancient Egypt commonly known as the Old Kingdom.
On account of their immense power, the king owned all the land in Egypt and served as the controller of all the irrigation schemes. Three broad classes existed in ancient Egypt and reflected the social inequality in the Old Kingdom. The upper class comprised of the court nobility, the priests, and the landed nobility (Matweew, 1963). While the main duty of the priest was to preside over religious ceremonies such as burials, the court nobles provided advisory services to the government. On the other hand, the landed nobles managed the court nobles’ and priests’ estates. As such, the upper class thrived in a life of richness characterized by palatial homes and sumptuous meals. The middle class comprised of teachers, doctors, rich traders among other rich persons in the society.
The third class, and the lowest comprised of slaves who in most cases were prisoners of war. Wadsworth and Williams (2005) notes that they (lower class) were peasant farmers with huge tax burdens, few or no political rights, and mostly victims of forced labor. However, there was a possibility for the hardworking citizens to rise to higher classes in ancient Egypt. Such an argument dates back to the biblical story of the Exodus, in which Joseph who had been sold as a slave rose to become the second most powerful person in Pharaoh’s administrative structure.
The best example of how the ancient Egyptians’ religious beliefs influenced their lifestyle is the practice of mummification. They believed that the body is a separate entity from the soul. However, they had to preserve the physical body which served to provide a dwelling place for the soul/spirit after the death. According to the ancient Egyptian’s understanding of human existence; the current life (life on earth) forms one part (a small segment) of an eternal journey which is controlled/influenced by supernatural forces. The forces exist in the forms of gods/deities. Due to this belief, the Egyptian performed mummification which aimed at preserving the physical body for eternity while at the same time setting the soul free for its journey to the world after life (Baines, 1991). The most noticeable and important role that mummification played in the ancient Egypt was to bring unity to the ancient Egyptians just as Osiris did.
The basis of how the Egyptian treated women rests on the influence by the cosmology of Isis. The latter was Osiris’s wife and took on her husband’s role following his death thus assuming a rather prominent role which saw her become a dominant figure. Before his death, Osiris co-ruled with his wife Isis with the main role of deciding where trees and other plants would grow the best for the people’s needs. In the ancient Egypt, women gained prominent roles and rights in marriage when Isis assumed power. Such rights included the right to inherit property and the freedom to seek divorce and remarry (Assmann, 2001). However, the Egyptians restricted priesthood to men who derived their divinity from the gods with women playing secondary roles in temple rituals and religious roles.
Egyptian art and architecture further reflected the allusion of the ancient Egyptian mythology. Roberts (2001) notes that illustrations of the mythical events and symbols representing the gods appeared extensively in most religious writings mostly in temples. In their temples, the design of the central path served to reflect the path of the god of the sun across the sky. Moreover, at the end of the central path in the temple there existed a sanctuary which symbolized the place of creation from which the sun’s god arose from. In a similar manner, the tomb’s corridors represented the journey that the gods traveled through Duat to the burial chamber of Osiris.
Even more interesting is the fact mythic symbolism have inspired the most prominent architectural forms of Egyptian art; the pyramids (Quirke, 2001). The pyramid structures serve to represent the not only the creation but also the original sunrise which served as an assurance of life after death. The design of other ordinary works such as amulets particularly the protective amulets was designed to not only reflect but also to evoke mythic themes. For example, amulets which in most cases were scarab-shaped evoked the regeneration of life and referred to Khepri which was the form that the Egyptian believed the sun god took at dawn.
Conclusion
Although the development of ancient Egyptian mythology proves hard to trace, various cultural events and practices in ancient Egypt serve to reflect the Egyptian mythology. Mythical themes and motifs appear in almost all aspects of the ancient Egyptians way of life. However, most of the myths in the old Egypt tried to explain the origin of various elements and the reasons why certain things happen in a particular way. Moreover, the myths seek to justify the ancient Egyptians’ traditions and to address the primary queries about the world. A dominant feature of ancient Egyptian mythology is their religion which influenced almost all aspects of their daily life including politics. They believed that the interactions and individual actions of the various gods governed the behavior of all the forces ranging from natural elements such as the sun, the earth, rivers, and rain to abstract objects such as creativity, leadership, and knowledge. Religious understanding of the ancient Egyptian serves as a vital element in the analysis of the ancient Egyptian cultures; however, it is not as essential in other cultures.
References
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Assmann, J., (2001). The Search for God in Ancient Egypt. Translated by David Lorton. Cornell
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Baines, J., (1991). “Egyptian Myth and Discourse: Myth, Gods, and the Early Written and
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