William Bradley
April, 29 2006
Philosophy 110
Religion of Ancient Egypt The religion I chose to research was the religion of the ancient Egyptians. It was a very complex system of polytheistic beliefs which were part of the ancient Egyptians everyday society. The multitude of gods that they interacted with were believed to be in control of the forces of nature. Also the myths of the gods and the stories that surrounds them are to explain the origins. The ancient Egyptians religion was an effort gain the gods trust. The religion the ancient Egyptians practiced was mostly centered on the pharaoh, all though the pharaoh was human they were believed to have been a descendant of the gods. The pharaoh also acted as more or less a middle man between …show more content…
It was nothing like the modern day counterpart and was not a monolithic institution instead it consisted of a vast and varying set of beliefs based on their focus of the interaction between the divine and human worlds. The gods they believed in were based on the Egyptians understanding of the world they lived in. They believed in a lot of gods which were involved in all parts of their society. The gods also lived lives that resembled human lives very closely. They could die, they went into battle, they hunted, they had to eat and drink, and they also gave birth and had all the normal human emotions. The importance of the gods and goddesses also changed depending on the beliefs of the Pharaoh or king who was in power at the time and certain ones were worshipped in different …show more content…
A lot of historians see this as the first case of true monotheism in history. A lot of the details of this theology are still unclear. A lot of people say that Akhenaten practiced monolatry instead of monotheism because he did not deny the existence of the other gods he just did not worship any of them but Aten. Under Akhenaten’s successors Egypt reverted back to the traditional religion and Akhenaten actually became reviled as a heretic. The time of this religion is known as Atenism and lasted about 20 years before the traditional gods were returned and the pharaohs who were associated with Atenism were erased from all Egyptian
April, 29 2006
Philosophy 110
Religion of Ancient Egypt The religion I chose to research was the religion of the ancient Egyptians. It was a very complex system of polytheistic beliefs which were part of the ancient Egyptians everyday society. The multitude of gods that they interacted with were believed to be in control of the forces of nature. Also the myths of the gods and the stories that surrounds them are to explain the origins. The ancient Egyptians religion was an effort gain the gods trust. The religion the ancient Egyptians practiced was mostly centered on the pharaoh, all though the pharaoh was human they were believed to have been a descendant of the gods. The pharaoh also acted as more or less a middle man between …show more content…
It was nothing like the modern day counterpart and was not a monolithic institution instead it consisted of a vast and varying set of beliefs based on their focus of the interaction between the divine and human worlds. The gods they believed in were based on the Egyptians understanding of the world they lived in. They believed in a lot of gods which were involved in all parts of their society. The gods also lived lives that resembled human lives very closely. They could die, they went into battle, they hunted, they had to eat and drink, and they also gave birth and had all the normal human emotions. The importance of the gods and goddesses also changed depending on the beliefs of the Pharaoh or king who was in power at the time and certain ones were worshipped in different …show more content…
A lot of historians see this as the first case of true monotheism in history. A lot of the details of this theology are still unclear. A lot of people say that Akhenaten practiced monolatry instead of monotheism because he did not deny the existence of the other gods he just did not worship any of them but Aten. Under Akhenaten’s successors Egypt reverted back to the traditional religion and Akhenaten actually became reviled as a heretic. The time of this religion is known as Atenism and lasted about 20 years before the traditional gods were returned and the pharaohs who were associated with Atenism were erased from all Egyptian