ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY ANCIENT EGYPT Civilization developed between

ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY

ANCIENT EGYPT • Civilization developed between 4000 and 3000 BCE. • In about 3000 BCE, Upper and Lower Egypt combined, becoming the first great nation of the Western World. • Egyptians invented hieroglyphics, a kind of picture writing • Allowed them to record thoughts and establish written heritage. • More politically stable than Mesopotamia • Quality of life was better • Secluded from Mesopotamia by the Mediterranean sea and large expanses of desert

ANCIENT EGYPT • Egyptians lived with more predictability than Mesopotamians • Nile River fluctuated regularly while the Tigris and Euphrates was sporadic. • Therefore, the gods were believed to be more benevolent than Mesopotamia’s. • The Nile was the lifeblood of Egyptians; the desert was the great environmental enemy • Desert represented death

EGYPTIAN RELIGION • Egyptians prayed for children, success in farming and hunting, and victory in war. • Believed in resurrection of the dead soul into a new life in a different world

EGYPTIAN GODS • Osiris • God of grain and of the Nile • Nourished all life • Taught people how to cultivate, how to irrigate, and how to prevent unwanted flooding. • Like the Nile dried up and flooded, Osiris lived, died, and was reborn. • The worship of Osiris turned people away from cannibalism. • Began to believe humans were part divine • King of Egypt and the earth • Both god and man • Well-liked because he had once been a man • He could sympathize with humans and help those in both realms

EGYPTIAN GODS • Horus the Younger • Son of Osiris; intermediary between the Egyptians who were destined to die and Osiris, who could grant them immortality. • Isis • Osiris’ sister and wife; greatest goddess in Egypt • • • Lady of abundance; Lady of green crops Represented the loving wife and nurturing mother Human and goddess

EGYPTIAN GODS • Set • Osiris’ brother and enemy • God of the desert • Represented the evil in the universe: natural catastrophes, darkness, destruction, and death. • Thoth • god of wisdom, inventor of writing, patron of scribes and the divine mediator • questions the souls of the dead about their deeds in life before their heart is weighed by Horus