Y OHANNIS ANCIENT EGYPT. Death and Religion

Transcription

1 Y OHANNIS ANCIENT EGYPT Death and Religion

2 Amun The Hidden One Originally Amun was a god of the wind from Thebes and Siwa. However, as his worship spread he was considered the source of all life for Egypt. Amun took on many forms: goose; ram; in human form he was often depicted seated on a throne wearing a circlet with two feathered plumes. manifested in the sun god, Re. The Temple of Amun at Karnak was the largest religious structure ever built. 1. wives: Amunet, then later Mut; 2. son: Khonsu. 1. a wind god; 2. the source of all life; 3. protector of all pious men who first confessed their sin; 4. protector of travellers. Heqet Reviver Heqet was ancient goddess of Hermopolis who manifested herself as a frog. She was depicted as a goddess with a frog s head. husbands: Khnum or Shu. Anuket was a goddess revered at Elephantine. She was manifested as a gazelle. parents: Satis and Khnum. Anuket Embracer and Giver of Life 1. Fertility goddess of the Nile inundation; 2. Heqet assisted women in childbirth. Anuket was a water goddess of the Nile who was the source of its flow. Manifestations

3 Horus Distant One and Great Black One Horus was a patron of the city of Nekhen but he was the first national god of Egypt. Horus took on many forms: a falcon who flew across the sky who brought about day and night; the falcon headed god whose eyes were the sun and the moon; Horus earthly manifestation was the nswt. 1. parents: Isis and Osiris; 2. uncle and enemy: Set; 3. wife: Hathor. Horus, who was the manifestation of the god, Re, wore the sacred solar disk. 1. Horus, as a god of the sun, truth and light; 2. as the falcon Horus was patron of hunting and war; 3. Horus, as the avenger of Osiris and conqueror of Set, was protector of Egypt from storms and chaos. Khonsu Wanderer, Path Finder and Defender Khonsu was the moon god of Karnak. He was often depicted as a hawk headed god. parents: Horus and Hathor. Khonsu was a fertility god whose crescent moon brought about human and animal conception. Bes was hideous dwarf revered in all Egyptian homes. Bes protected the household from mice, snakes and other pests. He frightened demons away from women and children. Bes was also a god of food, drink, jokes and laughter. Bes Protector Manifestations

4 Ptah Opener Ptah was a great creator god of Memphis. Ptah was held to be the creator of the world and the god, Amun. He built boats for the dead to cross into the afterlife. Ptah was depicted as a mummified man with a beard. On his head was a skull cap and he held a staff and ankh. he was manifested as the Apis bull. Sobek, the crocodile god from Arsinoe, had temples all along the River Nile. He was manifested as: a god with a crocodile head; the crocodile. Sobek Who Dwells Amidst His Own Terrors 1. wife: Sekhmet; 2. son: Nefertem. 1. Ptah was god of structure and order; 2. patron of masons, architects and artisans. 1. mother: Neith; 2. brother: Re. protected travellers on the River Nile. Selket She who Stiffens the Throat twin sister: Nephthys. Selket, the scorpion goddess, was much loved in Lower Egypt. She was depicted as a scorpion. 1. healing poisons; 2. punishing the wicked. Hathor was a fertility goddess with temples at Dendera, the isle of Philae and throughout Egypt. She was manifested as: a cow; the milky way. 1. father: Re; 2. husband: Thoth. Hathor was a much loved goddess of love, motherhood, dancing, singing and drinking. Hathor Lady of the House of Joy and Lady of Dance and Song Manifestations

5 Isis All Beginnings and Magic One 1. parents: Nut and Geb; 2. brother and husband: Osiris; 1. fertility and motherhood; 2. life giving magic; Isis was a great mother goddess worshipped throughout all of Egypt. Her tears shed for her murdered husband, Osiris, had created the Nile River. She had raised Osiris to life and was the giver of life and resurrection. Isis was identified as the star, Siris; She was often depicted as a winged goddess of the spring breeze. 3. sons: Horus, Anhur and Neper; 4. daughters: Bast and Sesmu. 3. assisted women, slaves, sinners and the poor. Anubis was god of the dead and the rites of embalming. Anubis manifested as a desert jackal; he was depicted as a god with the jackal head. 1. parents: Osiris and Nephthys; 2. wife: Anput. Anubis He Upon the Mountains 1. Anubis guarded tombs and mountains; 2. he guided and protected the dead. Apis Herald Apis, a manifestation of the god, Ptah, was a black bull with sacred marks from Memphis. manifestation of Ptah Bast was the cat and cat headed god of the town of Bubastis. father: Re. Bast Perfumed Protector a symbol of the courage and strength. goddess of ointments and perfumes Manifestations

6 Osiris Strength of the Eye and He Opens Good Things Oriris was worshipped throughout Egypt as the god of the dead. He was considered a merciful judge of all who had died. Osiris was depicted as: a green skinned king with a flail, crook and a feathered hadjet; he was also identified with the bull. Re was the sun god of Heliopolis. He took on a number of forms: scarab beetle; phoenix; cobra; solar disk. Re Creator and Emerging One 1. parents: Nut and Geb; 2. sister and wife: Isis; 1. a merciful judge of the dead; 3. sons: Horus, Anhur and Neper; 4. daughters: Bast and Sesmu. 2. he ruled the idyllic afterlife. Re was the source of all light whose sun boat made a daily journey across the sky. He was the god who was swallowed each night by the sky to be reborn at dawn in the form of a scarab beetle. Set Set, god of chaos, had temples in many parts of Egypt. He often usually depicted as having the head of a desert demon. Neith was a goddess whose main temples were in the town of Sais. She was depicted as a pharaoh wearing the deshret. Neith Majestic One parents: Nut and Geb. sons: Re and Sobek. Perfumed Protector 1. Set was the god of the desert; 2. god of storms and strife. 1. warriors and warfare; 2. weaving and textiles. Manifestations

7 Nut and Geb Cover of the Sky and Great Cackler Nut was the sky goddess; Geb, the earth. Both gods were from Heliopolis. Nut was often depicted with her body arching over the reclining green figure of Geb who had plants growing from his body. Their separation by the air god, Shu, brought about day and night. Geb was manifested as a goose; Nut took the form of a sycamore tree. 1. parents: Shu and Tefnet; 2. children: Osiris, Isis, Set, Selket and Nephthys The laughter of Geb caused earthquakes and the movements of Nut created winds. Khnum Builder Divine Potter Khnum, the ram headed god, had temples in Syene and Elephantine. He was associated with the ram and the bull. 1. wife: Satis or Heqet; 2. daughter: Anuket. Shu, the air god, was worshipped in many places in Egypt. He was shown wearing an ostrich feather with his hands upraised. 1. wife: Tefnet; 2. children: Nut and Geb. Shu He who Rises Up Khnum fashioned men on a potter s wheel. Shu kept the sky and earth separate allowing life to exist. Manifestations

8 gravegood chambers entry shafts entry shaft Platform Tomb outer step layers laid over a platform tomb underground burial chamber outer layer of dressed limestone over an inner core of rough cut blocks and rubble unfinished underground chamber metal faced capstone entry shaft Mastaba above ground burial chambers with tunnels and chambers Pyramid platform tomb at ground level shaft blockage underground burial chamber entrance Mastaba and Pyramid

9 Pyramid Complex cap with metal sheet facing burial pyramid cult pyramid enclosure wall offering hall burial chamber tunnel burial entrance courtyard inner shrine annexes entrance ceremonial causeway Mastaba and Pyramid

10 Pyramid of Khafre (Chephren) Pyramid of Menkaure Great Pyramid Pyramid of Khufu (Mycernius) (Cheops) Pyramids of the Queens of Menkaure Giza

11 Pyramid of Khafre nemes Sphinx inner foundation outer facing lion paws Giza

12 ibu ~ tent of purification sea sponge jar of palm wine stone embalming table shaped as two lions with a drainage bowl for fluids jars of Nile water linen wrappings natron pistachio and balsam resin table with canopic jars; papyrus wallet containing a bronze knife and hooks; a jar for collecting organs; a wooden drainage bowl; a paint box with brush and pen Mummification

13 1. The corpse was taken for a ritual washing in an ibu, a special tent for ritual purification, to be laid out on a sloped embalming table: it was first washed in palm wine; then, it was rinsed with water from the River Nile. 2. A bronze knife was used to make an incision just below the rib cage: the stomach, intestines, lungs and liver were removed, but the heart kept in place; each organ was washed and packed in natron to dry. 3. The dried organs were placed in canopic jar of alabaster that were shaped as the four sons of Horus: Duamutef, the jackal, took care of the stomach; Qebehsenuef, the falcon, the intestines; Hapy, the baboon, the liver; Imsety, the human, the lungs. 4. The abdominal cavity was dried with packets of natron and linen. It was then stuffed with straw or linen before being sewed shut. 5. A long hook was driven through the nose to break a hole in the back of the skull: the brains were scrambled with heated hooks to be drained and scooped out; the interior of the skull was cleaned, then coated with a resin made of pistachio and balsam sap to stop the skull collapsing; the skull was packed with natron and linen soaked in brain fluids. 6. For forty days the corpse dried, but the skin was rinsed in scented oils to retain its elasticity. When dried the wrapping process began: each body part was wrapped in resin coated linen strips; seven shrouds encased the body; protective amulets were set into each layer and the Book of the Dead placed in the hands; a face along with the image of the god, Osiris, was painted on the outer layer; a special ceremony, the Mouth Opening was held to allow the soul to reunite in the corpse. Mummification

14 Painting from KV26 depicting the young king greeted by the gods of the afterlife crypt sarcophagus The golden casket and death mask of Tutankhamun annex chamber antechamber corridor lintel Howard Carter, the archaeologist who discovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in He was photographed here opening one of the three the layered caskets that lay in the main sarcophagus. plaster wall entry cliff Tomb of Tutankhamun KV62 Cliff Tomb

15 Pectoral shaped as the sacred vulture, Wadjet Pendant depicting Re as a scarab beetle raising the solar disk Statuette depicting Tutankhamun as the king of Lower Egypt Statuette depicting Tutankhamun as the king of Upper Egypt One of several thrones of Tutankhamun with gold inlay and a scene showing the young king with his wife, Ankhesenpaaten Cliff Tomb

16 Gold dagger of Tutankhamun Cliff Tomb

17 Senet game board with drawer for holding game pieces One of several model boats found in the tomb of Tutankhamun Statuette depicting Tutankhamun fishing from a papyrus punt Cliff Tomb

18 Diadem of Tutankhamun featuring the sacred cobra and vulture A gilt couch Alabaster chalice Cliff Tomb

19 Alabaster canopic jars and chest from the shrine Canopic shrine of Tutankhamun featuring the goddess, Selket Cliff Tomb