The primary religion in Egypt was
polytheism. Egyptian Polytheism was a vital part of ancient Egyptian religion
history. According to Kat Stromquist, Egyptians had an elaborate polytheistic
religion that may have contained more than 2,000 gods. It centered on the Egyptians interaction with
many deities who were believe to be present in, and in control of, the forces
and elements of nature (Wiki). The Egyptians believed that nature had divine
forces that include the elements, animal characteristics, or abstract forces.
The main purpose of their religious practices was to sustain and appease the
forces and turn them to human advantage. According to Wikipedia, this
polytheistic system was very complex, as some deities were believed to exist in
many different manifestations, and some had multiple mythological roles.
Stromquist states that “archaeologists know about many of these gods due to
hieroglyphics, artifacts, and other finds during the great excavations of Egypt
during the 19th and 20th centuries.” A few myths that
came from Egyptian polytheism was from their gods. The two major gods were Amon-Ra
and Osiris. Amon-Ra was the god of the sun and played a role in the creation of
the universe, however his main role was overseeing the universe. Osiris is the
god of the underworld and the dead. Primarily, Osiris was in charge of guarding
the Egyptians souls in the afterlife and making immorality impossible
(Stromquist). The other gods came into existence during different periods and
different life events. The hippopotamus-headed goddess Tawaret was the god of
pregnant women and women in childbirth (Stromquist). All of the gods had a
significant element that they existed for and the Egyptians prayed to each of
them whenever a situation arose.
There is has been a major impact on
Egypt with Islam and Christianity because those two religions make up their
population. Today, about 90 percent of all people residing in Cairo, Egypt are
Muslim and 10 percent of Egyptians make up the Christian population. According
to Wikipedia, the majority of Christians in Egypt belong to the Coptic Orthodox
church. Since 1980, Islam has become Egypt’s dominating religion. Islam and Christianity
lives as neighbors in Egypt because they share a common history and national
identity, they also share the same ethnicity, race, culture, language, and peoples
(Wiki).
"Ancient Egyptian Religion." Wikipedia.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Egyptian_religion.
"Polytheism in Ancient Egypt | The Classroom |
Synonym." The Classroom.
http://classroom.synonym.com/polytheism-ancient-egypt-6481.html.
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