Ancient Egyptian Religion & Achievements

1. Ancient Egyptian Religion & Achievements

2. Common gods: Ptah – creator of the world Anubis – god of the dead Re – sun god Osiris – god of the underworld Isis – goddess of magic Horus – sky god & god of pharaohs GODS Egyptians were polytheistic.

3. Afterlife • Believed in the afterlife, or life after death • A happy place where people are young & healthy • Each person had a ka, or life force (soul) that became a spirit after death • Ka remained with the body in the tomb & required the same needs as the living • They were buried with material objects like furniture, jewelry, weapons, tools, etc. • People were expected to bring food & water to the burial site

4. BurialIf the body decayed, the ka would not recognize it; therefore, the body had to be preserved so that it would always have a similar look/shape to it as it did in life.

5. Mummies Game • Bodies would be embalmed • After embalming, bodies would be wrapped in special cloth – these are called mummies • Bodies would then be places inside specially decorated coffins called sarcophagus • Embalming process took several weeks & was very detailed: • Washing the body • Removing the brain & other organs • Preserving the body with salt • Makeup & wigs • Closing the wounds • Wrapping the body

6. Egyptians are well known for these great feats in engineering - the application of scientific knowledge for practical purposes • Sphinxes were structures with the head of pharaoh & a body of a cat • Pharaohs had pyramids built to hold their entombed bodies; huge stone tombs with four triangle-shaped walls that met in a point on top. • Pyramids had numerous passageways that led to dead-ends, deadly traps, secret rooms, & the burial site

7. Other Achievements • Hieroglyphics – Egyptian writing system; made up of pictures (pictographs) to symbolize words or sounds; could be written up and down/right to left/left to right • Papyrus – a long-lasting, paper like material made from the reeds from the Nile • Rosetta Stone – large stone slab that had 3 languages written on it: Greek, Ancient Egyptian & a later Egyptian language; this meant that scholars who understood Greek could finally decipher hieroglyphics • One famous papyrus scroll, The Book of the Dead, tells about the afterlife • Obelisk – a tall four sided pillar with a point at the top