The kings of ancient Egypt were an integral part of religion. They formed a bridge over the chasm dividing the people and the gods. In pre-dynastic times the kings were considered to be gods. In later times, around the third dynasty, the kings became "transformed into" gods. This was a crucial part of the governing of the people. The heirs to the throne were not kept out of public display. At a young age they were known to many, and were known as children, not future gods. A king may have had many heirs and may not have known who would assume the throne until a much later time. In order for the people , (and the future king), to accept the transformation, certain procedures had to be worked out. This dilemma was beautifully solved by the ritual that merged the king with the god. Belief was that all future kings had two aspects of his being, his physical being and his "ka." The ka was his spiritual counterpart that was part of the king at birth and remained with him throughout his life. Before assuming the throne a ritual was performed that united the king's ka and his person. The king and his priests would enter a temple, perform the ritual, and emerge as a god. All of the people would wait outside to witness the miracle of the transformation when the king re-emerged from the temple. In this way was the new king accepted as a god and his word was accepted as law.

Concerning religious matters, directly under the king were the priests. Their duty was to take care of the images of the gods. They also prepared the statues, or images, for the religious festivals. It was the priests role to read the scrolls before religious events. In later dynasties the priests were the voices of the oracles. Special compartments, called priest holes, were strategically placed inside the temple. The priests were able to speak from these holes unseen by the person asking questions or favors of the gods. Oracles were considered the pinnacle of the decision of the gods. The priests were in charge of the temple riches and granaries. They were on a rotation schedule and might work officially one week out of the month. Thlaboratories were in the temples, where they prepared incense and healing potions. What we think of as wizards originated with the priests. Shrouded in mystery, they were seldom seen by the common people unless they were reading magical texts or performing religious rituals. Inside the temple sanctuaries they were seen only by the king.. During the 21st 'Dynasty tomb robbing was systematically done by the priests themselves. Throughout history tomb robbing had been a problem, but had generally been done by common thieves. The priests claimed that by removing the bodies, and stripping off all of the precious metals, that they were, in fact, saving the desecration of the bodies by the common thieves. Of course the priests re-wrapped the bodies and buried them in different tombs to help protect the corpses. Some of the stolen gold and silver went into the temple treasuries, but a large portion of it went to the purchase of wood and iron, resources that were not native to Egypt and were most costly. Thirdly, some of the riches went into the current kings' tomb, making the robberies sanctified by the throne.

The ancient Egyptians were extremely devout in their beliefs. They were dedicated to their gods and worshipped daily in many different ways. Their way of life revolved around these beliefs. They had a strong sense of justice and endeavored to do that which was right. Just like our society today, the common people abhorred adultery, stealing, murder and lying. They were a highly sophisticated society with values and morals not unlike our own. Magic was commonplace for them as is demonstrated by the wearing of amulets to ward off evil. Magical texts were written in tombs to protect against would-be robbers. Many spells against snakebite have been discovered. Magical spells, rituals and concoctions were used to treat the sick or injured. If the magic did not work it was considered a will of the god, and not a failure of the magic. The peoples calm acceptance of the strange and unusual allowed them to reconcile themselves to either natural phenomena or to those things unseen. Every occurrence had spiritual meaning and had a unique god assigned to the act.

In the 1st dynasty (2950 - 3110 B.C.E.) Menes, the king who is considered by many to be Ay or Narmer, united upper and lower Egypt. He created his capital at Memphis and dedicated a temple to the god Ptah. Existing beliefs at that time were revised to explain these events, and almost all other myths of gods came from this event. Over a period of time all of the surrounding local gods were brought into this scheme, creating a sort of order of the hierarchy of the gods. All of the gods were included in one story or another, so no one was offended. This composition of the gods was like laying bricks for a building and, in essence, created the foundation for history's longest lived civilization.