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IN SEARCH OF THE FIRST PROPHET.

/ Topic >  2. Egyptian Gods, Temples, Priests, & Kings /
/ Forum >  TheologyOnLine - General Theology />
/ Newsgroup > alt.bible.prophecy / 15Jan2002 /

 Now we must change the focus of our attention from the cosmic movements and activities of the Universal Logos (as it interacts with the human race) to the specific history of ancient Egypt as it emerged out of the darkness of barbarism into the very dim but still rosy light of civilization. Here we see that human awareness of the world around them is permeated with a strong sense of the awe and mystery of natural realities. All things are sacred and alive, and the world is verily seething with spirits, ghosts, gods, demons, monsters, and the heroes who contend with all these forces of chaos and order. Of course, the gods are demanding, and require their regular tributes and sacrifices if the puny humans wish things to go well with them in the foreseeable future.
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 So by the time the peoples of the Nile were breaking into the historical period proper (say some 6000 years ago) they had already developed an entire pantheon of regional and cosmic gods, totems, demi-gods, semi-divine spirits, and even sacred animals. And, going along with all this rich polytheism, was an elaborate and fantastic mythology. One of the first things that became the subject matter of the earliest efforts at literature were just these tales about the gods and their lurid exploits. But religion was so pervasive in the ancient world that even strictly business documents (and especially the seals) often contained some reference to a divine being or power.
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 It is important for the reader to understand that for the early Egyptian peoples all these "supernatural spooks" were concrete everyday realities that provided a sensible and practical framework for thinking about, and dealing with, the ongoing events and happenings of their lives. For example, the always popular "cosmic gods" were not remote other-worldly beings who viewed this world from afar, and acted by 'remote-control'; but rather, they were embodied or manifested in the real world around them (eg. during the annual inundation of the Nile).
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 Now consider a short list of some major deities: Nuu (or Nun) - the ocean; the primordial water (source of all things, and encompassing the earth).
 The Goddess Nut - the sky; an immense woman stretching and arching above the earth.
 Geb (husband of Nut) - the earth
 Thoth (or Thot) & Khonsu - the moon; the god of wisdom and writing
 Sothis & Orion - the stars; guide the departed to be immortalized as stars.
 Shu - the air; when time began Nut and Geb were locked together in a lovers embrace, and this sly Shu somehow slipped between them and now holds the big lady up at arms length, and away from Geb.  :)
 Osiris - god of the afterlife; chief fertility god who became the top god of the underworld (and agriculture).
 Isis - people identified Isis with royal power because she was the wife and sister of Osiris, king of the underworld. They worshiped her as the divine mother, and protector of the dead. The sky god Horus, embodied in the form of the Egyptian king (or 'pharoah', which means 'great house'), was their son.
 Seth (or Set) - god of storms, violence, darkness, and desert land.
 Anubis - god of the underworld, and guide to the afterlife.
 Horus - son of the goddess Isis and a number of ancient Egyptian sky gods.
 Bes - god of humor, music, and dancing.
 Hathor (or Athyr) - sky goddess. She was usually portrayyed as a woman wearing a headpiece displaying a disk of the sun fixed between two horns. Hathor was sometimes portrayed as a cow whose belly formed the sky. She was also the wife (or daughter) of Re.
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 And, of course, there are the various, and important, sun gods; including: Atum - the sun / primordial creator god; head of the Heliopolitan family of gods; father of Shu and Tefnut; later on identified with the sun-god Re.
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 Re (or Ra) - the sun / he travels through the sky in two great ships (day ship, night ship). Re is shown in a variety of forms, including: a simple sun disk, a child rising from a lotus, a falcon, a cat, and even a scarab. He is perhaps the most important (and versatile) of all the Egyptian gods; and his popularity is evident in the many myths and legends about him. Heliopolis (ie. Sun-City) was a major center for the worship of the sun god; and in ancient times the chief solar deity was Atum (who created the world). Re's plastic nature later absorbed many of Atum's qualities (such that the latter was more or less forgotten), and he in turn was later absorbed by other popular cosmic deities (eg. Amon-Re & Sobek-Re). By about 2500BCE Egyptians regarded the sun god as their chief deity. From then on, every Egyptian king was given the additional title of "son of Re".
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 "Amen or Amon, Amun, Ammon, Amoun: Amen's name means 'The Hidden One'. Amen was the patron deity of the city of Thebes from earliest times, and was viewed (along with his consort Amenet) as a primordial creation-deity by the priests of Hermopolis. His sacred animals were the goose and the ram. Up to the Middle Kingdom Amen was merely a local god in Thebes; but when the Thebans had established their sovereignty in Egypt, Amen became a prominent deity, and by Dynasty 18 was termed the King of the Gods. His famous temple, Karnak, is the largest religious structure ever built by man. According to Budge, by Dynasty 19 or 20, Amen was thought of as 'an invisible creative power which was the source of all life in heaven, and on the earth, and in the great deep, and in the Underworld, and which made itself manifest under the form of Ra.' Additionally, Amen appears to have been the protector of any pious devotee in need. Amen was self-created, according to later traditions; according to the older Theban traditions, Amen was created by Thoth as one of the eight primordial deities of creation (Amen, Amenet, Heq, Heqet, Nun, Naunet, Kau, Kauket). During the New Kingdom, Amen's consort was Mut, 'Mother', who seems to have been the Egyptian equivalent of the "Great Mother" archetype. Their child was the moon god Khons." -- from website http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~shawn/egypt/gods.html
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 "Amen-Ra or Amon-Re: A composite deity, devised to link New Kingdom (Dyn. XVIII-XXI) worship of Amen with the older solar cult of the god Ra. In a union of this sort, the deities are said to indwell one another - so we have the power represented by Amen manifesting through the person of Ra (or vice versa). This sort of relationship is common among Egyptian gods, particularly among cosmic or national deities. It is an example of how the Egyptian gods are viewed, as Morenz puts it, of having 'personality but not individuality'"
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 "Aten or Aton - The sun-disk itself, recognized first in the Middle Kingdom, and later becoming an aspect of the sun god. In the reign of Amenhotep IV during Dynasty 18, Aten was depicted as a disk with rays, each ray terminating in a human hand and bestowing symbols of 'life' upon those below. Aten was declared the only true deity during this period, but the worship of Amen and the other deities was restored by Amenhotep IV's successor Tutankhamen. Morenz believes the name 'Aten' was pronounced something like 'Yati' during the height of its cult" (shawn).
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 So anyway, even this short list covers a lot of territory. One can easily see that keeping track of all these divine powers (and more importantly, keeping them all in good spirits, and well-disposed toward human concerns) would be a full-time occupation. Thus when the first cities appeared (they were little more than fortified towns built on a hill) they usually had a temple at their center commanding the best view of the surrounding area.
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 But the temples were important in other ways as well: "The beginnings of civilization and the appearance of temples are simultaneous in history. The two things belong together. The beginning of cities is the temple stage of history ... It was in the early temples that the records and tallies of events were kept and that writing began" ('The Outline of History' by H.G. Wells, p.174-75). Those who managed the temple and its activities were a special class of dedicated professionals called priests; and it was these priests who were the earliest writers (eg. the Egyptian Book of the Dead).
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 "There is a curious disposition among many modern writers to depreciate priesthoods and to speak of priests as though they had always been imposters and tricksters, preying upon the simplicity of mankind. But, indeed, they were for long the only writing class, the only reading public, the only learned and the only thinkers; they were all the professional classes of the time. You could have no intellectual life at all, you could not get access to literature or any knowledge, except through the priesthood" (Wells, p.181). Thus the priests' main duties were "to serve the deity or king, who was represented by a statue in the temple. The king reigning at the time was considered the chief priest of Egypt. Each day, he or other local priests washed and dressed the statue and brought it food. Priests also offered prayers requested by individuals" (Leonard H. Lesko, "Egypt, Ancient," World Book Online Americas Edition). http://www./wbol/wbPage/na/ar/co/175060
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 All of this placed the priest in a prominent position within the social structure; such that a talented priest could eventually gain considerable power and influence over all aspects of social life and culture. But while the priesthood was good at some things, it was not so good at others. Community defense against outside aggression, government, taxation, and administration of the canal system (so essential to the production of crops) were all best handled by the king and his generals and viziers. Ultimate power thus rested with the king, although always with the approval and blessing of the priests.
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 Indeed the pharaoh was himself a manifestation of divinity, and part of his concern was his future divine status in the afterlife (when, it was hoped, the mortal godling would graduate into the ranks of the immortal gods). Even the great pyramids themselves are simply an impressive expression of this "natural" concern. It was natural because the ancient Egyptians "believed that each of their kings was the god Horus in human form. This belief helped strengthen the authority of the kings"(Lesko).
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 What then can we say about ancient Egypt? It would be pointless to even list her many achievements here. [Beer, Beer!] All of the essential elements of modern civilization were born there over the countless generations leading up to the beginning of the so-called "New Age"; a point in time we mark as the revelation in Christ Jesus. [Note: Historians, however, have (by common consent) agreed to refer to previous ages according to whichever side of that point they happen to fall. Thus recent events are in the Common Era (the last two millennia), while not so recent events are Before Common Era.]
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                                    - the solar-bedazzled one - textman ;>>
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