Information: Mr. Su
Egyptian mythology refers to the mythological systems and religions believed by the ancient Egyptians before the spread of Christianity and Islam.
Its beliefs were born around 3000 BC, and there were many major changes in it, and the biggest difference between Egyptian mythology and Greek mythology is that most of the gods in Egyptian mythology are human animal heads.
The ancient Egyptians were polytheistic and mostly used animals as symbols.
The ancient Egyptians believed that they would go to the underworld after they died. And it is believed that the body is the vessel of the soul, and that the soul leaves its body every night and returns in the morning.
Believing that the soul would be resurrected after death, it was necessary to preserve the body so that the soul had its own dwelling place, so it invented embalming and mummification.
Ancient Egypt
1. Mythology-religious thought
The core of Egyptian civilization was the ancient Egyptian religion.
The three main themes of ancient Egyptian religion were nature worship, pharaonic worship, and the cult of the undead.
The worship of animals and plants belongs to nature worship and occupies an important position in nature worship. The discussion of the causes, manifestations and influences of animal and plant worship is an important part of the study of Egyptian civilization.
2. Ancient Egyptian flora and fauna
The cult of flora and fauna is the product of the oasis cultural complex of the Egyptians living in the Nile Valley at that time in the geographical and cultural environment. Because of the symbolic primitive thinking, the admiration for the tenacious vitality of animals and plants, and the natural concept of harmonious symbiosis, the Egyptians' reverence for animals and plants was spontaneous.
3. Oasis cultural complex
To understand the reasons for the worship of flora and fauna in ancient Egypt, it is necessary to understand The Oasis Culture, the egyptian model of agricultural civilization that was the background for its emergence.
The oasis culture complex is fully reflected in Egyptian religion.
In ancient Egyptian culture, gods and mortals did not live in two different worlds, the activities between gods and people interacted with each other, and everything in nature was given a sacred color.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped flora and fauna because of their fear of the harsh natural environment.
The ancient Egyptians worshipped all kinds of animals and plants because of the tenacious vitality of animals and plants in the desert environment.
Therefore, it is not so much that the ancient Egyptians worshiped animals and plants, but rather that the ancient Egyptians loved life and worshiped life force. In view of the tenacious vitality of desert animals and plants, which egyptians admire, and is the basis for the survival of Egyptians, the Egyptians' worship of animals and plants is spontaneous.
Among the many gods, the medicine god Sekhmet occupies an important place, and her name means powerful in Egyptian.
The second is Osiris, the god of harvest and abundance.
In the underworld, Osiris is the protector of the dead, enabling them to gain eternal life after death.
4. The symbolic thinking of the Egyptians
The symbolic thinking of the Egyptians was concentrated in the image of God.
Idols of deities commonly worshipped in temples and in everyday life, either animal heads plus human bodies, or human heads plus animal bodies, such as crocodiles, various fish, frogs, and various birds, or heads appear on stone tablets along the Nile, especially the stork bird favored by the god of writing, Thoth.
The ferocious creatures of the desert, such as lions, dung beetles, scorpions and king cobras, became sacred relics revered by Egyptians, eagles and vultures were birds dedicated to protecting pharaohs and queens, and bulls, antelopes, and longhorn buffaloes, symbolizing the mother god Hathor, represented egyptian blessings for the prosperity of their families.
5. The concept of nature that coexists in harmony
An important concept in ancient Egyptian religion was the idea of man, God and nature coexisting in harmony.
The Egyptians' creation myths and religions were mostly inextricably linked to flora and fauna. The cult of sexual objects that prevailed in Egypt was undoubtedly an extension of the cult of flora and fauna.
The ancient Egyptian worship of animals and plants penetrated into the philosophical thought, folk aesthetics, architectural culture, and even literature and art of the Egyptians, and the worship of animals and plants injected fresh blood into Egyptian civilization through the channel of religion.
Egyptian gods
Mythological system
Primordial water
In the legend of Heliopolis, it is believed that Atum created the power of various gods in the world, and there is also a saying that Atum is the son of the original water- Nunn, indicating the high hill or ground created after the Great Flood, Atum stood on the rock and spat out the male god Shu and the goddess Tephnute from his mouth, and Shu and the goddess Tefnut combined to give birth to the male god Gabri and the goddess Nut; When the two were about to be united, they were pulled apart by their father, Shu, and put Gaibu on the ground, sending Nutt into the sky, but later married and gave birth to Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nefertis, the god of the four pillars.
Worship of the dead
The ancient Egyptians believed that life consisted of the world of life and the underworld. Believing that man existed in another way after death, the Egyptians focused on the underworld and built mausoleums and pyramids.
In order to keep the corpses from decomposing, they make mummies. After the death of the worshipped animals, their bodies are specially treated, greased, bandaged, and mummified and buried in a dedicated cemetery.
The ancient Egyptians saw death as an important place in life, and the ancient Egyptians saw it as an important transitional period into another world.
Divine form
Roughly speaking, the egyptian gods can be divided into three types: (i) animal forms; (2) The form of the person; (3) Abstract forms.
In addition, there are three systems according to the region:
(i) Memphis, the god of craftsmen and the creator of the world, Buta.
(ii) Developed during the Old Kingdom period, the system centered on the city of Heliopolis believes that before the world was created, there was a great god atum, and Atum was self-fertilized and gave birth to air (Shu) and water vapor (Tephnuth); Air and water vapor combined to give birth to heaven (Nut) and earth (Gabb, geb); The union of heaven and earth gave birth to four children, Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nefertis, who are the creators of all things in the world.
(iii) The city of Hermopolis from southern Upper Egypt, whose process of creation is also rather abstract, appears in four pairs of deities when the world is chaotic and unclear, belonging to the four natures of "darkness, depth, invisible, and boundlessness", which created the world, representing unknowable times or unknowable local characteristics.
Introduction of the gods
Nine Pillar God
Relationship of the gods
Ra: The sun god.
Shu: The god of wind and air.
Tefnut: The god of rain.
Geb (Seb): God of the earth.
Nut: The god of the sky.
Osiris: Pluto and god of agriculture.
Isis/Auset: Goddess of life, magic, marriage and fertility, mother of Horus.
Seth: God of war, desert, storm and foreign countries.
Nephthys: Patron saint of houses and the dead, mother of Anubis.
The main god
Atum: The sun god at dusk.
Thoth: The god of wisdom, he takes the form of a heron.
Maat: Goddess of Truth and Justice, Wife of Tot.
Anubis: The god of death, who escorts souls to another world and takes the form of a wolf-headed man.
Horus: The god of vengeance, the guardian of the pharaoh, in the form of an eagle.
Hathor/Het-Heru ( Het-Hert ) : Wife of Horus , Love and Beauty.
Amon: The head of the three pillar gods of Thebes.
Mut/Golden Dawn (Auramooth): One of the Three Pillars of Thebes, Amun's wife.
Khons/Chons: One of the Three Pillars of Thebes, son of Amun and Munt, luna.
Ptah: The head of the three-pillar god of Memphis, the god of craftsmen and art.
Nefertem: Plant god, one of the three pillar gods of Memphis, son of Puta and Sekhmet.
Anuket: Daughter of the Nile water god, Knum and Satit.
Aten: The sun god believed mainly during the Reformation of Akhnatun, which was subsequently abolished.
Min (Min/Menu, Amsu): The patron saint of travelers, also in charge of production and harvesting.
Qetesh: Goddess of fertility and sex, Min's wife.
Neit: The god of hunting and weaving, the mother of Sobek.
Renenutet: Goddess of food and harvest, wife of Sobek.
Four sons of Horus: Guardians of the body of Hades.
Amset: One of the four sons of Horus and the protector of the deceased's liver.
Hapi(Golden Dawn, Ahephi): One of the four sons of Horus, protector of the lungs of the dead.
Duamutef: One of the four sons of Horus and the protector of the stomach of the deceased.
Qebhsenuef: One of the four sons of Horus and protector of the intestines of the deceased.
Animal gods
Khepri: Scarab god, morning sun god.
Sekhmet: Lioness, one of the three pillars of Memphis.
Bast(Bast/Bastet): A cat god who killed Apep, the Chaos Viper, Amora's biggest enemy.
Selket: Scorpion goddess.
Sobek: Crocodile god.
Seshat: Leopard goddess, daughter of Tot.
Maahes: Lion god, son of Buster
Nekhbet: Vulture goddess, patron saint of Upper Egypt.
Wadjet: The goddess of the serpent, the patron saint of Lower Egypt.
Khnum: Ram god, created man with his wife, Hayquirt.
Satet: The elephant goddess.
Heqet: The goddess of frogs, she co-created man with her husband, Knum.
Taweret: Hippo goddess.
Meretseger: Goddess of cobras.
Apis: Bull God, Si Fertility and Production.