#历史开讲 #
Preface:
Looking at the origins of Eastern and Western civilizations, it is not difficult to find out what mysterious powers religion has given people as a spiritual belief.
In ancient Egypt, one of the four ancient civilizations, the people showed their reverence for the gods with unimaginable religious piety, which also made ancient Egypt a religious country.
Because religious culture permeated all aspects of ancient Egyptian society, the Egyptian people could "find" their own gods at every stage from life to death; The rulers of ancient Egypt, who claimed to be the sons of God, took the idea of theocracy to the extreme, making religion a major help in maintaining civilization.
Ancient Egyptian gods
One: Everything can be a "god" - the ancient Egyptian religious culture with many gods
The religions that accompanied ancient Egyptian civilization can be traced back to the primitive society; Because the environment was relatively isolated, people at that time had few opportunities to communicate with the outside world, so in the absence of understanding of nature, people believed that everything in the world had mystical powers.
The primitive worship that arose from this gradually developed into the original religious prototype, and in the religious culture of this period, the "sacred" animals, plants, and natural phenomena also developed into the original gods.
From some mural records left to this day, it is not difficult to find that fearsome animals such as lions, cobras, and crocodiles developed into clan totems, and the sun, which brought light and warmth to people, became the irreplaceable "sun god" among the gods.
Ancient and mythological sun god
After entering civilized society, the tribe evolved into a small state, and the totem worshiped by the clan was officially "upgraded" to become the "protector deity" of the state; Although it may be difficult for people living in different regions to understand each other's beliefs, the religious and cultural tone of ancient Egypt with its polytheism has been set.
At the beginning of the dynastic era, the gods believed in by the ancient Egyptians gradually transitioned from animal figures to anthropomorphic figures; Most of the gods of this period had the appearance characteristics of human and animal heads, and this shape that integrates humans and animals also illustrates the awakening of self-consciousness of ancient Egyptians from the side.
Horus, the god of light with the head of the eagle, was the first to be worshiped by the Egyptian people; During the 1st and 2nd dynasties, because Hieracompori, the "birthplace" of the god Horus, became the political center of the time, the eagle god, who was the guardian deity of the region, was officially "upgraded" to a national main deity.
Horus
During the reign of the Fourth Dynasty, the prosperity of the city of Heliopoli fused the image of the local protective god Atum and the sun god "Ra God", and the ancient Egyptians' worship of the sun also made the "La God", who was already in the first echelon of the gods, officially become the "first main god".
It is worth mentioning that during the Fifth Dynasty, when the popularity of Rashen reached its peak, the local princes under the pharaoh would even add the title of "son of Rashen" to their names to demonstrate their authoritative position under the "divine right of kings" model.
Ra God
During the Middle Kingdom, Thebes developed into the new political center of ancient Egypt, and Amun, originally a "local god", also became the head of the new gods. Due to the similarity of priesthood attributes, Amun, who was also the sun god, and Ra, fused during the New Kingdom period and became the "new generation" of sun gods.
At the same time, the god Amun, who had a complete human image, heralded a significant increase in the Egyptian people's ability to conquer and transform nature, like the god of craftsmen Pta and the lord god of the underworld, Osiris.
It is worth mentioning that in addition to the sun god that is common throughout Egypt, the Egyptian religion in the polytheistic belief model can also be divided into three broad categories, namely the worship of nature, the worship of pharaohs and the worship of death.
The worship of nature originated from the totemic culture of primitive clans, the worship of death originated from the fear of the unknown of death, and the worship of pharaohs originated from the deliberate guidance of rulers under the fusion of theocracy and regime.
It can be seen that the polytheistic ancient Egyptian religious culture is moving closer and closer to the secular direction, and this trend has also given the ancient Egyptian religion a stronger practical character.
Polytheistic religious culture in ancient Egypt
Second: the cultural tone of the coexistence of man and god - the characteristics of ancient Egyptian religion
Before the official spread of Islam and Christianity to Egypt, the mythology-religious system believed in by the ancient Egyptians was in continuous change; With the change of secular kingship, the distance between gods and humans in ancient Egyptian religions is also getting closer, and this mode of coexistence between man and god also makes religion take on obvious secular characteristics.
1. From the perspective of development, inclusiveness is the basis for the formation of the ancient Egyptian religious polytheistic model.
From the time of the First Dynasty, rulers who achieved political unity worked to strengthen their image as "sons of God" by creating a supreme deity; However, in the process of the "princely state" being demoted to a city-state, the gods believed in by the tribes were not forbidden, but continued to be passed down in the image of a tribal protector.
Because the rulers of ancient Egypt showed unusual tolerance on the issue of religious beliefs, people everywhere were able to retain their beliefs while believing in the Nine-Pillar God, which allowed some "unpopular" gods to have the opportunity to sacrifice and worship and passed down in the long development.
The god of self-creation "Atumu"
With the transfer of secular power, the status of the gods also changed to a certain extent; Just like Amun, the sun god who rose to the head of the gods during the Fifth Dynasty, was also a "nameless little god" in the Theban region; If it were not for the polytheistic religion that gave enough tolerance to the "small gods", then Amon would not have been able to become the sun god, let alone merge with the image of Ra and become the head of the gods "certified" by the pharaoh.
The inclusiveness of ancient Egyptian religion is also reflected in the integration and transformation of the image of the gods. From the evolution of the image of the sun god, it is not difficult to find that whether it is Horus or Ra or Amun, they are all gods that symbolize light and the sun, and although they are slightly different in image, they have certain similarities with the former in terms of overall characteristics, and Amun-Ra God is the product of image fusion.
2. From the perspective of the "function" of the gods, closely related to secular life is the unchanging connotation of ancient Egyptian religion.
It is not difficult to see from the records of works such as the "Pyramid Inscription" that ancient Egypt in the polytheistic model had a large number of gods with a clear division of labor; The gods were uniformly subordinate to a more powerful god, and the different responsibilities of the gods were inextricably linked to the needs of the people.
Considering that the ancient Egyptian people regarded the gods as the lords of creation and guardians of order, it is not difficult to understand why people at that time believed that the gods could help and guide them; After all, ancient Egyptian religion involved different fields such as mythology, science, medicine, herbology, and even psychiatry, and the division of labor among the gods also covered all aspects of daily life.
Ancient Egyptian deity beliefs
Interestingly, because the ancient Egyptians feared that believing in the same god would make it impossible for the gods to take care of every believer, it became a habit to encourage people to believe in their own gods; It is probably difficult for future generations to imagine that whether it is a major matter such as sending troops to the outside world or a trivial matter such as hearing a civil dispute, the gods need to personally "intervene", and the liver, lungs, stomach, and intestines of the deceased also have four different protectors.
To a certain extent, the meaning of the existence of ancient Egyptian gods is to provide "all-round and dead-end" services and protection for the people, so that the people can live a stable and peaceful life
3. From the perspective of the attributes of gods, the identity of man and god organically combines religion and secular power.
Unlike religious schools such as Buddhism and Christianity, the gods in ancient Egyptian religion had obvious "mortal" attributes; They have seven passions and six desires, they will be at odds with other gods, they will also grow old and die, and they will pass on the throne to their heirs like Pharaoh.
According to the ancient Egyptians, the distance between man and God was not far away. Because mortals need the help and protection of the gods, and the gods are inseparable from human offerings and sacrifices, people who coexist in the same environment can coexist peacefully with the gods.
Just from the temples scattered along the Nile and the town complexes that grew around the temples, it is not difficult to see that the ancient Egyptians lived and worked around religion. From the point of view of appearance scale and internal structure, the grand temple with intricate decoration and carved with many relief patterns is not only full of strong religious and mystical colors, but also gives people a solemn and sacred feeling.
Temples along the Nile
It is worth mentioning that the murals in the temple not only record the legends of the gods, but also record "secular" events such as the expeditions of the pharaohs, hunting and sieges; To some extent, these frescoes are almost realistic records of ancient and historical history, and the circle of life formed with the temple as the core also indicates that the gods were by the side of the ancient Egyptians.
Due to the high degree of identity between man and god, many rulers will claim to be the embodiment of God or the son of God out of the consideration of consolidating their dominance; And this binding of religion to secular power also makes the image of God more accessible and "industrious."
It is not difficult to see from the large number of pharaonic worship contents that existed in the religious culture of ancient Egypt that religion is gradually developing as a tool to consolidate the rule of the regime.
In the frescoes of the Temple of Luxor, the god Amon says:
Pharaoh Amenhotep III made himself his "dearest son" and made him accept his portrait with his nose.
Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III
It can be seen that the pharaoh, who was "linked" to the sun god, was already eligible to receive the worship of his people as a god. As the pharaohs "bind" themselves to the gods with grand ceremonies, their dominance was further consolidated.
4. Judging from the popularity of death worship customs, ancient Egyptian religions believed that the soul would not die and that life would continue in another form.
For the ancient Egyptians, death was not the end of life; Because the soul is immortal, the existence of the underworld will provide the soil for the deceased to continue to live, and the power and entanglement that exist in secular society will continue to accompany the deceased to the next stage of life after death.
Since the religious mythology of Hades Osiris, who was also a pharaoh "during his lifetime", the ancient Egyptians believed that the pharaoh, who was the son of God, would also rule Egypt in another form after death; To this end, the rulers at that time also built pyramids, which are mysterious mausoleums, and the purpose is to ensure that the soul does not die, so that he can be closer to the gods after death, and then smoothly enter the underworld to continue to hold power.
"Osiris" resurrects the myth
In the tomb of the pharaohs, the sacrificial incantations represented by the Book of the Dead served as a bridge for communication between the living and the dead; In the view of the ancient Egyptians, only with the help of the power of spells and magic could the dead successfully reach the afterlife; And even if one cannot be "resurrected as a god" like Pharaoh, one can alleviate one's sins during one's lifetime and avoid the pain of the judgment of Hades.
As the "survival guide of the underworld" of the dead, the Book of the Dead shows the supreme reverence of the ancient Egyptians for the gods, and it is not difficult to see from the records of the underworld in the Book of the Dead that the world in which the dead are resurrected is not much different from the real world.
On the whole, ancient Egyptian religion was a religious culture that served the pharaonic rulers and had obvious practical attributes; And the reverence for the unknown and death that pervaded it also cast a veil of mystery over ancient Egyptian religion.
Three: The tragic song of ancient Egyptian civilization under the struggle between theocracy and kingship
As the spokesperson of the gods in the mortal world, Pharaoh used the power of religion to consolidate his rule; However, the ancient Egyptian civilization, which flourished with religion, could not escape the road of decline in religion.
First, it was the religious pattern of polytheism that downplayed the ancient Egyptians' concept of the state, leaving the regions in a looser state.
Unlike religions that believed in a single deity, ancient Egyptian religion under the pattern of polytheistic worship was loose and free; Due to the lack of suppression of heresy, even the Supreme God "identified" by Pharaoh was difficult to gain the approval of the entire population; And this also made the ancient Egyptians in a loose and independent state on the spiritual level.
During the period of dynastic power, the various noms could also obey the central administration and follow the instructions of the pharaoh to complete some large-scale work; And once the dynasty declines, the localities will soon return to a state of "scattered sand", which also makes the central government unable to strengthen the control of the local people through religious beliefs.
To some extent, the religious pattern of polytheism increased the risk of the fragmentation of ancient Egyptian dynasties and left Egyptians indifferent to whether the country was independent and unified.
Because in the eyes of the vast majority of people, no matter who rules the country, their own environment and religious beliefs will not change, so as long as there is no change involving the bottom line of their own interests, they are willing to passively accept.
It can also be seen from the experience of the Hyksos invading Egypt that Egyptians who can accept paying taxes to the other side to worship cannot accept that the other party forced them to convert; In fact, it was only when the status of the god Amun was provoked that the originally gentle and submissive Thebans chose to resist, because the religious ones placed the gods in the supreme position.
Thebes frescoes
Second, it is the struggle between theocracy and royal power that puts the country at risk of infighting.
Looking at several religious reforms in the history of ancient Egypt, it is not difficult to find that the unity of church and state can only be achieved when the priest also holds the position of pharaoh; In the rest of the cases, the struggle between theocracy and royal power only puts the country at risk of infighting.
The contradiction between theocracy and kingship originated from the struggle between God and man; Because the gods in ancient Egyptian religions have obvious human characteristics, the gods "born" from people will compete with people in many cases. Just as God needed sacrifices, and Pharaohs needed offerings; When there is a struggle between man and God, Pharaoh, the son of God in the past, will also relentlessly provoke the religious leader High Priest.
Priest Address
The struggle between pharaohs and priests ran through ancient Egyptian civilization and was one of the root causes of political turmoil in ancient Egypt. As the embodiment of God on earth, Pharaoh preferred to combine secular power with divine power, but from the perspective of the priestly group, theocracy should be above the world.
According to historical records:
Thutmose IV's efforts to restore the reign of the "god Ra" were strongly blocked by the priests of the temple of Amun, and later rulers of Egypt declared war on the temple; It was not until the time of Ramses XI that the temple priests achieved the final victory in this struggle between royal and theocratic power and put an end to the rule of the New Kingdom.
In Engels' view:
"Man-made religion, more or less artificial."
It can be seen that when religion and gods cannot meet the political goals of the ruling class, the contradiction between theocracy and royal power will become increasingly fierce, and the final result of this struggle is the birth of a new god or a new ruler.
Summary:
The ancient Egyptian civilization, which flourished because of religion and declined because of religion, created a splendid culture unique to the Egyptians by combining theocracy and royal power.
In the process of ancient Egyptian civilization, polytheistic religions gave people spiritual beliefs, allowing people to clarify their own meaning under the protection of many gods, but the shortcomings and influence of polytheism itself also made ancient Egyptian civilization eventually come to the end of decline.
Bibliography:
History of World Civilization
Ancient History of Egypt