An Introduction to the Ancient Egyptian Religion

"Of all the nations of the world, the Egyptians are the happiest, healthiest and most religious.", wrote the Greek historian Herodotus c. 450 BC. He was speaking of a religion that had existed in historic records for more than 4,000 years at that time and current archaeological evidence suggests that it had its roots firmly planted another 6,000 years before that.

Kemet

The religion of ancient Egypt is perhaps the most misunderstood of all religions, in part because of the misconceptions that other writers from Greece and various parts of the world, at that period in time, spread through their own ignorance and contempt. They believed and wanted to ridicule the idea that the people of Egypt, or Kemet ( kmt ) as it was called then by its citizens, worshipped animals. Nothing could be further from the truth.

An example from the history of England will clarify how this could easily occur. When a holy man from India visited the British churches in a desire to grasp the religious ideas of this unknown (to him) land he saw images of the lamb on the altars, windows and other prominent areas of these shrines. Not understanding the symbolism involved, upon returning to India he told his people that the English were idolaters that worshipped sheep. This is what happened when foreigners visited the sites of the animal cults of Egypt, misconstruing the worship of the symbol for worship of the animal.

Theism

Polytheism is another inaccurate label this religion has been burdened with. Henotheism, a belief in one god without denying the existence of others, would be a more accurate description. This subtle concept unites all divine powers into the favored god under one symbol (usually an animal) associated with a specific geographic area. Much like modern pro sports teams that are often symbolized by animals, these were more or less friendly rivals that could expand or even move to other places.

Syncretism

During the 4th dynasty (starting in 2575 BC ) these animal cults began to combine in a process called syncretism where by each god kept its identity while being joined. Think of molecules that have certain characteristics different from the component atoms yet the atoms retain their particular characteristics and can dissolve and recombine with other atoms to form a different molecule. This tendency to syncretism kept henotheism from becoming monotheism except for a brief 20 year period when the pharaoh Akhenaton (Amenhotep the IV, 1350-1330 BC) declared the worship of Aten as the sole god. The death of Akhenaten brought Tutanhkamen to the throne and a return to the ancient Egyptian religion.

Ancient Egyptian Texts

The Palermo stone is the oldest history book of Egypt. Hieroglyphics engraved on this stone chronicle the pre-dynastic kings, all of whom were gods, until the god Horus who hands over the power to the human king Menes (perhaps a royal title for the king Narmer or Aha) who united the ancient kingdoms of Egypt creating the first dynasty in 3100 BC. Many have commented on the similarity of chapter 6 of Genisis in the King James version of the Bible (there were giants on the earth in those days) and the thousands of years related by the hieroglyphic symbols on the Palermo stone.

During the first four dynasties the human king was considered a deity but by the 5th dynasty (2465-2323 BC) they were granted a posthumous deification much like Catholic saints are. This coincides roughly with the first known religious writings, called the Pyramid texts because they were engraved on the walls of the burial chambers within the pyramid.

By the 11th dynasty (1986-1937 BC) the Coffin texts replaced the Pyramid texts and not long after, the land of Egypt suffered its first invasion by outside forces, the Hyksos. The invasion by foreign forces was no danger to the religion of Egypt this time and the Hyksos were driven out a hundred years later.

For the next four hundred years the Egyptian religion was relatively stable but during the 18th dynasty (1539-1295 BC) major changes were afoot. Until that point in time there was no separation between the church and the state but during the 18th dynasty a separate priesthood was established while the god Amun of Thebes (todays Luxor) syncretised with the god Re who had become prevalent during the 2nd dynasty (2770-2650 BC). The religious text known as The Book of the Dead made its first known appearance about this time as well. Originally known as The Book of Going Forth by Day this text was a set of rules governing the activities of the deceased and was buried with them.

The End of an Era

Another one thousand years of stability followed until the Persians invaded in 525 BC during the 27th dynasty. This could be considered the beginning of the end for the ancient Egyptian religion, with much internal unrest, until Alexander the Great brought the Macedonians to power, throwing out the Persians at the end of the 31st dynasty (343-332 BC). A year later Alexander was traveling north down the Nile and prompted by a dream founded the city of Alexandria, replacing Memphis as the capitol of Egypt.

Ptolemy, a general under Alexander, was declared Pharaoh in 310 BC and under his rule the Egyptian religion had a brief re-blossom. The Egyptian magic called Heka, which was an integral part of the religion, had an influence on the Greek mystery tradition and exerted a great affect on Hellenistic magic at this time. The spells were recited much as prayers from the Bible, Torah, and Koran are today. Both the famous library and lighthouse of Alexandria were built during the Ptolemaic dynasty.

Cleopatra ruled Egypt from 51 BC to 30 BC when Rome took over. Under Roman rule the Egyptian religion was tolerated on the surface but the Imperial cult of the Roman state gradually pressured it out until the Roman Emperor Justinian closed the Temple of Philae on Biga island. This was a terrible blow to the religion as it was the legendary first ground created out of Chaos and therefore sacred. Persecution of the practitioners of the ancient Egyptian religion increased from this point on.

Horapollo, the last priest of the ancient religion, wrote a book on hieroglyphics c.475 AD and as a result was captured and tortured by the Christians, whose influence was now growing, for encouraging the practice of Pagan beliefs. He was perhaps the last person to be fluent in the writing system of hieroglyphics.

Modern Kemetism

The religion of ancient Egypt has been making a comeback since the 1970's in the United States of America where there are three distinct branches of Kemetism to be found in Brooklyn, NY, Chicago, IL and on the west coast in Los Angeles, CA and Portland OR.