Religion+and+Beliefs


 * __Egyptian Religion and Beliefs __**
 * Gods and Goddesses **
 * Very important in Egyptian life.
 * A god/goddess for everything you can think of
 * More than 2000.
 * The worship of many gods is called polytheism
 * At one time pharaoh Akhenaten made people worship only one god, but when he died the people went back to worshiping many gods
 * The people believed the gods gave them good luck or bad luck, so they always tried to do what the gods wanted.
 * They said prayers every day and got scribes to write questions for the gods to answer
 * Popular Gods and Goddesses: **
 * Bes
 * god of music, dance and the protector of children
 * head and the tail of a lion
 * Bastet
 * protector of women and childbirth
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">cat
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Anubis the God of Mummification
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">guided the dead to the next life
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">looked after the mummification process
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">head of a jackal with the body of a man
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ra the Sun God
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Most important god
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Lord of all the gods
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Falcon head with a human body and crowned with a sun disc
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Temples and Worship **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Egyptians built huge temples with big stone statues of the gods.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Temples were the home of the gods on earth.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">But only the Kings and the priests were allowed to go inside.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">All the other people had to stay outside the temple to pray to the gods.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The people brought gifts of food and drink to the temple and the priests gave the gifts to the gods.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">This happened three times every day.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">One of the temples is at Abu Simbel
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">It is the Temple of Ramesses II
 * __<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ordinary People and Worship __**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">People also had smaller shrines in their villages, where they would say prayers and take gifts.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ordinary people’s homes also had little shrines in them.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">These would be for ancestors and for the gods who protected the home.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Egyptians said prayers every day.
 * __<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pharaoh, Priests & Worship __**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Pharaoh is the gods’ son on Earth
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Must keep the gods’ satisfied so they look favourably on Egypt
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The priests carry out the daily offerings for the Pharaoh
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Daily Rituals to awake the gods’ ka
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Ka – means spirit or power
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Food is prepared
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Priests sing and make music on their way to the inner sanctuary
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Priests must be purified before entering by cleansing and shaving their heads and bodies(to avoid lice)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Statute of particular god is cleaned, and presented with the meal
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Food is eaten later by the priests as payment for working in temple
 * __<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Myths and Legends __**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Very important to Egyptian religion
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The myths guided their lives and beliefs
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">One myth tells the story of creation
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">The Myth of Osiris and Isis