Ancient Egyptian Daily life (Religion)

Religion was very important to the ancient Egyptians. They had a different and separate religion aside from other countries and cultures.  Their religion affected their entire daily life because it was influenced by tradition which caused the Egyptians to resist change.  They did not question the beliefs and myths that were passed down to them, they also never changed any of the beliefs.  Many of their myths were intended to explain the gods’ actions and roles in nature. 

The religion of Ancient Egypt was a polytheistic (many gods)  with one short period of monotheism (one god).  There were hundreds of different gods and goddesses.   The primary focus of the Egyptian religion was between the humans and the gods.  There was a god for every aspect of the natural world.  Some gods had the heads of animals that they defied.  The Pharaoh and the priests held a lot of power in Egypt.  The Egyptians believed that when things were going well, the leaders were doing their job well.  But when things were going bad, the pharaoh and the priests were to blame. 

Temples existed in almost every town, there were temples to serve the spirits of deceased pharaohs and temples dedicated to the patron gods.  Not all gods however, had temples dedicated to them.  The temples were supposed to be houses for the gods. 

The Egyptians believed in afterlife, they believed that the physical body of the dead (person) had to be preserved to allow a place for their spirit to live in the afterlife.  This created to process of mummification to preserve the body.  They preserved bodies of pharaohs then buried them in pyramids (except King Tut who was buried in the Valley of the Kings). Isis is an ancient Egyptian goddess that was worshiped as the ideal mother and wife as well as the matron of nature and magic (the goddess of motherhood, magic and fertility).  Isis had many friends  which include slaves, sinners, artisans, the downtrodden, in addition to listening to the prayers of the wealthy, maidens, aristocrats and rulers.  Isis was the first goddess of Geb ( god of the Earth). Her name means she of the throne. Her original headdress was a throne.