Ancient Egyptian Religion

A detailed Summary of Ancient Egyptian Religion

Ancient Egyptian Religious Architecture

One of the greatest cultural achievements of Ancient Egypt was undoubtedly in their architecture associated with religion.

"Temples, tombs and pyramids - all have witnessed this earth for thousands of years. What better than to say that these architectural achievements show us that Egypt's greatest virtue lay in its architecture"

When one travels to Egypt, what does he/she see - pyramid after temple after tomb, each standing the test of time. One stands out - they are all associated with religious beliefs, they all have stood unmoving for thousands of years, and they all involve mechanical genius- the moving of colossal stones without the use of the wheel. The finest example such mechanics is shown in the construction of the revered pyramid. These three factors, all belonging to the religious architecture of ancient Egypt, do nothing else but prove its greatness.

Egypt's grand architectural design was a result of the religious values and beliefs that were in place at the time. Thousands of years ago, 'Ancient Egypt accepted the challenge of reeds and swamps, hot sands and floods, and build the 'first' nation' (Romer:75, 1982). There were few things to impress th

One of the most outstanding factors that makes the Egyptians religious architecture so great is the fact that it has remained unmoved for thousands of years, undeterred by all that has taken place around. The Egyptian tomb, for it to last as long as it has, had to be extremely durable. Apart from prehistoric graves, the earliest tombs were the mastabas of the I-III Dynasties of the Archaic Period (Fumeaux:9, 1964). These mastaba tombs were quite small with stepped sides and a flat top. They were almost solid but somewhere in the core was a series of rooms, including a burial chamber containing the sarcophagus of the dead, with all his/her items for the afterlife (Romer:76, 1982). Externally there was a recess that looked like a blocked up door. Through this false door the spirit could return to the body. It also served as a place where offerings could be made to the dead (Stierlin:61, 1983). The name mastaba came from the Arabic for a bench of the type found outside the doors of Arab houses (Fumeaux:9, 1964). If one were to look at a solid bench, one would think it was solid, durable, and impregnable.

emselves upon the Egyptian mind; their psychological impact however was immense. There was the Nile itself, source of all life, there was the mysterious regularity of the Sun, Moon and stars; there was fertility and death. It was out of fear and mystery of these things that

"Functionally, therefore, the mastaba was designed to achieve permanence. Aesthetically the mastaba was designed to look permanent in an impressive way... it involved metal tools, mathematics, transport and organized labour. It was, in all its apparent simplicity - architecture" (Stierlin: 61, 1983)

"When one look upon the civilization of Ancient Egypt, they cannot help but to gaze in wonder and awe at t

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Category: Religion