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The relationship between the Egyptians and their gods is exemplified in the magnitude, quantity, and significance of the art they created. They created art which demonstrated the social order, which placed the gods at the top and leaders on the next tier. This is exemplified in the Funerary Complex of King Djoser, a complex for the burial of the king, the king’s family and officials. It also included a space for the festival of Sed, which would divinely renew the power of the king. They also created magnificent, significant art such as the Great Pyramids to appease the gods, which demonstrated their devotion and the value they placed on their spiritual systems. They also spent copious amounts of time and energy reflecting on the spiritual aspect of their existence and the afterlife, as exemplified in the burial of significant or wealthy individuals with many supplies or artifacts such as the tombs of Beni Hasan, which modeled residential settings so as to be a comfortable dwelling place in the afterlife. The Egyptians were indeed a deeply religious people.
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Ancient Egyptians displayed their relationship not only in art but in text. If it weren’t for the decipherment of hieroglyphs we may have never learned about their ideology. “The Judgement of Hunefer before Osiris’ gives us written text showing the steps to pass into the afterlife. This piece of art also depicts the interactions between men/women and gods after death. Giving us some insight into their ideology. Another example showing a connection between humans and gods is “The Palette of King Narmer’. In one panel Narmer is believed to be in the form of a bull knocking down the walls of enemies. Showing god like strength as a ruler. This was popular among Egyptians to use art to record and honor their relationships with the gods.
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I agree with your point about heiroglyphics, as they are a prominent feature in Egyptian culture, and continue to be one of the first things people think of when they ponder ancient Egypt. The Rosetta Stone was by far one of the most important discoveries linking the modern day to ancient Egypt, because it allowed for much more research into the culture and beliefs of a civilization long gone.
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Through the artwork we can see the gods played a very significant role in everyday life of the Egyptian people. In particular if you were a king, or other high ranking official, it was by divine right given from the gods, so the kings would devote a lot of time to pleasing the gods, for example building elaborate temples and shrines such as in the Funerary Temple of Hatshepsut. The temple of Amun at Karnak is another great example of the how highly devoted the Egyptians were to their gods, the article by Livescience.com says the temple was built, modified and rebuilt for over 2,000 years. The Egyptians obviously but a lot of value into honoring their gods with shrines, elaborate building, and the approval of the gods seemed very important in the artwork. In the Palette of King Narmer the goddess of Hathor is shown at the top of the piece and the god Horus is shown to be helping defeat the enemy alongside the king. The obsession with the afterlife and the rituals surrounding the passage is just another one of the many examples we have to show the Egyptians were highly devoted to their religion.
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Re: Kaitlyn
Great post! You identify some good examples, such as their obsession with the afterlife. Even their concept of how the afterlife is run is surrounded by their belief in Osiris and the various other gods who would walk men through their final judgement. Much like the people in Mesopotamia, the highest ranking individuals of the society were supposedly blessed by the gods. Very interesting points!
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The Egyptians include their gods in much of their artwork, displayed by the presence of gods in the Books of the Dead, the use of priests in the Palette of King Narmer, and by the elaborate tomb structures and burial preparations for the dead. The kings are often displayed as larger than life, like in the Palette of King Narmer, indicating that they are god-like.
Death was viewed as a time when one met the gods, meaning that the passage into afterlife was a highly important part of religion in Ancient Egypt. The Books of the Dead detail what the dead should expect when passing final judgement before the gods. The Great Pyramids and the Great Sphinx were both apart of funeral complexes for royalty. -
Laura: I like how you pointed out how death was views as a time when one met the gods. This is one of the key reasons why the Egyptian culture was so obsessed with the afterlife. Most of the art they created was not even made to be enjoyed by the living but to accompany them into the afterlife. You can see how much they valued this by the huge tombs they created. Even now it is amazing to fathom how much was put into the Great Pyramids and the the intricate works throughout the tomb of Nefertari. Additionally, you can see them pay homage to the gods throughout the time period in pieces such as the falcon, which symbolized the god Horus, in the Palette of the King Narmer.
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It’s very clear how important the gods were in Egyptian culture. One example that stood out to me was the sculpture of Amun located at the Temple of Amun at Karnak. This statue was washed and dressed in fresh clothes daily, and priests would leave food twice a day. This clearly illustrates just how important the gods were. Another example is how much work and art went into a persons passage into the afterlife. The books of the dead, the giant tombs, and funerary temples all took massive amounts of skill and time. As mentioned previously, the Egyptians viewed death as the time when they were able to meet the gods (which is clearly illustrated in the books of the dead) and the amount of art that was dedicated to this moment and what came after, shows how much they valued that idea.
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I like the point you made about the effort that the ancient Egyptians put into caring for their ‘artwork’ that represented their gods. Food offerings are a part of religious practices everywhere (except for Christianity! I wonder why that is? #FoodForJesus). Food and fresh clothing everyday certainly shows how much reverence the Egyptians had for their deities.
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This answer will be slightly similar to my first post – but I will do my best to differentiate the two as much as possible.
First, I think the Egyptians relationship with their gods is extremely evident in nearly all the art they create. From the Palette of King Narmer, all the way to the Books of the Dead in the New Kingdom, the Egyptians always found a way to weave their gods (and their respect for them) into their artwork. In the Palette of King Narmer, the god Horus is depicted as a falcon – which not only represents the rising sun (connected to their most revered god, Ra) but also is depicted as the king of all the birds in the ancient world, which together all shows their amount of respect for their deities. The falcon and many other animals are also depicted on many of the kings / pharaoh’s headdresses.
An example from the New Kingdom is present at the front of the Temple of Ramses II – there are four enormous statues (three standing) of the pharaoh in front of the temple, but centered above the entryway is two carvings of the pharaoh bowing to Ra-Horakhty, which represents the upmost respect (again) for even the highest of the gods. Even though Ramses saw himself as deified, he still had respect for the other gods as well.-
Great points Lucas I agree that the two discussion points carry a great deal of crossover. I think that just demonstrates thouroughly their relegion and culture were integrated. It was as if the only purpose of art and architecture is for the leaders, gods and the afterlife. It was nice to find that there was some everyday art too. I really enjoyed the blue toy hippo.
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Laura, great responses!! I really like how you explained the importance of the after life as the time to meet the gods, it actually really helped clear up the significance of the funerary rituals for me.
Lucas, you made a great point when you said the Egyptians always found a way to weave the gods into every aspect of their life, the examples you used were spot on! To me they definitely seem like the most religious people I have ever heard of, what do you think? -
The reference to gods is seen throughout Egyptian art. Much of the ancient Egyptian art pieces were only preserved because they were found in tombs/pyramids for afterlife usage. These pyramids were made to appease the gods and provide an afterlife resting ground for the divine rulers and their families. The gods were usually depicted as different animals or nature, i.e. the sun, and the pharaohs would be shown in the art with the gods. The men were often shown in a younger and fit age for the sculptures and the women were always in the young and fit depictions. Egyptian civilization was characterized by the strength of the pharaoh. The pharaoh was held to be descended from gods, with the power to assure prosperity and control the rituals that assured the flow of the Nile and the fertility derived from irrigation. In the piece, The Palette of King Narmer, the pharaoh is shown large in scale and towering over his enemy. The god is shown above the pharaoh symbolizing his greater power. In statues like, Menkaure and a Queen the pharaoh and his wife are both depicted in large scale and the male is slightly in front of the wife showing his greater power.
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Valene, I like that you mentioned that the men and women in sculptures were generally shown as young and fit. Often times, different gods and goddesses are shown as being eternally young and fit as well, supporting the idea that the pharaohs could be seen as descendants from the gods. With their emphasis on the fertility (seen in all their artwork that has ties back to the Nile), I wonder why we don’t see as many sculptures of more rounded women as we did in the Mesopotamian artwork.
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Tmbergan, I feel like these ancient civilizations aren’t very different than modern ones in how the young, fit and pretty are the idealistic goals of society. Back then there were only a few accurate portrays of men and women in their imperfect figures. Just like modern society, the pretty are revered and a lot of celebrities or people in high power are trying to show themselves as fit and beautiful and hide any blemishes.
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It is clear through the sheer quantity and prevalence of the inclusion of the gods in Egyptian art that these people were extremely religious. An example of the presence of the gods in Egyptian art is seen on the Palette of Kind Narmer. In this carving we see Horus, a god falcon holding the head of an enemy, which is assumed to be an enemy of Narmer. Clearly, in this palette we see that the god is helping Narmer in his conquest. Horus could even be the instigator of the conquest. Also in this same work there are a number of other images of the goddess Hathor who is in the form of a cow and is set at the top of the stone. The gods blessed the conquest of the kings, but are strategically placed above them the kings. This demonstrates the hierarchy– the kings were in fact subject to the gods in many ways. We are also able to see the relationship of the gods with the Egyptians in the Tomb of Nefetari. Here is found a number of New kingdom paintings that show interaction between Nefetari and the gods. The Egyptians valued connecting with and pleasing their gods. They desired to please their gods in order to remain in their good graces so that Egypt could continue to be great. It was the ultimate honor for the gods to interact with them as humans, which is likely why we primarily see great leaders depicted interacting with the gods.
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Hi Aubri, you made good points about the presence of the Egyptian gods within much of their artwork. However, I feel like you could elaborate more. How did this religious imagery influence art and culture among the citizens of all classes, and not just within the ruling class? For example, the citizens such as scribes also had religious artwork made. Did these people care as much about pleasing the gods? Interested to hear your thoughts.
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Herodotus was very impressed with the religious culture of the Egyptians because it permeated all aspects of their lives and into the great unknown of the afterlife. I think one of the reasons this occurred was because of the continuity of their gods and worship over time. As an example, the falcon-headed god Horus is recognizable from The Palette of King Narmer of the Old Kingdom, 2649 BCE, until the Last Judgement of Hunefer, 1275BCE. A time period of 1374 years. This relatively long period time of peace and prosperity gave the Egyptians a great deal of freedom to create rituals and religious items to honor the various deities.
The belief in the afterlife and the role of the Pharaoh as a deity further concentrated the religious aspects of this culture. The Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, Funerary Temple of Hatshepsut, and the Tomb of Tutankhamen are all tributes to their gods and leaders. The visible presence of these structures was inescapable to the citizens and even the invaders of the kingdom. It continuously re-enforced the religious culture, the gods, the pharaohs, judgement and the afterlife.
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Bob, the pyramids, sphinx, and tombs being such large sizes to continuously re-enforce the religion is a really interesting perspective I hadn’t thought of. It does make sense — as you mentioned, the structures are inescapable because they’re so large. It’s kind of like how nowadays we have so many churches in each town that remind the people of the religions that they were built for. This was a great point that you brought up that I’m definitely going to think about for a little while to see if there are other structures in today’s world that are still used in similar ways.
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RE: Bob Hook
I hadn’t thought about the sheer size of the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Funerary Temple as being evidence of the religious beliefs of the Egyptians. By standing out on the dessert landscape, as a people group they were clearly proclaiming what was of most importance to them. The leaders were able to ingrain these values into their people and anyone who came by, through these structures. This is a consistent thing within cultures that have a prominent religion. It makes me think of cathedrals or mosques. By creating massive and elaborate structures that ‘wow’ the viewer, culture is shaped and values are formed. Great post! It certainly expanded my perspective on this issue! (:
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Egyptians were similar to Mesopotamians in some of their structures as they both made their rulers massive in comparison to the commoners (ex. Temple of Ramses II at Abu Simbel, Stele of Naram-Sin). The larger pharaohs essentially placed them on a similar level of authority as their deities. On the page with the Temple of Ramses, it even mentions that Ramses is deified and placed up there with the gods Amun, Ra-Horakhty, and Ptah. A lot of pieces portray the pharaohs adorned in a headdress that has references toward different gods — the Head of Senusret III shows a cobra’s head on his headdress, and the Funerary Mask of King Tutankhamun has a cobra and a vulture, which are said to represent the goddesses Wadjet and Nekhbet, respectively. The relations between Egyptians and their deities is heavily shown through all their artwork even through death as they had scrolls instructing them through their final judgement in the afterlife.
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tmbergan –
I agree that there were similarities in how Egyptian and Mesopotamian art portrayed social structures by making richer people larger and more significant than commoners. It is also very prominent how goddesses and gods are adorned in clothing and in artwork to show their representation in people’s lives. Thank you for this post!
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I feel like the reason Herodotus noticed that is because Egyptians at this time would appear to be high;y religious because religion was such a huge part of everyday life. Almost every piece of art is, in some way connected to the Gods. Artwork of the kings is in honor of the Gods, as the kings were considered to be a representation of the gods, themselves. As well, the heavy influence the afterlife held is another sign of the effect of religion and how it is represented in daily life. Temples in honor of the gods, burial shrines, burial masks, and gifts, are all part of the relationship between man and gods. Even something as benign as a perfume bottle is representative of eternal life. I feel that it would be difficult to define this evidence because it is so insidious in daily Egyptian life, that it would be difficult to separate it. Life is about the Gods and the afterlife. So, it is easy to follow that art would represent that with so many tombs, temples, and statues to show that relationship.
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The Palette of King Narmer alone has multiple religious representations. The king’s sandals being held shows they are on holy ground, the falcon represents the god Horus, and the head of the cow represents the goddess Hathor. It was common for this sort of representation to occur in Egyptian art. When exploring the wings, I attempted to find a piece that had little to do with any sort of spiritual connection, even Ti Watching a Hippopotamus hunt was tied to the gods, hippos representing the god of chaos, & those hunts often being ritual hunts. It doesn’t seem like their focus ever waivered from the spiritual.
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Lacey –
<br>I agree that there seemed to be many various rituals, and it seems as if the Egyptians didn’t do anything without it having a spiritual purpose. Such an act as taking their sandals off while on holy ground is a good example of this. And even the hippopotamus hunt that you mention! I can only imagine the time and preparation that goes into this hunt. -
RE: Lacey Miller
I really enjoy the palette of King Narmer– it has so much symbolism and care put into it, even as a utilitarian art piece (makeup palette). Much like you said, they never really wavered from the spiritual. I attempted to do something similar, and found that the bust of Nefertiti is one of the few that does not have extensively rich spiritual ties.
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You can tell from the art that the Egyptians were religious and ritualistic people, even with the architecture of the temples. For example, the funerary temple of Hatshepsut where the different courts and shrines are dedicated to various gods. Or even the temple of Amun at Karnak, where there was a statue of Amun that was washed and clothed every day and even received two meals. These rituals show how dedicated the Egyptians were to their gods and worshipping them. And the fact that there were shrines and courts, dedicated as holy places, for the purpose of worshiping the gods.
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You can also see how the Egyptians believed that the gods guided them throughout life in various steles, or storyboards. Such as in the books of the dead, where the various gods are receiving the dead in the afterlife. Even the pharaoh, with the decorations that s/he used to symbolize the gods participation in their reign. For example, looking at the funerary mask of Tutankhamun, he has the vulture and cobra on his forehead that represents two gods. This symbolizes a unified Egypt, but I would think that it also symbolizes the guidance that he received as they are placed on his forehead.
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What I find the most interesting and probably most divergent is Ramses II. While most other artifacts and architecture dedicated place and time to the gods, to honor them and ask for their guidance throughout life. Ramses II believed that he was one of the gods, equal to them. This temple that he built shows this, where his statues are larger than the gods.
<br>While there seems to be a balance between humans and gods, a separation where the gods are all powerful and humans need their guidance, Ramses II defied this balance with his ego. Overall, there seemed to be a delicate dedication of time from humans to worship the gods through rituals. -
Within all the art they create, there is some hint of a deity somewhere and heavy focus on the afterlife. We can see this in the Book of the Dead, where various deities are depicted, and it shows their relationship to man, and how much man relies on the deities mercy and power. This is also shown in the many funerary complexes/temples/buildings erected by the Egyptians. Yes, they are meant for the kings and high ranking people, but they are also clearly indicated to be respecting of their gods and the afterlife. Even in Ramses II temple, where multiple images of Ramses are depicted, the god Ra-Horakhty reins above the depictions, showing that even when a deified Ramses is prominent, the god is of higher priority and worship.
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RE: ckocsis
The Egyptians fixation with death to me ultimately is a testament to how dedicated to the gods they were, this focus on the afterlife wasn’t feared at all, but represented and respected. Like you said, they saw it as a time to meet the gods, and we don’t see much fear surrounding it, aside from the book of the dead displaying the weighing of a heart. It just goes to show that above all, the gods decide their fates. -
In most of the pieces of Egyptian art we have seen, there are nods to religious symbolism in a large number of ways, with color and animal symbolism being the most obvious examples. Many carvings and sculptures feature animals that represent a specific Egyptian god, such as Horus appearing as a falcon in the statue of Khafre and the makeup palette of king Narmer. Some sculptures such as the statue of Khafre are even made of specific materials in order to evoke the colors of the gods under specific conditions, such as when being struck by sunlight. Even their written language is heavily influenced by religion, with the hieroglyphics featuring shapes of religiously significant animals and the symbols of various gods. In addition to this, there is abundant evidence as to the cultural fixation on the afterlife and how much it influenced the lives of Egyptian citizens. More Egyptian art was dedicated to immortalizing the dead than was made of the living.
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The Ancient Greek historian Herodotus wrote that the Egyptians were the most religious people he had ever come across. How is the relationship between man (and women) and the gods evident in the art that they create?
While Looking at all the Egyptian art pieces provided to me, I realized that Herodotus was right to point out the Egyptians were incredibly religious. Almost every piece I’ve seen is related to the Egyptian gods and their beliefs. For example, if you look at the book of the dead, you can see that it includes the god Anubis, the scribe of the underworld, the god Osiris, and the man Hunefer going through a trial of worthiness. Who other then man would have done these art pieces and the only reasons I can think of why would be to worship, respect, and honor there relationship with the gods.
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Hey Aalieyah,
I agree that the Egyptians were a very religious people. It as if the art was created for the gods and out of respect and worship for them, rather than creating them for personal enjoyment / everyday use (like a vase or pot with depictions of hunting on them, with symbolism of the Nile and life). I think that these people lived to worship and respect their gods, and believed it was necessary to show in their actions and creations.
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In the proto-dynastic artwork, Gods were shown around the depictions of ruler-ship sharing with them divine authority. Of course chimeric figures like the Sphinx served as protectors. If you dive into Egyptian mythology, you can see there is a God for just about every aspect of nature and life, and depictions of these Gods show up on wall-carvings, pots, etc. This shows the way that the Egyptians viewed the forces of the world around them as animated and alive and controlled by spiritual forces. This in shaped the way that Egyptians behaved, leading to elaborate ritual and especially grandiose tombs.
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One of the most remarkable traits of Ancient Egyptian culture is the religion. Even in the modern day people are fascinated with Egyptian gods and the culture around them. This devotion to religion is prevalent especially in art, be it writing, carving, ceramics, architecture, or burial ceremonies. These pieces of art act as a medium through which the people of this civilization express their beliefs. In many of these pieces, the gods themselves are represented, and are often named in written text as well, when heiroglyphics are translatable. The Palette of King Narmer is an excellent example, as though the piece is about Narmer, several gods are included. This is also greatly expressed in the funerary practices of leaders and respected members of society, through mummification and the architecture of the tombs themselves. These tombs, as well as the ceramics that contain organs and other valuables are designed for the purpose of guiding the dead to the afterlife, with many of the ceramics and writings depicting a large array of gods. These pieces of art provide a valuable insight into the relationship people had with their religion and the specific ways in which they practiced their beliefs.
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The gods of the Egyptians were a facet of every part of their lives. This is clearly shown in The Judgement of Hunefer before Osiris. In the art piece, Hunefer can be seen being judged by a lot of the Egyptian deities. The gods of Anubis, Horus, Osiris, and other can be seen. Each deity held a different responsibility in the judgement and passage of the deceased to the underworld. Because the Egyptian felt that they would be judged after death, they felt that their deities needed to be glorified in art.
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Hi Dean, you are correct in saying how there were Egyptian gods in every aspect of the Egyptian people’s life. The idea that every aspect of ones life would have different deities looming over it makes me wonder if these people felt constantly judged and under watch. Especially since all bad things were blamed on angering the gods. Glorifying the gods in art and worship does make sense though if they felt these gods would choose their afterlife situation.
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Egypt had many relations with their gods. In their art they showed man (and woman) worshiping their gods. Some of the art is gift giving and making their god the highest rank. Other art pieces show that the Egyptian men would build shrines and temples around the sacred place where the gods were seen. Also the artwork shows that the gods were seen in their human form most of the time. The human form of the gods were the only form that they saw them occasionally. And then there is Anubis, the god that watches over the dead. Anubis he was depicted as human body with a jackal head. Anubis was drawn in many arts to watch over the dying people. Anubis was mostly depicted in emperor’s art work. I know I am a bit late to this, it has been a hard time getting in the right mind to write.
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Egyptians seemed to have unlocked a chasm of knowledge and mystery. For being a culture that was made so long ago they seem to have channels of knowledge that are god like. They have made symbols and art that represent different deities. Even in their buildings and art represents some higher power. They seem to constantly look up and communicate with these beings and then record their beliefs and interactions. Their ability to look past their “primitive’ life and understand the relationship between birth, life, death and afterlife is astonishing. In fact their art somewhat commits them to being advanced and having some sort of other world information.
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Jess,
I agree! There seems to a huge surge in knowledge or beliefs when it comes to the Egyptians. I have often wondered how and why that seems to have happened. It is difficult for me to see them as a ‘primitive’ culture because of their beliefs and understanding of such things as well as being able to integrate those things into everyday life is simply nothing short of amazing. -
I’m not sure they had any real idea of what happens after death, but their religion did motivate and control a large enough civilization to build some impressive stuff. Their adherence to tradition may have held them back though, too much conservatism is as detrimental to stable growth as too much liberalism. They were fairly smart, and the fact scribes were an upper class shows that rulers appreciated intelligence. Have you seen the Aeoliphile? It’s an early steam engine that was used in ancient Egypt to wow temple-goers by powering automatic doors. No need for trains when you still use slaves.
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Re: mbsimington
Reading through your response it was easy to figure out what was the relationship between the gods and the people. I found it knowledgeable how you pointed out each different way that the Egyptians showed a relationship with their gods. I also like how you connected our modern fascination with the Egyptian culture of the past. Very well done.
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The Egyptians are very knowledgeable individuals who worships their gods by building giant temples and creating various works of art. We can see through their very intricate temples/building the dedication they believed they needed to have in order to worship these gods (pharaohs). To honor the higher powers was an important part of Egyptian culture. The believed in the after life and often buried loved ones with personal items so they could have in the after life. In the since of man and woman relationship, both are seen in art to look up and worship the gods of their religion. Man is shown to be higher than the woman often. Women are usually seen in Egyptian art below the men showing that men are above women.
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Egyptians used the same poses and symbols over and over the course of thousands of years. Their rituals and behavior ensured that the gods would continue to provide them with a predictable life. This belief system was tied into the regular flooding of the Nile river. There must have been years that the flooding wasn’t adequate, and then the ruler is blamed for the misfortune of all of his subjects.
Egyptian rulers needed to be seen as tightly tied to the gods, worshiping and doing their bidding — not just their own. Public opinion needed to be in their favor, so they needed to appear devout and on the side of keeping everything working. Much Egyptian art depicts rulers making offerings and performing rituals to the gods. They also built impressive temples and tombs, ones that needed to be looked up at, even from far away, to remind their people of the connection between King and god.
Egyptians had an obsessive need for belief in permanence, which makes sense if you live between a flooding cycle and shifting sands that threaten to engulf everything you’ve built. Their tombs at Beni Hasan look like homes for the dead. They are buried with their possessions, and provisions for a permanent afterlife. Whole lives were dedicated to their afterlife.
Egyptians depicted foods, slaves, and tools on their tomb walls that the dead would use in the afterlife. They created a bridge between humans and their gods using representative symbols — which seems like the bridge between our head and our hand when bringing ideas into the physical world. The Egyptians needed to bring divine ideas into physical reality to have a functioning society, and it makes sense the bridge would go both ways — taking what lives in our world into the next.
It was very interesting to see the chapel doorway that was carved with the life story of Tahshepsis, which said that his king let him kiss the foot instead of kissing the ground. This showed how direct contact with the king was close to direct contact with a god, and not available to everyone.
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I totally agree with you Miranda! Without the hieroglyphs we would of never understood what it was they were meaning to communicate. I really enjoyed your examples and post I thought it might of been a little short, maybe just go into detail more. Overall I thought you were spot on on what you posted.
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