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Ancient Egyptian Religion

They believed in an afterlife, and believed that people enjoyed many of the same activities in their afterlife as they did in their current life. They prepared for their afterlife by filling their tombs with small and large statues of friends and family, and with other items they might need to keep them company and to help them have a good time in their afterlife!

Animals were very important to the ancient Egyptians. Unlike other ancient cultures, whose gods looked somewhat like people, most ancient Egyptian gods had animal heads. Cats, especially, were held in high esteem. The ancient Egyptians believed that cats had magical powers. They believed cats protected their home and children from danger, and helped their crops to grow.

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Priests

The Daily Rite: One of the most important jobs of the priests was the Daily Rite. In the capital, and in every temple along the Nile, the Daily Rite was performed. Here’s how it worked: There was a door into the shrine where the statue of the god was displayed. At night, the door was closed and a clay seal was fixed to the door. In the morning, accompanied by assistant priests and women singers, the clay seal was broken and the door was opened. The main priest removed the statue from the shrine and offered it food, just as a child would pretend to feed a doll. They robed it in royal clothes, and rouged its cheeks. The statue was replaced in the shrine. The door to the shrine was sealed again and everyone left the room walking backwards, sweeping a wide palm leaf over the floor, to remove any footprints they might have made on the sandy floor.

Funerals: The priests were responsible for the process of getting bodies ready to move on to the afterlife. They conducted the burial ceremonies and the procession to the tomb. At the tomb, the priests were also responsible for the opening of the mouth ceremony. This is the ceremony that the ancient Egyptians believed would restore the deceased ability to eat and drink in the afterlife.

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GODS, MYTHS AND THE AFTERLIFE

Most people in ancient Egypt were afraid of one particular god - the god Ammut (also spelled Ammit.) Ammut was the god with the crocodile head. The ancient Egyptians believed if you did something really bad during your lifetime that the god Ammut might magically appear and eat you. With her crocodile head, she had the teeth to do so.

The god Ammut was always on hand after you died, in case she was needed. The ancient Egyptians believed that to enter your afterlife, your heart had to be light. You gained a light heart by doing many good deeds during your lifetime. After you died, on your way to your afterlife, you had to travel through the Hall of Maat. The god Anubis weighed your heart. The god Thoth (pictured below) recorded the findings. And the god Ammut stood by. If your heart was as light as a feather, you passed Maat's test, and entered your afterlife. But, if your heart was heavy, Ammut would move swiftly and gobble you up.

Everyone wanted to enter their afterlife. So nearly everyone in ancient Egypt did many good deeds during their lifetime. Nobody wanted to be eaten by the dreaded god, Ammut, whose body was a mix of lion and hippo, and whose head was that of a crocodile, the three most dangerous man-eating animals in ancient Egypt.

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Ammit and the Weighing of the Heart Ceremony

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Watch Discovery Ed Videos “Osiris and Isis” and “The Next Life”�

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Once you complete your notes sheet and the teacher has given you a check:

Just for fun - CLICK THE LINK https://www.childrensuniversity.manchester.ac.uk/learning-activities/history/ancient-egypt/making-a-mummy/

(It’s a Mummy Maker)

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