EGYPTIAN RELIGION. EARLY BELIEF IN SPIRITS, FETISHES, COMPANIES OF GODS.
THE WORD FOR GOD AND “GOD.” LIST OF GODS. POLYTHEISM. ONENESS OF GOD.
LEGENDS OF THE GODS. OSIRIS AND THE RESURRECTION. THE JUDGMENT. THE OTHER
WORLD. DOCTRINE OF RETRIBUTION. AMULETS.
=Predynastic Religion.=—From the evidence derived from a number of
Predynastic graves it is perfectly clear that the Predynastic Egyptians
believed in a future life; for otherwise they never would have buried
with the dead food and flint weapons, etc., for the chase in the Other
World. Whether they believed that the future life would be eternal cannot
be said; but they certainly hoped that it would resemble the life on this
earth.
=Dynastic.=—The religion of the ancient Egyptians was of African origin,
and in the earliest times had much in common with that of many of the
peoples and tribes who live in Equatorial Africa at the present day.
Earth, air, sea and sky were believed to be filled with spirits, some
of whom were occupied in carrying on the works of nature, and others
in aiding or injuring man upon earth. Every object, both animate and
inanimate, was inhabited by a spirit, which could assume any form it
pleased, and occupy the body of any man, woman, quadruped, bird, fish,
insect, reptile, tree, etc. The incarnations of certain of these spirits
became gods at a very early period, _e.g._, the hippopotamus,[19]
crocodile, lion, bull, ram, dog-headed ape, dog, wolf, jackal, ichneumon,
hawk, vulture, ibis, swallow, dove, and heron, certain kinds of snakes,
uraeus, frog, beetle, grasshopper, mantis, and several kinds of fish.
All the above were regarded as powers of good from the earliest to the
latest times. On the other hand, certain animals, _e.g._, gazelle, the
animal which is the symbol of Set, 𓃩, or 𓃫, the hyaena, the lynx, the
scorpion, the turtle, were incarnations of powers of evil. The heavenly
bodies were regarded as powers of good, probably, in the earliest times;
but the scorching heat of the sun, lightning, hurricanes, storms, flood,
darkness, mist and fog were regarded as manifestations of spirits hostile
to man.
In addition, the primitive Egyptians fashioned symbols of spirits, much
in the same way as the native of Central Africa makes “fetishes.”[20]
All these they worshipped because they admired some quality or attribute
in them, or because they feared them; and the religion of the earliest
period consisted of the performance of rites and ceremonies which had for
their object the propitiation of them. Men gave gifts to the incarnations
of the spirits to persuade them to withhold the evils which they might
inflict upon them, and to protect them from every calamity; moreover,
they appealed to them as possessing the same feelings and passions as
human beings. The dead were assumed to enjoy a renewed existence in
the Other World, probably with benevolent spirits; it is quite certain
that this belief was current among the primitive Egyptians, at least
among those who lived during the latter half of the Neolithic Period.
Every district and every large city or town had its own spirit or object
of worship, and most of the gods of Egypt of the Dynastic Period were
selected from them; often, no doubt, their names were changed, and their
attributes added to.
At a very early period an attempt was made to group the gods into
families containing husband, wife, and son; these are usually called
=triads=, examples of which are: Ȧmen-Rā, Mut and Khensu at Thebes;
Ba-neb-Ṭeṭ, Ḥāt-meḥit and Ḥeru-pa-kharṭ at Mendes; Ptaḥ, Sekhet and
I-em-ḥetep at Memphis. Another attempt to group the gods resulted in the
=Ennead= or =Company= of nine or more gods.
[Illustration: Ȧmen-Rā. Ȧmsu or Menu. Ȧmset. Anubis. Ȧsȧr (Osiris). Ȧsȧr
(Osiris).
Ȧsȧr-Ḥāp (Serapis). Ȧtmu. Bennu. Bes. Ḥāpi (Nile-god).
Ḥāpi. Horus. Ḥeru-pa-kharṭ (Harpokrates). Kheperȧ. Khnemu. Khensu.
Menthu-Rā. Nefer-Tem. Ptaḥ. Ptaḥ-Seker. Qebḥsennuf.
Rā-Ḥeru-Khu (Rā-Harmakhis). Reshpu. Reshpu. Seb (Ḳeb). Sebek.
Seker. Set. Ṭeṭ. Teḥuti (Thoth). Ṭuamutef.
Ȧnit. Ānthȧt. Ānqet. Ȧst (Isis). Ḥet-Ḥeru (Hathor).
Ḥet-Ḥeru (Hathor). Ḥet-Ḥeru (Hathor). Qeṭesh. Maāt. Menḥet.
Mert. Mut. Nebt-ḥet (Nephthys). Nebt-ḥet (Nephthys). Nekhebit.
Net (Neith). Nut. Renenet. Satet. Sesheta (Sefekh-ābui).
Sekhet. Serqet. Taurt (Thoueris). Uatchit. Urt-Ḥekau.]
At Heliopolis, the On of the Bible, the priests proclaimed the existence
of three Companies of the gods. The first Company was called the “Great”
𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓉻𓏏, the second the “Little” 𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓅪𓏏, and the third had no
special title; these Companies represented the gods of heaven, earth,
and the Other World respectively. When all three companies were invoked
they were represented thus: 𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹𓊹. The gods of
the Great Company were: Temu, Shu, Tefnut, Seb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Set,
Nephthys; Khenti-Ȧmenti, Rā, Horus, and Uatchit were sometimes added. The
gods of the Little Company were: Rā, Ȧm-Ȧnnu, Ȧm-Āntchet, Ȧm-Ḥet-Serqet,
Ȧm-neter-ḥet, Ȧm-ḥetch-paār, Ȧm-Saḥ, Ȧm-Ṭep, Ȧm-Ḥet-ur-Rā, Ȧm-Unnu-resu,
and Ȧm-Unnu-meḥt.
The common Egyptian word for God and god is NETER 𓈖𓏏𓂋, which is
symbolized by the sign 𓊹; goddess is NETERT 𓈖𓏏𓂋𓏏𓆇; the plurals are
NETERU 𓊹𓊹𓊹 or 𓈖𓏏𓂋𓅱𓀭𓏪 “gods,” and NETERIT 𓈖𓏏𓂋𓇌𓏏𓆗𓏪 “goddesses.” The
original meaning of the word NETER is unknown, but in the Dynastic Period
it probably meant “high, exalted, sublime, divine, godlike,” etc.
The following are some of the principal gods and goddesses, and the
visitor will find an unrivalled series of figures of most of them in
bronze, wood, stone, etc., exhibited in Wall-cases 119-132 in the Third
Egyptian Room. Full descriptions will be found in the _Guide to the Third
and Fourth Egyptian Rooms_, pp. 116-168:—
ȦSȦR, Osiris, 𓁹𓊨𓀭, the man-god who rose from the dead, was
deified, and became the king of the Other World and judge of
the Dead.
ȦST, Isis, 𓊨𓏏𓆇, the sister-wife of Osiris.
SET 𓋴𓏏𓈜𓁣, the principle of Evil, and opponent of Osiris.
NEBT-ḤET, Nephthys, 𓏏𓆇𓁐, the wife of Set.
ȦNPU, Anubis, 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱, the Dog-god, or Jackal-god, son of Set.
ȦP-UAT 𓄋𓊪𓏴𓈐𓏏𓏦, the Wolf-god, a friend and companion of
Osiris.
ḤERU, Horus, 𓅃𓏤𓀭, existed in several forms, _e.g._, Horus
the Elder (Arouëris), Horus the Blind, Horus the Child
(Harpokrates), Horus, son of Osiris, Horus, son of Isis, etc.
NU 𓏍𓇯𓀭, god of the primeval watery mass out of which the world
was made.
ḤĀPI 𓎛𓂝𓊪𓏭𓈘𓈗𓀭, the Nile-god.
KHEPERȦ 𓐍𓊪𓆣𓂋𓇋𓀭, the creator of the universe whose dwelling was
Nu.
TEḤUTI, Thoth, 𓅝𓏏𓏭𓀭, who created the world and all things
in it by a word.
KHNEMU 𓎸𓅓𓅱𓀭, who assisted in carrying out the work of creation.
PTAḤ 𓊪𓏏𓎛𓀭, who assisted Khnemu in the work of creation.
RĀ 𓂋𓂝𓇳𓏤𓀭, the Sun-god.
SEB (ḲEB) 𓅬𓃀, the Earth-god.
SHU 𓆄𓅱𓀭, the god of the air.
ḤET-ḤERU, Hathor, 𓉡, a sky-goddess, who existed in seven forms.
NUT 𓏌𓏏𓇯𓁐, a sky-goddess.
TEFNUT 𓏏𓆑𓏌𓏏𓁐, a rain-goddess.
NEKHEBIT 𓇑𓏌𓏏𓁐, the great goddess of the South.
UATCHIT 𓇅𓇌𓏏𓆇𓁐, the great goddess of the North.
NET, Neith, 𓋋𓏏𓆇𓁐, the self-created goddess of Saïs, who
existed in four forms.
BAST 𓎰𓏏𓆇𓁐, the great goddess of Bubastis.
MENU, or ȦMSU 𓋉𓊾𓀭, god of virility and generation.
BES 𓃀𓋴𓁲, ⎫
ĀNQET 𓂝𓈖𓈎𓏏𓆇𓆗, ⎪
SATIT 𓄝𓏏𓏭𓆗, ⎪ gods of the Sûdân.
ṬEṬUN 𓂧𓂧𓃹𓈖𓀭, ⎪
MERUL 𓌻𓅱𓏩𓃭, or MENRUIL 𓈘𓈖𓂋𓏲𓏭𓊹. ⎭
TEMU 𓏏𓍃𓅓𓅱, the Man-god, who always appears in human form.
ḤĀP 𓎛𓐑𓊪𓀭, ⎫ The divine sons of Horus, son of Osiris,
MESTHȦ 𓐝𓊃𓍘𓇋𓀭, ⎪ who assisted their father in performing
QEBḤSENNUF 𓏁𓌣𓏪𓆑𓀭, ⎪ the ceremonies connected with the
ṬUAMUTEF 𓇼𓄿𓅐𓏏𓆑𓀭, ⎭ mummifying and burial of Osiris.
ȦMEN 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓀭, or ȦMEN-RĀ 𓇋𓏠𓈖𓂋𓂝𓇳𓏤𓀭, the great god of Thebes.
MUT 𓅐𓏏𓆇𓁐, the female counterpart of Ȧmen-Rā.
KHENSU 𓐍𓈖𓇓𓅱𓀭, the son of Ȧmen and Mut. Like Horus he had seven
forms.
IUSĀASET 𓂻𓏲𓊃𓂝𓄿𓋴𓏏𓆇𓁐, a goddess of Heliopolis.
I-EM-ḤETEP (Imouthis) 𓇍𓅓𓊵𓏏𓊪𓀭, a deified physician of Memphis.
SEKER 𓊃𓎡𓂋𓀭, god of the dead of Memphis.
NEFER-TEM 𓄤𓆑𓂋𓏏𓍃𓅓𓀭, a god of Memphis. The lotus was his symbol.
MAĀT 𓌷𓂝𓏏𓆇𓁦, goddess of wisdom, right, truth, law, order, etc.
SESHETA 𓋇𓏏𓆇𓁐, goddess of literature.
MESKHENIT 𓄠𓋴𓐍𓈖𓏏𓈜𓁐, goddess of birth.
RENENIT 𓂋𓈖𓈖𓏏𓆇𓁐, goddess of fertility, the harvest, etc.
MEḤ-URIT 𓎖𓎛𓅨𓂋𓏏, a very ancient sky-goddess.
SEKHET 𓋴𓐍𓏏𓌂𓁐, a fire-goddess, the female counterpart of Ptaḥ.
TA-TENEN 𓇾𓏤𓏏𓈇𓇑𓇑𓈖𓈖, a very ancient earth-god.
MENTHU 𓏠𓈖𓍿𓅱𓀭, an ancient war-god.
ȦTEN 𓇋𓏏𓈖𓇳, the god of the solar disk.
FOREIGN GODS AND GODDESSES.
ĀNTHȦT 𓂝𓈖𓍘𓇋𓏏𓆇𓆗, a goddess of Syrian origin.
ĀNTHRETHȦ 𓂝𓈖𓍿𓂋𓏤𓍘𓇋𓆗, goddess of the Kheta.
ĀSTHȦRETHIT 𓂝𓊃𓍿𓇋𓂋𓍿𓏏𓆇𓆗, =Ashtoreth=, a goddess of Syrian
origin.
QEṬESH 𓊧𓂧𓈚𓆗, goddess of Syrian origin.
KENT 𓎡𓈖𓏏𓆇𓆗, a goddess of Syrian origin.
ĀASITH 𓉻𓂝𓏛𓋴𓏭𓍘𓆗, a goddess of the Eastern Desert.
BĀIRTHȦ 𓃀𓂝𓏭𓂋𓏤𓍘𓇋, _i.e._, Beltis, counterpart of Ba’al Sephôn.
BĀR 𓃀𓂝𓂋𓃩, _i.e._, “=Baal=,” a Syrian war-god.
RESHPU 𓂋𓈚𓊪𓅱𓀭, god of the lightning and thunderbolt.
SUTEKH 𓇓𓅱𓏏𓐍, one of the chief gods of the Kheta and Syrians.
ANIMAL-GODS AND GODDESSES, ETC.
ḤĀP 𓐑𓊪𓃒, the =Apis Bull=.
MER-UR 𓅨𓂋𓉕𓃒, the =Mnevis Bull=.
BAKHA 𓃀𓄡, the =Bachis Bull=.
BA 𓃝, the Ram-god.
SEBEK 𓋴𓃀𓎡𓆋, the Crocodile god.
TA-URT 𓏏𓄿𓅨𓂋𓏏𓆗 ⎫
RERIT 𓂋𓂋𓏏𓏲𓄛 ⎪ The Hippopotamus-goddesses.
ȦPIT 𓇋𓊪𓏏𓄛 ⎪
SHEPUIT 𓈚𓊪𓏲𓏏𓆇 ⎭
MA-ḤES 𓌳𓎛𓎿𓋴𓁻, the Lion-god; lion-goddesses were numerous,
_e.g._, Sekhet, Pekhth, Tefnut, etc.
MAFṬET 𓌳𓄿𓆑𓂧𓏏, the Lynx-goddess.
BAST 𓎯𓏏𓆇, the Cat-goddess; the word for “cat” was _Mȧu_
𓏇𓇋𓅱𓃠.
ȦNPU 𓇋𓈖𓊪𓅱, the Dog, or Jackal-god.
APUAT 𓄋𓈐, the Wolf-god.
KHATRU 𓆼𓄿𓏏𓂋𓅱, the Ichneumon-god.
The following =birds= were sacred: The phoenix, _Bennu_ 𓃀𓈖𓏌𓅱𓅣; the
vulture, _Nerȧu_ 𓈖𓂋𓇋𓅱𓅐; the hawk, _Bȧk_ 𓃀𓇋𓎡𓅄; the hawk of gold, _Bȧk en
nub_ 𓃀𓇋𓎡𓅄𓈖𓋞𓈒𓏦; the divine hawk, _Bȧk netri_, 𓃀𓇋𓎡𓅄𓊹𓏏𓂋𓏭𓏜; the ibis,
_Habû_ 𓉔𓄿𓃀𓅱𓅝; the swallow, _Ment_ 𓏠𓈖𓏏𓅨; the goose, 𓅬, of which there
were several kinds; etc.
The following =reptiles= and =insects= were sacred: the turtle, _Āpesh_
𓂝𓊪𓈚𓆉, or _Sheta_ 𓈚𓏏𓄿𓆉; the snake, _Sa-ta_ 𓅭𓇾𓏤𓈇; the scorpion, _Serk_
𓋴𓂋𓎡; the _Āpshait_ beetle, 𓂝𓊪𓆷𓄿𓇌𓆤; the “praying mantis”, _Ābit_
𓍋𓃀𓇋𓇋𓏏𓅬; the grasshopper, _Saneḥemu_, 𓅭𓈖𓈞𓅓𓅱𓆧; _Kheprerȧ_ the beetle,
_Scarabaeus sacer_, 𓆣𓂋𓂋𓇋𓅬.
The following =fish= were sacred: The _Ȧbṭu_ 𓋁𓃀𓂧𓅱𓆟; the _Ȧnt_ 𓇋𓆛𓈖𓏏𓆟,
which announced the rise of the Nile; the _Āḥa_ 𓂚𓄿𓆟; the _Āṭ_ 𓂝𓂧𓆟;
the _Utu_ 𓎘𓅱𓆟; the _Meḥit_ 𓎖𓎛𓇌𓏏𓆟; the _Nār_ 𓈖𓂝𓂋𓆟; etc. Classical
writers mention the Oxyrhynchus, the Phagrus, the Latus, the Lepidotus,
the Silurus, the Maeotes, etc., but authorities differ in their
identifications.
=Number of the gods.=—As every district, city, town, and village
possessed a god, with a female counterpart and a son, and also a being
of evil, or devil, to say nothing of the creatures who, in modern times,
would be called vaguely “spirits,” or “fairies,” it follows that the
“gods” of the Egyptians must have been very numerous. The names of a
great many have been lost, but about 200 gods are mentioned in the
Pyramid Texts, about 480 in the Theban Recension of the Book of the Dead,
and about 1,200 in the various works which deal with the Other World; a
total of about 2,200 names has been noted. The Egyptians tried to reduce
the large number of their gods by declaring that their gods were merely
_forms_ of the great Sun-god Rā, who was said to have “created the names
of his members, which became the gods who are in the following of Rā”
(Book of the Dead, xvii, 11). The Egyptian system of =Polytheism= (not
Pantheism) appears to have been well suited to the early conditions of
the country, but several facts make it certain that attempts were made by
the priests to give their religion a distinctly monotheistic character.
The results of their endeavours in this respect find expression in many
texts. Under the Ancient Empire we read in the Pyramid Texts of a God who
was the lord of heaven, who gave life to the dead, and who was entirely
different in every way from the “gods.” In Moral Precepts we have such
phrases as: “The things which God doeth cannot be known.” “The eating of
bread is according to the plan of God,” _i.e._, a man’s food comes to him
through the Providence of God. “Labour in the field which God hath given
thee.” “God loveth obedience and hateth disobedience.” “Verily a good son
is the gift of God.” “God is the righteous judge.”[21] “Wrong not thy
mother lest she lift up her hands to God, and He hear her complaints
(and punish thee).” “The multiplying of words is an abomination to the
sanctuary of God.” And the official Paḥeri says in his Biography (line
42): “I never told lies to another man, for I knew that God dwelt among
men, and I recognised Him”:—
𓂜𓆓𓂧𓇋𓎼𓂋𓍅𓅪𓏥𓂋𓎡𓇌𓀀𓂋𓐍𓏛𓎡𓅱𓀀𓊹𓏤𓇋𓏶𓏭𓂋𓍿𓀀𓁐𓏪𓋷𓄿𓀁𓇋𓇓𓅱
In funerary texts the god referred to may possibly be Osiris, god and
judge of the dead, but in the Moral Precepts quoted above this is
impossible, and it follows that the Egyptians believed in a God Who was
wholly apart from the “Companies of Gods,” and in His wise, inscrutable,
and kindly Providence.
The doctrine of =Oneness=, or =Unity=, we find in connection with the
great God who created the universe and all that is in it, by whatsoever
name he be called, Rā, or Tem, or Kheperȧ, or Ptaḥ, or Khnemu, or
Ȧten. Thus Rā is the “Lord of heaven, lord of earth, maker of beings
celestial, and of beings terrestrial, the One God, who came into being
in primeval time, maker of the world, creator of men, maker of the sky,
creator of the Nile, fashioner of whatsoever is in the waters, and
creator of their life, maker of mountains, creator of men, and women, and
beasts, and cattle, and the heavens and the earth” (Book of the Dead,