Chapter 3.3 Egyptian Religion Death is a Sacred thing to Egyptians, The dead body is prepared for months in order to ready it for the Afterlife, they believe their prayers help the dead reach the afterlife quicker

I. Egyptian Gods and Goddesses Religion was an important part of daily life They believed gods and goddesses controlled the workings of nature and life Temples were built for gods and daily offerings were given to please the gods

A. Regional Differences Different regions worshiped different gods and portrayed life differently Some had human bodies with animal heads and human heads with animal bodies

B. Important Gods The chief god of ancient Egypt was Amon-Re He provided protection, they believed he was born each morning with the sun and died each night with Sun going down, this is why the desert was called the home of the dead, the sun set over the desert

Other Gods Osiris was the god of the living and dead Isis was Osiris wife, she was the protector of children Horus was their son and he was the sky god Osiris Horus

II. Belief in Afterlife Many believed in life after death They believed people were lifted to the afterlife by heavenly boats If they pleased the gods during their life they joined the gods in luxury The living thought the dead couldn’t survive without their possessions

Preparing the dead Before pyramids most were buried in shallow pits covered with dirt and sand The warm climate dried out the body which created a mummy effect and it preserved the body for a long time Mummy remains were well cared for and preserved with natural salts which allowed the soul to return to its body for nourishment Offerings were given to the dead (like we visit cemetery)

III. The Pharaoh’s Tomb Pharaoh’s tombs were built as soon as they became the leader. It was a process that was taken very seriously

A. The Pyramids These huge buildings were built with 4 sloping triangles and were originally built as burial places for Pharaoh’s and their families

B. The building process Organization was a must The pyramids were made up of over 2 million stones which weighed at times up to 5000 pounds How did they move these?? Very carefully and that is why sometimes it took nearly 20 years to complete a pyramid

C. Teamwork To get blocks in place they would work together They used sleds, drags, rollers, levers etc… to move such large stones They pushed, pulled blocks up ramps However many accidents happened on site People were crushed and often fell from high levels of pyramids Yet it was an honorable death since it was being made for the Pharaoh.