Gleason 1

Esther Gleason
Mark B. Doty
HUM 151

The Natural Environments Influence on Spiritual Life and Religious Beliefs in Egypt
Spiritual life and religious beliefs were heavily influence by nature in Egypt.
Nature played a role in their gods, government, cosmology, mythology, and their
daily lives. They saw everything that happened in nature to be related to the gods.
They were inspired by everything in nature, animals, landscapes, and the
atmosphere.
There are over 2000 deities in the Egyptian Pantheon. Many of them have
multiple powers. Also, a lot of them played protective roles in the lives of the
Egyptians. They were also often had a natural influence.
Their main god was Amon, the sun god, and the creator of Heaven and Earth.
He was known by many names. Each of his names showed a different aspect of his
power. Amon meant the giber of the breath of life. Atum meant the setting sun. Aten
meant the disk of the sun. Many of the gods had multiple names. He was considered
the most important of all the other deities in the Egyptian pantheon. They viewed the
sun rising and setting everyday as the rebirth of Amon. They thought that this
represented good things winning over bad. They viewed the good to be day, light,
purity, goodness, and life to be good. They saw the bad as night, darkness,
ignorance, evil, and death. This makes sense because with all of the good things

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they felt as though they had control and knowledge of it. With the bad they had a
fear of the unknown, for example death and what comes next, and in the darkness
they cannot see what is going on or what is there. The other deity that was
extremely important to Egyptians was Osiris. Osiris was associated with the Nile
River, and is the god of the underworld and the dead.
The idea of resurrection is also very key in the Egyptian belief system. The
myth of Osiris has a lot off the idea of resurrection in it. In the myth, Osiris was killed
by his brother, Set. Set is the god of storms and violence. Set chopped up Osiris and
threw him in the Nile. But Osiriss wife Isis gathered up his pieces and brought him
back to life. Isis is the queen of the heaven, and goddess of fertility. Isis had a
central role in the goddesses. Osiris and Isis had a son Horus who avenged his
father by killing Set and becoming the ruler of Egypt. Another example of
resurrection in Egyptian belief is the suns daily rise and set. They believed that it
was the rebirth of their sun god. They perceived this as the promise of birth and
death.
Their cosmology and mythology was heavily influenced by the natural
environment. Their creation story described the Earth as a flat plate floating on the
waters of the underworld. In the beginning of their creation story it says that the
Niles primordial water made a mound of silt. From that mound of silt came the sun
god, Amon. From Amon came all the other gods. They believed that all life comes
from one and returns to one. When Osiris died he returned to Amon, since Amon
was the start of all of the gods. Someday it will all return back to Amon according to
their mythology.

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Egypt was a theocracy. They were governed by god. Political power was
linked with the gods and spiritual power. They believed that the power from the gods
flowed through their monarchs. They represented the gods. The gods and the rulers
were very closely associated. The pharaoh ruled in the name of Amon, he was also
associated with Horus. Horus is the god of the sky, and son of Isis and Osiris. They
say that when the pharaoh died he would join with the sun to govern over Egypt
forever.
Rulers and gods were often shown in art with the physical features of
powerful animals. For example Horus and Amon are associated with falcons.
Another example would be the great sphinx. The head of the sphinx is of the Old
Kingdom pharaoh Khafre, and the body is of a lion. Many gods were only known in
their animal form.
They had a lot of cycles that was a part of their daily lives. The 365 inundation
of the Nile was very important in Egyptian life. This also made the land fertile so they
could farm it. This cycle became the basis of the 365 day solar calendar. Another
example is the suns daily cycle. It was also the primary source of their sense of
order. They also saw animals as more than just something to eat. They saw them
like angels. When a sacred animal died they mourned it.
Overall, the Egyptian spiritual life and religious belief was influenced by nature
and everything it in many ways. Such as, gods, government, cosmology, mythology,
and their daily lives.

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Works Cited
"Carnegie Museum of Natural History: Life in Ancient Egypt." Carnegie Museum of
Natural History: Life in Ancient Egypt. Carnegie Museum of Natural History. Web. 22 Oct.
2014.

Gates, Larry. "Egyptian Nature Mysticism." Egyptian Nature Mysticism.

Hummingbirlworld.net, 1 Jan. 1998. Web. 22 Oct. 2014.

Fiero, Gloria. "Africa: Gods, Rulers, and the Social Order." The Humanistic Tradition.
6th ed. Vol. 1. New York City: McGraw-Hill. 188. Print.