The sources for studying the mythology of Ancient Egypt are characterized by incomplete and unsystematic presentation. The nature and origin of many myths are reconstructed on the basis of later texts. The main monuments that reflected the mythological ideas of the Egyptians are various religious texts: hymns and prayers to the gods, records of funeral rites on the walls of tombs. The most significant of them are the “Pyramid Texts” - the oldest texts of funeral royal rituals, carved on the walls of the interior of the pyramids of the pharaohs of the V and VI dynasties of the Old Kingdom (XXVI - XXIII centuries BC); “Texts of sarcophagi”, preserved on sarcophagi from the Middle Kingdom era (XXI – XVIII centuries BC), “Book of the Dead” - compiled from the period of the New Kingdom to the end of Egyptian history.
Egyptian mythology began to take shape in the 6th – 4th millennium BC. e., long before the emergence of class society. Each region (nome) develops its own pantheon and cult of gods, embodied in heavenly bodies, stones, trees, birds, snakes, etc.
The significance of Egyptian myths is invaluable; they provide valuable material for the comparative study of religious ideas in Ancient East, and for the study of the ideology of the Greco-Roman world, and for the history of the emergence and development of Christianity.
Cosmogonic myths
Judging by archaeological data, in the most ancient period Egyptian history There were no cosmic gods yet, to whom the creation of the world was attributed. Scholars believe that the first version of this myth arose shortly before the unification of Egypt. According to this version, the sun was born from the union of earth and sky. This personification is undoubtedly older than the cosmogonic ideas of the priests from major religious centers. As usual, from already existing myth did not refuse, and the images of Geb (god of the earth) and Nut (goddess of the sky) as the parents of the sun god Ra are preserved in religion throughout ancient history. Every morning Nut gives birth to the sun and every evening hides it in her womb for the night.
Theological systems that proposed a different version of the creation of the world probably arose at the same time in several major cult centers: Heliopolis, Hermopolis and Memphis. Each of these centers declared its main god to be the creator of the world, who was, in turn, the father of other gods who united around him.
Common to everyone cosmogonic concepts was the idea that the creation of the world was preceded by the chaos of water immersed in eternal darkness. The beginning of the exit from chaos was associated with the emergence of light, the embodiment of which was the sun. The idea of an expanse of water, from which a small hill appears at first, is closely related to Egyptian realities: it almost exactly corresponds to the annual flood of the Nile, the muddy waters of which covered the entire valley, and then, receding, gradually opened up the land, ready for plowing. In this sense, the act of creating the world was repeated annually.
Egyptian myths about the beginning of the world do not represent a single, coherent story. Often the same mythological events are depicted in different ways, and the gods appear in them in different guises. It is curious that with many cosmogonic plots explaining the creation of the world, extremely little space is devoted to the creation of man. It seemed to the ancient Egyptians that the gods created the world for people. In the written literary heritage of Egypt there are very few direct indications of the creation of the human race; such indications are an exception. Basically, the Egyptians limited themselves to the belief that a person owes his existence to the gods, who expect gratitude from him for this, understood very simply: a person must worship the gods, build and maintain temples, and regularly make sacrifices.
The priests of Heliopolis created their own version of the origin of the world, declaring him the creator of the sun god Ra, identified with other gods - the creators Atum and Khepri (“Atum” means “Perfect”, the name “Khepri” can be translated as “The One who arises” or “The One who who brings it into existence"). Atum was usually depicted in the form of a man, Khepri in the form of a scarab, which means that his cult dates back to the time when the gods were given the form of animals. It is curious that Khepri never had her own place of worship. Like an avatar rising sun, he was identical to Atum - the setting sun and Ra - the shining day. The appearance of a scarab given to it was associated with the belief that this beetle is capable of reproducing on its own, hence its divine creative power. And the sight of a scarab pushing its ball suggested to the Egyptians the image of a god rolling the sun across the sky.
The myth of the creation of the world by Atum, Ra and Khepri is recorded in the Pyramid Texts, and by the time its text was first carved in stone, it had probably been around for a long time and was widely known.
According to the Pyramid Texts, Ra - Atum - Khepri created himself, emerging from chaos called Nun. Nun, or the Prime Ocean, was usually depicted as an immense primordial expanse of water. Atum, emerging from it, did not find a place where he could stay. That's why he created Ben-ben Hill in the first place. Standing on this island of solid soil, Ra-Atum-Khepri began to create other cosmic gods. Since he was alone, he had to give birth to the first pair of gods himself. From the union of this first couple other gods arose, thus, according to the Heliopolitan myth, the earth and the deities that ruled it appeared. In the ongoing act of creation, from the first pair of gods - Shu (Air) and Tefnut (Moisture) - Geb (Earth) and Nut (Sky) were born. They in turn gave birth to two gods and two goddesses: Osiris, Set, Isis and Nephthys. This is how the Great Nine of Gods arose - the Heliopolis Ennead.
This version of the creation of the world was not the only one in Egyptian mythology. According to one legend, the creator of people was, for example, a potter - the god Khnum, who appeared in the guise of a ram - who sculpted them from clay.
The theologians of Memphis, the largest political and religious center of Ancient Egypt, one of its capitals, included in their myth about the creation of the world many gods belonging to different religious centers, and subordinated them to Ptah as the creator of everything. The Memphis version of cosmogony, compared to the Heliopolitan one, is much more abstract: the world and the gods were created not through a physical act - as in the process of creation by Atum - but exclusively through thought and word.
Sometimes the firmament was represented in the form of a cow with a body covered with stars, but there were also ideas according to which the sky is a water surface, the heavenly Nile, along which the sun flows around the earth during the day. There is also the Nile underground, along which the sun, having descended beyond the horizon, floats at night. The Nile, flowing through the earth, was personified in the image of the god Hapi, who contributed to the harvest with his beneficial floods. The Nile itself was also inhabited by good and evil deities in the form of animals: crocodiles, hippopotamuses, frogs, scorpions, snakes, etc. The fertility of the fields was controlled by the goddess - the mistress of bins and barns, Renenutet, revered in the form of a snake that appears on the field during the harvest, ensuring the thoroughness of harvesting. The grape harvest depended on the vine god Shai.
Myths of the mortuary cult
Ideas about afterlife as a direct continuation of the earthly, but only in the grave. Her the necessary conditions– preserving the body of the deceased (hence the custom of mummifying corpses), providing housing for him (tomb), food (mortuary gifts and sacrifices brought by the living). Later, ideas arise that the dead (i.e., their ba, soul) go out into the sunlight during the day, fly up to heaven to the gods, and wander through the underworld (duat). The essence of man was thought of in the inextricable unity of his body, souls (there were believed to be several of them: ka, ba; the Russian word “soul,” however, is not an exact correspondence to the Egyptian concept), name, shadow. A soul wandering through the underworld is in wait for all sorts of monsters, from which you can escape with the help of special spells and prayers. Osiris, together with other gods, administers the afterlife judgment over the deceased (the 125th chapter of the “Book of the Dead” is specially dedicated to him). In the face of Osiris, psychostasia occurs: the weighing of the heart of the deceased on scales balanced by truth (the image of the goddess Maat or her symbols). The sinner was devoured by the terrible monster Amt (a lion with the head of a crocodile), the righteous man came to life for a happy life in the fields of Iaru. Only those who were submissive and patient in earthly life could be acquitted at the trial of Osiris, those who did not steal, did not encroach on temple property, did not rebel, did not speak evil against the king, etc., and also “ pure in heart“ (“I am clean, clean, clean,” the deceased claims in court).
Agricultural myths
The third main cycle of myths of Ancient Egypt is associated with Osiris. The cult of Osiris is associated with the spread of agriculture in Egypt. He is the god of the productive forces of nature (in the Book of the Dead he is called grain, in the Pyramid Texts - the god of the vine), withering and resurrecting vegetation. So, sowing was considered the funeral of the grain - Osiris, the emergence of shoots was perceived as his rebirth, and the cutting of ears during the harvest was perceived as the killing of God. These functions of Osiris are reflected in an extremely widespread legend describing his death and rebirth. Osiris, who reigned happily in Egypt, treacherously killed him younger brother, evil Seth. Osiris’s sisters Isis (who is also his wife) and Nephthys search for the body of the murdered man for a long time, and when they find it, they mourn. Isis conceives a son, Horus, from her dead husband. Having matured, Horus enters into a fight with Set; at the court of the gods, with the help of Isis, he achieves recognition of himself as the only rightful heir of Osiris. Having defeated Set, Horus resurrects his father. However, Osiris, not wanting to stay on earth, becomes king the afterlife and supreme judge over the dead. The throne of Osiris on earth passes to Horus. (In another version of the myth, the resurrection of Osiris is associated with the annual floods of the Nile, which are explained by the fact that Isis, mourning Osiris, after the “night of tears” fills the river with her tears.)
Myths associated with Osiris are reflected in numerous rituals. At the end of the last winter month "Khoyak" - the beginning of the first month of spring "Tibi" the mysteries of Osiris were performed, during which the main episodes of the myth about him were reproduced in dramatic form. Priestesses in the images of Isis and Nephthys depicted the search, mourning and burial of the god. Then the “great battle” took place between Horus and Set. The drama ended with the erection of the “djed” pillar dedicated to Osiris, symbolizing the rebirth of God and, indirectly, of all nature. In the predynastic period, the holiday ended with the struggle of two groups of participants in the mysteries: one of them represented summer, and the other, winter. Summer always won (the resurrection of nature). After the unification of the country under the rule of the rulers of Upper Egypt, the nature of the mysteries changes. Now two groups are fighting, one of which is in the clothes of Upper Egypt, and the other - of Lower Egypt. Victory, naturally, remains with the group symbolizing Upper Egypt. During the days of the Mysteries of Osiris, dramatized rites of coronation of the pharaohs were also celebrated. During the mystery, the young pharaoh acted as Horus, the son of Isis, and the deceased king was portrayed as Osiris sitting on the throne.
The character of Osiris as the god of vegetation was reflected in another cycle of rituals. In a special room of the temple, a clay likeness of the figure of Osiris was erected, which was sown with grain. For the holiday of Osiris, his image was covered with green shoots, which symbolized the rebirth of the god. In the drawings one often sees the mummy of Osiris with shoots sprouted from it, which are watered by the priest.
The idea of Osiris as the god of fertility was also transferred to the pharaoh, who was considered the magical focus of the country’s fertility and therefore participated in all the main rituals of an agricultural nature: with the onset of the rise of the Nile, he threw a scroll into the river - a decree that the beginning of the flood had arrived; the first solemnly began preparing the soil for sowing; cut the first sheaf at the harvest festival, and for the whole country made a thanksgiving sacrifice to the harvest goddess Renenutet and to the statues of the dead pharaohs after completing field work.
The cult of animals, widespread in all periods of Egyptian history, left a clear mark on Egyptian mythology. Gods in the form of animals, with the heads of birds and animals, scorpion gods, and snake gods act in Egyptian myths along with deities in human form. The more powerful a god was considered, the more cult animals were attributed to him, in the form of which he could appear to people.
Egyptian myths reflect the peculiarities of the worldview of the inhabitants of the Nile Valley, their ideas about the origin of the world and its structure, which have developed over thousands of years and go back to primitive times. Here are attempts to find the origins of being in the biological act of creation of the gods, the search for the original substance personified by divine couples - the embryo of later teachings about the primary elements of the world, and, finally, as one of the highest achievements of Egyptian theological thought - the desire to explain the origins of the world, people and all culture as a result of the creative power embodied in the word of God.
Sometimes Egypt is called the most religious culture in the history of mankind, and this statement has sufficient grounds. In any traditional society religious-mythological systems are meaning-forming, largely determining the specificity of civilization and the originality of culture, but in Egypt the religious system was distinguished by its special integrity and immutability, as well as the important social role played by the priesthood.
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The mythological system of Egypt can be characterized as polytheism, since it included the cults of many gods (about 2000). The gods were local and general, most of the gods had their own hometown, where main temple. As certain Egyptian centers became stronger and capitals were moved, the places of the gods in the hierarchy changed. Supreme God there was a god Ra - the god of the Sun. All cosmogonic myths are associated with him; he acted as a demiurge - the creator and ruler of the world. The Egyptians had many names and appearances for the sun, but the main one was the god Ra. At the same time, there were ideas about the goddess of Heaven - Nut, who gives birth to the sun in the morning, and in the evening swallows it - and night comes. The multivariate explanation of one and the same natural phenomenon (the myth of the god Ra sailing in a golden boat along the celestial Nile has already been mentioned) is a characteristic feature of mythological consciousness in general, and Egyptian mythology in particular. Some gods and goddesses personified natural elements or phenomena, many had the appearance of animals and birds. Most gods and goddesses were related by kinship. God Osiris belongs to the type of cultural heroes: according to myths, he was the first pharaoh of Egypt, taught people agriculture and cattle breeding, and gave them wine and cereals. During the Middle Kingdom, the cult of Osiris became the central link of funeral beliefs; he was revered primarily as god of the dead. Egyptian beliefs include a very complex system of myths that defies logical ordering, since it was a system of figurative thinking. The most famous is the myth of Osiris and Isis, retold in detail by the Roman historian Plutarch. According to the myth, Osiris was an exemplary ruler, but his brother Set, jealous of him, tricked Osiris into a magnificent sarcophagus and killed him. The wife of Osiris, Isis goes in search of the body of Osiris and, with the help of Anubis, brings him back to life.
The son of Osiris and Isis, Horus, becomes the ruler of Egypt, and Osiris rules in the Kingdom of the Dead.
In the era of the Old Kingdom, it was believed that only the pharaoh, thanks to the magical funeral rite can come to life after death just as Osiris came to life. During the Middle Kingdom, every dead Egyptian was identified with Osiris. It was assumed that with strict observance of the funeral ritual, every Egyptian, like Osiris, could be reborn for an eternal afterlife.
The goddess Isis, the sister and wife of Osiris, was the goddess of fertility and navigation, a symbol of femininity, family fidelity and motherhood. Isis gained particular popularity in the Greco-Roman world. The cult of Isis influenced Christian dogma and art. The image of the Mother of God with a baby in her arms goes back to the image of Isis and her son Horus. The myth of Osiris refers to the myths about the dying and resurrecting god or to calendar myth (since it was assumed that it was associated with seasonal changes in nature). Researchers working within the framework of the psychological approach to mythology (the so-called transpersonal psychologists) believe that in myths about a dying and resurrecting god, religious experience reflects the unconscious mental experiences of a child in the womb and during childbirth, thus this type of myths does not reflect the regularity of natural changes, but is, in their opinion, a special form of psychotherapy, removing and healing mental trauma.
The god Thoth, the god of wisdom and knowledge, calculation of time, and the patron god of the priesthood, also belongs to the type of cultural heroes.
Zoomorphic (animal-like features) can be seen in the depiction of many Egyptian gods. A characteristic feature of Egyptian mythology was the deification of animals as embodiments of various deities. Animals such as the bull (Apis), cat (Bast), crocodile (Sebek), lioness (Tefnut), jackal (Anubis) were revered. Zoomorphic
features in the appearance of deities were preserved in mythology, combined with anthropomorphic ones. For example, the god Horus, the son of Osiris and Isis, was depicted with the head of a falcon, and the god Thoth with the head of a baboon or ibis bird.
Textbook = HISTORY OF WORLD culture - (world civilizations) = Executive editor I. Zhilyakov
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The funeral cult played a huge role in Egyptian mythology: the afterlife was presented as a direct continuation of the earthly one, the necessary condition was the preservation of the body of the deceased (and therefore the ritual of mummification became widespread), the construction of dwellings (pyramids and tombs), and the sacrifice of gifts as food. The Egyptians viewed death not so much as a transition to better life in another world (the position to which Christianity has taught us), as much as a continuation of life on earth. In ancient Egyptian papyri, modern researchers find the principles of the ethics of hedonism (the ethics of pleasure). Life, its value and uniqueness, beauty and happiness were so valued that they were assumed to exist in the afterlife, where people continue to live as on earth.
In contrast to Mesopotamia, Egypt was for the ancient world a true fortress of sacred science, a school for its most glorious prophets, a refuge and at the same time a laboratory for the noblest traditions of mankind.
The name of the country - “Egypt” comes from the name of the ancient Egyptian capital Hikupta (Het-Ka-Ptah - “house of Ka Ptah”, Greek - Memphis). The Greeks, paraphrasing this word, called the whole of Egypt the word “Aigyptos”. From this, in turn, the term migrated to all other European languages.
The Egyptians themselves called their country Kemet or Ta-kemet, which translated into Russian means “black” or “black land”, or more precisely, “black soil”, in honor of the fertile black land for which Egypt was famous in all its eras.
Traditions of healing in Ancient Egypt developed in close cooperation with medicine Ancient Mesopotamia. They provided big influence on the development of medicine Ancient Greece, considered the forerunner of modern scientific medicine.
The population of Ancient Egypt was formed gradually from the local tribes of North and East Africa. Thus, ancient Egyptian culture is of African origin. Her character traits- hieroglyphic writing, religious ideas, cult of the dead, characteristic artistic style - originated before 3000 BC.
According to mythological ideas The main deity of the ancient Egyptians was the sun god Ra.
Among the main deities of Ancient Egypt related to healing was the god Djehuti (Greek Thoth).
He was revered as the inventor of hieroglyphic writing and medicine, the patron of knowledge, scribes and sages. According to legend, Thoth divided humanity into languages, invented mathematics and astronomy, the calendar and religious ceremonies, music and natural healing; he was also credited with compiling the most ancient Egyptian medical texts.
The ruler of the underworld, Usiri (Greek: Osiris), was revered as the god of dying and resurrecting nature.
The goddess Isis was revered as the guardian of royal power, the patroness of children and the inventor of magical healing.
The cult of animals occupied a significant place in the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians. Each nome (city-state) had its own sacred animal or bird: bull, cat, crocodile, ram, lion, falcon, ibis, kite, etc.
The deceased cult animal was embalmed and buried with all honors.
Killing a sacred animal was punishable by death.
In addition to the main deities, in ancient Egyptian mythology there were also gods of healing. The patroness of healers is the mighty Sokhmet (mighty) - the formidable goddess of war, plague and solar heat.
The goddess of fertility Tauert was revered as the patroness of childbirth and motherhood. During childbirth, small figurines of the goddess Tauert were always placed next to the woman in labor and the newborn, be it the heir of the great pharaoh or a simple Egyptian.
Thus, ancient Egyptian healing was associated with religious ideas and cults.
A striking feature Egyptian religion was funeral cult , which arose in the predynastic period. It is the key to understanding the entire ancient Egyptian culture.
The inhabitants of Ancient Egypt believed in the afterlife and considered it an endless continuation of the earthly one. According to their ideas, human immortality in the afterlife is granted through the unity (coexistence) of three human substances: his physical body, his soul (“ba”) and his spiritual double (“ka”).
Both afterlife substances (“ba” and “ka”) are associated with the body of the deceased and live in the place of his burial. Hence the desire to preserve the body from destruction arose. For this purpose, the people of Egypt, since the predynastic period, buried their dead in the “red soil” of the deserts adjacent to the Nile Valley. The air and soil of Egypt have excellent preservative properties. The development of civilization led to the construction of special closed premises for the burial of noble dead (mastabas, later pyramids). There was no sun, and special artificial methods were required to preserve the body. This is how it arose mummification, or embalming of the dead ( from Greek balsamon - balm).
Mummification In ancient Egypt, special people practiced it, whom the Greeks called tarikhevts. The embalming method was kept secret. The bodies of the dead, processed thousands of years ago, have survived to this day. The best description of the mummification process was left by the ancient Greeks - Herodotus (about 484-425 BC) and Diodorus (about 90-21 BC).
Development of medical knowledge was integral integral part bright and unique culture of Ancient Egypt. It arose from practical experience people and at the same time closely intertwined with the mythological views of the ancient Egyptians.
First ideas about the structure human body(anatomy) the Egyptians obtained from the practice of embalming, which also testified to high achievements in the field of chemistry.
The knowledge of the ancient Egyptians in the field of body structure was quite deep for their time and is comparable only to the achievements of the ancient Indians.
Already in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. the ancient Egyptians described large organs: brain, heart, blood vessels, kidneys, intestines, muscles, etc. However, they did not subject them to special study, which is most likely due to religious beliefs. The first description of the brain that has come down to us belongs to the Egyptians. It is given in the E. Smith papyrus. The ancient Egyptians noticed that damage to the brain caused paralysis of the limbs and thus laid the foundation for the natural scientific understanding of the brain. They assigned a special role to the heart and blood vessels. They believed that the heart not only gives movement to the blood, but is also the seat of the soul and emotions.
At the same time, in Ancient Egypt there was doctrine of "Pneuma" . “Pneuma” is an invisible and weightless energy substance, which, as the Egyptians believed, permeates the entire Universe and, together with the air, enters the human lungs, then into the heart, from where it is carried through the vessels throughout the human body, filling it with life. Egyptian doctors called these vessels or channels “meta”, through which, under the influence of heart contractions, “Pneuma” distributed heat, breath, blood, mucus, nutrients, semen, urine, and feces circulated.
According to the ideas of ancient Egyptian doctors, the main thing was in the channels - “meta” to prevent “blockage”, “overflow”, “deficiency”, etc.
At the same time, many recipes in the Ebers papyrus are accompanied by references to magic spells and conspiracies, which, as the Egyptians believed, on the one hand, enhanced the effect of medicines, and on the other, scared away evil spirits. For the same purpose, unpleasant-tasting substances were often included in medicines: parts of a mouse’s tail, discharge from a pig’s ears, animal excrement and urine, etc.
A separate section of the Ebers papyrus is devoted to cosmetics. It contains prescriptions for medications to smooth out wrinkles, remove moles, change skin color, color hair and eyebrows, enhance hair growth, and even correct strabismus. The Egyptians wore wigs, which were worn over short-cropped hair, which helped prevent lice. The wig replaced the headdress. The antiquity of these traditions gives reason to consider Ancient Egypt the birthplace of cosmetics .
Today it is known that the causative agent of schistosomiasis is spread by water through an intermediate host - the mollusk. A targeted program to combat this disease has been carried out under the leadership of WHO - the World Health Organization since 1958 at the proposal of Egypt - the country whose population is still most affected by schistosomiasis.
The oldest text that has come down to us was compiled in Ancient Egypt. about surgical treatment (surgery) - Large surgical papyrus of Edwin Smith (XVI century BC). It describes 48 cases of traumatic injuries to the bones of the skull, brain, cervical vertebrae, collarbones, forearm, chest and spinal column, as well as methods for treating them without any elements of magic and mysticism. In presenting each traumatic case, the author of the Smith Papyrus gives it a name, describes the signs of injury, draws a conclusion and prescribes treatment. Moreover, in the conclusion, the severity of each case and the possibility of its cure are determined: “This is a disease that I will cure” or “This is a disease that should be fought,” or “This disease is incurable.”
Medical ethics Egypt of that time required that the healer, after examining the patient, openly inform him about the expected outcome of the treatment in one of three phrases: 1) “This is a disease that I can cure”; 2) “This is a disease that I may be able to cure”; 3) “This is a disease that I cannot cure.”
In cases where a cure seemed possible, the author of the papyrus gave clear recommendations to the healer on how he should act. They knew the so-called motor paralysis of the limbs due to head wounds.
When treating fractures, the ancient Egyptians used wooden splints (“splints”) and tightly bandaging the damaged limb with linen cloth impregnated with resin. They treated wounds, performed ritual circumcision and castration of eunuchs.
In ancient Egypt, the profession of dentistry has long existed. They explained toothache and tooth decay (as in Ancient Mesopotamia) by the presence of a “worm that grows in the tooth.” Dental treatment was conservative. It consisted of applying medicinal pastes and solutions to the diseased tooth or gums, but did not stop the further development of the disease.
The ancient Egyptians attached great importance to observing hygiene rules . Religious laws prescribed moderation in food and neatness in everyday life. Describing the customs of the Egyptians of the 5th century. BC, Herodotus testifies: “The Egyptians drink only from copper vessels, which they clean daily. The dress they wear is linen, always freshly washed, and this is a matter of great care for them. They cut their hair and wear wigs to avoid lice... for the sake of cleanliness, preferring to be neat rather than beautiful. The priests cut their hair all over their bodies every other day in order to avoid lice or any other contamination while serving the gods. The priests' clothes are only made of linen, and their shoes are made of papyrus. They wash themselves twice a day and twice a night.” Apparently, it was no coincidence that the ancient Greeks (Hellenes) considered the Egyptians the founders of “preventive” medicine.
To provide water in the houses of the townspeople, deep stone reservoirs - wells - were built. In some cities, numerous clay pipes have been discovered running underground. They could serve both to supply water and to drain sewage. The palaces of the pharaohs and the houses of the nobility had bathrooms and toilet rooms.
In the Ebers papyrus gynecological section contains information about recognizing the timing of pregnancy, the sex of the unborn child, as well as “a woman who can and cannot give birth.” The Berlin and Kahun papyri describe a simple way to determine the sex of an unborn child.
The art of medicine in Egypt was divided in such a way that each doctor cured only one disease: some treated the eyes, others the head, others the teeth, others the stomach, and others the internal diseases.
Transfer of medical knowledge in Ancient Egypt was closely associated with the teaching of complex hieroglyphic writing. The schools taught mathematics, architecture, sculpture, healing, astronomy, as well as the secrets of cults and rituals. Students studied and copied ancient papyri, mastered the art of calligraphy and stylistics, and learned the “rules of beautiful speech” (oratory). At the same time, medical knowledge continued to be passed on by inheritance - from father to son.
The activities of healers in Ancient Egypt were subordinated strict rules morality. By observing them, the healer did not risk anything even if the treatment failed. Violation of the rules was punishable, including the death penalty.
IN Ancient world Egyptian healers enjoyed universal recognition. The rulers of many countries invited them to serve at court.
Egypt had a huge influence on the development of culture and medicine of the peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe.
Mythological representations ancient Egyptians.
Pyramids and temples of Ancient Egypt.
Almaty 2012
Content
I. Introduction page 3
II. Mythological beliefs of the ancient Egyptians
1) Cosmogonic myths p. 4
2) Myths of the funeral cult p. 6
3) Agricultural myths page 7
4) Applications (illustrations) page 10
5) Conclusion p.14
III. Pyramids and temples page 16
1) Architecture: a) Early Kingdom p. 17
b) The Ancient Kingdom p. 18
c) Middle Kingdom p. 20
d) New Kingdom p. 22
e) Late Kingdom p. 25
2) Conclusion page 27
IV. List of used literature p.28
Introduction
The sources for studying the mythology of Ancient Egypt are characterized by incompleteness and unsystematic presentation. The nature and origin of many myths are reconstructed on the basis of later texts. The main monuments that reflected the mythological ideas of the Egyptians are various religious texts: hymns and prayers to the gods, records of funeral rites on the walls of tombs. The most significant of them are the “Pyramid Texts” - the oldest texts of funeral royal rituals, carved on the walls of the interior of the pyramids of the pharaohs of the V and VI dynasties of the Old Kingdom (XXVI - XXIII centuries BC); “Texts of sarcophagi”, preserved on sarcophagi from the Middle Kingdom era (XXI - XVIII centuries BC), “Book of the Dead” - compiled from the period of the New Kingdom until the end of Egyptian history.
Egyptian mythology began to take shape in the 6th – 4th millennia BC, long before the emergence of class society. Each region (nome) develops its own pantheon and cult of gods, embodied in heavenly bodies, stones, trees, birds, snakes, etc.
The significance of Egyptian myths is invaluable; they provide valuable material for the comparative study of religious ideas in the Ancient East, and for the study of the ideology of the Greco-Roman world, and for the history of the emergence and development of Christianity.
Mythological representations
Cosmogonic myths
Judging by archaeological data, in the most ancient period of Egyptian history there were no cosmic gods who were credited with the creation of the world. Scholars believe that the first version of this myth arose shortly before the unification of Egypt. According to this version, the sun was born from the union of earth and sky. This personification is undoubtedly older than the cosmogonic ideas of the priests from major religious centers. As usual, the existing myth was not abandoned, and the images of Geb (god of the earth) and Nut (goddess of the sky) as the parents of the sun god Ra were preserved in religion throughout ancient history. Every morning Nut gives birth to the sun and every evening hides it in her womb for the night.
Theological systems that proposed a different version of the creation of the world probably arose at the same time in several major cult centers: Heliopolis, Hermopolis and Memphis. Each of these centers declared its main god to be the creator of the world, who was, in turn, the father of other gods who united around him.
Common to all cosmogonic concepts was the idea that the creation of the world was preceded by the chaos of water immersed in eternal darkness. The beginning of the emergence of chaos was associated with the emergence of light, the embodiment of which was the sun. The idea of an expanse of water, from which a small hill appears at first, is closely related to Egyptian realities: it almost exactly corresponds to the annual flood of the Nile, the muddy waters of which covered the entire valley, and then, receding, gradually opened up the land, ready for plowing. In this sense, the act of creating the world was repeated annually.
Egyptian myths about the beginning of the world do not represent a single, coherent story. Often the same mythological events are depicted in different ways, and the gods appear in them in different guises. It is curious that with many cosmogonic plots explaining the creation of the world, extremely little space is devoted to the creation of man. Ancient...
CONTENT
Introduction………………………………………………………. .3
Chapter 1.
Religious and mythological ideas of the ancient Egyptians………………………………………………………….5
- Egyptian mythology…………………………….5
Ancient Egyptian “Book of the Dead”……………12
2.1 Magic stones and amulets………………….21
2.2 Magic figurines……………………………24
2.3 Magic drawings, formulas, spells…..30
2.4 Magical funeral rituals……………35
Conclusion…………………………………………………. .40
Bibliography…………………………………………41
Introduction.
The fragments of religious texts of Ancient Egypt that have reached us indicate how important the belief in magic occupied in Egyptian religion and culture, that is, in the fact that with the help of magical practices (names, spells, enchantments, formulas, figures, images and amulets, as well as ceremonies accompanied by “words of power” 1), supernatural results can be achieved. From the very beginning of their history until its end, the ancient Egyptians were influenced by this belief.
Egyptian magic arose at a time when the primitive inhabitants of predynastic and prehistoric Egypt believed that the earth, the underworld, the air, the sky, were inhabited by countless beings, visible and invisible. These creatures were considered friendly or hostile to humans, depending on whether the natural phenomena they allegedly controlled were favorable or unfavorable for people. The favor of gentle and friendly creatures could be achieved through gifts and sacrifices. And manifestations of hostility on the part of the harsh and unforgiving could be avoided either by pleasing them and flattering them, or by calling for help - through an amulet, secret name, a magical formula, a drawing - forces more powerful than the one that threatened him. Most ancient peoples used magic to give a person the power of a supernatural being, enable him to achieve what is beyond his capabilities, and become for a time as powerful as the true possessor of this power. But Egyptian magic forced friendly and hostile forces to carry out the will of a person, regardless of their desire.
From the religious books of Ancient Egypt, we know that the power of a priest or a person who knew and skillfully used magic was considered almost limitless.
Elements of Egyptian “black” and “white” magic can be traced in the magical systems of many countries around the world. It is impossible to say exactly how many beliefs and religious systems of other peoples were influenced by them, but one thing is certain: the religious ideas of many pagan cults and Christian sects originated in Egypt.
The purpose of this work is to present the ideas of the beliefs of the ancient Egyptians regarding the gods, Judgment, Resurrection and Immortality. Consider in what ways they influenced the fate of the individual, the people and the state as a whole. An attempt to give an idea of the magical side of the Egyptian religion.
Chapter 1. Religious and mythological ideas of the ancient Egyptians.
1.1 Egyptian mythology.
The sources for studying the mythology of Ancient Egypt are characterized by incomplete and unsystematic presentation. The nature and origin of many myths are reconstructed on the basis of later texts. The main monuments that reflected the mythological ideas of the Egyptians are various religious texts: hymns and prayers to the gods, records of funeral rites on the walls of tombs. The most significant of them are the “Pyramid Texts” - the oldest texts of funeral royal rituals, carved on the walls of the interior of the pyramids of the pharaohs of the V and VI dynasties of the Old Kingdom (XXVI - XXIII centuries BC); “Texts of sarcophagi”, preserved on sarcophagi from the Middle Kingdom era (XXI – XVIII centuries BC), “Book of the Dead” - compiled from the period of the New Kingdom to the end of Egyptian history.
Egyptian mythology began to take shape in the 6th – 4th millennium BC. e., long before the emergence of class society. Each region (nome) develops its own pantheon and cult of gods, embodied in heavenly bodies, stones, trees, birds, snakes, etc.
Cosmogonic myths, judging by archaeological data, in the most ancient period of Egyptian history there were no cosmic gods who were credited with the creation of the world. Scholars believe that the first version of this myth arose shortly before the unification of Egypt. According to this version, the sun was born from the union of earth and sky. This personification is undoubtedly older than the cosmogonic ideas of the priests from major religious centers. As usual, the already existing myth was not abandoned, and the images of Geb 2 and Nut 3 as the parents of the sun god Ra were preserved in religion throughout ancient history. Every morning Nut gives birth to the sun and every evening hides it in her womb for the night.
Common to all cosmogonic concepts was the idea that the creation of the world was preceded by the chaos of water immersed in eternal darkness. The beginning of the exit from chaos was associated with the emergence of light, the embodiment of which was the sun. The idea of an expanse of water, from which a small hill appears at first, is closely related to Egyptian realities: it almost exactly corresponds to the annual flood of the Nile, the muddy waters of which covered the entire valley, and then, receding, gradually opened up the land, ready for plowing. In this sense, the act of creating the world was repeated annually.
Egyptian myths about the beginning of the world do not represent a single, coherent story. Often the same mythological events are depicted in different ways, and the gods appear in them in different guises. It is curious that with many cosmogonic plots explaining the creation of the world, extremely little space is devoted to the creation of man. It seemed to the ancient Egyptians that the gods created the world for people. In the written literary heritage of Egypt there are very few direct indications of the creation of the human race; such indications are an exception. Basically, the Egyptians limited themselves to the belief that a person owes his existence to the gods, who expect gratitude from him for this, understood very simply: a person must worship the gods, build and maintain temples, and regularly make sacrifices.
The priests of Heliopolis created their own version of the origin of the world, declaring it to be the creator of the sun god Ra, identified with other gods - the creators Atum 4 and Khepri 5. Atum was usually depicted in the form of a man, Khepri in the form of a scarab, which means that his cult dates back to the time when the gods were given the form of animals. It is curious that Khepri never had her own place of worship. As the personification of the rising sun, he was identical to Atum - the setting sun and Ra - shining during the day. The appearance of a scarab given to it was associated with the belief that this beetle is capable of reproducing on its own, hence its divine creative power. And the sight of a scarab pushing its ball suggested to the Egyptians the image of a god rolling the sun across the sky.
The myth of the creation of the world by Atum, Ra and Khepri is recorded in the Pyramid Texts, and by the time its text was first carved in stone, it had probably been around for a long time and was widely known.
According to the Pyramid Texts, Ra - Atum - Khepri created himself, emerging from chaos called Nun. Nun, or the Prime Ocean, was usually depicted as an immense primordial expanse of water. Atum, emerging from it, did not find a place where he could stay. That's why he created Ben-ben Hill in the first place. Standing on this island of solid soil, Ra-Atum-Khepri began to create other cosmic gods. Since he was alone, he had to give birth to the first pair of gods himself. From the union of this first couple other gods arose, thus, according to the Heliopolitan myth, the earth and the deities that ruled it appeared. In the ongoing act of creation, from the first pair of gods - Shu (Air) and Tefnut (Moisture) - Geb (Earth) and Nut (Sky) were born. They in turn gave birth to two gods and two goddesses: Osiris, Set, Isis and Nephthys. This is how the Great Nine of Gods arose - the Heliopolis Ennead.
Sometimes the firmament was represented in the form of a cow with a body covered with stars, but there were also ideas according to which the sky is a water surface, the heavenly Nile, along which the sun flows around the earth during the day. There is also the Nile underground, along which the sun, having descended beyond the horizon, floats at night. The Nile, flowing through the earth, was personified in the image of the god Hapi, who contributed to the harvest with his beneficial floods. The Nile itself was also inhabited by good and evil deities in the form of animals: crocodiles, hippopotamuses, frogs, scorpions, snakes, etc. The fertility of the fields was controlled by the goddess - the mistress of bins and barns, Renenutet, revered in the form of a snake that appears on the field during the harvest, ensuring the thoroughness of harvesting. The grape harvest depended on the vine god Shai.
Myths of the funeral cult.
An important role in Egyptian mythology was played by ideas about the afterlife as a direct continuation of the earthly one, but only in the grave. Its necessary conditions are the preservation of the body of the deceased (hence the custom of mummifying corpses), the provision of housing for him (tomb), food (mortuary gifts and sacrifices brought by the living). Later, ideas arise that the dead (i.e., their ba, soul) go out into the sunlight during the day, fly up to heaven to the gods, and wander through the underworld (duat). The essence of man was thought of in the inextricable unity of his body, souls (there were believed to be several of them: ka, ba; the Russian word “soul,” however, is not an exact correspondence to the Egyptian concept), name, shadow. A soul wandering through the underworld is in wait for all sorts of monsters, from which you can escape with the help of special spells and prayers. Osiris, together with other gods, administers the afterlife judgment over the deceased (the 125th chapter of the “Book of the Dead” 6 is specially dedicated to him). In the face of Osiris, psychostasia occurs: the weighing of the heart of the deceased on scales balanced by truth (the image of the goddess Maat or her symbols). The sinner was devoured by the terrible monster Amt (a lion with the head of a crocodile), the righteous man came to life for a happy life in the fields of Iaru. Only those who were submissive and patient in earthly life could be acquitted at the trial of Osiris, those who did not steal, did not encroach on temple property, did not rebel, did not speak evil against the king, etc., as well as those who were “pure in heart” (“ I'm clean, clean, clean"- the deceased claims in court).
Agricultural myths.
The third main cycle of myths of Ancient Egypt is associated with Osiris. The cult of Osiris is associated with the spread of agriculture in Egypt. He is the god of the productive forces of nature (in the Book of the Dead he is called grain, in the Pyramid Texts - the god of the vine), withering and resurrecting vegetation. So, sowing was considered the funeral of the grain - Osiris, the emergence of shoots was perceived as his rebirth, and the cutting of ears during the harvest was perceived as the killing of God. These functions of Osiris are reflected in an extremely widespread legend describing his death and rebirth. Osiris, who reigned happily in Egypt, was treacherously killed by his younger brother, the evil Set. Osiris’s sisters Isis (who is also his wife) and Nephthys search for the body of the murdered man for a long time, and when they find it, they mourn. Isis conceives a son, Horus, from her dead husband. Having matured, Horus enters into a fight with Set; at the court of the gods, with the help of Isis, he achieves recognition of himself as the only rightful heir of Osiris. Having defeated Set, Horus resurrects his father. However, Osiris, not wanting to stay on earth, becomes the king of the underworld and the supreme judge over the dead. The throne of Osiris on earth passes to Horus.
Myths associated with Osiris are reflected in numerous rituals. At the end of the last winter month "Khoyak" - the beginning of the first month of spring "Tibi" the mysteries of Osiris were performed, during which the main episodes of the myth about him were reproduced in dramatic form. Priestesses in the images of Isis and Nephthys depicted the search, mourning and burial of the god. Then the “great battle” took place between Horus and Set. The drama ended with the erection of the “djed” pillar dedicated to Osiris, symbolizing the rebirth of God and, indirectly, of all nature. In the predynastic period, the holiday ended with the struggle of two groups of participants in the mysteries: one of them represented summer, and the other, winter. Summer always won (the resurrection of nature). After the unification of the country under the rule of the rulers of Upper Egypt, the nature of the mysteries changes. Now two groups are fighting, one of which is in the clothes of Upper Egypt, and the other - of Lower Egypt. Victory, naturally, remains with the group symbolizing Upper Egypt. During the days of the Mysteries of Osiris, dramatized rites of coronation of the pharaohs were also celebrated. During the mystery, the young pharaoh acted as Horus, the son of Isis, and the deceased king was portrayed as Osiris sitting on the throne.
The character of Osiris as the god of vegetation was reflected in another cycle of rituals. In a special room of the temple, a clay likeness of the figure of Osiris was erected, which was sown with grain. For the holiday of Osiris, his image was covered with green shoots, which symbolized the rebirth of the god. In the drawings one often sees the mummy of Osiris with shoots sprouted from it, which are watered by the priest.
The idea of Osiris as the god of fertility was also transferred to the pharaoh, who was considered the magical focus of the country’s fertility and therefore participated in all the main rituals of an agricultural nature: with the onset of the rise of the Nile, he threw a scroll into the river - a decree that the beginning of the flood had arrived; the first solemnly began preparing the soil for sowing; cut the first sheaf at the harvest festival, and for the whole country made a thanksgiving sacrifice to the goddess Renenutet 7 and to the statues of the dead pharaohs after completing field work.
The cult of animals, widespread in all periods of Egyptian history, left a clear mark on Egyptian mythology. Gods in the form of animals, with the heads of birds and animals, scorpion gods, and snake gods act in Egyptian myths along with deities in human form. The more powerful a god was considered, the more cult animals were attributed to him, in the form of which he could appear to people.
Egyptian myths reflect the peculiarities of the worldview of the inhabitants of the Nile Valley, their ideas about the origin of the world and its structure, which have developed over thousands of years and go back to primitive times. Here are attempts to find the origins of being in the biological act of creation of the gods, the search for the original substance personified by divine couples - the embryo of later teachings about the primary elements of the world, and, finally, as one of the highest achievements of Egyptian theological thought - the desire to explain the origins of the world, people and all culture as a result of the creative power embodied in the word of God.
1.2 Ancient Egyptian “Book of the Dead”
Ancient Egyptian "Book of the Dead" -a collection of spells that the Egyptians (in the New Kingdom and later) placed in tombs so that the dead could safely overcome dangers other world and gain enlightened immortality. Today's Egyptians used this term to designate papyrus scrolls with mysterious writings and drawings that they found along with the mummies of their distant ancestors, without in any way extending it to the content of the text, which they, of course, did not know.
The real name is " Books of the Dead” was “Er well peret em heru” 8. It reflects the main essence of this wonderful text: to help the deceased overcome all the dangers of the afterlife, go through the posthumous judgment and, together with the solar barge of the god Ra, return to earth again, that is, come to life, resurrect - “renew”, as the Egyptians said. To defeat death in order to then lead a spiritual and sensual existence in a rejuvenated, beautiful, ageless body on an eternally beautiful fertile land, surrounded by your family and friends. This is a book about overcoming death, about victory over it and at the same time about how to do it.
The history of the “Book of the Dead” dates back to infinitely distant times, when the primitive religious ideas of the ancient inhabitants of the Nile valley began to develop into an increasingly complex cult of local gods and a funeral ritual that took shape in its main features. Apparently, even before the unification of Egypt into one state, in the pre-literate period, a collection of funeral formulas began to take shape, much later, under the pharaohs of the V-VI dynasties (c. 2355 BC) inscribed on the walls of burial chambers, already quite modest but the size of the royal pyramids (the famous grandiose pyramids at Giza are “silent”). The first time this happened was under Pharaoh Unis, already at the end of the Old Kingdom.
These inscriptions were discovered at the end of the last century by the outstanding French Egyptologist G. Maspero and called them “Pyramid Texts”. This work, apparently, was a record of a funeral ritual and concerned exclusively the royal person, which, naturally, does not mean that all the other inhabitants of Egypt had no idea at all about posthumous existence. However, in the tombs of the necropolises of the Old Kingdom there are no texts regarding the posthumous residence of the “ordinary” dead. So, speaking about the era of the Old Kingdom, we can only judge the posthumous existence of the pharaoh, who was expected to stand before the gods and join their host. After death, he flew up to the sky and there, in the endless starry space, sailed along with the solar god Ra in the “Boat of Millions of Years.” “Your wings grow like those of a falcon, you are broad-chested like a hawk, which is looked at in the evening after it has crossed the sky”; “The one who flies is flying. He flew away from you, people, because he does not belong to the Earth, he belongs to the sky..."
With the end of the Old Kingdom, at the end of the third millennium BC. e., funeral literature undergoes significant changes. Now not only the pharaoh had funeral texts at his disposal when going to the kingdom of the gods: a similar fate awaited everyone. Already during the last dynasties of the Old Kingdom, the “Pyramid Texts” began to leave the burial chambers of all Egyptian rulers and appeared on the inner and outer walls of the rectangular wooden sarcophagi of their subjects. In many ways, these are the same “Pyramid Texts,” but still they are so different from them that they clearly represent a new stage in the development of funeral literature. In the “Sarcophagi Texts” (as they are called in scientific literature), the solar cult associated with the deified pharaoh is intertwined with the chthonic (earthly) one; the afterlife is located in a very special place in the space of the universe, where Ra and his retinue go every night to fight the forces of darkness. Here, as in the Pyramid Texts, there are many magical formulas and spells, references to ancient myths (already more related to Osiris) and liturgical recitatives. All this is divided into separate “sayings,” or chapters, which have their own names, many of which were later included in the “Book of the Dead.” On the sarcophagi of the XIIth dynasty (c. 1991 BC) another text appears, dedicated to afterlife journeys and related in language to the era of the Old Kingdom. This is the famous “Book of Two Paths”, created in order to make it easier for the deceased to go to the Fields of Hotep (Fields of the World), fields of eternal bliss, where wheat is the height of a man, where there are no crop failures and famines, where the deceased reside in endless bliss under the shadow of Naunet- the mysterious sky of the afterlife.
It is in the “Book of Two Paths” that images illustrating the text with such important in the Book of the Dead. B. A. Turaev writes about the “Book of Two Paths” as follows: “This is an illustrated vade mecum of the deceased, facilitating his path on land and water in the afterlife and consisting of a map of the latter and texts that fall into 16 “chapters” (collection of “sayings” ") in three groups. The first group begins with an appeal to some deity, who gives a pass to travel through the necropolis of Sokara Ra-Setau, where the deceased alleviates the suffering of Osiris, who is then glorified. The wanderer then speaks of his victory over the enemy, whom he holds in his claws like a lion. It all ends with the words: “This book was under the sandals of Thoth. The end of it..." The second group talks about the pilgrimage of the deceased to various Egyptian shrines, apparently transferred to another world. He enters Heliopolis, and Buto, and the “House of Life of Abydos,” and “on pure land Nila"; sees local shrines and landmarks everywhere. The third group actually represents “The Book of Two Paths.” After depicting the doors to these paths, a map is given, divided along the entire length by a red stripe depicting the “sea of fire”: above it are the “waterways”, below - the land ones. The first ones lead first along the lake of fire; the text warns at the crossroads by the fiery sea: “do not go to him.” On land, the soul passes through dams guarded by guards, before whom one has to read the “saying of passage” or pretend to be gods for free passage. As can be seen from the above description, reaching the places of eternal bliss was not easy, and sometimes deadly, and became almost impossible without an accurate knowledge of the topography of the afterlife and a visual representation of its inhabitants. Without an accurate map and detailed image, it was impossible to travel along the two paths of the kingdom of the dead. From now on, funeral literature began to be accompanied by drawings that made this risky journey easier and over time became an independent type of Egyptian graphics - an integral part of the Book of the Dead papyri.
With the end of the Middle Kingdom, a new period began in the development of religious literature. At this time, funeral texts written on papyrus became the property of almost all segments of the population. As in the previous era, a main collection of funerary texts was emerging, replacing the Sarcophagi Texts of the Middle Kingdom. Already at the very end, the first papyrus scrolls appeared, and from the 18th dynasty (c. 1552 BC) they spread everywhere. “From this time onwards,...religious texts relating to the underworld were collected together and written down in what we now know as the Book of the Dead, and every Egyptian who was wealthy enough to afford to pay a scribe even for the most incomplete list of sacred texts, took with him to his grave a roll of papyrus, which could be a short passage, containing no more than the most necessary chapters, or could be an impressive work, reaching a hundred or more feet in length and containing all the precautions that the wisdom of the Egyptian The scribe knew against the dangers of the dark world of the Duat. This is why nine out of every ten Egyptian papyri are funerary papyri, and why nine out of every ten funerary papyri are copies of what we know as the "Book of the Dead", while others are copies of later versions and abbreviations of this basic book - the "Book of Gates", “The Book of Breathing,” “The Book of Knowledge of What is in the Underworld,” and so on.” 9 . Of course, making papyrus scrolls required much less time and money than painting bulky wooden boxes. It should also be remembered that in the era of the New Kingdom, anthropoid sarcophagi became widespread, repeating the shape of the human body and unsuitable for placing long inscriptions. The new papyrus collection was produced almost “on the fly,” leaving free space for the buyer’s name. The vast majority of scrolls are made this way.
The “Book of the Dead” was, as it were, the result of the entire long development of Egyptian religious literature. This, the third stage of its existence, corresponding to the era of the New Kingdom (1580-1085 BC), shows what a difficult path theological thought has traveled over many hundreds of years. The main object of the funeral cult becomes Osiris - a chthonic deity, the Good God, the wise ruler of the kingdom of the dead, the underground sun, administering posthumous judgment and restoring justice, whose home is located right on the Fields of Ialu (Fields of Reeds), where the deceased work.
Like so many other peoples, the Egyptians had confidence that some events in another world could be influenced from here. You can, for example, somehow influence the fate of the deceased or influence higher forces acting “from there.” For these purposes they resorted to magic.
The magic of the ancient Egyptians is one of the most attractive phenomena for modern admirers of mysticism and the secret knowledge of antiquity, but in essence it is very close to the actions performed by shamans, whose activities are mainly aimed at influencing the otherworldly forces of another world.
Now - about the text itself. “The Book of the Dead” is a collection of sayings with different purposes, often conventionally called chapters in literature. They can be divided into three categories: prayers and hymns to various gods, magical spells, and recordings of the funeral ritual (explanations on how to set up the funeral bed, how to furnish the burial chamber, etc.). The order and number of sayings in different lists were different. Moreover, the wealth of the customer played no small role here. The total number of sayings found in different copies of the Book of the Dead is 193, but in fact a complete collection of chapters apparently did not exist. There was also a text called “Peret em heru in one chapter”, which, if necessary, could replace all the others.
The current numbering of chapters was proposed by the German Egyptologist of the last century R. Lepsius on the basis of a copy of the “Book of the Dead” published by him quite late, the Ptolemaic era (305-30 BC), when the order of the sayings was already unified. Although the overwhelming majority of sayings have titles, they do not always correspond to the content of the text itself; This primarily applies to spells. It is difficult to talk about the logical structure of each scroll, but if we consider the entire collection as a whole, it becomes more noticeable.
The contents of the “Book of the Dead” can be divided into four parts (as the French Egyptologist A. Moret did): 1) Chapters 1-16. the funeral procession to the necropolis; prayers for “going out into the day”; hymns to the sun and Osiris. 2) Chapters 17-63: “going out on the day” and the rebirth of the deceased; his victory over the forces of darkness; the powerlessness of enemies; the power of the deceased over the elements. 3) Chapters 64-129: “going out on the day” - the transformation of the deceased into a deity; introducing him to the solar boat: knowledge of various sacraments; aversion to the tomb; afterlife court. 4) Chapters 130-162: glorification of the deceased - texts intended to be read throughout the year (on certain holidays, on days of offering gifts to the deceased) and aimed at protecting the mummy. This is the content of “Peret em kheru” itself; before the 63rd chapter there is a title: “Brought from another book in addition - “Peret em kheru”, and then another 30 chapters follow.
A colossal role was played by the drawings placed along with the text: the first example of book illustration in history. Thus, the content received not only verbal, but also visual expression.
The nature of Egyptian picture writing is such that the images on the pages of the Book of the Dead were not only viewed by the Egyptians, but also read almost in the same way as the text. In this regard, the illustrations for the collection were more informative for contemporaries than for us.
Chapter 2. Magic in Ancient Egypt.
“Magic” among the Egyptians existed in two varieties: on the one hand, it was used legally for the benefit of the living and the dead, on the other, it was an instrument of secret conspiracies and was intended to harm those against whom it was used. There is no doubt that the main purpose of magical books and ceremonies was to benefit those who had acquired sufficient knowledge. Unfortunately, the foreigners who visited Egypt did not understand its customs, with the result that misinterpretations of the religion of the Egyptians and an exaggerated opinion of their capabilities were common among neighboring peoples. The magical ceremonies performed during burials seemed to the ignorant to be either stupid superstitions or techniques of “black” magic.
If the magic of any people of the Ancient East was directed against the forces of darkness and the people who used it sought to counteract their cruel plans by attracting a number of benevolent creatures to their side, then the Egyptians sought to gain power over their gods and be able to call upon them. to your will. Such grandiose results were achieved with the help of certain words, which in order to obtain the effect had to be pronounced in a special way by a specially trained person. It was also possible to write them on some material - papyrus, gemstone and similar things that a person wore on himself, if, of course, the effect of these words could be transmitted over a distance. Such amulets or talismans in Egypt were worn by almost everyone who could afford them (whether man, woman or child), so it is not surprising that the Egyptians from ancient times were considered a people of magicians and sorcerers. Jewish, Greek and Roman authors speak of them as experts in the occult sciences and masters of powers that, depending on circumstances, can be used for the benefit or harm of a person.
Having reached a high level of development of crafts, the Egyptians were also very skilled in literary compositions and in the production of books, especially those associated with ceremonies performed for the benefit of the dead.
Now we will briefly look at the main means used by the Egyptians to perform magical actions: stones, amulets, figurines, images, formulas, names, ceremonies, and so on.
2.1 Magic stones and amulets.
We call them amulets various items, jewelry and clothing items that were used by the Egyptians, and later by other peoples, to protect the body of a living or dead person from death
etc.................
Children
