Why did the Egyptians have so many gods?

Answer 1

One of the major events in ancient Egypt was the Unification, when two different countries (Upper and Lower Egypt) became one, under a single king. Long before that, Egypt had been more than 40 different small countries, each separate from all the others, each with its own chiefs, priests and religions.

It was this very wide range of early religious belief in many different and unconnected gods and goddesses that led to the many gods we know today - when Egypt became one country, all those early gods were kept, meaning that there were many sun gods, many war gods, many gods of the dead, many Nile gods and so on.

Those early small chiefdoms became the 42 nomes or provinces of ancient Egypt.

Answer 2

because each one represented one thing. They thought if their was only 1 god, it wouldn'thave enough power to take care of Egypt. Back way then, people wanted to explain how things worked around the world and how it happened. So they made up myths of Gods and Goddesses for everything to help explain how it worked. Some people made up Gods just to make other people afraid of him/her and he/she became to gain control.

A:

In polytheistic societies, each god is responsible for some part of nature or some human expectation. Knowing which god was responsible for the Nile River made it easier to pray for a bountiful annual flood, whereas one could pray to a different god for health issues, and so on. This has parallels in the Catholic faith in Christian countries today, whereby one could pray to a Saint Christopher for safety when travelling, or St John of God for cure of a Heart disease.

Answer 3

The Egyptians did not worship more than one god. In studying the Book of the Dead, one would see the belief of one god. Egyptians had what are called deities. These were often mistaken by European scholars as gods. These deities were no different from Angels and Saints in Christianity. "God is he father and mother, the father of fathers, and the mother of mothers (From Book of the Dead translated by E.A. Wallis Brudges)." Below though, is a explanation though of why others may have more than one god. Most pagan religions have more than one god. Pagan religions are indigenous religions that develop naturally. The gods of pagan religions represent life and natural forces (wind, rain, sun, sky, earth), moral concepts (Maat the goddess of truth and right-being), metaphysical concepts (Ba, the soul - Anubis, the afterlife), etc. Monotheistic religions generally conceptualize one creator who set things in motion, controls the earth and commands worship. It is possible to conceptualize a monotheistic style One and still appreciate the attributes of gods and goddesses and honor them. Metaphysics and religion are highly personal issues, even the definition of "worship" is not universal. I hope this gives you an idea of why any culture would have more than one god.

Answer 4

Throughout Egypt's history beliefs and practices were constantly changing though the themes of fertility, rebirth, death and resurrection generally remained constant. The ancient Egyptians had a tendency to merge new beliefs with the old ones rather than simply replace them. This tendency has made it difficult for modern scholars to fully understand the ancient beliefs and, although much is known, there is still much that remains a mystery.

Gods

We know of hundreds of gods and goddesses worshipped by the ancient Egyptians as their names, personalities and appearances have survived in the artwork the civilisation left behind. Many of these had the same or similar roles. This is due to both the complex nature of the religion and the political organisation of the state.

Local areas had local gods, with each city or region often having their own deities that they worshipped. If a city came to prominence under a ruler or powerful official, then the local gods rose alongside them. These became 'state' gods, worshipped by the wealthy and elite in the temples. However, the general population continued to worship their local gods as well. Some gods, therefore, were preferred by certain classes of people, some were only worshipped in certain areas, and others prominent only in certain periods. In later times, different dieties were frequently combined or merged.

Osiris, chief god of the dead and the afterlife, is usually depicted as a mummy-shaped human wearing the atef crown (a white crown flanked by ostrich feathers) and holding a crook and a flail (signs of kingship and justice) Occasionally, Osiris' skin is green or black, a reference to his aspects of vegetation and fertile earth.

Anubis was the jackal-headed god of embalming and mummification and the patron god of embalmers. He was also a guardian of the dead and a guide through the underworld.

Neith was the mother of the sun god Re and a goddess of hunting and warfare.

The dwarf Bes was a popular household god and mainly responsible for protecting the family and ensuring a safe childbirth in particular. Artists often depicted him facing forward, rather than in profile.

Sakhmet was goddess of war, destruction and misfortune. The name is derived from the ancient Egyptian word sekhem, meaning 'powerful'. She is an aggressive deity who is usually depicted as a lion-headed figure.

The cat-headed goddess Bastet was the gentle counterpart to the lion-headed Sakhmet. She was protector of the home and pregnant women and was also linked to worship of the moon.

Horus, the falcon-headed sky god, was the son of Osiris and Isis and the embodiment of divine kingship. His eye, or udjat (sometimes spelt wedjat), was a powerful protective amulet. Rulers of Egypt were considered to be earthly representations of Horus so many falcon statues and images bear the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Human-headed Imsety, a son of Horus, was the protector of the liver.

Baboon-headed Hapy, a son of Horus, was the guardian of the lungs.

Falcon-headed Qebehsenuef, a son of Horus, protector of the intestines.

Jackal-headed Duamutef, a son of Horus, keeper of the stomach.

Thoth, a moon-god, was the god of wisdom, maker of laws and chief scribe to the gods. He was also a guide and helper to the spirits of dead people travelling in the underworld. Artists depicted him as an ibis, a baboon or a man with the head of either of these animals.

Isis was the wife-sister of Osiris and a powerful goddess of protection.

Nephthys was the sister of Isis and Osiris and a protector of the dead.

Answer 5

One thought:

The Egyptians were 'polytheists', meaning they worshiped several gods, from animals, to rivers, to stars. Much of their belief system was inherited from Babylon, so was built around magic, superstition, idolatry and spiritism(Genesis 41:8/Exodus 7:11+Exodus 8:18,19/Isaiah 19:3), using spells, charms, and ceremonies in hopes of getting physical results. Each town and city had it's own local god called "Lord of the City" , and each god had a name, and required a specific style of worship. (One inscription from the tomb of ThutmoseIII lists the names of 740 gods). Pharaoh himself was believed to be a god, the son of 'Ra' (sun god- who actually had 75 different names, depending on where you were from). Most Egyptian gods were locally worshiped, but a few were more nationally known, like the 'trinity' of Osiris, Isis(wife) and Horus(son). The Ten Plagues spoken of in The Bible attacked the most prominent gods of Egypt(Hapi, Heqt, Thoth, Hathor, Apis, Nut, Isis, Ptah, Reshpu,Min,Rah, Horus) and each was systematically shown to be powerless(Exodus 18:11/Numbers 33:4).