Egyptian Mythology
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptian religion. Myths appear frequently in Egyptian writings and art, particularly in short stories and in religious material such as hymns, ritual texts, funerary texts, and templedecoration. These sources rarely contain a complete account of a myth and often describe only brief fragments.
Through my research investigation, I have found myself drawn to the historical and cultural background of Egyptian myths. I came acorss this book in the library " Egyptian Mythology" by Simon Goodenough. I found facts and historical context that would benefit my project.
I understand that gods and goddesses were represented in non human form, wearing interesting shapes and animal like heads. Eqyptians knew what each one represented, and I thought it was be an interesting topic to research, and I could also understand the meanings behind why people wore and appeared in this form.
At First glance, the ancient Eqyptians and their gods appear formal and distant from everyday life as we know it. Everything they had was intended to impress, and so it does. The remains of vast temples, massive pyramids, rows of carvings in relief, stylized images, and rigid postures, along with their amazing paraphernalia of wealth, is evidence of ancient Egyptian pomp and power. The extensive numbers of gods and goddesses, the complex combinations of their names, the overlapping of their roles, and the multiplicity of local variations of their myths can be confusing. For a people perceived as so ordered, so conscientious in recording whatever happened to them, their gods seem to lack any order at all. The overwhelming physical remains of their civilization coupled with this awkward divinity, scarcely seem relevant to th lives of ordinary people today.
The detail of the gods and godesses, the strange shapes of their heads and bodies ( when they are not in human form)
are of birds and animals familiar to the ordinary Egyptian living along the Nile and in its delta region. There are crocodiles and hippopotami ; lions,apes, cows, bulls, rams, wolves, jackals, cats, dogs, scorpions, scarabs, and snakes; and vultures, ibis, and assorted birds of prey.
All creatures of significance had their parallel among the gods, and all human activity had its divine guardians and protectors.
There were gods representing all of the dominiant features of life such as the River Nile, the air, the sky, and the earth. There were also gods of childbirth and medicine, protectors against injury, gods of learning and of scribes, of a woman's toilet and of marriage, and of architecture, music, art, and science.
At the end of person's life, there were gods of death to take them by the hand, judged them for how they have behaved in life, and reward them with eternal pleasures in the next world or let divine scavengers devour them.
It was important, therefore, that people were able to recognise the appropriate god for each occasion. Objects worn or carried by the gods were a form of shorthand, that symbolized their responsibilities in the real world. Every Egyptian knew what these objects meant and would welcome any god's protection. In a way, the gods were everyday companions of the ordinary people, and this was reinforced by everyday weaknesses that many gods revealed in the myths.
Examples of Gods
Anubis
Properly know by the Egyptian as Anpu or Anup, Anubis got his name from the Greeks. It was his job to show the dead the way to the other world. Anubis was represented as a black jackal with a bushy tail, or as a black-skinned man with the head of jackal or dog. From earliest times, Anubis presided over the embalming of the dead and received funeral prayers from the family of the deceased.
In one text, Anubis is referred ro as the fourth son of Ra, and his daughter Kebehut was known as the goddess of freshness.
Later he became part of the Osiris myth and was regarded as the son of Nephthys, who had no children by her husband Set, but conceived Anubis through adultery with her elder brother Osiris. When Nephthys abandoned Anubis at birth, he was found by his aunt Isis who - despite the seemed satisfied with this arrangement, and Anubis eventually accompanied Osiris on his journey of peaceful conquest around the world. He helped Isis and Nephthys to bury his father when Osiris was murdered and dismembered by set.
He became known as Lord of the Mummy Wrappings and presided over funerals.
I have explored research into various gods and goddess that may help in terms of my practical, and may influence how I interpret my final outcome. Some of which are my favourite, and it's interesting to see how different variations of these gods are demonstrated through different cultures.