Press Release Summary = Throughout the vast and complex history of Egypt, the dominant beliefs of the ancient Egyptians merged and developed as leaders of different groups gained power.
Press Release Body = Throughout the vast and complex history of Egypt, the dominant beliefs of the ancient Egyptians merged and developed as leaders of different groups gained power. This process continued even after the end of the ancient Egyptian civilization as we know it today. As an example, during the New Kingdom Ra and Amun became Amun-Ra. This \"merging\" into a single god is typically referred to as syncretism. Syncretism should be distinguished from mere groupings, also referred to as \"families\" such as Amun, Mut and Khonsu, where no \"merging\" takes place. Over time, deities took part in multiple syncretic relationships, for instance, the combination of Ra and Horus into Ra-Herakty. However, even when taking part in such a syncretic relationship, the original deities did not become completely \"absorbed\" into the combined deity, although the individuality of the one was often greatly weakened. Also, these syncretic relationships sometimes involved more than just two deities, for instance, Ptah, Seker and Osiris, becoming Ptah-Seker-Osiris. The goddesses followed a similar pattern. Also important to keep in mind is that sometimes the attributes of one deity got closely associated with another, without any \"formal\" syncretism taking place. For instance, the loose association of Hathor with Isis. Khnum was the god with the ram\'s head.
An interesting aspect of ancient Egyptian religion is that deities sometimes played different conflicting roles. As an example, the lioness Sekhmet being sent out by Ra to devour the humans for having rebelled against him, but later on becoming a fierce protectress of the kingdom, life in general and the sick. Even more complex is the roles of Set. Judging the mythology of Set from a modern perspective, especially the mythology surrounding Set\'s relationship with Osiris, it is easy to cast Set as the arch villain and source of evil. This is wrong, however, as Set was earlier playing the role of destroyer of Apep, in the service of Ra on his barge, and thus serving to uphold Ma\'at (Truth, Justice and Harmony).
Given the diverse tapestry of religious history in ancient Egypt, it comes as no surprise that many different forms of theism evolved. Although mainly henotheistic in nature, at some point even monotheism, as introduced by Akhenaton thrived. What is important to realize is that it is very dangerous to try and cast the religion of the ancient Egyptians in any particular theistic form. Even more dangerous to claim is that, towards the end of the Egyptian civilization, a drive toward monotheism was taking place. The evidence of the time (Greco-Roman period) seems counter to this belief: although syncretism was still taking place (sometimes and more frequently between Egyptian and non-Egyptian deities), many deities were still revered and served. An example is the following which Thoth enjoyed during these later periods. This is quite evident when one simply looks at the vast number of mummified Ibis birds offered to him. belief in Egyptian deities was spreading to countries other than Egypt. For instance, the Romans believed in and followed Isis.
Web Site = http://myth.spiritualideas.com/egyptian_mythology.htm
2022
